The historical first contact between the explorers and conquistadors from Spain or Portugal and the original inhabitants of Central and South America is the subtext for a wide range of science-fictional works written in Latin America. Indeed Latin American stories of first contact might better be described as stories of second contact due to the degree to which the original historical circumstances and the colonial legacy inform content and perspective. This paper explores the effects of the Columbian first contact and its aftermath on Latin American works such as “The Falsifier” (José Adolph, Peru, 1971) and “When Pilate Said No” (Hugo Correa, Chile, c.1960) (both of these texts have been translated into English in the Cosmos Latinos anthology).