Wilson, Richard, 1920-1987

The Inhabited - 1 online resource : multiple file formats - Produced from Galaxy Science Fiction January 1953. . - Produced from Galaxy Science Fiction January 1953. .

Release date is 2010-02-25

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Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Greg Weeks, and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

"The Inhabited" by Richard Wilson is a science fiction novella written in the early 1950s. The story revolves around an extraterrestrial traveler sent to Earth by a dying race, seeking a new world suitable for habitation. The theme explores concepts of identity, control, and the consequences of a stagnant civilization. The narrative follows a nameless alien who becomes a "spy" by inhabiting various beings on Earth, starting with a cat and then progressing through the minds of humans. Through these experiences, the traveler grapples with their inability to control the minds they enter, ultimately finding themselves trapped in the psyche of a mentally ill man named Mersey. As Mersey articulates the dire state of his original civilization, the alien realizes that their race's survival might come at a cost that compromises their identity. The story culminates in a poignant struggle between the needs of the traveler’s people and the realities of life on Earth, leaving readers to ponder the implications of empathy, existence, and the quest for a new home. (This is an automatically generated summary.)



Science fiction Short stories Human-alien encounters -- Fiction

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