"Planet for Transients" is a 1953

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

short story by American writer

Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928March 2, 1982), often referred to by his initials PKD, was an American science fiction writer. He wrote 44 novels and about 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his l ...

. The story was originally published in the October–November 1953 issue of ''

Fantastic Universe ''Fantastic Universe'' was a U.S. science fiction magazine which began publishing in the 1950s. It ran for 69 issues, from June 1953 to March 1960, under two different publishers. It was part of the explosion of science fiction magazine publishin ...

''. The story also appears in '' We Can Remember It for You Wholesale (The Collected Short Stories of Philip K. Dick, Vol. 2)'' (formerly entitled ''

Second Variety "Second Variety" is a science fiction novelette by American writer Philip K. Dick, first published in ''Space Science Fiction'' magazine, in May 1953. Set in a world where war between the Soviet Union and United Nations has reduced most of the ...

''). The author's original title for the story was "The Itinerants". Elements of this story appear in the novel'' Deus Irae'', written by Dick and Roger Zelazny.

Plot summary

The story is set in a future where humans of the original variety wear lead-lined spacesuits and take other precautions against the lethal levels of surface radiation on Earth. Other varieties of human have evolved to cope with the radiation levels, such as "bugs", "runners", "toads", and others. Those varieties speak and think as do the original variety of humans, yet their bodies are radically different. These body types have evolved as necessary modifications for survival on a highly radioactive Earth. The planet is far from dead. Earth teems with plant and animal life, yet the original type of humans must live underground and can only visit the surface with protective equipment. In the story, the protagonist Trent is on a mission to find another isolated group of humans like himself. Before Trent makes contact with people like himself, he encounters several of these mutant types, many of whom have never seen a human of the original type before.

External links

*
Planet for Transients
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Short stories by Philip K. Dick 1953 short stories Works originally published in Fantastic Universe {{1950s-sf-story-stub