Venus Colony

Lore & Background

The planet, called Planet Blue, initially appears completely pure, harmonious, and untouched, almost like the Garden of Eden. Major Lawrence Hall and Lieutenant Friendly, after three weeks there, have determined there are absolutely no harmful life forms, bacteria, pathogens, or pests. But the planet's true danger emerges when ordinary objects come to life: a microscope attacks Hall, then a towel wraps around his wrist and presses over his mouth and nose to suffocate him, a belt constricts around his waist like a constrictor snake, and a chair's armrests close around him. Hall concludes this is an organic life form that perfectly mimics objects much like a chameleon does for camouflage, possibly a kind of infinitely divisible protoplasm. The creatures can be killed with blasters—five or six have already been destroyed—but they reappear intact after destruction. Hall ultimately releases highly toxic gas throughout the laboratory, causing seemingly normal objects to melt and lose their shape: a specimen cabinet liquefies into a gelatinous mass, and Bunsen burners, glass flasks, test tube racks, and chemical shelves melt together. He can clearly make out the cell nucleus, cell wall, and vacuoles in the cytoplasm—these are gigantic, individual cells.

In Their Own Story

Major Lawrence Hall blasted his microscope with his last ounce of strength, only to find it later—undamaged, in its usual spot, with the familiar notch on the fine-tuning knob and the slightly bent clamp on the stage. Lieutenant Friendly suggested a psychological test; the analysis revealed a severe mental disorder and instability. But Hall remembered metallic particles in the air of the lab—proof he must indeed have fired at something. After a towel tried to suffocate him, a belt crushed his waist, and a chair's armrests closed around him, Hall went to Commander Stella Morrison. She didn't believe a word and had him arrested. When he reached Captain Taylor's office, he found Taylor on the floor, a red-and-white rug wrapped tightly around his body, constricting him ever more tightly. Hall freed Taylor and rendered the rug harmless. Later, four objects were found on Morrison's desk: the microscope, the towel, the belt, and the red-and-white rug—all previously destroyed, now intact. Hall concluded it wasn't the real objects that attacked, but something else that simply looked exactly like those objects. The base's crew eventually boarded a spaceship, but it turned out to be one of the creatures.

Reader's Guide

The story's central threat is a predatory alien life form capable of precise mimicry of all kinds of objects, from simple doormats to whole spaceships. The larger objects usually attempt to trap and "absorb" humans, similar to carnivorous plants. The creatures can be killed with blasters, but they reappear intact after destruction. Hall's plan to release highly toxic gas throughout the laboratory proves effective—seemingly normal objects melt and lose their shape, revealing themselves as gigantic, individual cells with cell nucleus, cell wall, and vacuoles visible in the cytoplasm. However, the gas supplies are insufficient to clean the entire base. Commander Morrison suggests requesting reinforcements to clear the entire planet with poison gas and destroy all life forms, even if only a dead world remains afterward. To prevent the creatures from boarding a ship disguised as objects, the crew decides to leave the planet completely naked and without any equipment or personal belongings, since the creatures apparently can only mimic inorganic matter (such as clothing, belts, or boots). Captain Daniel Davis lands on the planet and opens the airlock, but no one comes out—the base's crew had already boarded a spaceship shortly before, but it turned out to be one of the creatures.

Did You Know?

• Philip K. Dick said in 1976: 'The ultimate in paranoia is not when everyone is against you but when everything is against you.'
• The story was first published in Galaxy magazine, June 1953.
• It was adapted for radio for the series X Minus One, airing on October 10, 1956.
• The alien life form can mimic objects ranging from simple doormats to whole spaceships.
• The story's ending is described by Dick as 'the ultimate victory of a plotting object over innocent people.'