Reading from Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick, 2013, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, NY, pages 1-8
Beyond Lies the Wub is perhaps the best sci-fi short I have read. It is certainly the most mature mediation on a possible encounter with intelligent alien life. This vintage 50s story follows the fate of a Martian ‘pig’ that is loaded upon a zoological collection ship as a dietary supplement. The construct is obviously based on 19th Century Age of Sail exploration and 20th Century habitat exploitation.
The three primary characters are Peterson, the crew member who has acquired the Wub, Captain Franco, a no nonsense hierarchal carnivore, and, the Wub, who is a vastly intelligent, and not very materially grounded, telepath. The Wub does not want to be eaten, and attempts to appeal to the hearts of the crew by discussing one of the more fitting metaphor’s he came across while ransacking Peterson’s subconscious, The Odyssey.
It is obvious that Peterson cannot stand up to Captain Franco. But can the Wub convince this beastly primate that better uses could be made of him than as a questionable dinner?
