The Martian Chronicles

Captain John Black and the Third Expedition land in a grassy field on Mars, near a small town that is strikingly familiar to their hometowns in Ohio. Captain Black is suspicious of the town, and the archaeologist, Hinkston, cannot calm his own suspicions nor can he explain the familiarity of the town. Wary, Captain Black commands his crew to stay with the rocket, while he, Hinkston, and Lustig, the navigator, explore the town.

They first meet a woman who claims they are in Green Bluff, Illinois and that the year is 1926, leading them to despair that they have time travelled, but Black isn’t convinced. Lustig spots his grandmother and grandfather and rushes to them gladly. They claim to have been living on Mars since their deaths thirty years ago, and Lustig’s grandmother chides Black for asking questions. Black then watches with consternation as his crew abandons their positions on the rocket and rush into town to reconnect with their lost loved ones. A celebration begins in town.

Black is caught off-guard as his deceased brother Ed approaches but is swept along with the promise of seeing his parents again. Black spends a happy night at home with his family, but he cannot get to sleep at night as he thinks of the various theories proposed during the day. He is aware that he is taking part in a fantasy, but can’t decide if it is divine intervention, questioning: “Was God, then, really that thoughtful of his children?” (59).

He soon comes upon a different theory; the Martians, using telepathy, have accessed their memoires to lull them into blissful acceptance before murdering them. Captain Black attempts to slip out of the house, but the Martian pretending to be Ed rises out of bed and kills him. The next day, with the fanfare of a brass band, the Martians, still in their human disguises, bury all sixteen members of the crew.