Author Language English Publication date 1951 | Country United States Media type Print | |
Published in New Tales of Space and Time | ||
"Here There Be Tygers" is a short story written by Ray Bradbury, originally published in the anthology New Tales of Space and Time in 1951. It was later collected in Bradbury's short story collections R is for Rocket and The Golden Apples of the Sun. It deals with a rocket expedition sent to a planet to see whether or not its natural resources can be harvested for the human race. They discover a paradise which seems to provide for them whatever they desire even as they think of it. They ultimately decide to leave the planet and report that it is hostile and of no benefit to humans.
Contents
The reference is to the phrase "Here be dragons".
Adaptations
A teleplay of this story was written by Bradbury for possible use on the television program The Twilight Zone, but Rod Serling and the producers of the show deemed it too expensive to film on the show's rather tight budget. This led to the end of Ray Bradbury's rather brief association with the show, which resulted in just one of his stories ("I Sing the Body Electric") being used. It was later produced as a radio episode of the series Bradbury 13 (June 18, 1984) and the television program Ray Bradbury Theater (November 30, 1990).
A Russian animated adaptation of the story was produced, with the plot change that one of the men wishes to harvest the resources and leave, to the point where he sets an anti-matter bomb to blow the planet up. The planet promptly has him killed, whilst the captain takes the bomb on board their spaceship and takes off, although not until after one of the men sneaks off to live on the planet. The navigator tells the captain of this, saying it is not too late to turn back and get him, but the captain reveals the bomb, stating that it is too late, and to plot a course as far away as possible. The story ends with the planet giving the remaining astronaut a new pet dog, as well as the promise of a female companion.
Similar stories in popular culture
In the original Star Trek episode "Shore Leave", a crew finds a planet where any of their desires once thought are acted out in real life. This is due to an alien life-form's superior technology, as the planet is actually an alien amusement park. The crew eventually comes to relax on the planet before continuing on their journey. This episode aired in 1966, fifteen years after Ray Bradbury's story was first published.