Beyond Lies the Wub
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Beyond Lies the Wub is a science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick. It was his first published story; it originally appeared in Planet Stories in July, 1952.
Peterson, a crew member of a spaceship visiting Mars buys an enormous pig-like creature known as a wub from a native just before departure. Franco, his captain, is worried about the extra weight, but seems more concerned about its taste. However, after takeoff, the crew realizes that the wub is a very intelligent creature, even capable of telepathy. Peterson and the wub spend time discussing mythological figures and the travels of Odysseus. Captain Franco bursts in and insists on killing and eating the wub. The crew is very much opposed to killing the sensitive creature, but Franco still makes a meal out of him. At the end of it though, the wub speaks from beyond the dinner table, continuing his prior conversation out of Captain Franco's body.
The theme of the wub and immortality is revisited by Dick in his later short story "Not By Its Cover."
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