The Pedestrian

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For the film, see The Pedestrian (film).

The Pedestrian is a short story by author Ray Bradbury. This story was originally published in 1951 by The Fortnightly Publishing Company. It is included in the collection The Golden Apples of the Sun (1953).

In this story we encounter Leonard Mead, a citizen of a television-centred world in the year A.D.2053. In the city roads have fallen into decay and people only leave their homes during the day. It is revealed that Mead enjoys to walk through the city during the night, something which no-one else does. On one of his usual walks he encounters a robotic police car. It is the only police unit in a city of three million. The police car struggles to understand why Mr. Mead would be out walking for no reason and decides to take him to the Psychiatric Center for Research on Regressive Tendencies.