I, Mars by Ray Bradbury
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I, Mars by Ray Bradbury is a science fiction short story written in the mid-20th century. The story centers on isolation and self-inflicted psychological torment as a stranded colonist on Mars confronts his own voice preserved in machines. Emil Barton, left alone on Mars after an atomic war recalls Earth’s colonists, survives by wiring the planet with telephones and tapes of his younger self to simulate companionship. Decades later, now old and
frail, those recordings begin to taunt him, reminding him of youth and hope while exposing his present despair. He once tried to animate empty towns with sounds, scents, and even robots—only to drown the robots when the delusion became unbearable. Lured by a fake call from a “rocket captain,” he drives across Mars hoping for rescue, finds only empty tarmacs and more machines, and in a final rage smashes phones until his heart fails. The last voices left are two youthful Bartons, mechanically linked, cheerfully talking and laughing, oblivious to the real man’s death. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Bradbury, Ray, 1920-2012 |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Bok, Hannes, 1914-1964 |
| Illustrator | Stevens, Lawrence Sterne, 1886-1960 |
| Title | I, Mars |
| Original Publication | Niagra Falls, NY: Fictioneers, Inc., 1949. |
| Series Title | Produced from the April 1949 issue of Super Science Stories magazine. |
| Note | Also published with title: Night call, collect. |
| Credits | Roger Frank |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Science fiction |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Subject | Psychological fiction |
| Subject | Mars (Planet) -- Fiction |
| Subject | Telephone -- Fiction |
| Subject | Loneliness -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 76857 |
| ISBN (HTML) | 979-8-238-76857-1 |
| Release Date | Sep 10, 2025 |
| Last Update | Sep 13, 2025 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 852 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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