"The Gun" is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick, first published in 1952 September issue of ''

Planet Stories ''Planet Stories'' was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published by Fiction House between 1939 and 1955. It featured interplanetary adventures, both in space and on some other planets, and was initially focused on a young readershi ...

'', and later published in ''

Beyond Lies the Wub "Beyond Lies the Wub" is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was his first published genre story, originally appearing in ''Planet Stories'' in July 1952.Damien Broderick, ''Transrealist Fiction: Writing in th ...

'' in 1984. "The Gun" has been published in Italian, German, French and Polish translations.ISFDB publication history
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Plot summary

The plot centers around a group of space explorers who investigate a planet which appears deserted. However, they are shot down and crash land on the planet. While repairing their ship, a team of explorers sets to survey the surrounding area, where they discover the ruins of an ancient city. Upon further investigation, it is revealed that the gun which shot them down is in the city, and is programmed to shoot anything down which enters the airspace above the city. They examine the gun and discover that it is protecting a tomb directly underneath it—a tomb which contains artifacts, film and photographs of a lost civilization. In order to prevent themselves from being shot down by the same gun while attempting to leave the planet, they destroy the gun and take the artifacts with them. As they leave the planet, hoping to return one day, it is revealed that several automatized machines have begun to repair and reload the gun once more.

References

External links

* * * * Short stories by Philip K. Dick 1952 short stories Works originally published in Planet Stories {{1950s-sf-story-stub