The Crowded Colony By Jerome Bixby Episode #515
Jerome Bixby | March 15, 2026-
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The Crowded Colony By Jerome Bixby Episode #515
Jerome Bixby
THE CROWDED COLONY
Episode #515 · Written by Jerome Bixby · Narrated by Scott Miller
Mars looks finished. The canals have dried into long scars across the sand, and the ancient trading villages crumble under the desert wind. When the human expedition arrives at Kinkaaka, the place feels like a relic waiting for new owners.
The conquerors settle in quickly. They take Martian names, speak the language recovered from ancient inscriptions, and treat the remaining inhabitants as a weak people who have already lost their world. From their shaded restaurant tables they watch the red desert and talk openly about reforming the planet’s future.
Yet not everyone feels comfortable with the arrangement. One member of the expedition begins to question what they are doing—digging through temples, forcing customs on a defeated culture, and speaking about the Martians as if they were animals. The others dismiss his concerns. The natives seem quiet, compliant, and incapable of doing anything that could threaten the new order.
But the conquerors have misunderstood almost everything about the colony they believe they control.
In hidden rooms and quiet corners of the village, another group listens closely to every careless word. They have learned the invaders’ language. They have studied their behavior. And they have reached a conclusion about what must be done before the expedition spreads beyond Mars.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jerome Bixby (1923–1998) was an American science fiction writer whose stories appeared in major magazines including Galaxy Science Fiction, Planet Stories, and Amazing Stories. His short fiction from the late 1940s through the 1960s often built toward sharp reversals that exposed mistaken assumptions about alien worlds and human behavior.
Bixby later became widely known for his work in film and television. He wrote several episodes of Star Trek, including the original series episode “Requiem for Methuselah,” and co-wrote the screenplay for the science-fiction film Fantastic Voyage (1966). “The Crowded Colony” reflects the clever narrative construction that made his short stories stand out in the magazine era.
LISTEN TO THE STORY
Listen to The Crowded Colony By Jerome Bixby — a vintage science fiction short story where human conquerors on Mars slowly realize the colony is far more dangerous than it seems.
LOST VOICES OF VINTAGE SCI-FI
Not every science fiction writer built a long career in the field or became a widely recognized name. Some published only a handful of stories before disappearing from the magazines, leaving behind little biographical record and few surviving details. Others may be remembered for work in different genres, while their contribution to science fiction was brief.
Yet these writers helped shape the texture of the pulp era and beyond. Their stories experimented with bold ideas, filled the pages between the famous names, and added depth to the ever-expanding landscape of vintage science fiction.
The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast exists in part to rediscover these voices. The stories below were written by authors who published briefly, sparingly, or whose science fiction output was small - but whose work still deserves to be heard.
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ABOUT THE LOST SCI-FI PODCAST
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Each episode features carefully selected stories from the Golden Age of science fiction, professionally narrated. Timeless storytelling the way it was meant to be heard.
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