A Martian Odyssey

Back aboard the Ares, chemist Dick Jarvis has ten missing days to explain to his fellow explorers. His account begins with an aerial survey of Mars, where a failing motor leaves him hundreds of miles from the expedition's base. Carrying water, food and a sleeping bag, he sets off across orange deserts and grey plains. Along the way he encounters walking vegetation and Tweel, a birdlike creature whose speech takes some effort to understand.

Stanley G. Weinbaum frames this science fiction short story as a conversation among the crew, mixing Jarvis's observations with interruptions, teasing and scientific arguments. One encounter concerns a creature that produces bricks and appears to live through silicon chemistry. These unfamiliar forms of life give the adventure its particular interest: the explorers keep testing earthly ideas against what Mars presents. Readers who enjoy speculative biology and lively exchanges between curious travellers will find both here.