Trying för att identifiera en mycket gammal novell om utlänningar som koloniserar mänskliga kroppar

"Inne John Barth" av William W. Stuart , först publicerad i juni 1960 Galaxy . Du kan läsa Project Gutenberg etext .

Kom inte ihåg den exakta början på historien, men det gick något som att "gå längs en väg" eller något, och när han hör vad som låter som ett hagelgevär spränger sig bakom honom, känner han då något som slår honom i rumpan.

We were lounging by the campfire after supper and a few good snorts. Uncle John was entertaining himself with a review of some of his nearer, more thrilling misses. I, to tell the truth, was sort of dozing off.

Then, all of a sudden, there was a bright flash of blue-green light and a loud sort of zoop-zing sound. And a sharp, stinging sensation in my thighs.

I hollered. I jumped to my feet. I looked down, and my pants were peppered with about a dozen little holes, like buckshot. I didn't have to drop my pants to know my legs were, too. I could feel it. And blood started to ooze.

I figured, of course, that Uncle John had finally shot me, and I at once looked on the bright side. I would be a cinch for a fast promotion to vice-president. But Uncle John swore he hadn't been near a gun. So we guessed some other hunter must have done it, seen what he had done, and then prudently ducked. At least no one stepped forward.

Han går ut, och när han vaknar upptäcker han att "hagelgevärsblast" verkligen var ett miniatyrt rymdskepp som exploderade och sköt miniatyr utomjordingar i sin kropp.

Han går inte ut. Han börjar börja märka de fördelaktiga effekterna efter händelsen, men det är månader senare när han inser att han har invaderats efter att ha lyssnat på en barkonversation om ufoer:

All at once, standing there on the sidewalk outside Perry's Bar, I knew that it was true. Space invaders. The Earth was invaded—the Earth, hell! I was invaded. I didn't know how I knew, but I knew all right. I should have. I was in possession of all the information.

Utlänningarna visar sig vara mycket fördelaktiga eftersom de rensar upp alla gifter och andra gifter i kroppen.

Kommunikation är etablerad:

"Invaders! Squatters!

"Citizens of Barthland."

"Invaded! Good Lord, of all the people in the world, why me? Nothing like this ever happened to anyone. Why did I have to be picked to be a territory—the first man to have queer things living in me?"

"Oh, please, gracious Fatherland! Permit us to correct you. In the days of our fathers, conditions were, we can assure you, chaotic. Many horrible things lived here. Wild beasts and plant growths of the most vicious types were everywhere."

"There were—"

"What you would call microbes. Bacteria. Fungi. Viruses. Terrible devouring wild creatures everywhere. You were a howling wilderness. Of course, we have cleaned these things up now. Today you are civilized—a fine, healthy individual of your species—and our revered Fatherland. Surely you have noted the vast improvement in your condition?"

De kan överföras genom kyssning eller sexuell aktivitet.

Yep. Efter hans datum med Helga:

Back in my apartment—my big, new, plush apartment—I sat down to go over the thing with the Department of the Interior. The enthusiastic response I got surprised me. "Magnificent," was the word. "Superb. Great!"

Well, I thought myself that I had turned in a pretty outstanding performance, but I hadn't expected such applause. "It is a first step, a splendid beginning! A fully equipped, well-armed expedition will have the place settled, under cultivation and reasonably civilized within a day or two, your time. It will be simple for them. So much more than in your case—since we now know precisely what to expect."

I was truly shocked. I felt guilty. "No!" I said. "Oh no! What a thing to do. You can't!"

"Now, now. Gently," they said. "What, after all, oh Fatherland, might be the perfectly natural consequences of your own act?"

"What? You mean under other—that is—"

"Exactly. You could very well have implanted a new life in her, which is all that we have done. Why should our doing so disturb you?"