B&W illustration by Ed Emshmiller

SOURCE: "We Don't Want Any Trouble" by James H. Schmitz (Galaxy, June 1953)

DESCRIPTION: "The Visitor From Outside sat in its cage, its large gray hands slackly clasping the bars. Its attitudes and motions...approximated those of a rather heavily built ape. Reporters called it "the Toad from Mars," on the basis of the first descriptions they'd had of it--the flabby shape and loose, warty skin made that a vaguely adequate identification. The round, horny head almost could have been that of a lizard..." ("We Don't Want Any Trouble" by James H. Schmitz)

NOTES: The creature described is not actually the Visitor but the last species to be wiped out by them. The Visitors themselves probably have no shape of their own but are energy beings. The Visitor inside the lizard-ape transfers into the body of a beautiful WAC captain.

HISTORY: This is a bummer ending from an author who usually doesn't write bummer endings. Schmitz is known for his light-hearted writing style.

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