Piper in the Woods is a science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick

Philip K. Dick

Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...

, first published in 1953 in Imagination

Imagination (magazine)

Imagination was an American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in October 1950 by Raymond Palmer's Clark Publishing Company. The magazine was sold almost immediately to Greenleaf Publishing Company, owned by William Hamling, who published and edited it from the third issue,...

, and later in The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick

The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick

The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick is a collection of science fiction stories by Philip K. Dick. It was first published by Underwood-Miller in 1987 as a five volume set. See Philip K...

. It has since been republished several times, including in Beyond Lies the Wub

Beyond Lies the Wub (collection)

Beyond Lies the Wub is a collection of science fiction stories by Philip K. Dick. It was first published by Gollancz in 1988 and reprints Volume I of The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick...

in 1988.

Plot synopsis

Henry Harris, an army doctor at a garrison on Earth is puzzled by a case of a soldier who returns from the asteroid Y-3, and claims that he's a plant. When several more men return from Y-3, each thinking they're a plant, Harris travels to the asteroid to solve the puzzle. He soon finds out that the soldiers claim that a certain indigenous people on the asteroid called "Pipers", who live in the woods, made them realize that they're plants. Harris ventures into the woods and discovers that Pipers do not exist, they were merely invented by the soldiers to cope with the pressure of their jobs. The soldiers relaxed by simply turning into plants, or their minds thought so. Harris returns to earth and contemplates all the work that lies ahead of him. He unpacks his suitcases, which, rather than carrying clothes, contain soil from Y-3. Harris lays the soil on the ground, lies in it like a plant, and goes to sleep.