The Taxpayer. A Martian Chronicle

“The Taxpayer” is a story that’s part of the book Martian Chronicles by American writer Ray Bradbury. A Science Fiction book, quite exciting, from which we’ve taken this tale to narrate it in the best Pueblo Villano style.

Martian Chronicles and the Fear of Atomic War

The story deals with Pritchard, an American citizen who wants to go to Mars—he no longer wants to live on Earth because he thinks there’s going to be an atomic war. He’s in front of a launch platform, begging security to let him board. However, that never happens; on the contrary, they move him away from the platform as if he were a convict, all while he watches the rocket rise in the distance.

In Martian Chronicles, fear is not presented as irrational paranoia. Bradbury writes from a moment in history where nuclear destruction felt possible at any second. Mars becomes a psychological refuge as much as a physical destination.