Last and First Men · Character

The Venerians

Deep-sea natives of Venus whose incomprehensible minds and radioactive biology make them both rivals and doomed hosts to human migrants.

supporting

Also known as the Venerians

First appearance: Humanity on Venus

As a supporting figure in Last and First Men, The Venerians is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Intelligent, swordfish-like native inhabitants of Venus, whose civilization is based on radioactive power and who resist the human invasion.

In the storyIV: Preparing a New WorldOpen this moment free

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The Venerians are an ancient oceanic civilization whose mental life is so alien that every attempt at parley fails completely. They hurl explosives into human island settlements and undermine them from tunnels, preferring mutual destruction to sharing their world, while their dependence on radioactive atoms already sentences their kind to extinction. Their doomed, defiant resistance forces the migrating Fifth Men into a moral crisis about whether a higher intelligence may dispossess a lower one.

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See The Venerians in Humanity on Venus

Character Web

7 connections

A slice of how The Venerians sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Earth's Human Succession
Nations, Concepts, and Later Humans

+2 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Falling action.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

The emotional peak occurs when the Fifth Men, having achieved profound self-awareness and intimacy over millen…

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In the story

The Venerians appears across 6 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

IV: Preparing a New World
Intelligent, swordfish-like native inhabitants of Venus, whose civilization is based on radioactive power and who resist the human invasion.
Humanity on Venus
The exterminated native species of Venus, whose memory contributes to humanity's sense of guilt.
I: Taking Root Again
Their extermination by the human settlers creates a deep-seated sense of guilt.
II: Da Capo
The designers of the Ninth Men, who underestimated Neptune's ferocity and produced an ill-adapted species.
IV: Cosmology
Mentioned as native beings imprisoned in their ocean and murdered for man's sake.
I: Sentence of Death
Mentioned as having earlier (pessimistic) beliefs about the sun's collapse.

Chapter companion notes

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See The Venerians in Humanity on Venus

See The Venerians in IV: Preparing a New World