Who Goes There?

John W. Campbell Jr. wrote Who Goes There? was published in 1938. The story revolves around a group of scientists in Antarctica. They discover an alien life form trapped in the ice and struggle to survive as the alien threatens to infiltrate and take over their bodies.

The scientists, stationed at an isolated research outpost, uncover a crashed spacecraft buried beneath the ice. Within it, they find a frozen alien creature. As they thaw it out, they realize that it has the ability to perfectly imitate other life forms, including humans.

Paranoia and mistrust quickly spread among the scientists. They struggle to identify who among them may have already been replaced by the alien. The story follows the tension and battles as the scientists try to uncover the secret of the alien's true nature.

Who Goes There? explores themes of identity, trust, and the fear of the unknown. It centers on moral dilemmas faced by the characters while their friends and colleagues are taken over by an alien.

The novella has had a significant impact on science fiction, particularly in the realm of alien invasion stories. John Carpenter adapted the story into the 1982 movie "The Thing."