Slan

"Fans are Slans," became the catchphrase of early science fiction fandom in the wake of this novel. Like the Slans - telepathic mutants hiding out in a hostile population - science fiction fans considered themselves a haunted special minority, imbued with transcendent and visionary insight, sure to prevail in the fullness of time. Communes were called "Slan shacks" and fans occupied them. In the wake of the atomic bomb and theories of atomic mutation, the premise of SLAN seemed ever more credible.There are two kinds of Slans - those whose tendrils publicize their power to read the minds of…