horizons, whereas from any point on the surface of Earth the horizon looks flat. Of the stable population of approximately eighteen billion people living on Earth from about the 23rd century onwards, very few wind up leaving the planet for any length of time. Many suffer from the so-called flatland phobia, a chronic fear of leaving the confines of the environment in which humans evolved. Their reaction to changes in gravity, atmospheric composition, and sunlight hue can include nausea and continual panic attacks. Those who do venture into space, of course, tend to take exception to the word, as they have left the planet with no ill effects, and even relish partaking of the same adventures and benefits of space travel that non-Earthbound humans enjoy. Gregory Pelton is one of these, goading Beowulf Shaeffer into calling him a flatlander even after Pelton had traveled to a number of planets in Known Space. References Characters Characters in written science fiction Lists of literary characters