The Chemically Pure Warriors

"The Chemically Pure Warriors" by Allen Kim Lang is a science fiction story set in the early 1960s, that follows Lieutenant Lee Hartford and his platoon on the planet Kansas, home to Indigenous Hominids called "Stinkers." The story explores themes of inter-species relations, the ethics of occupying a planet, and what happens because of how Hartford's people see the "Stinkers." The Axenites who depend on safety suits due to their lack of immunity, clash when Lieutenant Piacentelli tries to make contact with the locals, which leads to tragedy; this leads to a violent response from the colonel and also causes Hartford to struggle with his duty and what is right and wrong and discover the real, dark reason they are on Kansas.