The Lovers is a science-fiction novella by American writer Philip José Farmer (1918–2009), first published in August 1952 in Startling Stories.

Hailed by the science fiction community as a bold and pioneering exploration of religion and sexuality, the original version won Farmer the Hugo Award for "Best New SF Author or Artist" in 1953.

On a visit to ancient ruins built by long vanished mammalian humanoids, he encounters Jeannette, an attractive and (seemingly) almost-human fugitive – a remnant of her all but extinct race.

For Yarrow's oppressive, puritanical society, unconsecrated contact with any female is forbidden – and the love that he develops for this "alien" is beyond unimaginable.

The religion of the Haijac Union derives from Isaac Sigman, a messianic figure of a thousand years prior to the events of the story.

[2]) A central tenet of Sigmanism is that all actions taken by individuals and all events that befall them, even seemingly accidental ones, are intentional, whether consciously or unconsciously.

Sigman was a devotee of the "Serialism" of British engineer and philosopher J. W. Dunne (1875–1949) and the Sturch devotes considerable time and resources to "dunnology" on a mathematical level.