| Author |
Rocklynne, Ross, 1913-1988 |
| Illustrator |
Fawcette, Gene, 1920?-1988 |
| Title |
The Tantalus Death
|
| Note |
Reading ease score: 84.9 (6th grade). Easy to read.
|
| Credits |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
|
| Summary |
"The Tantalus Death" by Ross Rocklynne is a science fiction short story published in the early 20th century, specifically within the 1940s. The narrative unfolds a dramatic scenario where Earth, in its refusal to supply water to Mars, faces grave consequences. The story explores themes of diplomacy and the lengths to which civilizations will go under hardship. In the tale, Olduk, the Martian ambassador, implores the Earth’s Conclave for water amid a backdrop of previous Martian-Earth conflicts. As the assembly rejects his plea yet again, a mysterious mechanism causes water around Earth to transform into impenetrable spheres, making it impossible for humans to drink. The citizens of Earth, now doomed to suffer like Tantalus from Greek mythology—eternally thirsty, unable to access the water surrounding them—must confront their predicament. As chaos ensues, the Governors, driven by desperation, consider a deceptive agreement with Olduk in hopes of regaining access to water, ultimately leading to profound moral reflection about their treatment of the Martian race and Olduk's tragic fate. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
|
| Language |
English |
| LoC Class |
PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature
|
| Subject |
Science fiction
|
| Subject |
Short stories
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| Subject |
War stories
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| Subject |
Martians -- Fiction
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| Subject |
Water -- Fiction
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| Category |
Text |
| EBook-No. |
61744 |
| Release Date |
Apr 3, 2020 |
| Copyright Status |
Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads |
62 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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