| Author |
Smith, George O. (George Oliver), 1911-1981 |
| Illustrator |
Cartier, Edd, 1914-2008 |
| Title |
Rat Race
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| Original Publication |
United States: Street & Smith Publications, Incorporated,1947.
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| Note |
Reading ease score: 85.6 (6th grade). Easy to read.
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| Credits |
Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net.
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| Summary |
"Rat Race" by George O. Smith is a science fiction short story published in the late 1940s. The narrative revolves around the creation of an innovative mousetrap by the protagonist, Peter Manton, which inadvertently leads to unforeseen consequences. The story explores themes of invention, unintended effects, and the complexities of time, as Manton's invention interacts with the fabric of reality in unexpected ways. In the story, Peter Manton invents a unique mousetrap that not only captures mice but also transmits them to unknown locations. Initially, this seems like a brilliant solution to a rising mouse population, particularly amidst wartime shortages of conventional traps. However, as the device begins to demonstrate its ability to send captured mice back in time, strange occurrences escalate into a national crisis dubbed a "plague of rats." This results in attention from the government and law enforcement as they attempt to decipher the trap's mysterious properties. Ultimately, it is revealed that the inadvertent time manipulations lead to the very problem the trap was meant to solve, presenting a humorous and thought-provoking commentary on the nature of innovation and its ramifications. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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| Language |
English |
| LoC Class |
PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature
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| Subject |
Science fiction
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| Subject |
Short stories
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| Subject |
Inventions -- Fiction
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| Subject |
Mousetraps -- Fiction
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| Category |
Text |
| EBook-No. |
68256 |
| Release Date |
Jun 6, 2022 |
| Copyright Status |
Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads |
57 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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