Temple Trouble by H. Beam Piper
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"Temple Trouble" by H. Beam Piper is a science fiction short story published in the early 1950s. The narrative explores themes of time travel, religion, and the manipulation of belief systems through the lens of commercial interests. It focuses on a group of paratimers who strategically manipulate a local religion to secure mining concessions, illustrating the tension between ancient traditions and modern exploitation. The plot unfolds in the realm of the Proto-Aryan
Sector, where Stranor Sleth operates as a resident agent for the Transtemporal Mining Corporation. A crisis arises when the local king, Kurchuk, begins to favor the worship of a new god, Muz-Azin, leading to unrest among the people. As the traditional rituals involving the worship of Yat-Zar fall into disfavor, and the sacred rabbits start dying from disease—a phenomenon that locals interpret as a divine punishment—Sleth, alongside Verkan Vall from the Paratime Police, must act. They orchestrate a dramatic intervention to rescue captured priests and restore Yat-Zar's influence, showcasing an intricate blend of deception, theology, and power dynamics. Ultimately, the story highlights the intersection of power, belief, and economic interests, raising questions about the nature of divinity and the lengths to which individuals will go to secure their objectives. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Piper, H. Beam, 1904-1964 |
|---|---|
| Title | Temple Trouble |
| Series Title | Produced from Astounding Science Fiction, April, 1951. |
| Credits |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Sankar Viswanathan, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 71.0 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Science fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 18861 |
| Release Date | Jul 18, 2006 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 319 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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