The Repairman by Harry Harrison
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"The Repairman" by Harry Harrison is a science fiction novella written in the late 1950s. This work follows an interstellar trouble-shooting mechanic, tasked with the daunting job of repairing an ancient and complicated Mark III hyperspace beacon located on a distant planet. The story explores themes of adventure, cultural misunderstandings, and the challenges of navigating interspecies communication and cooperation. The protagonist, a seasoned repairman known as the Old Man’s trouble-shooter, finds himself
reluctantly assigned to fix the malfunctioning beacon, which is wrapped in a mysterious, ancient stone pyramid inhabited by the native reptilian Centaurians. As he unfurls the history of the beacon and its impact on the local species, he devises a covert plan to communicate and negotiate with the Centaurians without inciting hostility. Using ingenious tactics, such as donning a disguise and leveraging the local culture, he manages to restore the beacon while ensuring the natives are placated, ultimately securing a win-win resolution. The story combines humor, ingenuity, and social commentary, making it a captivating read for fans of speculative fiction. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Harrison, Harry, 1925-2012 |
|---|---|
| Title | The Repairman |
| Series Title | Produced from Galaxy February 1958. |
| Credits |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Susan Carr and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 81.9 (6th grade). Easy to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Science fiction |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Subject | Human-alien encounters -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 22073 |
| Release Date | Jul 14, 2007 |
| Last Update | Jan 2, 2021 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 466 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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