The Great Gray Plague by Raymond F. Jones
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"The Great Gray Plague" by Raymond F. Jones is a science fiction novel written in the early 1960s. The story centers around Dr. William Baker, a 50-year-old director at the National Bureau of Scientific Development, and explores themes of scientific progress, human creativity, and the conflict between established authority and unconventional thinking. The narrative touches upon Baker's pride in his achievements, yet sets the stage for conflict as he interacts with colleagues
and faces unexpected challenges, hinting at the emerging crisis that will unfold in response to a mysterious phenomenon. At the start of the novel, we meet Dr. Baker on his fiftieth birthday, where he receives a heartfelt surprise from his staff that underscores the camaraderie of his work environment. However, the tone quickly shifts as Baker's day progresses, revealing a tension between him and his friend Dr. John Fenwick, who is seeking a research grant for Clearwater College. Their conversation exposes the rigid criteria the Bureau employs to judge grant applications, including ludicrous evaluations of faculty backgrounds and cultural contributions, which irritate Fenwick. Baker's disdain for unconventional ideas and his adherence to the bureaucratic processes set up a conflict when a seemingly crackpot inventor, Jim Ellerbee, presents a potentially revolutionary communication device that challenges Baker's established views and beliefs about what constitutes legitimate scientific inquiry. The opening thus hints at a deeper exploration of creativity, human ingenuity, and the limitations imposed by rigid academic structures. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Jones, Raymond F., 1915-1994 |
|---|---|
| Title | The Great Gray Plague |
| Series Title | Produced from Analog Science Fact and Science Fiction February 1962. |
| Credits |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Dave Lovelace, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 76.1 (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. | 28118 |
| ISBN (HTML) | 979-8-238-28118-6 |
| Release Date | Feb 18, 2009 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 476 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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