Goodbye, Dead Man! by Tom W. Harris
"Goodbye, Dead Man!" by Tom W. Harris is a science fiction short story published in the late 1950s. The narrative revolves around themes of superstition, morality, and the repercussions of one's actions in a dystopian setting, specifically a reactor facility overtaken by outsiders. The story follows the conflict between the protagonist Danny Hern and Orley Mattup, a brutish guard who takes a life, illustrating the consequences of power and the interplay of
fate. The story unfolds as Danny and his friend witness Orley Mattup murder an innocent technician, Uncle Pete, during a card game. Following this heinous act, Danny seeks revenge by cursing Mattup with a hex connected to eleven cents, claiming that any attempt to spend it will lead to his demise. As the plot develops, Mattup's increasing paranoia and superstition drive him to cling to the cursed money. The climax reveals the dark twist: the money is actually radioactive, making it a literal death sentence for Mattup, who ultimately succumbs to the very fate Danny orchestrated using a clever mix of psychological manipulation and the flaws of his antagonist. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Harris, Tom W. |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Becker |
| Title | Goodbye, Dead Man! |
| Series Title | Produced from Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy April 1958. |
| Credits |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 85.4 (6th grade). Easy to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Science fiction |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 29963 |
| ISBN (HTML) | 979-8-238-29963-1 |
| Release Date | Sep 12, 2009 |
| Last Update | Jan 5, 2021 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 423 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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