Progress Report by Mark Clifton and Alex Apostolides
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"Progress Report" by Mark Clifton and Alex Apostolides is a science fiction narrative written in the early 1950s. The story revolves around a critical test flight of a new spacecraft, exploring themes of human ambition, the scientific quest for knowledge, and the political machinations that can influence technological progress. The backdrop of Cold War anxieties and technological advancements serves to heighten the stakes and tensions throughout the plot. The narrative follows Colonel
Jennings and his team as they prepare for a crucial test of their spacecraft, with a politically motivated senator, O'Noonan, observing the proceedings. The tense atmosphere is amplified by the senator's ignorance and dismissive attitude toward the scientific efforts at play, as he seeks personal glory and relevance. Just as the spacecraft successfully launches, it inexplicably loses contact, raising alarms about what could have gone wrong. The ending reveals that the ship had been tampered with, suggesting external intervention, represented by the cryptic message "Not yet." This twist underlines the complexities of man's pursuit of progress while hinting at unknown forces that may decide humanity's readiness for space exploration. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Clifton, Mark, 1906-1963 |
|---|---|
| Author | Apostolides, Alex, 1923-2005 |
| Illustrator | Orban, Paul, 1896-1974 |
| Title | Progress Report |
| Series Title | Produced from If Worlds of Science Fiction July 1953. |
| Credits |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Dianna Adair and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 75.8 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Science fiction |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Subject | Space flight -- Fiction |
| Subject | Space ships -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 36867 |
| Release Date | Jul 27, 2011 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 398 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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