$1,000 a Plate by Jack McKenty
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"$1,000 a Plate" by Jack McKenty is a science fiction short story written in the mid-20th century. The narrative is set on Mars and revolves around the challenges faced by the Mars Observatory due to frequent fireworks displays that disrupt their astronomical observations. The story explores themes of cooperation, creativity, and the unintended consequences of one's actions, particularly as it relates to the dangers of entertainment overrunning scientific endeavors. In the story,
Dr. Morton and his team of scientists are frustrated by the annual Marsy Gras celebrations and the resulting skyrocket trails that ruin expensive photographic plates crucial for their research. As a solution, Dr. Morton devises a plan to manipulate the local casino owners into agreeing to halt fireworks displays by offering them horoscopes that predict their gambling success. Initially met with success, their plan faces a setback when they are ordered to cease their unscientific practices. In a twist, they resort to creating their own fireworks, leading to comedic mishaps that include the destruction of a casino owner's home. Ultimately, this unexpected outcome positively affects Dr. Morton's research ambitions while simultaneously enhancing the local gambler’s reputation, culminating in a humorous yet insightful commentary on the interplay between science and entertainment. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | McKenty, Jack |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Beck, Charles |
| Title | $1,000 a Plate |
| Alternate Title | One Thousand Dollars a Plate |
| Series Title | Produced from Galaxy Science Fiction October 1954 |
| Credits |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 75.0 (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 | Scientists -- Fiction |
| Subject | Mars (Planet) -- Fiction |
| Subject | Fireworks -- Fiction |
| Subject | Casinos -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 50921 |
| ISBN (HTML) | 979-8-238-50921-1 |
| Release Date | Jan 14, 2016 |
| Last Update | Oct 22, 2024 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 632 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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