Bargain Basement by Charles L. Fontenay
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"Bargain Basement" by Charles L. Fontenay is a science fiction novella written during the late 1950s. The story revolves around the peculiar happenings at a basement store that offers inexplicably low prices on futuristic items, hinting at the existence of a time anomaly. The narrative explores themes of time travel, love, and unintended consequences resulting from choices made through the shop's unique bargains. The storyline follows Jack Hanshaw and his roommate Ken
Adaman as they visit a strange basement shop filled with bizarre merchandise sold at a fraction of its potential value. While trying to resolve an issue with a malfunctioning television set he purchased, Jack becomes embroiled in a series of events that reveal the shop's connection to the future. As Ken acquires an astonishingly cheap, futuristic car, Jack's jealousy leads him to use a drug from the future to win over the affections of Lorene, the woman they both desire. The culmination of their actions brings forth a paradox in which their choices alter the very fabric of reality—resulting in the dissolution of the store and its products, despite Jack retaining his marriage to Lorene. Consequently, the story reflects on how love, ambition, and the delicate nature of time can intertwine in surprising and profound ways. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Fontenay, Charles L., 1917-2007 |
|---|---|
| Title | Bargain Basement |
| Series Title | Produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, September 1959 |
| Credits |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 85.5 (6th grade). Easy to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Science fiction |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Subject | Triangles (Interpersonal relations) -- Fiction |
| Subject | Time travel -- Fiction |
| Subject | Stores, Retail -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 60698 |
| Release Date | Nov 16, 2019 |
| Last Update | Oct 17, 2024 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 325 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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