Final Examination by Robert Sheckley
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"Final Examination" by Robert Sheckley is a science fiction short story written in the early 1950s. The narrative centers around the mysterious disappearance of stars from the Milky Way and the impending judgment of humanity, which looms over a five-day countdown. The protagonist, Adam Ostersen, begins to experience a surreal and transformative journey as society grapples with its impending fate. In the story, Adam Ostersen, a seemingly ordinary man, finds himself caught
in an extraordinary situation when stars begin vanishing from the sky, leading to a global panic. As millions of stars blink out, an enigmatic voice announces a judgment day for humans, scheduled for five days later. The tale follows Adam's experiences as people react in a myriad of ways—from resignation to bizarre theories—including an invasion from another dimension. As Adam and his wife navigate these tumultuous days, societal norms begin to fracture, causing chaos mixed with unexpected acts of kindness. Ultimately, the judgment day arrives, but, in an ironic twist, the fate of humanity is postponed by ten years, revealing the fragile nature of human behavior even in the face of existential crisis. The story provides a thought-provoking commentary on human nature and the struggles between good and evil amidst a backdrop of cosmic uncertainty. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Sheckley, Robert, 1928-2005 |
|---|---|
| Title | Final Examination |
| Series Title | Produced from Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy May 1952 |
| Credits | Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 86.0 (6th grade). Easy to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Science fiction |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Subject | Judgment Day -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 65838 |
| ISBN (HTML) | 979-8-238-65838-4 |
| Release Date | Jul 14, 2021 |
| Last Update | Oct 18, 2024 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 449 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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