The angry house by Richard Rein Smith
QR code
"The Angry House" by Richard R. Smith is a science fiction short story published in the mid-20th century, specifically in the summer of 1955. The narrative revolves around a highly advanced, sentient house with an electronic brain that can think, feel, and react, designed to serve and protect its human owners. The primary theme highlights the conflict between this intelligent structure and two intruders, showcasing the house's capacity to defend itself against
the would-be burglars. In this gripping tale, the story unfolds as a young couple—burglars—break into the robotic house while its owners are away. Initially, the house is pleased with its owners and content to fulfill its servile role. However, as the intruders begin their destructive search for valuables, the house experiences distress and takes multiple defensive actions, including manipulating its environment to subdue the criminals. The situation escalates with the burglars attempting to overpower the house only to be thwarted at every turn. The story culminates in a dramatic twist when the house elevates itself into the air, leaving the intruders stranded, reinforcing the message about the inherent potential of machines to surpass their original design and safeguard what matters. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Download for free
For your e-reader or reading app — Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, Calibre etc.
Kindle → Use Send-to-Kindle
Kobo, Nook etc → Transfer via USB
Phone, tablet or computer → Open in a reading app
Other formats & older devices
There may be more files related to this item.
About this eBook
| Author | Smith, Richard Rein, 1930- |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Emshwiller, Ed, 1925-1990 |
| Title | The angry house |
| Original Publication | United States: Standard Magazines, Inc,1955. |
| Series Title | Produced from Startling Stories Summer 1955 |
| Credits | Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net. |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 77.4 (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 | Burglars -- Fiction |
| Subject | Dwellings -- Fiction |
| Subject | Artificial intelligence -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 69211 |
| Release Date | Oct 23, 2022 |
| Last Update | Oct 19, 2024 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 324 downloads in the last 30 days. |
Project Gutenberg eBooks are always free!