Project Gutenberg 2006-05-08 Public domain in the USA. 4766 Piper, H. Beam 1904 1964 Piper, Henry Beam Piper, Horace Beam McGuire, John J. (John Joseph) 1917 1981 McGuire, John Joseph Van Dongen, H. R. 1920 2010 Van Dongen, Henry Richard Dongen, H. R. Van Dongen, van Null-ABC Produced from Astounding Science Fiction, February and March, 1953 Produced by Greg Weeks, Sankar Viswanathan, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Null-ABC" by H. Beam Piper and John J. McGuire is a science fiction novel written in the early 1950s. The narrative unfolds in a futuristic society where literacy is a privilege restricted to a few, referred to as Literates, while the majority refer to themselves as Illiterates. Central to the story is Chester Pelton, a senator running a campaign against the influence of the Literates, as he grapples with both personal and political challenges surrounding his family, particularly his children, Claire and Ray, who possess the skills that threaten to upend their father's aspirations and societal norms. At the start of the novel, we are introduced to Chester Pelton, enjoying breakfast with his children, Claire and Ray. The scene is set in a household where authentic food is a sign of affluence amidst a backdrop of socio-political tension. The narrative shifts from breakfast discussions to the political climate, as Chester is alerted to his son's admiration for a Literate—a concern that festers amidst ongoing election campaigns. A heart attack incident involving Chester, triggered by a confrontation with a Literate, intensifies the stakes, highlighting the societal divide. The opening suggests a deep exploration of the ramifications of literacy on personal identity and power dynamics, foreshadowing a critical conflict that questions the role of educated elite in society. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 72.9 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Literacy -- Fiction Nuclear warfare -- Social aspects -- Fiction PS Text Science Fiction Browsing: Literature Browsing: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Browsing: Fiction Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Novels 241181 2025-06-08T04:13:43.709844 text/html 239308 2014-06-29T12:21:58 text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 497004 2014-06-29T12:22:14 text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 application/zip 580758 2025-06-08T04:13:49.876817 application/epub+zip 583864 2025-06-08T04:13:45.872797 application/epub+zip 161631 2025-06-08T04:13:44.588816 application/epub+zip 702464 2025-06-08T04:13:52.911775 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 692709 2025-06-08T04:13:49.075829 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 242888 2022-09-08T16:01:31.592572 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 229666 2025-06-08T04:13:43.171832 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 229591 2014-06-29T12:22:00 text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 88143 2014-06-29T12:22:14 text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 application/zip 229582 2014-06-29T12:22:02 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 88126 2014-06-29T12:22:14 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 23161 2025-06-08T04:13:53.081760 application/rdf+xml 11545 2025-06-08T04:13:45.157802 image/jpeg 2867 2025-06-08T04:13:44.876797 image/jpeg 570398 2025-06-08T04:13:43.757824 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia en.wikipedia en.wikipedia