Project Gutenberg
2008-12-28
Public domain in the USA.
119
Hasse, Henry
1913
1977
Hasse, Henry Louis
Finlay, Virgil
1914
1971
Finlay
The Beginning
Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
"The Beginning" by Henry Hasse is a science fiction short story published in the early 1960s. This narrative explores themes of discovery, primal survival, and the consequences of technological advancement through the experience of its protagonist, Gral, a member of a prehistoric tribe. The story delves into the transformative moment when mankind's ingenuity leads to the creation of a weapon, setting the stage for both progress and inevitable conflict. In the tale, Gral, perceived as weak and small among the tribesmen, stumbles upon a method to enhance their hunting capabilities by devising a weapon using stones and sinew. This innovation earns him the now-respected title of Gral-the-Bringer, as he brings down formidable prey like the great bear. However, as the tribe of Gor-wah adopts this new technology, it unwittingly leads to the rise of rivalries, resulting in a brutal cycle of violence and destruction among tribes. The narrative concludes on a reflective note, suggesting that man’s relentless pursuit of invention will continue to spur both creation and catastrophe, thus framing the story as a cautionary exploration of human nature and societal evolution. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Reading ease score: 82.1 (6th grade). Easy to read.
en
Short stories
Prehistoric peoples -- Fiction
PS
Text
Science Fiction
Category: Short Stories
Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy
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