Project Gutenberg 2009-02-18 Public domain in the USA. 261 Jones, Raymond F. 1915 1994 Jones, Raymond F. (Raymond Fisher) The Great Gray Plague Produced from Analog Science Fact and Science Fiction February 1962. Produced by Greg Weeks, Dave Lovelace, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Great Gray Plague" by Raymond F. Jones is a science fiction novel written in the early 1960s. The story centers around Dr. William Baker, a 50-year-old director at the National Bureau of Scientific Development, and explores themes of scientific progress, human creativity, and the conflict between established authority and unconventional thinking. The narrative touches upon Baker's pride in his achievements, yet sets the stage for conflict as he interacts with colleagues and faces unexpected challenges, hinting at the emerging crisis that will unfold in response to a mysterious phenomenon. At the start of the novel, we meet Dr. Baker on his fiftieth birthday, where he receives a heartfelt surprise from his staff that underscores the camaraderie of his work environment. However, the tone quickly shifts as Baker's day progresses, revealing a tension between him and his friend Dr. John Fenwick, who is seeking a research grant for Clearwater College. Their conversation exposes the rigid criteria the Bureau employs to judge grant applications, including ludicrous evaluations of faculty backgrounds and cultural contributions, which irritate Fenwick. Baker's disdain for unconventional ideas and his adherence to the bureaucratic processes set up a conflict when a seemingly crackpot inventor, Jim Ellerbee, presents a potentially revolutionary communication device that challenges Baker's established views and beliefs about what constitutes legitimate scientific inquiry. The opening thus hints at a deeper exploration of creativity, human ingenuity, and the limitations imposed by rigid academic structures. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 76.1 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction PS Text Science Fiction Browsing: Literature Browsing: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Novels 183999 2025-06-11T14:22:19.327990 text/html 181986 2009-02-18T06:49:08 text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 473590 2009-02-18T06:49:08 text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 application/zip 516375 2025-06-11T14:22:22.866058 application/epub+zip 517031 2025-06-11T14:22:20.028986 application/epub+zip 113598 2025-06-11T14:22:19.659000 application/epub+zip 584525 2025-06-11T14:22:25.086040 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 574921 2025-06-11T14:22:22.521991 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 172707 2022-09-13T07:03:48.768887 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 172695 2025-06-11T14:22:18.970018 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 172532 2009-02-18T06:49:08 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 64341 2009-02-18T06:49:08 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 19131 2025-06-11T14:22:25.234971 application/rdf+xml 24108 2025-06-11T14:22:19.738986 image/jpeg 4106 2025-06-11T14:22:19.698018 image/jpeg 479461 2025-06-11T14:22:19.366998 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