Project Gutenberg 2009-08-05 Public domain in the USA. 6394 Linebarger, Paul Myron Anthony 1913 1966 Smith, Cordwainer Linebarger, Paul M. A. The Game of Rat and Dragon Produced from Galaxy Science Fiction, October 1955. Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Adam Buchbinder, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Game of Rat and Dragon" by Cordwainer Smith is a science fiction short story written in the mid-20th century. The narrative explores a futuristic setting where telepaths, referred to as pinlighters, and their feline partners must combat mysterious and deadly entities known as Dragons. The story dives into themes of partnership, the connections between humans and their animal counterparts, and the struggles of humanity against malevolent forces in the depths of space. In this tale, the struggle against the Dragons is not only a physical battle but also a mental and emotional one, as shown through the experiences of the characters, particularly pinlighters like Underhill and his partner, the cat Lady May. They engage in a unique telepathic bond that enhances their combative abilities against the Dragons, which embody a terrifying existential threat. The story reflects on the strain this chaotic environment places on the pinlighters and sheds light on their relationships with their partners, illustrating the complexities of fear, camaraderie, and the contrasting perceptions of life between humans and animals. The narrative is both a thrilling science fiction adventure and a poignant exploration of partnership and sacrifice. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 81.9 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories PS Text Science Fiction Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 62903 2025-08-12T08:31:48.782695 text/html 58860 2009-08-05T09:22:58 text/html 515132 2025-08-12T08:31:53.900180 application/epub+zip 513880 2025-08-12T08:31:51.499706 application/epub+zip 79975 2025-08-12T08:31:50.416679 application/epub+zip 613821 2025-08-12T08:31:55.615167 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 603787 2025-08-12T08:31:53.152190 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 149385 2022-09-13T16:15:39.522765 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 53003 2025-08-12T08:31:48.448696 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 52839 2009-08-05T09:22:58 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 18921 2025-08-12T08:31:55.749175 application/rdf+xml 13818 2025-08-12T08:31:50.904691 image/jpeg 3810 2025-08-12T08:31:50.661674 image/jpeg 400715 2009-08-05T09:22:58 application/octet-stream application/zip 20310 2009-08-05T09:22:58 application/octet-stream application/zip 488394 2025-08-12T08:31:48.836684 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