Project Gutenberg 2010-03-31 Public domain in the USA. 121 Marks, Winston K. (Winston Kinney) 1915 1979 Marks, Winston Kinney Balbalis, John 1929 1991 Balbalis The Water Eater Produced from Galaxy Science Fiction June 1953. Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Greg Weeks, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net "The Water Eater" by Winston K. Marks is a science fiction short story written in the early 1950s. The narrative revolves around the unintended consequences of a domestic experiment involving household cleaning agents that leads to the creation of a mysterious and potentially dangerous substance. The story touches on themes of curiosity, scientific discovery, and the anxieties that come with creating something that may be beyond human control. The plot follows Charlie, a beer truck driver with a keen interest in chemistry, as he attempts to solve a household issue with a malfunctioning oil heater. During this process, he creates a jelly-like substance that exhibits bizarre properties, particularly its insatiable thirst for water. As the jelly begins to outgrow its container and demonstrates suggestive behaviors, Charlie grows increasingly concerned about his creation. His fascination turns to fear after the jelly's actions culminate in an injury to his hand, prompting him to destroy it. In the end, however, a sense of dread lingers as Charlie realizes he may have unleashed something harmful into the environment, leaving him apprehensive about the potential fallout of his actions. (This is an automatically generated summary.) http://book.klll.cc/files/31841/31841-h/images/cover.jpg 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 51210 2025-08-13T06:32:56.864494 text/html 47017 2021-01-06T09:41:31 text/html 153019 2025-08-13T06:32:58.651482 application/epub+zip 151822 2025-08-13T06:32:57.225486 application/epub+zip 66108 2025-08-13T06:32:57.035503 application/epub+zip 187289 2025-08-13T06:32:59.860479 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 179785 2025-08-13T06:32:58.444495 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 95024 2022-09-14T15:07:17.155845 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 43174 2025-08-13T06:32:56.723502 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 43026 2021-01-06T09:41:31 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19134 2025-08-13T06:32:59.994489 application/rdf+xml 28944 2025-08-13T06:32:57.098497 image/jpeg 4720 2025-08-13T06:32:57.067489 image/jpeg 167615 2021-01-06T09:41:31 application/octet-stream application/zip 16771 2021-01-06T09:41:31 application/octet-stream application/zip 170626 2025-08-13T06:32:56.889521 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