Project Gutenberg 2016-01-05 Public domain in the USA. 143 Smith, Evelyn E. 1922 2000 Ashman, William Ashman Ashman, Bill Tea Tray in the Sky Produced from Galaxy Science Fiction September 1952 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Tea Tray in the Sky" by Evelyn E. Smith is a science fiction novella written during the early 1950s. The story explores themes of societal norms and cultural taboos through the experiences of a young man named Michael Frey, who embarks on a journey from the secluded life of a Brotherhood to the bustling and diverse society of Portyork, Earth, within a cosmopolitan United Universe. It critiques the rigid conventions governing interaction and relationships among various alien races and humans. Michael Frey, having grown up in a Brotherhood away from society, is eager to explore the outer world after years of isolation. As he arrives in Portyork, he is quickly encumbered by the myriad taboos and expectations of the diverse population he encounters. With the help of a salesman named Pierce B. Carpenter, Michael navigates the complexities of social customs—from the absurdities of etiquette to the restrictions on personal relationships. Despite the initial thrill of freedom, he finds himself increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of mandatory sharing of relationships and the superficial nature of societal interactions. Ultimately, Michael concludes that the structured yet simple life of the Brotherhood is preferable to the chaotic and impersonal world outside, leading him to return home, embracing his origins over the confusing complexities of civilization. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 75.9 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Manners and customs -- Fiction PS Text Science Fiction Browsing: Culture/Civilization/Society Browsing: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Browsing: Fiction Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Novels 58993 2025-06-20T12:33:02.596730 text/html 35320 2024-10-22T23:41:28 text/html 429357 2025-06-20T12:33:04.765778 application/epub+zip 428197 2025-06-20T12:33:03.069741 application/epub+zip 85058 2025-06-20T12:33:02.802693 application/epub+zip 466935 2025-06-20T12:33:06.194773 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 459383 2025-06-20T12:33:04.508704 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 117063 2022-09-23T06:25:19.179617 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 51409 2023-09-22T06:57:01.192616 text/plain 31669 2024-10-22T23:41:28 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 16903 2025-06-20T12:33:06.337708 application/rdf+xml 26089 2025-06-20T12:33:02.890744 image/jpeg 4270 2025-06-20T12:33:02.843737 image/jpeg 384464 2025-06-20T12:33:02.619690 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