Project Gutenberg 2016-02-08 Public domain in the USA. 134 Clothier, Bill 1921 2015 Clothier, William Ernest Wes The Semantic War Produced from Galaxy Science Fiction November 1955 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Semantic War" by Bill Clothier is a science fiction novella written in the mid-20th century, specifically during the 1950s. This thought-provoking narrative examines the theme of communication and the chaos that can arise from misunderstandings, as manifested through a bizarre and violent conflict grounded in the enigmatic phrases "the Wistick dufels the Moraddy" and "the Moraddy dufels the Wistick." The book highlights how abstract concepts can galvanize groups and individuals to irrational extremes, leading to societal breakdown and personal tragedy. Set against the backdrop of a fragmented societal landscape, the story follows a philosophy professor who witnesses the disintegration of academic and social structures in the wake of this semantic conflict. As people divide themselves into factions based on their allegiance to one slogan or the other, relationships crumble, and violence ensues. The protagonist struggles with feelings of isolation and disillusionment as he tries to comprehend the absurdity of warfare prompted by mere words. Ultimately, he escapes to the mountains, wrestling with the question of which side, if any, possesses true merit amidst the devastation caused by their ideological battle. The narrative culminates in an exploration of meaning, fidelity, and the human condition in a world where language and its interpretations can lead to dire consequences. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 75.1 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories War stories College teachers -- Fiction Philosophers -- Fiction PS Text Science Fiction Browsing: Literature Browsing: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Browsing: Fiction Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Novels 43538 2025-06-20T14:03:23.950314 text/html 19497 2024-10-23T00:00:59 text/html 182920 2025-06-20T14:03:25.813341 application/epub+zip 181747 2025-06-20T14:03:24.363348 application/epub+zip 81546 2025-06-20T14:03:24.134365 application/epub+zip 215147 2025-06-20T14:03:27.097265 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 208474 2025-06-20T14:03:25.586286 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 108624 2022-09-23T09:33:16.183998 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 36882 2023-09-22T08:20:24.725180 text/plain 17161 2024-10-23T00:00:59 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17126 2025-06-20T14:03:27.250261 application/rdf+xml 22273 2025-06-20T14:03:24.215333 image/jpeg 4080 2025-06-20T14:03:24.175283 image/jpeg 164866 2025-06-20T14:03:23.963318 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