Project Gutenberg 2016-02-18 Public domain in the USA. 145 Macfarlane, Wallace 1918 1999 Macfarlane, W. Macfarlane, Wallace M. McFarlane, Wallace Stone, David Stone Stone, D. Dead End Produced from Galaxy Science Fiction January 1952 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Dead End" by Wallace Macfarlane is a science fiction novella written in the early 1950s. The story explores themes of identity, morality, and the consequences of technological advancements. Set in the year 2512, it delves into a future where humans have been replaced with imitations known as pseudo-lives, offering a critique of society's reliance on technology to avoid the pain of death and emotional suffering. The narrative follows Scientist William Manning Norcross, who is grappling with the implications of pseudo-life after his former mentee, John Davis Drumstetter, accuses him of withholding scientific progress. As Drumstetter wrestles with the loss of authentic human connection and strives to complete his work on a stellar overdrive for interstellar travel, he becomes increasingly disillusioned with a society that opts for artificial substitutes over genuine experiences. Norcross introduces him to Monica Drake Lane, a pseudo-life version of his deceased fiancée, in an effort to maintain emotional stability. However, as Drumstetter realizes the hollow existence surrounding him and the society that continues to perpetuate this illusion, he ultimately rejects the artificiality of pseudo-life, indicating a desperate need for genuine human experiences and connections. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 75.0 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Death -- Fiction PS Text Science Fiction Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Novels 51871 2025-08-20T13:55:13.407038 text/html 28194 2024-10-23T00:04:38 text/html 327521 2025-08-20T13:55:15.176047 application/epub+zip 326371 2025-08-20T13:55:13.781038 application/epub+zip 87165 2025-08-20T13:55:13.570034 application/epub+zip 363611 2025-08-20T13:55:16.436112 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 356328 2025-08-20T13:55:14.975075 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 117549 2022-09-23T10:25:52.474775 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 44730 2025-08-20T13:55:13.283045 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 25002 2024-10-23T00:04:38 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17205 2025-08-20T13:55:16.574000 application/rdf+xml 25914 2025-08-20T13:55:13.641002 image/jpeg 4664 2025-08-20T13:55:13.604060 image/jpeg 293799 2025-08-20T13:55:13.422050 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