Project Gutenberg 2016-03-25 Public domain in the USA. 132 Leiber, Fritz 1910 1992 Leiber, Fritz Reuter The Big Engine Produced from Galaxy Magazine February 1962 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Big Engine" by Fritz Leiber is a short story written in the early 1960s, showcasing philosophical themes wrapped in a narrative format. This work can be classified as speculative fiction, as it explores complex ideas regarding the nature of existence and human consciousness. The likely topic of the book revolves around the concept of human beings as machines, devoid of genuine emotions or thoughts, and how society is structured around this mechanical view of life. In the story, a character known as the Professor reflects on the nature of humanity and existence, questioning why life seems mechanical and devoid of true connection. Drawing on various philosophical influences, he concludes that people are merely machines programmed to perform specific roles without authentic interaction or emotion. The narrative presents a bleak view of the world, depicted as a grand, indifferent engine where individuals are isolated from each other, living in a state of ignorance and disconnection. The Professor perceives a symphony of mechanical sounds that underscore this theme, ultimately suggesting that real engagement between people is scarce, and most exist as puppets in a complex machine, subtly critiquing the state of human existence in modern society. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 82.8 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Philosophy -- Fiction PS Text Science Fiction Browsing: Literature Browsing: Philosophy & Ethics Browsing: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Browsing: Fiction Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 36153 2025-06-20T15:48:26.063866 text/html 12278 2024-10-23T00:13:40 text/html 132940 2025-06-20T15:48:27.829771 application/epub+zip 131779 2025-06-20T15:48:26.459809 application/epub+zip 73421 2025-06-20T15:48:26.239836 application/epub+zip 163973 2025-06-20T15:48:29.103815 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 157448 2025-06-20T15:48:27.608770 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 99145 2022-09-23T13:15:30.775748 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 29888 2023-09-22T10:01:13.796058 text/plain 10195 2024-10-23T00:13:40 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 16746 2025-06-20T15:48:29.235779 application/rdf+xml 28778 2025-06-20T15:48:26.316890 image/jpeg 4825 2025-06-20T15:48:26.278856 image/jpeg 119248 2025-06-20T15:48:26.073784 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