Project Gutenberg 2016-03-28 Public domain in the USA. 151 Budrys, Algis 1931 2008 Budrys, Algirdas Jonas Scarff, William Hodgkins, David C. The Rag and Bone Men Produced from Galaxy Magazine February 1962 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Rag and Bone Men" by Algis Budrys is a science fiction novella written in the early 1960s. The narrative is set in a distant future where two characters, Maurer and Charpantier, interact with a mysterious being known as the Veld, who is attempting to create a new transporter to return to his home. The story explores themes of existential struggle, the search for identity, and the limitations of human knowledge when confronted with the unknown. The plot centers on Maurer and Charpantier as they navigate their relationship with the Veld, a powerful entity marooned on Earth who tries to replicate Veldish technology using Earthly materials. The story is steeped in metaphysics as Maurer fears the implications of the Veld's attempt to create something fundamentally different from what is possible with available resources. As the Veld works on his transporter, Maurer grapples with feelings of inadequacy and the existential dread of a world that is distanced from true understanding. The tale delves into the fragile boundaries between creation and destruction, and the tension between aspiration and reality, raising profound questions about what it means to seek one's heart's desire in a seemingly indifferent universe. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 82.0 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories PS Text Science Fiction Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 42877 2025-07-20T14:25:07.442305 text/html 19154 2024-10-23T00:15:36 text/html 135405 2025-07-20T14:25:09.032306 application/epub+zip 134244 2025-07-20T14:25:07.776313 application/epub+zip 75884 2025-07-20T14:25:07.594327 application/epub+zip 167773 2025-07-20T14:25:10.154315 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 161178 2025-07-20T14:25:08.845306 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 102883 2022-09-23T13:29:23.393655 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 36567 2025-07-20T14:25:07.355300 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 16834 2024-10-23T00:15:35 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17333 2025-07-20T14:25:10.270285 application/rdf+xml 28778 2025-07-20T14:25:07.659305 image/jpeg 4825 2025-07-20T14:25:07.627299 image/jpeg 121650 2025-07-20T14:25:07.449342 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