Project Gutenberg
2019-11-22
Public domain in the USA.
124
Reynolds, Mack
1917
1983
McCord, Guy
Reynolds, Dallas McCord
Mallory, Mark
Wood, Wallace
1927
1981
Wood, Wally
The Good Seed
Produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, January 1960
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
"The Good Seed" by Mack Reynolds is a science fiction short story written in the late 1950s. The narrative unfolds on a distant, Earth-like planet called Mersey, focusing on Calvin Mulloy, a top survey engineer who finds himself stranded on a small island during a violent storm. The story explores themes of survival, existential dread, and the quest for significance in life, especially through the eyes of one's own mortality. As the storm intensifies, Calvin encounters an intelligent plant that also faces imminent death due to the rising waters. Their conversations reveal Calvin's inner turmoil and his desperation to accomplish something meaningful before his potential demise. The plant expresses a different perspective on life and death, emphasizing the importance of having seeded and contributed to existence even in the face of mortality. Eventually, in a moment of revelation, Calvin realizes the true essence of living not just for oneself but for a greater purpose, culminating in his act of saving the plant's seeds, which symbolizes hope and continuity beyond his own life. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Reading ease score: 91.8 (5th grade). Very easy to read.
en
Science fiction
Short stories
Islands -- Fiction
Survival -- Fiction
Human-alien encounters -- Fiction
Space colonies -- Fiction
Floods -- Fiction
PS
Text
Category: Short Stories
Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy
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