Project Gutenberg 2020-01-12 Public domain in the USA. 130 Sheridan, Richard The Hoplite Produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, May 1962 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Hoplite" by Richard Sheridan is a science fiction novella written in the early 1960s. The story explores themes of war, identity, and the consequences of living in a mechanized society. It follows the protagonist, Jord, who is a soldier known as a hoplite, as he grapples with his existence and the sterile, emotionless environment of a futuristic military fortress. In the narrative, Jord awakens in a sterile environment to prepare for his routine military duties, which involve operating a colossal machine in combat against a native enemy. The story delves into his experiences, from fleeting connections with women in a desensitized world to the harrowing realities of war where soldiers become mere extensions of their machines, losing their humanity in the process. As he confronts the relentless cycle of warfare, loss, and the longing for identity, the stark contrast between his mechanized existence and the vibrancy of human emotion becomes a central theme. Ultimately, as the battles rage on, Jord’s struggle reflects a deeper philosophical inquiry about the meaning of life when stripped of personal connections and a sense of purpose. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 74.9 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories War stories Soldiers -- Fiction PS Text Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 48022 2025-09-24T08:55:16.619923 text/html 24308 2024-10-17T15:42:18 text/html 92387 2025-09-24T08:55:18.281843 application/epub+zip 91239 2025-09-24T08:55:16.961906 application/epub+zip 78043 2025-09-24T08:55:16.768863 application/epub+zip 126999 2025-09-24T08:55:19.446830 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 119905 2025-09-24T08:55:18.098853 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 106864 2022-09-27T15:56:33.415556 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 41776 2025-09-24T08:55:16.528880 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 22068 2024-10-17T15:42:18 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 16115 2025-09-24T08:55:19.562927 application/rdf+xml 25704 2025-09-24T08:55:16.844842 image/jpeg 3999 2025-09-24T08:55:16.805886 image/jpeg 267514 2025-09-24T08:55:16.628938 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