Project Gutenberg 2020-02-01 Public domain in the USA. 126 Teichner, Albert Teichner, Albert R. The Real Thing Produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, November 1962 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Real Thing" by Albert Teichner is a science fiction short story written in the early 1960s. The narrative explores themes of authenticity and imitation in a future world where the distinction between the 'real' and the 'fake' has become blurred. The story delves into the implications of advanced technology on human experience, identity, and relationships, posing profound questions about reality and perception. In the story, a character named Stahl showcases his extraordinary collection of counterfeit items, interacting with two visitors, Tinker and Smith, who engage in a philosophical discussion about the value of genuine experiences versus their imitations. As tensions arise over a counterfeit bill, Smith reveals his insecurities about his own identity and alterations, culminating in a shocking act of self-mutilation that exposes his partially artificial nature. This moment of crisis leads to a deeper exploration of what it means to be human, as Stahl evolves from a collector of imitations to one who experiences empathy and a desire for genuine connection. The narrative concludes with a reflection on the journey towards humanity and the merging of knowledge with feeling. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 76.6 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Counterfeits and counterfeiting -- Fiction Collectors and collecting -- Fiction Art -- Forgeries -- Fiction PS Text Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 40439 2025-07-24T09:59:09.233463 text/html 16508 2024-10-17T16:07:13 text/html 100078 2025-07-24T09:59:10.948978 application/epub+zip 98922 2025-07-24T09:59:09.654462 application/epub+zip 82620 2025-07-24T09:59:09.444459 application/epub+zip 133245 2025-07-24T09:59:12.086944 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 125856 2025-07-24T09:59:10.753964 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 109690 2022-09-27T17:12:36.786231 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 33838 2025-07-24T09:59:09.113454 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 14121 2024-10-17T16:07:13 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 16784 2025-07-24T09:59:12.218938 application/rdf+xml 31441 2025-07-24T09:59:09.530466 image/jpeg 5032 2025-07-24T09:59:09.487441 image/jpeg 323485 2025-07-24T09:59:09.243481 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