Project Gutenberg 2020-03-03 Public domain in the USA. 162 Bester, Alfred 1913 1987 Schneeman, Charles 1912 1972 The Push of a Finger Produced from Astounding Science-Fiction May 1942 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Push of a Finger" by Alfred Bester is a science fiction novella originally published in the magazine Astounding Science-Fiction during the early 1940s. The narrative explores the intricate relationship between individual actions and their profound impact on the universe, concentrating on the idea that even the smallest decision can lead to catastrophic consequences. The story delves into themes of societal stability and the ethical implications of predictive technologies. The plot follows John Carmichael, a reporter for the "Times", who makes an unauthorized visit to the mysterious Prog Building, a center for Prognostication where the future of society is calculated and monitored. There, he learns about a prophecy foretelling the obliteration of the universe, which is linked to a past actor named FitzJohn whose theories underlie societal functions. As he and the officials wrestle with the challenge of preventing this impending doom, the narrative also examines the importance of preserving individual lives and the ethical conundrum of manipulating fate. Carmichael ultimately finds himself entangled in a web of secrecy and societal control, illustrating the complex interplay of personal responsibility and systemic stability in a dystopian future. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 84.3 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Journalists -- Fiction Forecasting -- Fiction PS Text Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 118024 2025-07-24T11:09:23.388226 text/html 95644 2024-10-17T16:48:48 text/html 662689 2025-07-24T11:09:26.048227 application/epub+zip 663403 2025-07-24T11:09:23.807192 application/epub+zip 92917 2025-07-24T11:09:23.568237 application/epub+zip 716356 2025-07-24T11:09:27.842177 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 707667 2025-07-24T11:09:25.787210 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 137713 2022-09-27T19:44:26.180660 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 108886 2025-07-24T11:09:23.162216 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 89120 2024-10-17T16:48:48 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17138 2025-07-24T11:09:27.974170 application/rdf+xml 21950 2025-07-24T11:09:23.637202 image/jpeg 3895 2025-07-24T11:09:23.601206 image/jpeg 809711 2025-07-24T11:09:23.412199 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 en.wikipedia