Project Gutenberg 2020-11-23 Public domain in the USA. 101 Aycock, Roger D. 1914 2004 Dee, Roger Starr, John The Wheel is Death Produced from Planet Stories Fall 1949 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Wheel Is Death" by Roger D. Aycock is a science fiction novella written in the late 1940s. The story explores themes of progress, the dangers of scientific advancement, and the consequences of ambition, set against a backdrop of a post-apocalyptic world where the remnants of humanity have forsaken technology to live in harmony with nature. The novella portrays a society that has outlawed the use of science and mechanization, illustrating a conflict between preserving this newfound peace and the human drive towards innovation. The narrative centers around Ortho, a young neophyte, and his encounter with the high priest Kaliz after the execution of his friend Gor Zan, who attempted to revive technological progress by creating a simple machine—a wheelbarrow. As they discuss the philosophy behind Gor Zan's actions and the society's rejection of technology, Kaliz explains the historical trajectory that led humanity to its current state, including a catastrophic event caused by technological warfare. The tension between the wisdom of living simply and the allure of technological advancement emerges sharply, culminating in the decision to destroy Gor Zan's creation, representing a deep-seated fear of humanity repeating its past mistakes. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 69.3 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Science fiction Short stories Apocalyptic fiction Regression (Civilization) -- Fiction PS Text Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 34651 2025-07-25T09:29:28.192706 text/html 10645 2024-10-18T08:32:20 text/html 429614 2025-07-25T09:29:29.983726 application/epub+zip 428437 2025-07-25T09:29:28.604716 application/epub+zip 79461 2025-07-25T09:29:28.364701 application/epub+zip 460236 2025-07-25T09:29:31.183708 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 453167 2025-07-25T09:29:29.759700 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 104478 2022-09-28T19:17:07.457412 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 28607 2025-07-25T09:29:28.069701 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 8871 2024-10-18T08:32:20 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 16792 2025-07-25T09:29:31.316681 application/rdf+xml 29470 2025-07-25T09:29:28.468689 image/jpeg 4957 2025-07-25T09:29:28.416677 image/jpeg 525278 2025-07-25T09:29:28.205719 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