Project Gutenberg 2021-07-30 Public domain in the USA. 94 Knight, Damon 1922 2002 Knight, Damon Francis Fleming, Stuart Conanight Terry, W. E. 1921 1992 Terry, Willis E. Terry, Bill The Beachcomber Produced from Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy December 1952 Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Beachcomber" by Damon Knight is a science fiction short story first published in the early 1950s. The narrative revolves around the character of the Beachcomber, a man from the distant future who has traveled back to a primitive world. The story explores themes of loneliness, the clash of civilizations, and the existential burdens of advanced knowledge in a simpler society. The plot follows Maxwell and his companion Alice as they visit the planet Gamma Tauri IV, seeking adventure but soon encountering the Beachcomber, a towering figure who represents humanity's peak yet is trapped in a savage world. As Maxwell reveals the Beachcomber's identity and backstory, it becomes clear that he is a relic of a lost civilization, burdened by the reality of a life filled with unfulfilled potential and loneliness. Their interaction delves into the Beachcomber's painful history, detailing his sacrifice during a cataclysmic event that risked the annihilation of his universe. Ultimately, the story questions the nature of progress and the cost of survival across the vast expanses of time and space. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 85.0 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Time travel -- Fiction PS Text Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 48657 2025-06-26T07:03:30.914340 text/html 25110 2024-10-18T15:14:16 text/html 385259 2025-06-26T07:03:32.862338 application/epub+zip 384095 2025-06-26T07:03:31.391374 application/epub+zip 79176 2025-06-26T07:03:31.109339 application/epub+zip 419812 2025-06-26T07:03:33.977330 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 412568 2025-06-26T07:03:32.646362 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 107901 2022-09-29T17:03:57.130036 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 42443 2025-06-26T07:03:30.825358 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 22645 2024-10-18T15:14:16 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17412 2025-06-26T07:03:34.095322 application/rdf+xml 25897 2025-06-26T07:03:31.243356 image/jpeg 4606 2025-06-26T07:03:31.176338 image/jpeg 1017803 2025-06-26T07:03:30.930338 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