
The Pilot and the Bushman
A weary Earth‑bound ad executive finds himself face‑to‑face with an impeccably groomed alien envoy who has come to explain the baffling “Matter Repositor,” a device that can summon any object directly into a home. The conversation quickly spirals into a lively debate over what advertising means when consumers can simply re‑create anything they desire, and how such technology threatens to upend every market from refrigerators to fashion. As the ambassador offers a polite cigar and a cup of Scotch, Jerry realizes the stakes are far larger than a simple sales pitch.
The story balances witty satire with a thoughtful look at how societies assign value to material goods. It sketches a future where the very notion of scarcity disappears, forcing humanity to confront the purpose of work, desire, and even the act of buying itself. Listeners are drawn into a clever, dialogue‑driven exploration of economics, ethics, and the strange calm of an alien who seems almost too perfect for this chaotic world.
Language
en
Duration
~56 minutes (53K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
Mar 1, 2016
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
A little-known science fiction writer of the 1950s and 1960s, this author left behind a small body of sharp, imaginative stories. Her work appeared in major genre magazines and still catches the eye of readers interested in overlooked voices from classic SF.
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