The Man Who Made the World

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Matheson, Richard, 1926-2013

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"The Man Who Made the World" by Richard Matheson is a science fiction story originally published in the early 1950s. The narrative revolves around a peculiar encounter between Dr. Janishefsky and a man named Smith, who claims to have created the world itself only five years ago. As the story unfolds, it explores themes of creation, reality, and existence, challenging the reader to consider the notion of origin and the responsibilities tied to creation. The story begins with Dr. Janishefsky, a psychiatrist, interviewing Mr. Smith, who insists that he crafted the world and everything in it from a state of boredom in the cosmos. Smith explains that while he initiated the world's complex existence, he has since lost control over it and fears that it will vanish if he dies. The dialogue between the doctor and Smith reveals the absurdity of Smith's claims, yet as the conversation progresses, it becomes clear that the line between creator and creation blurs dramatically. After Smith leaves, he is tragically struck by a car, leading to a mysterious vanishing of the world itself, leaving Dr. Janishefsky floating in the cosmos, perhaps as a mere figment of Smith's imagination. The narrative culminates in a thought-provoking twist on the nature of existence and the interplay between creator and created. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Credits:

Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

Notes:

Reading ease score: 88.5 (6th grade). Easy to read.

Release date is 2021-09-13