The Business, As Usual by Jack Sharkey
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"The Business, As Usual" by Jack Sharkey is a satirical science fiction story published in the early 1960s. This narrative unfolds in the context of the Cold War, exploring themes of espionage, military strategy, and the absurdity of political machinations. The book cleverly captures the tone of the era, focusing on the idea of using unconventional means to achieve geopolitical objectives, specifically through a unique agent. In this story, the United States
government debates how to utilize a new radar-resistant airplane. The solution proposed is to send in a seemingly harmless agent, a stuffed teddy bear named Agent X-45, into enemy territory as part of an operation aimed at destabilizing the Communist regime. As the plan rolls out, the humor and irony stem from the assumption that the Russians, notorious for their paranoia and strict protocols, would be thrown into chaos by this act of folly. However, things take a comical turn when the bear is discovered, leading to unforeseen consequences that highlight the ludicrousness of the plan and the inherent dangers of underestimating one's opponent. Ultimately, the story critiques government policy and the lengths to which authorities will go to project power, showcasing how even the most ridiculous schemes can have serious repercussions. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Sharkey, Jack, 1931-1992 |
|---|---|
| Title | The Business, As Usual |
| Series Title | Produced from Galaxy Magazine August 1960 |
| Credits |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 77.5 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Science fiction |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Subject | Cold War -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 51435 |
| Release Date | Mar 13, 2016 |
| Last Update | Oct 23, 2024 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 354 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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