Country United States Publication date 1959 Originally published 1959 Publisher Ace Books | Language English Pages 96 pp Cover artist Ed Emshwiller | |
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Media type Print (Paperback) (magazine) Genres Novel, Science Fiction, Speculative fiction Similar Damon Knight books, Science Fiction books | ||
Masters of Evolution is a 1959 science fiction novel by Damon Knight. It first appeared in 1954 in Galaxy Science Fiction as the novella "Natural State". Knight subsequently expanded the text by about 5000 words, and the longer version was published by Ace Books in 1959 as Masters of Evolution, in a dos-a-dos paperback that included George O. Smith's Fire in the Heavens (Ace Double D-375).
Synopsis
In the near future, the world is divided into two antagonistic groups: city dwellers and country dwellers, called "muckfeet". The muckfeet control most of the land area and have a much higher population. The mayor of New York convinces a popular actor, Alvah Gustad, to negotiate an agreement with the muckfeet: technology in exchange for their scarce metals. Alvah reluctantly agrees and is given a chance to present his wares at a fair in the Midwest. No one is interested; an altercation ensues and Alvah realizes that he is stranded. He is taken in by a pretty young woman named B. J.; gradually he comes to accept and understand the muckfeet way of life, which includes novel uses of genetic engineering in place of machines. Alvah falls in love with B. J. and when the cities launch an attack on the muckfeet, Alvah is forced to reexamine his beliefs about the superiority of the city way of life.