Cube Root of Conquest

Rog PhillipsProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.3
Word count
32K words
Chapters
4

Tags

English Originals Science Fiction Science EnlightenmentLegendary LivesAdventure JourneyPower GameHeroism

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Cube Root of Conquest by Rog PhillipsAuthor: Phillips, Rog, 1909-1965,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jun 6, 2010

Editor's review

This is a science fiction short story by Rog Phillips published in the mid-twentieth century and now reissued by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain eBook. It has the clear flavor of Golden Age science fiction: a title built on ideas like "conquest" and "cube root" usually means the author is trying to construct conflict and reversal through reason, calculation, or some clever logical deduction rather than relying on spectacle. For today's readers its value is both documentary and entertaining: it offers a glimpse of how science fiction writers of that era imagined technology and power, and it shows the compact rhythm typical of the short-story form. The original is in English and not long, making it a lightweight entry point for reading science fiction in English or a one-sitting read during commuting or before bed. As you read, notice the author's stance and irony in handling the theme of "conquest," and how the mathematical metaphor plays out in the plot. Because the work is old, some of its technological assumptions and social attitudes bear the marks of their time and are best viewed historically.

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Reading tips

  1. Read through once for plot and reversal, then go back a second time to see how "cube root" in the title corresponds to "conquest."
  2. Don't stop over dated expressions or technical terms; read through the narrative first and look things up afterward.
  3. After finishing, write two or three sentences on the legitimacy of the "conquest" to check whether you have read the author's stance correctly.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or English, and roughly how long is it? According to the information, the book is an English original, a public-domain eBook released by Project Gutenberg, and a science fiction short story of modest length, suitable for reading in one or two sessions. The exact page count varies with the layout of the electronic edition; refer to the actual file.
Can I read it without any background in science fiction? Yes. Short stories usually have a focused structure and a single thread, so the barrier to entry is lower than with a novel. If your English reading is not yet fluent, you can first get a general sense of the plot and then read the original, focusing on the ending's reversal and the title's metaphor rather than every unfamiliar word.
Why do the recommendations emphasize "mathematical imagery"? "Cube root" in the title is itself a mathematical concept, and titles like this in early science fiction often hint that calculation, proportion, or logical deduction drives the plot. As you read, notice whether numbers, scale, or reasoning play a key role in the story; this helps you understand how the author conceived it.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Rog Phillips Author · American · 1909–1965

Rog Phillips (1909–1965), pen name of Roger Phillip Graham, was an American science fiction writer born on February 20, 1909, in Spokane, Washington. He was active in science fiction magazines during the 1940s and 1950s, publishing mainly in outlets such as Amazing Stories and known for his short fiction. Seven of his works are included in the collection, among them The Old Martians, Unthinkable, The Gallery, The Unthinking Destroyer, Tillie, Ye of Little Faith, and Cube Root of Conquest. His notable short story "The Yellow Pill" was nominated for a Hugo Award, and he also wrote the fan commentary column "The Club House." Public information on his life and full body of work is limited, and existing accounts center on these magazine short stories, the award nomination, and his science fiction fan activities.