The magnificent profession by Theodore L. Thomas
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The magnificent profession by Theodore L. Thomas is a satirical science fiction short story written in the mid-20th century. It skewers the culture of patent law and government bureaucracy through a comic premise: an “underground diving suit” powered by a strange crystal that lets its wearer pass through solid matter. Carl Saddle, a young patent attorney under the flamboyant Helix Spardleton, visits their brilliant, chaotic client “Doc” Marchare, who has built a
suit that uses a cabbagite crystal to soften solid materials so a person can walk through earth, walls, and floors. When the fearsome examiner Herbert Krome rejects the patent as obvious and inoperable, he insists on trying the suit himself—and promptly sinks floor by floor through the Patent Office, sowing panic and slapstick ruin as his intangible field melts furniture, fans, and desks. Saddle races after him, witnessing escalating chaos until Krome finally reaches ground level and hurries to a meeting with the Commissioner and a Defense Department general. Thinking fast, Saddle frames the mishap as a successful demonstration, mutes Krome’s protests, and leverages the moment into a government licensing deal, neatly turning bureaucratic logic and bravado to his client’s advantage. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Thomas, Theodore L., 1920-2005 |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Hunter, Mel, 1927-2004 |
| Title | The magnificent profession |
| Original Publication | New York: King-Size Publications, Inc., 1955. |
| Series Title | Produced from Fantastic Universe, November 1955 (Vol. 4, No. 4.). |
| Credits | Tom Trussel (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Science fiction |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Subject | Inventions -- Fiction |
| Subject | Patent lawyers -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 77756 |
| Release Date | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Last Update | Jan 28, 2026 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 317 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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