Seeking identity of apparently-obscure SF story pre-1970

October 7, 2014 8:37 AM

Greetings - A friend of mine in his 50s recalls reading a SF short story about a priest and a scientist in a ship headed to a remote island. The priest arrives at the island, the scientist does not, but later returns to discover that the priest has taken charge of the islanders, who worship him for the scientist's microscope he brought with him. Some sort of cargo cult moralizing ensues. This was my friend's favorite story as a kid, and he desperately wants to read it again. I confess that my own Google foo has failed, though I did turn up a couple books by one Everett Bleiler that catalog various SF stories, likely before the era in which this one was written. Anyone with enough encyclopedic SF knowledge, or searching skills, who can shed light? I will convey any answer with props to the green. ...JZ
posted by zittrain to Science & Nature (2 answers total)

This may or may not be helpful, but it sounds as if the story could be some sort of adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest. Could it be the first story described here?
posted by papayaninja at 10:22 AM on October 7, 2014 [2 favorites]

A friend who's really into SF suggests it might be "A Case of Conscience" by James Blish.
posted by naturalog at 6:50 AM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]