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The Stone That Never Came Down is a science fiction novel by British author John Brunner, first published in 1973. The novel's setting is England in the near future; the book deals with the failure of political systems around the world to effectively manage social issues.

Title
The title of the novel derives from a folk tale in which a clever boy impresses a giant by pretending to throw a stone which is, in actuality, a bird.

Plot summary
The world is slipping into a global depression, and no one seems to know what to do about it. Dr. Maurice Post, a research chemist, has created a substance which, in the bloodstream, reproduces itself. This chemical, called VC ("viral coefficient"), has the side effect of amplifying intelligence. Post gives a capsule of VC to Malcolm Fry, who he encounters by chance in a pub. Over the next few months, Fry and his fellows, most of whom are also "infected" with VC, defuse an incipient world war, and start humanity on the road to a new maturity.