
Part 1
Part 2
From a tender age he is drawn to the hidden world of the infinitesimal, tinkering with makeshift lenses and stealing glass to glimpse what lies beyond ordinary sight. When a modest field microscope finally arrives, it opens a dazzling panorama of microscopic forests, glittering fruits, and bustling life that transforms his everyday reality into a realm of wonder. The experience ignites a poetic devotion to the unseen, and he resolves to devote his life to exploring ever finer details.
Obsessed with surpassing the limitations of his new instrument, he embarks on a relentless quest to craft a lens of unprecedented power—a crystal so perfect it might reveal the very fabric of nature. His experiments grow increasingly daring, pushing the boundaries of both science and imagination. The story follows his escalating obsession, inviting listeners into a world where curiosity teeters on the edge of the uncanny.
Language
en
Duration
~55 minutes (53K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
Oct 28, 2015
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1828–1862
A vivid, short-lived literary talent, this Irish-born writer helped shape early fantasy and science fiction in America with tales of the uncanny, the microscopic, and the bizarre. His best-known stories still feel fresh for their strange ideas and eerie imagination.
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