
Leopold Pendelton is a quirky professor who believes he can prove the existence of a “God‑idea” with a daring time‑travel experiment. He gathers two brilliant but skeptical physicists, Blackburn and Shaheen, to hear his theory about the “Great Implication” that will separate logical thinkers from paradox‑loving dreamers. Their uneasy collaboration begins in a cluttered university office, where Pendleton’s relentless optimism clashes with the pair’s dry pragmatism.
The story quickly spirals when Pendleton’s thought experiment—sending a man back fifty million years to step on a moth—produces bizarre, reality‑bending results. The present day is suddenly marked by oddities like the Empire State Building waving an unfamiliar flag and unexpected gargoyles appearing on its upper floors. As the three scientists grapple with these strange consequences, they must decide whether to dismiss them as mere paradox or to confront the deeper implications of their work. The narrative blends humor, philosophical debate, and a hint of impending chaos, inviting listeners to wonder how far a single, seemingly harmless act can ripple through time.
Language
en
Duration
~29 minutes (28K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
New York, NY: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, 1961.
Credits
Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2024-03-22
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
d. 1997
Best known for moving between Madison Avenue and fiction, this American writer brought an insider’s feel for advertising, politics, and satire to his novels. His small body of work includes sharp, unusual books published under the name Stan Lee.
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