
A brilliant but obsessive chemist at a top‑secret research foundation has spent his career trying to separate the mind from the body. His latest experiment yields a mysterious compound—called Relin—that promises a temporary suspension of physical limits. Driven by curiosity and a hunger for discovery, he swallows a daring dose, fully aware that the line between genius and madness is razor‑thin.
The drug works, and his consciousness is thrust far beyond his modest apartment into a stark, wind‑blown plain scarred by the remnants of a devastating war. Above him, a fiery, comet‑like object streaks across a bruised sky, its roar echoing the sounds of distant, super‑powered weapons. The landscape is alien yet hauntingly familiar, hinting at a fledgling civilization rising from the ashes of humanity’s old world. As he struggles to make sense of the sights and sounds, the listener is pulled into a tense, speculative journey that explores the limits of science, the fragility of civilization, and the awe of venturing into an uncertain tomorrow.
Language
en
Duration
~18 minutes (17K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2009-03-30
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1896–1982
Known for imaginative science fiction and fantasy, this prolific American writer also published poetry and criticism across a long literary career. His work often mixed big speculative ideas with a thoughtful, literary touch.
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