Futuria Fantasia, Spring 1940

A playful, metafictional opening frames the story as an editorial meeting between two bizarre, reptilian critics. Gorgono, the stern, green‑eyed ogre of literary standards, and his companion Slith, a loopy, anachronistic lizard, demand order, pagination, and a cleaner layout for the fledgling magazine. Their sharp banter and theatrical threats set a whimsical, slightly absurd tone that mirrors the creative anxieties of a fledgling editor.

The first short story plunges the listener into an alternate‑history clinic where a seasoned surgeon is summoned by a ruthless leader desperate for a life‑saving operation. The doctor must negotiate his own survival and that of his family, weighing personal risk against a steep price in gold. This tense, morally charged encounter explores the clash between authority and conscience, offering a gripping glimpse into a world where ethical compromises are demanded at the very edge of humanity.