
Linton, a man just freed from an asylum, finds himself in a bustling restaurant, trying to place a familiar face among strangers. A conversation with the cigarette‑smoking Howell spirals from remembering a dead friend to the unsettling notion that death itself can be manufactured. The dialogue hints at an underground network that fakes or even reverses death, hinting at a world where the line between life and crime blurs.
Set against a gritty, near‑future backdrop, the story follows Linton as he wrestles with personal grief and the moral quagmire of a society that trades in resurrection. With the mafia, corrupt officials, and shadowy “resurrection” outfits lurking beneath the surface, his curiosity threatens to pull him into a dangerous underworld. The narrative weaves philosophical questions about mortality with a tense, noir‑style mystery, inviting listeners to wonder just how far humanity will go to cheat death.
Language
en
Duration
~15 minutes (14K 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
2019-12-22
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1933–2010
A lively chronicler of old-time radio, classic horror, comics, and pulp culture, he helped turn fan enthusiasm into serious pop-culture history. He also wrote science fiction and edited magazines, building a career that connected fandom, criticism, and storytelling.
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