
Ray Horning is a brilliant but tormented scientist whose marriage has become unbearable. Still haunted by the memory of his late wife, he pours all his energy into a secret basement laboratory, perfecting a device that might pierce the barrier between realities. With a desperate letter to his estranged partner and a photo of his beloved tucked into his coat, he readies himself for the final test that could change everything.
When the machine hums to life, a blinding light envelops him and he steps through a doorway that leads not to nothingness but to a sleek, futuristic apartment. The room shimmers with strange metal and plastic furnishings, and a man he feels he has seen before moves silently nearby. Horning’s heart races as he realizes he is truly a visitor in an unfamiliar world, and the tension spikes when a voice orders him to stay frozen.
The story follows Horning’s bewildering first moments in this new realm, blending scientific curiosity with personal desperation, and leaves listeners wondering whether his leap across dimensions will bring freedom—or something far more perilous.
Language
en
Duration
~43 minutes (42K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2021-07-22
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1915–1992
Best known for practical, no-nonsense advice on storytelling, this American writer built a career across pulp fiction, novels, and teaching. His work still speaks to aspiring authors who want clear tools for writing stronger fiction.
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