
In a bleak, night‑shrouded sanatorium, Dr. Robert Bruno is willing to stake his own vitality on a daring gamble to heal a man trapped in a relentless cycle of mania and depression. He proposes an unprecedented procedure—an “empathy surrogate” that could bridge the gap between mind and matter, hoping to reset a shattered psyche before it deteriorates beyond repair. As the staff debate the morality and science of the experiment, the tension between cautious skepticism and desperate hope thickens the air.
The story follows Bruno’s meticulous preparation and the uneasy partnership with the younger Dr. Kenneth Morrissey, who questions whether any mind can truly be rewired without dire consequences. Their clash of ideals—one rooted in unwavering certainty, the other in the unknown dangers of the human mind—sets the stage for a tense, ethically charged venture. Listeners will be drawn into the suspenseful, thought‑provoking world where medicine, physics, and the essence of consciousness collide.
Language
en
Duration
~28 minutes (27K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
United States: Better Publications, Inc.,1947.
Credits
Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan, Alex White & the online Distributed Proofreaders Canada team at https://www.pgdpcanada.net
Release date
2022-05-25
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1915–1958
A fast, inventive pulp-era storyteller, he helped shape fantasy, horror, and science fiction with a huge range of work under his own name and several pseudonyms. He is also remembered for his close creative partnership with fellow writer C. L. Moore.
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