{"code":"too-far","title":"Science Gone Too Far","collection_type":"theme","subroute":"too-far","header_1":"Science Gone Too Far","header_2":"Immortality, alchemy and torturous poisons.","description":"A collection of gothic, science-fiction short stories. Read or download. Cool Air by H. P. Lovecraft, The Story of the Late Mr. Elvesham by H. G. Wells.","has_text":true,"quote":{"quote":"...and through this mist he was dimly aware that Manners had taken the empty glass from his relaxing fingers.” * The Plutonian Drug","code":"the-plutonian-drug"},"image":true,"image_alt":"A  pencil sketch off a glass rotated six times in a loop and pouring into each other.","image_title":"The Plutionian Drug - Sketch","image_filter":"invert(1) brightness(1.5) hue-rotate(246deg)","image_code":"the-plutonian-drug","stories":[{"story":"cool-air","description":"Lovecraft was a man scared of many things, often taking inspirations from his nightmares. But what could possibly have been the inspiration for this story about the fear of cold air? Read about a man who lodges underneath a scientist that never leaves his room, a room full of contraptions and chemicals, and kept to freezing temperatures all day long. It is written in the typical, fancy tongue of Lovecraft, but more creepy and mysterious than horrifying as his other stories usually are."},{"story":"the-story-of-the-late-mr-elvesham","description":"Edward Eden is approached by a strange man revealing himself to be the famous philosopher Egbert Elvesham, who has chosen to bequeath his wealthy inheritance upon Eden, but only if Eden agrees to take his name. This mystery gives very little away, but see if you can guess where it is going before the unfortunate protagonist does."},{"story":"the-coming-of-the-ice","description":"This concept behind this story could easily be adapted into a whole novel, but it works magnificently enough as a short story. A man undergoes surgery to gain immortality, only for the secret behind it to be lost forever, leaving him destined to be the last man on Earth. He lives through generation after generation of people, experiencing history as it unfolds. But where does it all end? *The Coming of the Ice* is profound and curious, but ultimately a tale of tragedy."},{"story":"a-thousand-deaths","description":"*A Thousand Deaths* is our final exploration of immortality, but this time from the angle of an unwilling victim. Jack London writes of a man who drowns at sea, is dragged onto a ship and finally brought back to life. His new captive takes the opportunity to kill him over and over again with various different methods to push his necromantic abilities further and further."},{"story":"the-drug","description":"*The Drug* follows the invention of a drug that allows people to unlock new areas in their brain. Like many tropes that have become quite common (e.g. *Lucy:2014* and *Limitless:2011*), it is interesting to see a take from the 20th century. C. C. Macapp writes of a newly discovered drug that makes the test pigs act very ‘un-pig-like’. The protagonist decides to take a risk and try the drug out for himself, to mixed results."},{"story":"the-plutonian-drug","description":"Seeing time as a fourth dimension is a concept that might be older than you think. Clark Ashton Smith wrote about it here in this 1934 short story. A man agrees to take the unstudied drug ‘Plutonian’ that his friend claims will allow him to see time just as he sees the physical world around him. Watch out for the excellent use of foreshadowing and you will be able to catch the ending before it is too late."}]}