{"id":5596,"date":"2012-03-02T15:58:18","date_gmt":"2012-03-02T20:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scifisaturdaynight.com\/?p=5596"},"modified":"2012-03-02T15:58:21","modified_gmt":"2012-03-02T20:58:21","slug":"hall-of-mirrors-by-fredrick-brown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/scifisaturdaynight.com\/?p=5596","title":{"rendered":"“Hall of Mirrors” by Fredrick Brown"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Fredrick Brown <\/a>was a master of short fiction. His quick wit and acerbic sense of timing made many of his stories timeless. It has been said that Philip K. Dick was a devotee of his writing and you can see many similar models in Dick\u2019s work. His stories were the basis for many episodes of Star Trek-TOS<\/a><\/em>, Blake\u2019s 7<\/a><\/em>, and The Outer Limits<\/a><\/em>. Perhaps his most prophetic novel was The Lights in the Sky Are Stars<\/em>, a poignant story of an astronaut begging Congress to refund the Space Program (sound familiar?).<\/p>\n

This door has a time lock set to open in one hour. For reasons you will soon understand, it is better that you do not leave this room before then. There is a letter for you on the desk. Please read it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thus begins the tale of a man transported into his possible future. Written in 1954, this is a story of time travel and a historical look at how we thought our world might be today.<\/p>\n

Submitted for your approval, “Hall of Mirrors”:<\/p>\n

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\u00a0For an instant you think it is temporary blindness, this sudden dark that comes in the middle of a bright afternoon.<\/p>\n

It must<\/em> be blindness, you think; could the sun that was tanning you have gone out instantaneously, leaving you in utter blackness?<\/p>\n

Then the nerves of your body tell you that you are standing<\/em>, whereas only a second ago you were sitting comfortably, almost reclining, in a canvas chair. In the patio of a friend’s house in Beverly Hills. Talking to Barbara, your fianc\u00e9e. Looking at Barbara\u2014Barbara in a swim suit\u2014her skin golden tan in the brilliant sunshine, beautiful.<\/p>\n

You wore swimming trunks. Now you do not feel them on you; the slight pressure of the elastic waistband is no longer there against your waist. You touch your hands to your hips. You are naked. And standing.<\/p>\n

Whatever has happened to you is more than a change to sudden darkness or to sudden blindness.<\/p>\n

You raise your hands gropingly before you. They touch a plain smooth surface, a wall. You spread them apart and each hand reaches a corner. You pivot slowly. A second wall, then a third, then a door. You are in a closet about four feet square.<\/p>\n

Your hand finds the knob of the door. It turns and you push the door open.<\/p>\n

There is light now. The door has opened to a lighted room … a room that you have never seen before.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The rest of the story can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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