George O. Smith 1 hr 15 min read

The one man who could explain a curious shift in the universe has been 'cured' of his personality troubles, and with them, his genius.

George O. Smith's 1951 story poses a sharp dilemma: what if a man's worth to society is so tangled with his neuroses that fixing him destroys it? Thoughtful, idea-driven hard SF. Read it for a clever golden-age tale about psychology, genius, and the cost of a cure.

In its time

Published in 1951, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

1 hr 15 min read (a novella, a full arc in one sitting or two).

Illustrated by

Peter Poulton