IN THE DEEP OF TIME (1897) – This story was written by George Parsons Lathrop, who also wrote the libretto for Walter Damrosch’s opera version of The Scarlet Letter. Though Lathrop credited an interview with Thomas Edison for the scientific concepts in this tale, it is NOT an Edisonade. In the Deep of Time is instead one of the many 19th Century stories about “present day” characters waking up in the far future.
In 1897, the Society of Futurity is experimenting with putting human beings into suspended animation. Our main character is Gerald Bemis, a young man who just lost his True Love and, feeling he has nothing left to live for, volunteers to be one of the Society’s human guinea pigs.
The multi-step procedure begins with Gerald being administered a drug that prepares his body for suspended animation, followed by another drug (mortimicrobium) that renders his body germ-free at all levels. Next, Bemis is placed in a glass cylinder at body temperature to “sleep” away the centuries.
In the 2190s A.D. the future administrators of the Society of Futurity remove Gerald from his glass cylinder and revive him. His body has survived suspended animation and he is introduced to 22nd Century life. Continue reading
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