Release date is 2023-12-27

Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

"The Minister Had to Wait" by Roger D. Aycock is a science fiction story written in the early 1950s. The narrative revolves around a groundbreaking invention called the Di-tube, which is intended to create dimension tunnels through space. The story grapples with the ethical dilemmas of scientific advancement amidst global tension during the Cold War era, highlighting themes of responsibility and the unintended consequences of technological innovation. The plot centers on Dr. Doc Maxey, his assistant Jerry Bivins, and Bivins' daughter Dora as they attempt to demonstrate the Di-tube's capabilities. Initially, Dr. Maxey resists military attempts to weaponize his invention. However, pressure from military officials leads to a catastrophic experiment that opens a rift into a perilous subspace populated by monstrous entities known as Blazers. As these aliens begin to invade and drain Earth's nuclear resources, Jerry and Dora take it upon themselves to venture into the alien realm to confront the threat. Through a series of harrowing events, they manage to divert disaster, but not without serious consequences for their world and the nature of time itself. The climax reveals the complexities of dimensional travel, presenting both the promise and danger of human ingenuity. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Originally published: New York, NY: King-Size Publications, Inc., 1953