02487cam a22003733u 4500 69139 UtSlPG 20260610134611.0 m cr n 260607r20221942utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d UtSlPG en iso639-1 PS Wollheim, Donald A., 1914-1990 Nothing Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg, 2022 1 online resource : multiple file formats text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier Produced from Astonishing Stories, October 1942 Release date is 2022-10-12 Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Nothing" by Martin Pearson is a science fiction short story published in the early 1940s. It explores themes of existence, reality, and the concept of matter versus nothingness, set against the backdrop of a bombed building where the main characters find themselves trapped. The narrative combines suspense and a philosophical exploration of the nature of reality through a dialogue between two characters in a dire situation. The story centers on a young man and an old professor who become trapped in a collapsed cellar after a bombing. As they wait for rescue, the professor proposes a radical idea grounded in physics: if they visualize themselves and the surrounding rubble as “nothing” or energy, they can pass through the rocks and escape. Following the professor's hypnotic guidance, the young man experiences a surreal journey into the nature of matter, ultimately manifesting outside, while the old man remains trapped. Despite the protagonist's attempts to save the professor after his own escape, the stark reality of the situation hits hard when the rescuers find the professor deceased after two days of digging. The story raises profound questions about existence and the limits of human understanding. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Originally published: United States: Fictioneers, Inc., 1942 Science fiction Short stories Bombings -- Fiction World War, 1939-1945 -- Fiction Musacchia, John B., 1916-2004 Produced from Astonishing Stories, October 1942 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69139 109935 109935