The Man from the Atom story
A man uses a device to increase himself in size to truly cosmic proportions.
8 total · 2 major · 6 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| nested universe | major | Kirby was astonished to discover that our universe was but an atom in another universe. |
| what if I grew in size | major | Kirby used Professor Martyn's device to grow himself to cosmic proportions. |
| despair | minor | Kirby explained that "black despair was in his heart" upon his realization that he had unwittingly traveled into the distant future, and that everyone he knew, the Earth, and the sun were no more. |
| human emotion | minor | Kirby was "beyond human emotion" at the realization that he had unwittingly traveled a trillion centuries into the future. |
| remorse | minor | Kirby expressed regret at having thrown the switch to grow himself to cosmic proportions. |
| speculative spacesuit | minor | Professor Martyn invented a "queer looking suit" that when worn would enclose the occupant in a sort of thermos bottle. Kirby wore the suit to protect himself before he grew himself to cosmic proportions. |
| time travel | minor | Kirby unwittingly traveled a trillion centuries into the future. |
| what if I could never go home | minor | Kirby grew himself to such an enormous size that he broke out of our universe and into another one. But when he shrunk himself back to to his original size, he found that he was in a distant future, because the bigger you are, the more quickly time passes. The story both began and concluded with Kirby pining about being homesick and never being able to go back. |