Synopsis

“What was the meaning of the blurred and multiple images in the screen? Why did they shift so often, and occasionally disappear?”
Father Sean Riley is called to see the results of an experiment in the Interspace Effect being conducted by Jerry Stein and others. Dr. Treadwell is a physicist who does not get along well with Father Riley.

History

First publication: Science Fiction Quarterly, May 1956

Published as by Robert Randall.

Review

An exploration of the idea of determined future against free will. That’s why a priest is brought into the story. The idea is to explore both the “scientific” view of time viewing and the metaphysical view. This is something that was fairly new to SF at this time. Not many authors had dipped into religion in any big way. The writing/plotting is pretty standard, though I feel the characterization is pretty good. Recommended to anyone who loves the SF of the 1950s and can like a simple plot.