In June 1957 a well-known men’s magazine featured model Carrie Radison on its centre pages. Elsewhere readers were treated to a short story by George Langelaan entitled simply: The Fly.
This short horror Sci-fi sees researcher Professor Andre Delambre messing about with the science of teleportation. His first attempt at teleporting an inanimate object, a souvenir ashtray, results in mixed success, but eventually he gets the device operating. He is confident it will also work on humans and the prospect of solving humanity’s transport issues appears within his reach. However when he attempts to teleport himself the unexpected occurs that eventually leads to his devoted wife, Helene, admitting to his murder. The ensuing investigation eventually uncovers the disturbing truth.
This masterly tale was the basis of two feature films in 1958 and 1986 and their associated spin offs. The story was published just a few years after Watson and Crick published their ground breaking paper on DNA that provides a means to explain what may have gone wrong in the teleportation chamber.
Langelaan was a British writer and journalist, who was also a British Spy during WWII. During one of his missions he underwent plastic surgery to alter his appearance before being dropped into France. Perhaps this provided some inspiration for his compelling short story.
"So where is it?" "Buzz bzzzz mzzz, wzzzz bzz...". "Oh just write it down, you bug eyed freak!"
Mind the edges at GZ. It's slippery when wet.
First to find a solution to this mystery, from a land far far away... congrats to ... teamajk!
First to gaze on the unearthly horror ... YURT AND KID RON SATAN. We loved your caption entries.
Want more from the Gundah Ridge Library? See: 1984, Fight Club and The man in the high castle.
This featured on Geocache puzzle of the day on May 13, 2015.