The Mordant by Merab Eberle Episode #524
Merab Eberle | April 8, 2026-
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The Mordant by Merab Eberle Episode #524
Merab Eberle
THE MORDANT
Episode #524 · Written by Merab Eberle · Narrated by Scott Miller
What if youth could be preserved at its height—held in place while the rest of life continues forward? In The Mordant, a quiet scientist discovers a way to fix the body in its prime, keeping beauty and vitality untouched by time. It is not immortality he seeks, but something more precise: a life that still ends, yet never visibly declines.
When the treatment is finally given to a celebrated performer, the result is astonishing. Years pass, yet nothing fades. Her face remains luminous, her presence captivating, her voice untouched by age. Audiences continue to adore her, and the illusion of permanence becomes her greatest triumph.
But time does not stop—it only shifts its influence. As the world changes, she begins to feel the distance growing between herself and everything around her. Styles evolve, people move forward, and something within her no longer keeps pace. The surface remains flawless, but beneath it, a quiet absence begins to take hold.
This is not a story about losing youth—it is about what happens when youth refuses to leave. As admiration gives way to isolation, one question presses harder with each passing year: what is the cost of never changing?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Merab Eberle was born in Mattoon, Illinois, in 1891. Her work included children’s plays, poetry, and two science fiction short stories, placing her among the lesser-known voices contributing to early genre magazines.
“The Mordant” appeared in Amazing Stories in March 1930, presenting a focused exploration of suspended aging and its lasting effects on a human life. The story traces a single experimental breakthrough across years of lived experience, grounding its impact in the personal cost carried by its central figure.
LISTEN TO THE STORY
Listen to The Mordant by Merab Eberle – a vintage science fiction short story of preserved youth that refuses to change as the world moves on.
LOST VOICES OF VINTAGE SCI-FI
Not every science fiction writer built a long career in the field or became a widely recognized name. Some published only a handful of stories before disappearing from the magazines, leaving behind little biographical record and few surviving details. Others may be remembered for work in different genres, while their contribution to science fiction was brief.
Yet these writers helped shape the texture of the pulp era and beyond. Their stories experimented with bold ideas, filled the pages between the famous names, and added depth to the ever-expanding landscape of vintage science fiction.
The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast exists in part to rediscover these voices. The stories below were written by authors who published briefly, sparingly, or whose science fiction output was small - but whose work still deserves to be heard.
- The Ultimate Paradox by Thorp McClusky
- The Ultimate Wish by E. M. Hull
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- Day of Reckoning by Morton Klass
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- Patch by William Shedenhelm
- Rabbits Have Long Ears by Lawrence F. Willard
- Electronic Landslide by Clyde Hostetter
- They Reached for the Moon by William Oberfield
- Death Walks on Mars by Alan J. Ramm
- When the Moon Fell by Morrison Colladay
- Know They Neighbor by Elisabeth R. Lewis
- The Other One by A. H. Gibson
- No Evidence by Victoria Lincoln
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- The Short Snorter by Charles Einstein
- Your Servant Sir by Sol Boren
- The Fugitives by Malcolm B. Morehart Jr
- Leave Earthmen or Die by John Massie Davis
- And All the Girls Were Nude by Richard Magruder
- Rabbits Have Long Ears by Lawrence F. Willard
- Dust Unto Dust by Lyman D. Hinckley
- Cosmic Tragedy by Thomas S. Gardiner
- Day of Wrath by Bjarne Kirchhoff
- You Are Forbidden by Jerry Shelton
- Thirty Degrees Cattywonkus by James Bell
- The Small Bears by Gene L. Henderson
- The First Spaceman by Gene L. Henderson
ABOUT THE LOST SCI-FI PODCAST
The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast is the most listened-to vintage science fiction podcast in the world. Ranked the #1 Science Fiction Podcast in 34 countries and heard in more than 190 countries, the show has surpassed 3.8 million listens.
Each episode features carefully selected stories from the Golden Age of science fiction, professionally narrated. Timeless storytelling the way it was meant to be heard.
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— Joannie West
Vintage science fiction. Professionally narrated. Carefully curated.
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