A TRAVELER IN TIME

Episode #119 · Written by August Derleth · Narrated by Scott Miller

A reporter meets a man who claims time is a dimension you can visit—and proves it in unsettling ways. What begins as a curious theory quietly spirals into a chilling meditation on identity, fate, and escape.

A Traveler in Time begins as an offhand conversation in a bar, where a reporter listens to an extraordinary claim. Vanderkamp, a quiet scholar with an obsessive interest in old New Amsterdam, insists that time is merely another dimension. According to him, it can be entered, navigated, and escaped. He has built a machine that allows him to remain in one place while moving backward or forward through centuries.

What makes Vanderkamp unsettling is not his strangeness, but his precision. He speaks of future atomic devastation with eerie confidence and of the past with intimate familiarity. His visits to seventeenth-century New Amsterdam seem less like fantasies and more like acts of refuge. As the reporter observes the physical evidence Vanderkamp brings back, the question shifts from whether time travel is possible to what it truly costs.

Rather than focusing on spectacle, the story examines identity, aging, and regret. Can a person escape a grim future without losing themselves? Does traveling through time change who you are, or simply reveal who you have always been? The answers arrive quietly, making the final implications all the more disturbing.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

August Derleth was a pivotal figure in twentieth-century speculative fiction. A close friend and correspondent of H. P. Lovecraft, he helped ensure that much of Lovecraft’s work survived through the founding of Arkham House. Derleth’s own fiction often blended science fiction, horror, and psychological realism.

Though frequently associated with cosmic horror, Derleth was equally skilled at intimate, idea-driven science fiction. A Traveler in Time showcases his ability to take a familiar concept and ground it in human consequence. The result is a timeless story that feels as relevant today as when it was first published.

LISTEN TO THE STORY

Listen to A Traveler in Time by August Derleth — a classic science fiction tale exploring time travel, identity, and fate in vintage sci-fi style.

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