Reality Unlimited

It was to be the last word in theatre fun; you experienced the action as if you were there. The trouble was--the fun could become too real!

[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy August 1957 Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]

It was going to be the show of the century--absolutely the tops.

There was a line eight blocks long outside the theater--the theater that had been specially built to contain Ultrarama.

Paul Hendriks had been in line since early the morning before, and so he was only a block or so from the still-unopened ticket-booth. His wife had come by from time to time, bringing sandwiches and coffee. Hendriks was determined to get a pair of tickets.

He turned to the man next to him. "Got the time?"

"Five to nine."

"That's what I thought. That means the ticket-office opens in five minutes." Hendriks rose on tiptoe and squinted ahead. "There must be five hundred people ahead of us."

"They say the theater holds five thousand."

"I know. And that you get the same effect no matter where you sit. But still, I'd like to be right down there in the front."

The other man nodded. "That goes for all of us."

Hendriks grinned. "You know, this is the first time I ever heard of an opening performance being managed right. I mean, thrown open for public sale instead of being reserved for bigwigs."

"Damned public-spirited," the other agreed.

Suddenly the line began to edge forward.

"They're selling tickets!"

"The booth is open!"

About an hour later, Hendriks plunked down his twenty dollars before the efficient-looking girl in the ticket-cage and was handed a bulky envelope.

"These my tickets?"

"That's right, sir."

A little puzzled, but happy, he turned away and dug in the envelope. He pulled out, not the familiar pasteboards, but two costly-looking sumptuous engraved invitations on thick stiff paper. They said:

You are invited To the first showing anywhere in the world. of ULTRARAMA the sensational new film process realer than life! Wednesday, April 25, 1973 at 8:00 PM

Clutching the invitations as if they were his leases on life, Hendriks stepped into the quiktrans and moments later stepped out again just outside the door.

His wife was waiting for him with an expectant look on her face.

"Did you get them?"

"I sure did! Two engraved invitations, at ten bucks a throw."

"They'd better be worth it," she said anxiously.

"Didn't you see that line when you brought me breakfast? Eight blocks! Hundreds and hundreds of people all trying to get to see the first performance."

"That doesn't mean a thing," she said. "After all, no one's ever seen the complete movie--"

"It's not a movie," he corrected.

"All right, the complete whatchamacallit. No one's ever seen the complete thing--not even the people who made it. So how do you know it's good?"

"Believe me, honey, this is going to be the greatest ever!"

* * * * *

On Wednesday, April 25, 1973, at 7:30 in the evening, the Hendriks stood in the midst of a vast crowd that thronged the open plaza before the Ultrarama Theater. The theater itself was a towering edifice that had been built just for this production; it was one of the world's most impressive buildings.