The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes

by H.G. Wells

The transitory mental aberration of Sidney Davidson, remarkable enough in itself, is still more remarkable if Wade's explanation is to be credited. It sets one dreaming of the oddest possibilities of intercommunication in the future, of spending an intercalary five minutes on the other side of the world, or being watched in our most secret operations by unsuspected eyes. It happened that I was the immediate witness of Davidson's seizure, and so it falls naturally to me to put the story upon paper.

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, Classics

26 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1895

About the author

Herbert George Wells was born to a working class family in Kent, England. Young Wells received a spotty education, interrupted by several illnesses and family difficulties, and became a draper's apprentice as a teenager. The headmaster of Midhurst Grammar School, where he had spent a year, arranged for him to return as an "usher," or student teacher. Wells earned a government scholarship in 1884, to study biology under Thomas Henry Huxley at the Normal School of Science. Wells earned his bachelor of science and doctor of science degrees at the University of London. After marrying his cousin, Isabel, Wells began to supplement his teaching salary with short stories and freelance articles, then books, including The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898).

Wells created a mild scandal when he divorced his cousin to marry one of his best students, Amy Catherine Robbins. Although his second marriage was lasting and produced two sons, Wells was an unabashed advocate of free (as opposed to "indiscriminate") love. He continued to openly have extra-marital liaisons, most famously with Margaret Sanger, and a ten-year relationship with the author Rebecca West, who had one of his two out-of-wedlock children. A one-time member of the Fabian Society, Wells sought active change. His 100 books included many novels, as well as nonfiction, such as A Modern Utopia (1905), The Outline of History (1920), A Short History of the World (1922), The Shape of Things to Come (1933), and The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind (1932). One of his booklets was Crux Ansata, An Indictment of the Roman Catholic Church. Although Wells toyed briefly with the idea of a "divine will" in his book, God the Invisible King (1917), it was a temporary aberration. Wells used his international fame to promote his favorite causes, including the prevention of war, and was received by government officials around the world. He is best-remembered as an early writer of science fiction and futurism.

He was also an outspoken socialist. Wells and Jules Verne are each sometimes referred to as "The Fathers of Science Fiction". D. 1946.

More: http://philosopedia.org/index.php/H._...

http://www.online-literature.com/well...

http://www.hgwellsusa.50megs.com/

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._G._Wells

Reviews

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story 3 stars**
Audio 3 .75 stars**
Narrator Nigel Patterson

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 3 out of 5]

ENGLISH: In this short story, first published in 1895, Wells tackles the typical science fiction theme of making two distant places contiguous by means of a fourth spatial dimension, but in an original way, as it's only the sight of the affected person that has been transferred to the Antipodes, while his body remains in London.

ESPAÑOL: En este cuento, publicado por primera vez en 1895, Wells aborda un tema típico de ciencia-ficción: hacer contiguos dos lugares distantes a través de una cuarta dimensión espacial, pero de una manera original, ya que solo la vista de la persona afectada se ha trasladado a las Antípodas, mientras su cuerpo permanece en Londres.

[Arak · Rating 4 out of 5]

قصة غريبة عجيبة

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting concept and read.

[Aurelio · Rating 5 out of 5]

H.G. Wells nos hace volar más allá de nuestra realidad, nos aproxima al sentimiento común a través de sus relatos.
En "Los ojos de Davidson", se impone la angustia de la bilocación, lo imposible sigue siendo imposible en una época en que todo estaba por llegar.
"Bajo el bisturí", alcanzamos casi la muerte con un viaje inigualable hacia los confines del universo, una descripción acojonante.
"El astro", Wells sigue determinado a decirnos que somos casualidad.
En "El huevo de cristal" tocamos lo extraño y la ciencia ficción, puede que Ray Bradbury se inspirará en sus "Crónicas marcianas".
Y he vuelto a releer tantas veces "El país de los ciegos" y entiendes la tristeza y esperanza de Wells en la condición humana tan contradictoria como que amanece y anochece todos los días.
Hay que leer a H.G. Wells

[Ⰰⱃⰿⰰⱀⰴ Ⱆⰾⰴⰵⱃⰻⰽⱁ Ⱅⰵⱄⰾⰰ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Penguin books, 2007.
The language is ok, it's very descriptive and vivid, but it doesn't have a high amount of metaphors or other elements of language actualization ( in the sense of the theoretical work of Viktor Šklovski.).
The theme in the narrative background is a real Matrix theme, a variation of the Plato's cave story and metaphor.
The universal question of reality, the metaquotation of the romanticistic slogan " the world becomes a dream, the dream becomes a world '.
Hasta luego mis murcielagos!

[Lynsey Walker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes something can be a bit to Sci-Fi for my tastes.

This story is an example of such.

Now we all know that HG Wells is the master of Sci-Fi but this one just didn't do it for me. It was all just a little bit vague and just skimmed the surface of the story line. I wanted to know more, and I wanted to know why it had happened.

Also the plot itself was a bit old school late night made for TV Sci-Fi and not really my aesthetic, so alas not a winner in the world of Lynsey Walker.

Could do better.

[Juan Escobar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cuatro cuentos de H.G. Wells sobre ver, sobre la luz, los colores, las visiones y la oscuridad. Muy hermosos todos.

En mi caso, podía prescindir de la profunda ansiedad de los casados, y sabía que eran muy pocos los amigos íntimos a quienes entristecería mi muerte, excepto por las molestias de tener que mostrarse conmovidos.

Su literatura, el ritmo con el que te lleva, es exquisita. Y claro, es ciencia ficción, pero eso no significa que son historias supervoladas y descabelladas. No, es una literatura sencilla, para todos, y al mismo tiempo son unas historias que seguro a todos (nos) puede maravillar.

¿Era todo el universo nada más que una mancha con capacidad refractante, situado sobre algún ser de dimensiones mucho mayores? ¿Acaso nuestros mundos no eran más que los átomos de otro universo, y ésos a su vez los de otro, y así sucesivamente, en una progresión sin fin?

Y "El país de ciegos", el último cuento, es brutal, por lo cercano, porque menciona nuestros lugares y lo hace en nuestras palabras. En Bogotá lo deberían poner a leer por obligación en los colegios del distrito.

"La verdad tiene el poder de alzarse por encima de las grietas de la historia". H.G. Wells

[John Yelverton · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a fantastically original short story about a man whose eyes allow him to see a far off place following a laboratory accident. It's such fun to read a story with such an original concept as this one.

[Kakha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here it is told about a very interesting concept, invented by the author about the separation of the human sight from his body, also about the fourth dimension. Magnificent story, set out very intelligibly and believable.

[Didem Can (itspreaklypear) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uzay-zaman bükülmesini ilginç bir öyküyle dinliyoruz. Bir akşam laboratuvarında çalışırken şimşek çakması ve yıldırım düşmesi sonucu gördüğü mekan değişmiş bir bilim insanının yaşadıklarını dinliyoruz.

[Norman Howe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't decide what this is. Clairvoyance is the most likely explanation for Davidson's experience, but it's more in the form of an affliction than an ability. It certainly belongs in the "Strange Stories" collection.

[José Cárdenas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buena selección, aunque algo escasa. Edición muy cuidada, como es habitual en Atalanta.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, well done.

[sonataiscool · Rating 3 out of 5]

Multiverse . Definitely.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raised to 3.75 stars.

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10

[Forked Radish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkable indeed! Remote viewing, the warping of spacetime, and pinguid penguins! Was Ally E. influenced by this story? He loved to plays with magnets as a child and a magnet is the deus ex machina of this eerily accurate account. Also, he dressed up like a penguin when he received his Nobel prize! Coincidences? There are no such things. Q.E.D.

[Janne Wass · Rating 2 out of 5]

1895 was the year that British author Herbert George Wells burst onto the scene with his debut novel "The Time Machine", but also with a number of his best-known short stories, including "The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes".⁠
⁠
Heavily influenced by Edgar Allan Poe, the story is narrated by a friend of a scientist called Davidson. As the story goes, Davidson one day wakes up and realises that what he sees in no way matches the reality around him. After a while he realises that his sight has been displaced 180 degrees around the globe, so he sees whatever is happening on the exact opposite side of the world. This naturally creates certain difficulties in his day-to-day life, but otherwise he is in good health. ⁠
⁠
Not one of Wells' most exciting stories, this feels more like a thought experiment than a narrative, and the ending is somewhat unsatisfactory. Nevertheless it should be interesting at least for friends of Wells, if for nothing else than as an example of the strong influence of Poe on the early writings of Wells.⁠