Electro-episoded in A.D. 2025

In Short

E. D. Skinner’s story opens as a high-tech satire of the 2020s, full of futuristic gadgets, illicit bootleg liquor, and aerial chases across the globe. Wealthy socialite Algernon Sidney St. Johnstone races through the skies to save his fiancée, Esmeralda, who is stranded in Alaska in a skimpy gown before a frozen tiger. Yet just as the dramatic rescue reaches its peak, the narrative twists sharply. The entire high-flying sci-fi spectacle is revealed to be nothing more than a drunkard’s wild nightmare, cut short by an annoyed wife in a ordinary bedroom.

The Story

The narrative begins in the year 2025, inside the luxurious urban den of Lieutenant-Colonel Algernon Sidney St. Johnstone. Waking up in a semi-conscious, heavily intoxicated haze, Algernon discovers an empty black bottle of bootleg alcohol with forged labels. His valet, suffering from a black eye sustained while trying to stop his master’s binge, informs him that the illicit booze delivered to him was dangerous, common-people poison. Outraged, Algernon orders his valet to contact the bootlegger and his contacts in the national syndicate. Amidst this chaos, a tiny gold radio set in his vest pocket begins to buzz.

The radio set is part of a pair: Algernon keeps his in a golden vest-pocket case, while his fiancée, Esmeralda Clementine Jones-Bronson, wears hers in a wrist watch. A recent spat over her modern, daring fashion had led to her throwing her engagement ring at him and speeding away in her private aircraft. Answering her distress call, Algernon hears her frantic voice through the static. Chased by a "Purity League" agent, Esmeralda flew into a mountain near Mt. McKinley, Alaska, breaking her leg and crashing her plane. To make matters worse, she claims a hungry tiger is perched on a ledge right above her, ready to pounce.

Algernon quickly uses an "Electric Regenerator" to restore his sobriety, pops synthetic meal tablets, and sneaks illegal tobacco and coffee past strictly enforced prohibition laws. Using a hidden codebook and complex electro-visional devices, he pinpoint's Esmeralda's location in Alaska. He secures a high-altitude aerial permit, boards his copper, bottle-shaped "Electric-flash" aircraft, and launches into space at 186,000 miles per second.

Arriving over Parker Pass, he plunges into a perilous dive and parachutes down into the freezing wilderness. He finds Esmeralda standing in sixty-below-zero cold, still wearing her skimpy gown, while a massive Bengal tiger crouches above her. Algernon shoots the beast with his electric pistol, only to realize the shot has no effect; the tiger had escaped from a circus months earlier and frozen solid in the arctic air before it could attack. Just as a Purity League biplane lands to arrest Esmeralda for her scandalous outfit, the high-tech reality shatters.

A sharp knee to the ribs wakes the narrator, John Henry. There is no year 2025, no private aircraft, and no aristocratic fiancée. His wife, Mary Jane, has kicked him awake in the middle of the night to scold him for his loud snoring, his nonsensical sleep-talking about "Esmeralda," and the sound of his home-brewed booze exploding in their cellar.

How It Unfolds

A blurry morning Algernon wakes up groggy and furious in his den, surrounded by empty bottles of fake bootleg liquor and an injured valet.

The distress call His tiny golden vest-pocket radio buzzes with a frantic message from his fiancée, who has crashed her plane in Alaska while escaping moral police.

Preparing for the rescue Algernon uses futuristic machines to instantly cure his hangover, evade government prohibition bans on coffee and tobacco, and locate her position.

The lightning flight He boards a bottle-shaped vehicle and shoots across the continent at blinding speeds, performing dangerous aerial maneuvers above the Alaskan peaks.

The frozen threat Landing in deep snow, he confronts a ferocious tiger perched above his fiancée, only to discover the animal died and froze solid in the arctic cold.

Rude awakening The sci-fi adventure instantly vanishes as John Henry is jabbed in the ribs by his wife, who demands he fix his popping home-brew down in the cellar.

The People

• Algernon Sidney St. Johnstone wants to maintain control over his life, consume illicit luxuries, and play the heroic savior to his fiancée. He comes across as an arrogant, wealthy elitist who relies heavily on modern gadgets to fix his self-inflicted problems, only to turn out to be a simple husband dreaming in bed.
• Esmeralda Clementine Jones-Bronson wants to follow high fashion and defy her fiancé’s strict expectations. She drives fast planes, flees from morality officers, and demands immediate rescue when she crashes, remaining dramatic and aristocratic even while stranded in a blizzard.
• The Valet (John) wants to perform his duties smoothly and avoid physical harm from his master. He remains precise, polite, and cautious, constantly dodging thrown bottles while enduring black eyes and irrational tirades.
• Mary Jane wants her husband to stop snoring, keep his hands off imaginary women, and manage his home-brewing properly. She is practical, sharp-tongued, and entirely unimpressed by her husband's nocturnal outbursts.

In Its Own Voice

"That poison must have temporarily deranged your intellect, sir."

Before Algernon can figure out why his head hurts and his room is in disarray, his bruised valet dryly explains the catastrophic effects of the fake bootleg alcohol he consumed.

"I was flying west in my big ’plane... and one of those beastly ‘Purity League’ sleuths caught me powdering my nose, and he chased me..."

Esmeralda frantically explains through her tiny wrist radio how her high-speed flight ended in a crash on an Alaskan mountain.

"But that stuff of yours down in the cellar has been popping-off to beat the band for an hour..."

Mary Jane abruptly shatters the futuristic illusion, scolding her husband about the real-world consequences of his fermenting cellar concoctions.

What It's Really About

Underneath its fast-paced action, the story lampoons early 20th-century anxieties surrounding government regulation and technological advancement. It mocks the absurdities of Prohibition by imagining a future where everything from liquor to coffee and tobacco is outlawed, creating a ridiculous underworld of illicit substitute pills and hidden wall drawers. The narrative also pokes fun at exaggerated domestic squabbles, contrasting the high-stakes romantic melodrama of pulp fiction with the mundane, routine bickering of a real-life marriage. Ultimately, the plot plays with the boundary between futuristic escapism and everyday domestic reality.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy vintage science fiction and classic twist endings will appreciate this quick, lighthearted satire. Originally published in 1927, the text offers a fascinating look at how people in the 1920s envisioned the far-off world of 2025—predicting wrist-mounted communicators, high-speed air transit, and automated home appliances alongside bizarre social bans.

The story does present some reading hurdles. Algernon’s early dialogue is written in heavy, phonetically spelled drunk dialect that requires a slow read to decipher. Additionally, the narrative reflects the casual class snobbery and exaggerated gender dynamics common in early 20th-century pulp magazines. However, its brief length and self-aware sense of humor keep the pace lively. It remains a amusing historical artifact that gently parodies the very genre it inhabits.