The magnificent possession

The Story

Walter Sills, a chemist of fifty who has spent his life in obscurity, believes he has finally grasped the brass ring. In his cramped, dingy laboratory, he succeeds in isolating ammonium in a stable, metallic state. By using a solvent he names "Ammonaline" and protecting the volatile product in an argon-filled container, Sills transforms the elusive radical into a shimmering, gold-like substance. His younger friend and associate, Eugene Taylor, instantly recognizes the commercial potential of this "ammonium oxide," envisioning a market flooded with cheap, lustrous jewelry and plated housewares. Convinced they are on the cusp of untold wealth, they announce their discovery to the press, naively believing their patent application in Washington offers sufficient protection.

The announcement triggers immediate, predatory attention. J. Throgmorton Bankhead, a powerful industrialist whose plating corporation stands to be rendered obsolete by the new metal, arrives at the lab to intimidate Sills into selling his process for a pittance. When Sills and Taylor refuse, Bankhead leaves, only to be followed by the arrival of Peter Q. Hornswoggle, an opportunistic, washed-up politician seeking to insert himself into their affairs for a cut of the profits. Sills throws him out, but the duo’s troubles are only beginning. The publicity has alerted the criminal underworld; a small-time crook named "Slappy" Egan scouts the lab for an easy robbery, while the dangerous mobster Mike the Slug resolves to steal the process by force.

That night, Sills and Taylor are awakened by the sound of intruders. They descend the stairs to find Hornswoggle and a burglar brawling amidst the laboratory equipment. Before they can call the police, the notorious Mike the Slug enters, holding them at gunpoint. In the ensuing confusion, Sills creates a diversion by faking a chemical spill, allowing Taylor to tackle the gangster. Though the thugs flee, the laboratory is left in shambles, and the two friends are shaken. They decide to secure their notes in a bank vault the next morning, but even this precaution is thwarted; they are waylaid by Mike the Slug, who robs Sills of the papers he is carrying. Fortunately, Sills has hidden the true details in his hat, leaving the criminals with nothing but a recipe for a potentially explosive disaster.

With the bank vault secured and police guards stationed outside, Sills and Taylor decide to test the plating capabilities of their ammonium before their meeting with a prominent steel magnate. They successfully plate a spoon, observing its beautiful, ethereal luster. However, when Sills removes the spoon from its protected environment to examine it in the open air, the consequences are catastrophic. The metal reacts with the atmosphere to release an odor so foul, so impossibly concentrated and hellish, that it instantly renders the room uninhabitable.

The stench acts like a chemical weapon, clearing the laboratory, the house, and the entire street. Neighbors flee in terror, horses bolt, and even the "Steel King" Staples, arriving for his business meeting, is sent running in a state of undignified panic. The local police, fire engines, and civilians are all routed by the invisible, pervasive miasma. Sills and Taylor, gasping and retching, eventually find refuge by wading waist-deep into the Hudson River. As they stand in the water, pondering their ruin, they realize their scientific triumph has become a public nuisance that may lead to lawsuits or imprisonment. Despite the disaster, Sills clings to the hope that his fame—and perhaps the future mastery of the odor—will one day allow him to reach the heights he once imagined.

The People

• Walter Sills: A fifty-year-old chemist who has spent his life in poverty and frustration. He is desperate for recognition and financial security, but his obsession with his discovery blinds him to the practical dangers of dealing with the public and powerful, unscrupulous forces.
• Eugene Taylor: Sills’ younger, more optimistic associate who handles the business side of their venture. He is quick to see the "millions" in their discovery and constantly urges Sills forward, though his confidence often masks a lack of foresight regarding the human element of their situation.
• J. Throgmorton Bankhead: A wealthy, dyspeptic industrialist who views the world through the lens of market control. He is the embodiment of corporate greed, willing to use his influence and hired muscle to suppress any innovation that threatens his existing empire.
• Peter Q. Hornswoggle: An ex-Congressman turned bottom-feeder who believes his rhetorical skills and "worldliness" entitle him to a share of any success he encounters. He is a master of self-justification, framing his attempted burglary as a helpful act of "protection."
• Mike the Slug: A hardened, dangerous criminal who represents the blunt, violent side of the reaction to Sills’ fame. He is an opportunist who takes what he wants at gunpoint, unaware that he is stealing a recipe that will likely blow up in his face.

In Its Own Voice

When Sills first reveals his progress to Taylor, he is brimming with the classic, slightly unhinged excitement of the scientific discoverer who believes he has bypassed the laws of the universe.

“Don’t you see the implications? I’ve gone half way towards isolating pure ammonium, a thing which has never been done before!”

The pride Sills feels in his laboratory work is soon eclipsed by the overwhelming, sensory nightmare of his final experiment, which illustrates the book’s sudden shift from triumph to farce.

“What followed immediately after that can never be fully described.”

As the two men cower in the Hudson River, they realize that their breakthrough has effectively ruined their lives, turning a potential Nobel Prize into a public-health emergency.

“I wish I’d never seen the damned stuff! It’s brought nothing but trouble.”

What It's Really About

At its heart, this story is a cautionary tale about the intersection of pure science and a cynical, profit-driven world. Sills represents the "pure" researcher whose life of labor is defined by the quest for knowledge, yet the irony of his success is that he is fundamentally unequipped to handle the social consequences of his discovery. The book explores the vulnerability of the lone intellectual when faced with the "captains of industry" like Bankhead, who view innovation not as progress, but as a competitive threat to be crushed or co-opted.

The book also delves into the absurdity of the "get-rich-quick" mentality. From the moment Sills and Taylor start dreaming of millions, they cease to act as scientists and begin to act like commodity brokers. The plot’s progression—from the clean, orderly nature of the laboratory to the chaotic, messy reality of the street—mirrors the corruption of Sills’ original intent. He wanted fame, but the discovery of ammonium acts as a great leveler, bringing down the financier, the politician, the criminal, and the scientist alike with the same foul odor.

There is a deep undercurrent of mockery regarding the "value" of things. The ammonium oxide is a "substitute gold," and the story plays with the idea that the public’s desire for the appearance of wealth is easily manipulated. Yet, nature has the final say. The ammonium’s instability reflects the instability of the entire enterprise; just as the chemical compound cannot exist in the real world, the dream of easy, instant wealth cannot survive the pressures of reality. The book suggests that for someone like Sills, the laboratory was a sanctuary precisely because it excluded the world. By dragging his discovery into the sunlight, he destroys the very conditions that made his work possible. It is a cynical look at how the brilliance of an individual can be rendered grotesque by the greedy, petty, and violent systems that surround them. The humor, which is dry and pervasive, serves to highlight the folly of believing that a scientific breakthrough is a shortcut to happiness.

Why Read It Today

This story provides a fascinating, sharp-edged look at the early 20th-century preoccupation with industrial discovery and the "mad scientist" trope, filtered through a lens of urban, Depression-era cynicism. Readers who enjoy stories where scientific ambition crashes violently into reality will find much to admire here. The pacing is relentless; once Sills succeeds, the book moves from a quiet, dingy lab to a high-stakes, slapstick-tinged thriller with remarkable speed.

The writing captures a specific, slightly noir-inflected atmosphere of 1940s New York, complete with "flat-nosed" gangsters, corrupt politicians, and a sense of desperation that permeates the lower-middle-class setting. It is not a polished, modern thriller; it is a brisk, pulp-inspired piece that wears its period attitudes on its sleeve. The dialogue is snappy and often intentionally ridiculous, especially when Hornswoggle is speaking, which adds a layer of comedic relief to the mounting tension.

However, modern readers should be prepared for the characters’ somewhat dated, black-and-white morality. The "gangsters" are caricatures, and the industrialist is a cartoon of greed, which might feel simplistic compared to contemporary fiction. Furthermore, the ending—a sudden, breathless shift into farce—might leave some readers wishing for a more extended resolution. Yet, the central image of two men standing neck-deep in the Hudson River, mourning their lost fortune because their discovery smells like a "broth of Hell," is hard to forget. It is a story that refuses to take its own melodrama seriously, which is precisely what makes it a refreshing, quick read. For anyone interested in the early short-form work of its author, this provides a glimpse into a time when science fiction was as much about the immediate, messy, and hilarious failures of humans as it was about the wonders of the laboratory. It leaves you with a lingering, cynical smile about the futility of chasing fame at the expense of one’s own peace of mind.