"Next Stop, Nowhere!"

"Next Stop, Nowhere!" by Dick Purcell is a science fiction story from the 1950s about four people stuck in an elevator who are transported to a strange and expansive new reality. Peggy, Walter, Wilmer, and Fleming, the elevator's occupants, face disorientation and fear as their familiar world turns into something unrecognizable. They soon discover they have shrunk to a tiny size in comparison to their new environment and face giant threats. The story takes a turn as Fleming Carter realizes that they have shifted to another plane of existence, where they are nothing more than toys in a vastly different world. He reveals that they are to be a birthday present for someone, fitting perfectly into their assigned roles, and the story raises big questions about independence, destiny, and what existence really means.