A Scientist Rises

"A Scientist Rises" by Desmond Winter Hall is an early 20th-century science fiction story about Dr. Edgar Wesley, a scientist whose experiment gone wrong turns him into a giant, both physically and in prominence. Set in New York City on a sweltering summer day, Dr. Wesley's sudden and dramatic growth from a normal man to a towering figure of hundreds of feet amazes and scares the population of the city. As a police sergeant investigates, he finds the shattered remains of Wesley's lab, revealing that the scientist was working on a device capable of altering atomic structures. The narrative reaches a decisive point with Wesley's ultimate sacrifice: understanding the danger his creation poses, he destroys it and himself, leaving behind a warning about the ethical risks of advanced technology surpassing humanity's moral growth.