{"id":5003,"date":"2019-07-14T23:20:47","date_gmt":"2019-07-15T04:20:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/captivatedchat.com\/?p=5003"},"modified":"2020-02-13T23:03:47","modified_gmt":"2020-02-14T05:03:47","slug":"dr-heideggers-experiment-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/captivatedchat.com\/index.php\/2019\/07\/14\/dr-heideggers-experiment-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment, Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Nathaniel Hawthorne
<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Adapted to chat story format by Captivated Chat<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Heidegger invited four old friends to meet him in his study for a Frankenstein-like experiment, including three white-bearded gentlemen\u2014the ruined merchant and speculator Mr. Medbourne, the physically wrecked libertine and gourmand Colonel Killigrew, and the disgraced politician and xenophobe Mr. Gascoigne. Appearing there, too, was a formerly renowned beauty, the widow Wycherly, whom all three had once loved.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me<\/div>
My dear old friends I ask your assistance in one of my little experiments. Please take your seats.\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>
Colonel Killigrew<\/div>
Why the four champagne glasses on your little table?\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>
Me<\/div>
Just sparkling water, Colonel. After all, I approve of your vow against strong drink! My dear old friends, will you aid me in a curious experiment?\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>
Colonel Killigrew<\/div>
First off, what does this have to do with that tome before you, your book of magic, as most of us believe it to be? \n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>
Me<\/div>
The book is only tangentially related. I pressed a rose inside its pages, and the rose is the object we will be using.\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>
Me<\/div>
Sylvia Ward, whose portrait hangs yonder, gave it to me five and fifty years ago. I meant to wear it on my lapel at our wedding. Therefore I have treasured it. But the point is, could it ever bloom again?\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>
The Widow Wycherly<\/div>
Nonsense! After all, you might as well ask whether an old woman’s wrinkled face could ever bloom again.\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>
Me<\/div>
See! I place it into the water. At first it lays lightly on the surface. Soon, however, a singular change is visible.\n\n\n\nA very pretty deception\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>
Mr. Gascoigne<\/div>
The brown petals do seem to be assuming a deepening tinge of red, as if reviving.\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>
Medbourne<\/div>
The slender stalk and twigs and foliage are becoming green! \n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>
Me<\/div>
And the rose of half a century is looking as fresh as when Sylvia Ward first gave it to me!\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>
The Widow Wycherly<\/div>
That is certainly a very pretty deception. \n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>
Colonel Killigrew <\/div>
Nevertheless, I have witnessed greater miracles at a conjurer’s show. How did you effect it?\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>
Me<\/div>
Did you never hear of the Fountain of Youth?\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>
The Widow Wycherly<\/div>
I am sure we all have, but so what?\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>
Me<\/div>
I have asked all of you here to try the waters of it, as this rose has just done!\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

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Did you never hear of the fountain of youth?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5402,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_ti_tpc_template_sync":false,"_ti_tpc_template_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[224,1104,1098,453,1356,1241,1101,1105,1103,1106,1099,1107],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/captivatedchat.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5003"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/captivatedchat.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/captivatedchat.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/captivatedchat.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/captivatedchat.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/captivatedchat.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/captivatedchat.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/captivatedchat.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/captivatedchat.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/captivatedchat.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5003"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/captivatedchat.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=5003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}