Anton's last dream
"Anton's last dream by Edwin Baird" is a science fiction short story written in the early 20th century. It explores a chemist’s triumphant invention of invisibility and the darker human currents it uncovers—jealousy, betrayal, and vengeance. Anton Slezak, a wealthy, celebrated chemist who believes any dream can be made real, secretly perfects an invisible dye and renders himself unseen. Testing his success, he follows a coded knock to a hotel room and witnesses his young wife Zora in a passionate rendezvous with his nephew Robin. Speaking from invisibility, he reveals his presence, blocks their escape, and shoots them both, then calmly waits and turns the gun on himself as others break in. The story fuses scientific wonder with a stark, fatal end, showing how a visionary experiment becomes the instrument of tragic retribution.