The man who mastered time

by Ray Cummings

"The man who mastered time" by Ray Cummings is a science fiction novel written in the early 20th century. It follows young inventor Loto and his scientist father, Rogers, who develop a way to travel through time after glimpsing a captive girl in a far-future New York. With the aid of a time‑altering aircraft, Loto vows to find and rescue her, setting up a blend of scientific speculation and adventure. The opening of the novel begins with a circle of friends at a Scientific Club debating the nature of time as Rogers and his son reveal an earlier accident that showed them a vision of the far future—and a girl in peril. Loto unveils a time-plane that can change its time-dimension, departs to seek her, and soon sends back an emergency message cube. In his account he describes accelerating through millennia above New York, witnessing the city’s rise, zenith, and collapse into desolation and cold, then backtracking to the era of the vision. Finding the snowbound homestead, he bungles a nighttime rescue, is captured and briefly blinded by the brutish Toroh’s household, befriends the captive girl Azeela, and plots escape with the help of the resentful Koa—only to be confronted by the elder Bool’s paralyzing weapon as the section closes mid‑struggle.