William sat in the center of the dimly lit room, watching the stranger reclined on a small

bed.

He was waiting for a sign, some kind of message or display that would answer his questions,

and his heart was beating rapidly with the anticipation.

The man on the bed was young, not even out of his teenage years, but he was already

a star.

His name was Frank Hurn, and his reputation as a powerful medium had already spread far

and wide across England.

And to William, who had lost his beloved brother Philip just a year before, Hurn represented

hope.

Hurn exhaled a long, low breath, and then the shadows in the room seemed to darken,

as if the light from the single lamp were being pushed back.

And then, as William watched, a pale face appeared over Hurn's body.

Not just any face though.

No, this was the face he recognized all too well.

It was Philip.

For the next few moments, William and Philip had a conversation.

He would later claim that the face's tone of voice and choice of words instantly

convinced him they originated from his dead brother's spirit.

It was everything he had dreamed of for the previous year, and it moved him to tears.

But it also filled him with curiosity.

William was a scientist, after all, and that curiosity was part of his core essence.

...