"The Jaunt" is a horror

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

by Stephen King first published in ''

The Twilight Zone Magazine ''Twilight Zone'' literature is an umbrella term for the many books and comic books which concern or adapt ''The Twilight Zone'' television series. Comics Gold Key Comics published a long-running ''Twilight Zone'' comic that featured the likene ...

'' in 1981, and collected in King's 1985 collection ''

Skeleton Crew A skeleton crew is the minimum number of personnel needed to operate and maintain an item such as a business, organization, or ship at its most simple operating requirements. Skeleton crews are often utilized during an emergency and are meant to ...

''. The story takes place early in the 24th century, when the technology for

teleportation Teleportation is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It is a common subject in science fiction literature and in other popular culture. Teleportation is oft ...

, referred to as "Jaunting", is commonplace, allowing for instantaneous transportation across enormous distances, even to other planets in the

Solar System The Solar System Capitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar ...

. The term "Jaunting" is stated within the short story to be an homage to ''

The Stars My Destination ''The Stars My Destination'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Alfred Bester. Set in the 24th or 25th century, which varies between editions of the book, when humans have colonized the Solar System, it tells the story of Gully ull ...

'', a science fiction novel by

Alfred Bester Alfred Bester (December 18, 1913 – September 30, 1987) was an American science fiction author, TV and radio scriptwriter, magazine editor and scripter for comic strips and comic books. He is best remembered for his science fiction, incl ...

Plot

In the distant future, humans have developed a form of instantaneous teleportation called "the Jaunt", enabling colonization of the Solar System. Mark Oates and his family are preparing to travel to

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

for a two-year business trip. As the Jaunting service prepares the other passengers, Mark entertains his two children by recounting a semi-apocryphal tale of the discovery and history of the Jaunt. He explains how in 1987 a scientist named Victor Carune inadvertently discovered the ability to Jaunt after years of research when he accidentally teleported two of his own fingers. Although the procedure functioned perfectly when he tested inorganic objects, Carune discovered a side-effect on the mice sent through his two portals. The mice would either die instantly or behave erratically before dying moments later. He eventually discovered that beings of higher neural activity, such as animals and humans, could only survive the Jaunt while unconscious. Mark explains that this is why all people must undergo general anesthesia before Jaunting. Mark spares his children a gruesome account of the first conscious human to experience the Jaunt, a condemned death-row murderer named Rudy Foggia who had been promised a full pardon upon taking part in the experiment. After six other inmates were Jaunted under the effects of anesthesia, Foggia emerged insane, screaming that the Jaunt was an "eternity" before dying of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

. Scientists had come to conclude that while Jaunting is physically carried out almost instantly, to a conscious mind it lasts an indeterminately long amount of time, perhaps millions of years, leading to a conscious person simply being left alone with their thoughts in an endless field of white. Mark attempts to present this fact in a gentle way as to not frighten his children or his wife as, unlike him, they are Jaunting for the first time. After Mark finishes his story, the family is subjected to sleeping gas and Jaunted to Mars. Upon awakening, Mark is horrified to find that his adventurous son Ricky deliberately held his breath while being administered the anesthesia to experience the Jaunt while conscious and has been rendered completely insane. Ricky shrieks that Mark has no comprehension of how long he had been there, and begins gouging his eyes out as he is wheeled away from his terrified family by several attendants.

Television adaptation

In 2015, it was announced that the story was set for a film adaptation by Andy Muschietti before he opted to realise King's '' It'' instead. As of January 2021, the story is due to be made into a television series for MRC by '' Fear The Walking Dead'' co-creator

Dave Erickson Dave Erickson is an American television writer and producer best known for co-creating '' Fear the Walking Dead'' with Robert Kirkman, for which he was showrunner until the end of the third season; he stepped down in order to make more shows for ...

Plot

Television adaptation

References

See also