In 1887, Albert Michelson and Edward Morley published a ground-breaking scientific paper that detailed convincing experimental and theoretical evidence that became a fundamental concept in electromagnetism: That electromagnetic waves need no medium, no "luminiferous ether" to propagate through empty space.

Theodore Harding, himself a physicist, was elated at the news, although some minor doubts remained in the back of his mind. He tried for months to reconcile his doubts with the emerging scientific consensus, yet he was unable to.

...Until nearly two years later, in 1889, he awoke one morning with a plan in his mind, something seemingly designed to show that the ether was real and could be harnessed for the good of mankind.

The Chasm of Color follows his story in this piece of scientific historical fiction.