The jet-propelled couch
By Robert Mitchell Lindner
I became intrigued by the prospect Kirk’s fantasy presented for realizing my dearest wish: to have sufficient time to know, to do, and to be all the wonderful things denied me and all men by temporal limitations. I possess a curiosity beyond the average, an almost boundless appetite for knowing and experiencing. My life does not provide sufficient scope to satisfy this hunger, but Kirk’s intricate fabrication did. By engaging in it, I could obtain the illusion of gratifying my immense curiosity. With but a small step of an already lively imagination, I could escape from the prison of time.
The jet-propelled couch: Part 1
The jet-propelled couch: Part 2
(it's been suggested that the Kirk character was actually Paul Linebarger (pen name, Cordwainer Smith) but there's no proof of that claim, and it's as likely not true as true, but then again maybe, though if so, Lindner certainly did a good job of obfuscating the identity of his patient.
I'm currently re-reading Cordwainer Smith. Some of his stories are available online, I'd encourage everyone to read at least this one, though it drops you right in at a main turning point in the future history. The Dead Lady of Clown Town
http://www.amazon.com/The-Rediscovery-Man-Complete-Cordwainer/dp/0915368560
and here's an old BoingBoing story on this...
http://boingboing.net/2009/09/17/the-jet-propelled-co.html
