This story reads as a Prequel to The Matrix. And it is from 1930!Science Wonder Stories, May, 1930THE CITY OF THE LIVING DEADby Laurence Manning and Fletcher Prattillustrated by PaulChapter 2: Beyond the MountainChapter 3: The Man with the Metal MaskChapter 4: Adventure is DeadChapter 5: A Drastic ExperimentGallery11,300 WordsTHIS story, in our opinion, is one of the most unusual that has appeared in recent years, for it deals with a subject which is bound up with our whole existence.We all know that our experiences come to us through our senses; that is, the senses of hearing, sight, touch, smell, taste, etc.; and that, if these senses were removed, although we would still know we were alive, the world itself would cease to exist for us.But suppose that, instead of having our natural organs of sense, we were supplied with artificial ones, and that by the medium of a mechanical device we could experience any sensation or event that we wish. Then, you might say, we would be living in a true Utopia. However, this is not really so, and, as our authors point out so convincingly, there might be a total degeneration of our human race, and even a cessation of all life.This edition includes all of the original illustrations, as well as the Full Color Cover to Science Wonder Stories, May, 1930 that featured this story as the cover. This ebook also includes a Gallery of original ads.