In “The Stolen Body” by HG Wells explores man's desire to go beyond the conventionally accepted moral limits of human life and to play with fields such as time travel, teleportation, and specifically in this story astral projection. Wells explores the consequences that can arise from such efforts, along with the benefits. Because he ends the story on a positive note, despite the chaos resulting from astral projection in the body of the story, his words do little to dissuade the reader from exploring such fields, if that is indeed his goal. Wells indicates that Mr. Bessel was “particularly interested in questions of thought transference and the appearances of the living,” but provides no implications or judgments on this fact. Man's desire to push boundaries is evident throughout literature, music, and science among other things, with a variety of connotations. For example, in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the plot centers on a man attempting to reanimate a corpse, something the average person would probably describe as "crossing the line," with ultimately disastrous results. Outside of fiction, scientists embark on new studies whose morality or necessity is deemed questionable by society. In the 1960s, when the “space race” was really starting, many Americans wondered whether space exploration was necessary, or even acceptable, to send a living person into space. Today we have no problem sending people into space and are even taking steps to send people on galactic vacations. Even today, controversies over Brundeen 2 areas of scientific research, such as stem cell research, nuclear energy and genetically modified foods, continue to be an issue, as people wonder if we are also going... to middle of paper... ...own opportunities and dangers: a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats by Brundeen 4”. Sometimes this is legitimate since going too far can cause pain and sadness or “physical discomfort,” as Wells says. But if you plant a tree in a comfort zone, it will not bear fruit. Pushing boundaries is what drives change, discovery and innovation. In “The Stolen Body” by HG Wells, he explores man's desire to transcend the boundaries of what society has defined as morally acceptable. However, he gives little to no indication as to whether this is right or wrong, choosing to leave it up to the reader's interpretation. However, since there are advantages and disadvantages to every risk, as a society we can only really determine retrospectively whether a venture was worth it. Works CitedWells, H.G. "The stolen body." Trans. ArrayThe Strand magazine, 1898. Print.