"Every now and then a man’s mind is stretched by a new idea or sensation, and never shrinks back to its former dimensions." (Oliver W Holmes, "The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table", 1891)
"Some people who talk about the Fourth Dimension do not know they mean it. It is only another way of looking at Time. There is no difference between Time and any of the three dimensions of Space except that our consciousness moves along it." (Herbert G Wells, "The Time Machine: An Invention", 1895)
"Scientific study and reflection had taught us that the known universe of three dimensions embraces the merest fraction of the whole cosmos of substance and energy. In this case an overwhelming preponderance of evidence from numerous authentic sources pointed to the tenacious existence of certain forces of great power and, so far as the human point of view is concerned, exceptional malignancy." (Howard P Lovecraft, "The Shunned House", 1937)
"There were boundless, unforeseeable realms, planet on planet, universe on universe, to which we might attain, and among whose prodigies and marvels we could dwell or wander indefinitely. In these worlds, our brains would be attuned to the comprehension of vaster and higher scientific laws, and states of entity beyond those of our present dimensional milieu." (Clark A Smith, "Beyond the Singing Flame", 1931)
"Man has natural three-dimensional limits, and he also has four-dimensional ones, considering time as an extension. When he reaches those limits, he ceases to grow and mature, and forms rigidly within the mold of those limiting walls. It is stasis, which is retrogression unless all else stands still as well. A man who reaches his limits is tending toward subhumanity. Only when he becomes superhuman in time and space can immortality become practical." (Henry Kuttner & C L Moore, "Time Enough", 1946)
"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to Man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call... The Twilight Zone." (Rod Serling, "The Twilight Zone", [opening narration] 1959)
"You’re traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That’s the signpost up ahead - your next stop, The Twilight Zone." (Rod Serling, "The Twilight Zone", [opening narration] 1961)
"[...] for the 5th dimension [...] you can travel through space without having to go the long way around.. .In other words a straight line is not the shortest distance between two points." (Madeleine L'Engle, "A Wrinkle in Time", 1962)
"You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension. A dimension of sound. A dimension of sight. A dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You’ve just crossed over into The Twilight Zone." (Rod Serling, "The Twilight Zone", [opening narration] 1963)
"Even if all life on our planet is destroyed, there must be other life somewhere which we know nothing of. It is impossible that ours is the only world; there must be world after world unseen by us, in some region or dimension that we simply do not perceive." (Philip K Dick, "The Man in the High Castle", 1962)
"[...] the universe was scrawled [...] along all its dimensions [...] space didn't exist and perhaps had never existed." (Italo Calvino, "A Sign in Space", 1965)
"You begin to suspect that if there’s any real truth it’s that the entire multi-dimensional infinity of the Universe is almost certainly being run by a bunch of maniacs." (Douglas Adams, "Fit the Fourth", [episode of "The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy" radio series] 1978)
"A stray thought, wandering through the dimensions in search of a mind to harbour it, slid into his brain." (Terry Pratchett, "The Colour of Magic", 1983)
"The dimension of the imagination is much more complex than those of time and space, which are very junior dimensions indeed." (Terry Pratchett, "The Colour of Magic", 1983)
"It is now known to science that there are many more dimensions than the classical four. Scientists say that these don’t normally impinge on the world because the extra dimensions are very small and curve in on themselves, and that since reality is fractal most of it is tucked inside itself. This means either that the universe is more full of wonders than we can hope to understand or, more probably, that scientists make things up as they go along." (Terry Pratchett, "Pyramids", 1989)
"History too has an inertia. In the four dimensions of spacetime, particles (or events) have directionality; mathematicians, trying to show this, draw what they call ‘world lines' on graphs. In human affairs, individual world lines form a thick tangle, curling out of the darkness of prehistory and stretching through time: a cable the size of Earth itself, spiraling round the sun on a long curved course. That cable of tangled world lines is history. Seeing where it has been, it is clear where it is going 0 it is a matter of simple extrapolation." (Kim S Robinson, "Red Mars", 1992)
"How was it that destruction could be so beautiful? Was there something in the scale of it? Was there some shadow in people, lusting for it? Or was it just a coincidental combination of the elements, the final proof that beauty has no moral dimension?" (Kim S Robinson, "Red Mars", 1992)
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