| As a student, Richard Mackley discussed some philosophical aspects of the
mathematical abstraction of an infinite plane with his math
professor. For instance, they noted that the plane would look the same
regardless of your distance from it (having no pattern nor edges for your
binocular vision to use as cues) and the fact that it divides three
dimensional space in half, so that there is no way to get to the other side
other than going through it. Moreover, they even speculate upon what one
might find on the other side, with the professor's ideas based upon the
important mathematical concept of symmetry.
Later, serving in the US Air Force, Mackley has the misfortune to get shot
down over the Sea of Japan and mysteriously find himself falling towards an
infinite plane in reality. Following through on his determination to break
through to the other side, Mackley is eventually able to verify his old
professors conjecture. |
