noon of December 31, 1970
It was shortly after noon of December 31 , 1970 , when the series of weird and startling events began which took me into the tiny world of an atom of gold , beyond the vanishing point , beyond the range of even the highest-powered electric-microscope . My name is George Randolph . I was , that momentous afternoon , assistant chemist for the Ajax International Dye Company , with main offices in New York City . It was twelve-twenty when the local exchange call-sorter announced Alan 's connection from Quebec .