A wandering merchant in medieval Baghdad is brought before the Caliph, and recounts tales of ingenious gates that allow time travel to the past and future. “The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate” is from EXHALATION by Ted Chiang, published by Penguin Random House Audio, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.

This episode is sponsored by Penguin Random House (www.penguinrandomhouse.com/levar) and Betterhelp (www.betterhelp.com/levar code: LEVAR).