“Great Breakthroughs in Darkness” first appeared in David Garnett’s New Worlds #2, and has made several appearances in slightly different forms since then (including the best version in Larry McCaffery’s After Yesterday’s Crash). The version I’ve posted has been available online for years at the Journal of Postmodern Culture, but it’s an early version and a really ugly text file. I’m reprinting it here and will continue to refine the version to reflect the later changes (when I can dig them up). I may also eventually figure out how to reproduce the photoillustration that originally ran with the story in New Worlds.