Sold to Satan by Mark Twain. Short summary

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The author decided to sell his soul to the devil. In return, Satan explained to him the usefulness of radium and polonium and told him where the deposit of these minerals, not yet appreciated by society, was located.

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The shares the author owned fell in value, and he decided to pawn his immortal soul. For 2.5% of the transaction amount the broker arranged for the author to meet Satan.

Twain was surprised that the nocturnal visitor did not resemble the monster depicted in the children’s Bible and on cathedral frescoes. Satan was handsome and radiated a kind of unearthly light. The writer asked where this pleasant light came from.

Satan began to talk about chemistry and praised Marie Curie, who, the devil said, was one step away from a great discovery. Radium, from which Satan’s body is made, is a great energy resource. One gram of it would be enough to heat the entire Earth, to run all the engines in existence. You don’t need coal or oil. And Polonium prevents the Earth from being incinerated — Satan’s skin is made of it.

In exchange for his soul, Satan told the author where the greatest and only deposit of radium was located. M. Twain immediately founded a joint-stock company.