Escape, the past and fantasy

The story is about a very modern wish: to escape. Today's world brings worry, fear and stress, and people look for ways out: hobbies, music, travel, daydreams.

Charley's stamp collecting is one such hobby. It also keeps the past alive, as coins, museums, old photographs and family stories do.

The story joins place and time in a strange way: a corridor in a railway station leads into another century. The writer blends the real (an actual station in New York, real railway companies) with fantasy, so the reader is never quite sure what is real and what is imagined.

In this it is like Jayant Narlikar's story 'The Adventure', which also mixes real history and places with fantasy.

Ideas that seem illogical today, like time travel, may one day become possible: many inventions once seemed impossible too.

In the end, perhaps we all want a 'third level' sometimes: a quiet place to escape from the pressures of modern life. Think of someone from a small town who moves to a crowded, fast city like Delhi or Mumbai, and longs for the slower life back home.

Is the third level real? The story leaves it open: Charley's experience could be a daydream, but Sam's letter and his disappearance suggest otherwise. In an exam you may argue either way; what matters is supporting your answer with details from the story.