The story takes place early in the 24th century, when the technology for teleportation, referred to as Jaunting, is commonplace, allowing for instantaneous transportation across enormous distances, even to other planets in the solar system. The term Jaunting is stated within the short story to be an homage to The Stars My Destination, a science fiction novel by Alfred Bester. King also includes a reference to two American heroes... President Lincoln and President Hart, presumably meaning Abraham Lincoln and Gary Hart. King supported Hart's 1984 and 1988 campaigns for President of the United States.