Thread in question: https://www.reddit.com/r/boston/comments/p16h0z/this_fuckin_...
I was just wondering why, of all the subway systems in the world, the author would pick Boston, which as far as I can see in 1952 had all of 3 "real" subway lines plus the Green Line, which at that time was probably still a streetcar? According to Wikipedia, he didn't even have any connection to Boston...
The author (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armin_Joseph_Deutsch) spent some time working for Harvard (which has an MBTA subway station), including as a lecturer. The story features a Harvard professor whom both explains and is ensnared by the anomaly. We write what we know.
What I enjoy about this story is that it imagines a world where the MBTA (Boston's public transit system) was so well funded to become an incredibly complex system. In reality there hasn't been significant improvement since the late 80's, and Green Line service to Forest Hills is still "temporarily" suspended.