Manhole 69

I'm not sure I get exactly what happens in this one, but it's the standard tale of scientific experiment goes horribly wrong.

Looking to extend the mental powers of the human mind by eliminating sleep, three test subjects undergo 'narcotomy', which is a nice little word I've not seen before.  Without the daily downtime of sleep, the test subjects end up completely focused on themselves, and paranoid to the point where the gymnasium they're in shrinks in on them until there's no room left to move.  It references Chekov's The Bet and meditates on death, while at the same time JGB hints at the evolutionary psychology that would go into The Drowned World 5 years later.

What I liked about this story is the shift in focus.  We start with the medicalised observations of the scientists conducting and monitoring the experiment, but when they start getting sleepy the focus shifts to the three test subjects.  When they start encountering problems, the focus returns once again to the scientists, who try to make sense of the burnout in psychological terms.  It's an interesting three-act play.