Published from December 1888, nearly complete, as a 15-part serial in the theosophical monthly Lucifer, beginning vol. 3 no. 4, pp. 292-300.
The serial publication is not complete because the editors truncated the final, March 1890 instalment (v5 n6, p491-98). Hartmann's complaint was published in April with the editors reply, vol. 6 no. 1, p. 82:
The Editors reply with regret, as they find upon reading the conclusion that it resolves problems and "entirely removes from the story the odium of being supposed to be a burlesque upon the principles of the Theosophical Society, or upon Madame Blavatsky."
During progress of the serial, some newspapers or magazines did interpret the story as a satire or caricature of the Theosophists.