Astounding Science Fiction, August 1955 (British Edition) — page 118: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

116 ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION and get the day’s accumulation. We only got one of them, a fourteen-year- old girl. We’re having some trouble getting her deconditioned to a point where she can be hypnotized into talking; by the time we do, they'll have everything closed out, I suppose. What’s the latest from Abzar Sector? I missed the last report in the rush to get to this Council session.’ “All stalled. We’re still boomeranging the sector, but it’s about five billion time lines deep, and the pattern for the Kholghoor and Esaron Sectors doesn’t seem to apply. I think they have a lot of these Abzar time lines close together, and they get from one to another via some terminal on Fifth Level.” Tortha Karf nodded. It was impossible to make a transposition of less than ten parayears—a hundred thousand time lines. It was impossible that the field could build and collapse that soon. “We also think that this Abzar time line was only used for the Croutha- Wizard Trader operation. Nothing we found there was more than a couple of months old; nothing since the last rainy season in India, for instance. Everything was cleaned out on Skordran Kirv’s end.” “Tell him to try the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio Valleys, ” Tortha Karf said. “‘A lot of those slaves are sure to have been sold to Second Level Khiftan Sector.” “Well, it looks as though our vacation’s out the window for a long time,” Dalla said resignedly. “Why don’t you and Vall go to my farm, on Fifth Level Sicily,” Tortha Karf suggested. “I own the whole island, on that time line, and you can always be reached in a hurry if anything comes up.” “We could have as much fun there as on the Dwarma Sector,’”’ Dalla said. “Chief, could we take a couple of friends along?” “Well, who?” ‘““Zinganna and Kostran Galth,”’ she replied. ““They’ve gotten interested in one another; they’re talking about a tentative marriage.” “It'll have to be mighty tentative,”’ Vall said. ““Kostran Galth can’t marry a Prole.”’ “She won’t be a Prole very long. I’m going to adopt her as my sister.”’ Tortha Karf looked at her sharply. ““You sure you Know what you’re doing, Dalla?” he asked. : “Of course I’m sure. I know that girl better than she knows herself. I narco-hypped her, remember. Zinna’s the kind of a sister I’ve always wished I'd had.” “Well, that’s all right then. But about this marriage. She was in love with Salgath Trod,” Tortha Karf said. “Now, she’s identifying Agent Kostran with him—”’ “She was in love ie the kind of man secs — nf been: if he erro ZGoOMmiGoooksacom