Astounding Science Fiction, British Edition — page 40: what you’re looking at

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

38 months ago and laid down the unbear- able burden of decision? Had it been hard to pull the trigger? Or easy, as it was easy to lift the knife and— A burst of blinding white light ex- ploded in the middle of his brain. It was like a shooting star that crashed and shattered upon the very texture of the mind itself. In the last winking instant of consciousness Cody thought he had already struck the self-destroy- ing blow and that this was what death looked like from within. Then he knew that the meteor of impact was Allenby’s mind striking his a numbing blow. He felt the knife slip from his hands, he felt his knees buckle, and he felt nothing more for a very long, an immeasurable time. When he was aware of himself again Allenby was kneeling beside him on the floor, and the calculator looked up above him glassy and reflecting from an unfamiliar angle, a child’s eye view seen with a knee-high vision. The door was unlocked and stood open. Every- thing looked strange. Allenby said, “All right, Jeff?” Cody looked up at him and felt the pent-up and unreleased tension in him boil toward the surface in an outburst of rage so strong that the supporting minds he felt hovering around him drew back as if from fire. “I’m sorry,” Allenby said. “I’ve only done that twice before in my life. I had to do it, Jeff.” Cody threw. aside the hand on his shoulder. Scowling, he drew his feet under him and tried to rise. The room went around him in an_ unsteady circle. “Somebody had to be the man,”’ Allenby said. “‘It was the odds, Jeff. It’s hard on you and Merriam and Brewster and those others, but—”’ Cody made a violent gesture, cutting off the thought. “Allright,” Allenby said. *““But don’t ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION kill yourself, Jeff. Kill somebody else. Kill Jasper Horne.” A little burning shock went through Cody’s mind. He stood motionless, not even his mind stirring, letting that strange new thought glow in the center of it. Kill Jasper Horne. Oh, Allenby was a wise man. He was grinning at Cody now, his round, ruddy face tense but beginning to look happy again. ‘Feeling better? Action’s what you need, Jeff—action, directed activity. All you’ve been able to do for months is stay put and worry. There are some responsibilities a man can’t carry— unless he acts. Well, use your knife on Horne, not yourself.” A faint flicker of doubt wavered in Cody’s mind. Allenby said, “Yes, you may fail. He may kill you.” ‘““He won't,” Cody said aloud, his voice sounding strange to him. “He could. You'll have to take the chance. Get him if you can. That’s what you want to do, but you haven’t really known it. You’ve got to kill someone. Horne’s our basic problem now. He’s our real enemy. So kill Horne. Not yourself.” Cody nodded without a word. “Good. We'll locate him for you. And I'll get you a copter. Will you see Lucy first?’ A little wave of disturbance ran through Cody’s mind. Allenby saw it, but he did not let his own mind ripple in response. Quietly the innumerable linking minds of the other telepaths all around them had drawn back, waiting. “Yes,” Cody said. “Til see Lucy first.” He turned toward the door of the cave. Jasper Horne—and what he repre- sented—was the reason why the Baldies could not let even themselves connicloookks.c@ iim