Astounding Science Fiction (British Edition) — page 27: what you’re looking at

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

THE GULF on the bench before him. “I under- stand it. It can be interpreted in either of two ways; as an expression of a feeling of pleasure or as a factual statement of the loss of the ability to phosphoresce.”’ “What goes on?” Knight asked. “T’ve been trying to develop a sense of humor in George,” she said, making a face at the unmoved robot. “I told him jokes and explained the points, but it’s a waste of time. He just can’t see the funny side of anything.” “You ought to know better than to even try. What kind of jokes did you tell him anyway? What was this one about not being able to phosphoresce?”’ “What the firefly said when he got his tail cut off—‘T’m delighted!’ ” “Oh.” Knight pulled his mouth down and shuddered. “No wonder George refused to laugh at that. Not even the most genial human-being could see anything funny about such a stup—”’ : “Never mind!” she interrupted him. ‘J think it’s funny.”’ She looked toward the doorway. ‘“Where did the brass go?” “Up into the ship. You and I are to check these blueprints. You can check the electronic circuits of the initial and restraining stages and I'll take the rest.”’ ““Well—” she sighed philosophi- cally, ‘‘at least I know what I'll be doing the rest of the day—and it’s all the fault of that humorless pile of tin.” “Speaking of jokes’’—Knight spilled . the blueprints out of the brown envelope and spread them on the table—“‘did I ever tell you about the traveling salesman who asked the farmer’s daughter if—”’ *“Never mind that, either!’’ she in- terrupted him firmly. ““Do you want to shock George?’ BETWEEN | 25 Silence. There had been utter silence from the first; the silence enclosing him and the dark eyes watching him. Why did the doctor move so quietly? Was it because he was dying; was it because people always walk softly in the presence of the dying? Of course! His doctor was showing him the respect that is due the dead— and the soon-to-be-dead. For a moment the tide of insanity almost broke through the bulwark built around his mind by the antihysteria drugs; the insanity he so desperately longed for; the insanity that would let him die in mindless, unfrightened madness. The words above the pilot’s com- munication panel now read: OB- SERVER HAS A LIFE EXPECT- ANCY OF TWENTY HOURS AT PRESENT ACCELERATION. DEATH FOR OBSERVER WILL RESULT UNLESS ACCELERA- TION IS REDUCED WITHIN THAT PERIOD. The urge to laugh came to him. It was funny! The doctor wouldn't reduce the acceleration until he gave the order and he couldn’t give the order until the doc- tor reduced the acceleration. Funny ! The butterscotchmen couldn't run unless they were hot and couldn't get hot unless they ran. . . . Couldn't run unless they were hot—Couldn’t get hot unless they ran. . . . Couldn’t run —Couldn’t hot... run ... hot ete HU. NOES a VICIOUS. CIFCIeS and circles vicious, spinning around and around ... spin around and around and around and around till your mind flies off into the darkness where someone is laughing. . . . How pleas- ant to go laughing and spinning into the darkness, around and around... laughing and spinning and_ spinning and laughing . . . around and around and: 0. | Sanity jolted into his mind with all its Comichooksnco im