Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 41 — page 38: what you’re looking at

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

THE PHOENIX NEST would probably have another when he found out how the experiment had turned out. His phoenix procedure would have been validated, but his theory of mind from cells would have been utterly destroyed. Strothmeyer could not re- sist a brief hope that Professor Knaut might pass on to whatever was waiting for him, leaving the glory and honour of the experiment solely to his assistant. After all, a few cells taken from Knaut’s still warm body could bring him back, too, at a more con- venient time—say in ten years. The body stirred. Stroth- meyer tensed and gripped the kilo, ready to defend himself against a furious Hitler, or to drop the weight, if the mind behind those eyes that were just opening should be that of Churchill. The face looked at him blankly. Neither man spoke for a moment, which seemed an age to Strothmeyer. Pro- _ fessor Knaut was tossing and grunting on the other side of the room. Somewhere in the electronic equipment, a tiny 37 arc was buzzing like an angry insect. Strothmeyer stared into the face before him. Slowly, a smile warmed the familiar features. Then the mouth opened and said, wearily, but » roguishly: “How is it, my dear doctor, that you do bend your eye on vacancy?” The speaker tried to rise, but found that he was too weak. “I must have had an accident,” he said. Then he winced. ‘*Oh, yes! J opened the door. He was standing there. He threw something at me.” Strothmeyer shoved the kilo away, where Churchill would not see it. “Everything is all right, now, Sir Winston,” he said. ““But you need rest. Let me help you to another part of the building. We can talk it all out later.” Churchill nodded. Stroth- meyer helped him to his feet. Once up, he was able to walk. On the way to the outside door, they had -to pass the corpse of the other duplicate. Churchill stopped when he saw the grotesquely sprawled image of himself. His hand gripped Strothmeyer’s arm. comcloooks.conn