Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 44 — page 112: what you’re looking at

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

ADDICT the small lock clicked open he felt his usual pride at the one small piece of furniture he had added to the sparsely furnished room. Inside he kept his breakfast and even- ing meal. Tonight he added a small, round loaf of hard cheese, a haif loaf of synbread and a tube of syncafé. But the cabinet was more than a repository for his food. It also contained some of his pride, and even some small re- belliousness. It represented a clear victory over the rats. For all of their instinctual cleverness they had never been able to pierce its tight-fitting door or simple lock. Furthermore, neither had his landlady. The old lady freely and frequently entered his room—the drawers of his dresser often attested to her curiosity and inept explora- tions. But she had never been able to pick the lock. She did not dare break it. George Three ate his meal leisurely stretched out on the reclining viewer chair. He gulped down the sandwich, being sure he had dropped no large crumbs for the rats, and drank the cold syncafé from il his dirty glass. Then he switched on the viewer and made himself comfortable for the evening. He did not feel up to his usual walk up and down the block. A title frame settled out of the pattern of coloured streaks. In type designed to imitate a child’s block printing the words “Sky Rockets Again” glowed in bright colours. This then faded into a cartoon drawing of a professor with cap and gown. The Absent Minded Professor. He was puzzling over a weird con- trivance that George Three could not recognise. His eyes were crossed. “The professors have been at it again,” declared the commentator. ‘ ‘What is it this time?’ you ask. ‘Proof of Fermat’s last theorem? Trisected angle? Perpetual motion machine?’ No, folks, it’s our old friend the...” During the pause the scene changed to a rather poorly exposed film. “Sky Rocket! Yes sir, the sky rocket. And—get this—this one was headed for Mars! | “Watch closely during the comiclooks.conrn