Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 44 — page 33: what you’re looking at

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

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION will say that James was a pretty dreary sort of con- fidant, since he neither gave praise nor comment nor even a grunt of interest. But he was the only one I could afford to talk to, and besides, there was about his summing up of any situation a sort of mathematical certainty. His assessment of my per- sonal situation was the re- verse of cheerful. “You have become popu- lar,” he stated. “‘You have caused yourself to be ad- mired by the Argolans, and even by your own people; you are no longer a non- entity. The probability of your continued existence is thus diminished.” “IT realise that,”’ I admitted. ““When we get back home and Tomos starts brooding again. But I think I am safe on Argol, and here I mean to enjoy myself, for a little while.” At this point James made a remark—perhaps the first un- solicited remark he had ever made to me. It was quite simple. ‘“‘The Princess Nara is most attractive,’ he stated. Long afterwards I remem- bered this remark. It was made at just the exact psy- chological moment; I had announced my intention of 32 enjoying myself, but my mind was at that instant devoid of any definite plan. The effect of the remark was to turn my mind in a certain direc- tion—a dangerous and ex- citing direction. I believe now that James deliberately chose the mo- ment, and the form of words and the—I was about to say the tone of his remark, but of course he had no variety of tone—yet there was an undercurrent of something in his booming speech. All I said at the moment, how- ever,. was: ““How a piece of machinery and wires like yourself can know whether she is attractive or not is more than [ can guess.” The Argolans were a cheer- ful and quarrelsome bunch of scalliwags, with a core of toughness about them that our own more leisurely and indolent and _ luxury-loving people lacked. They fought among each other, and in- trigued, and pursued each other’s wives, and gossiped about each other, and laughed immoderately at every latest piece of scandal. The women were just like the men. Most of the ladies of the court had been divorced at least once, one of them no less than five times. They had welcomed comiclooks.corn