Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, Issue 45 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

SOME OTHER TIME “Katrin? She’s a little awk- ward at the moment, sir. I’ve put her in the observation pen.” Carpenter did not reply, but went quickly to the observa- tion port and peered through the thick polarised glass into the nursery pen that lay beyond. Katrin was a crumpled heap of rompers, sobbing miserably into the ear of her moulting teddy-bear. Carpenter stepped up the microphone pick-up. “*... didn’t believe me. You believe, teddy-bear, don’t you? ’Cos Dolly did walk over to me. I saw her walk. I did!” Carpenter swung round on Armstrong. *‘What’s all this about, Arm- strong? Dolls walking?” “Yes, sir. At least,’? Arm- strong smiled the deprecating smile of an adult. “Katrin claims that her doll walked over to her.”’ Dolls walking. Taps that curled up... Carpenter licked his lips and flicked off the microphone. “Don’t mention the subject to Katrin again. We'll see if any more comes of it. If you make a lot of fuss over these things, children balloon them up out of all proportion to their true value.” Carpenter’s words were de- cisive, although his mind was crawling with half-frightened conjectures. He moved along the corridor and looked in at the play-pen observation window. The other seven children were seriously occupied in the normal pursuits of nine-year olds. Carpenter’s lips parted as he watched them and the hard fever-induced glitter in his eyes softened. These were the children of tomorrow. At least, the tomorrow of Mars. He studied their massive chest development. Already they had the lung capacity of adolescence which, in a few more years, would be upon them, by which time they should have almost fully de- veloped lung capacity. And that full development, al- though nowhere near enough comicloooks.conm