Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, Issue 45 — page 102: what you’re looking at

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

THIRD HAND air. It told Lessinger what he already knew. That no one thought that he could settle down. That it was everyone’s opinion that after all this space stuff he’d find life on Earth very tame indeed. The way the sentence ended told him something else too. That if he wanted he could call the whole thing off here and now. He had only to stutter around a bit, say that he was fooling, that he hadn’t really thought everything out, that he was still only making up his mind. Say just that, and he was still working for Space- ways. He had an out if he wanted it. If he was yellow. The fat man said: “Yow il find it very different from your work with us. It’s more fatiguing. It’s harder work. Oh, I know you work hard here...” That came out hastily; the man didn’t like to give offence, even to his pilots. “I know you work hard enough in space flight, but it’s a different kind of work.” He tapped his fore- head. Where his brains should be, Lessinger thought, mali- ciously. “It’s up here that the pilot wants it. Up here. His 101 head. He doesn’t have to pull and tear with his hands.” “T’ve got news for you,” Lessinger said. “I won’t be alone. Mike’s coming with me.” ‘Mike! But he’s one of our best!” 3 “Sure he’s one of your best. He’s going to be one of my best too. He’s going to work for me. Or so he says. We’ve got it all figured.” The little man brightened. He was thinking that maybe it wouldn’t take long to train some other creature up to Mike’s standard. And whilst he was training, of course, he wouldn’t be drawing as much as Mike... “You should make short work of farming,” he said. “You sure should make farm- ing look sick if you’ve got an Adaptant!” Lessinger took a cab from the Terminal. It was all work- ing. It was all too easy. Next thing was to fix up the deed on the land. Get that done and he was set and ready to go. He’d have to break it to Molly, but maybe she wouldn’t be sorry to see an end of comiclooks.corn