Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, Issue 45 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

SOME OTHER TIME And after that? The slow dragging of the years whilst the eight children grew and matured, and unfolded before his critical, analytical eyes; the vindication of all his dreams. Carpenter ran his fingers lovingly over the broad, bulky, sheet-enshrouded outlines of the X-ray machines. Soon, if all went well at the investiga- tion committee meeting, those machines would once again quiver with life, would pour out their rays with fresh, willing volunteers as human targets. The memory of the tap ob- truded itself into his pleasant thoughts and he pulled his lower lip down absent- mindedly. There might be a connection between that and Katrin’s doll. Then he straight- ened up and slapped his hand down hard on the flank of the X-ray machine. What was coming over him? Worrying over a little girl’s tale of her doll walking? He must be cracking up! Still... Carpenter went back into his office, full of determination to forget both incidents. So Senator Charrington wasn’t satisfied with the last report? Well, for all Carpenter cared, he could go on being unsatis- fied. Once he had been smoothly polite to the two committeemen he would be seeing in a few minutes, had convinced them that all was well at the Carpenter Eugenics Research Station, the meeting - would be at hand and Char- 11 rington would hear everything along with the rest of the con- gressional investigation com- mittee. He went over to his desk and sat down. The exclamation that was jerked from stunned lips came from some deep pit of his sub- conscious. He was sitting in an ungainly heap on the floor, one arm thrust backwards to prevent himself from rolling onto his back. And the chair? The richly-stained mahog- any arm chair had skittered on rubbery legs from underneath him and scuttled across the office floor. comiclooks.corn