Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 46 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

SAVIOUR matically make a man in a certain mould; make him a better man, in fact, than some- one who hasn’t had those advantages. No——” He raised his hand. “‘Let me go on. In some cases you may be right, but not always. We hear a lot about environment and heredity and such like, but that isn’t the whole pic- ture. When someone’s born, that someone is a new thing, and when it gets older you can’t just add its heredity to its environment and upbring- ing and expect your total to equal an actual human being.” He paused a moment, to let his ideas sink in. Then he said: “You see what I’m getting at? You can’t expect that, because you married me and had a child and brought him up in a certain way, that child is going to be exactly what you would hope and expect him to be.”’ The General’s wife lit a cigarette. “You’re straying from the point, dear,’ she told her husband, calmly. ““We’re not discussing hered- ity or anything like it; we’re talking about what we're going to do with Patrick. The boy’s been right through train- ing college without qualifying for anything. He’s failed to get high enough marks to 11 qualify for any of the exempt postsin technology; therefore, he’s got to go straight into the forces. I’m suggesting psycho- surgery as being the only way to make him fit to fight. Per- haps I’m wrong in thinking that he needs it, but I don’t think I am. Anyway, they’ll soon find out at the Psycho- centre.” A sudden intake of breath from the kitchen was too soft for the speakers to hear. General Vane looked at his wife. “Is that really your reason for suggesting it?’ he asked, slowly, very slowly, almost as though afraid to hear her answer, afraid of what he himself was saying— and thinking. “Why else?” ““Itcouldn’t be because’ the words were forced out, one by one—‘“because you think he’d fail the elementary and have to be downgraded Togas, *“. . . to Labour Duties?” she finished for him. “‘Well, what if I was thinking that? Do you think I could hold my head up again in this Level if word got about that General and Mrs. Vane’s only child was too idle or stupid for anything but Labour Duties ?”’ Her eyes blazed. “I don’t see > Connicloookxs.com