Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 46 — page 19: what you’re looking at

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

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION - it’s just a thing like that then matters won’t be so bad. It was hearing about this Lake affair that started me thinking over the similarity between the two boys and so on, but it may have been just a_ surface similarity.” “But if the Lake boy was— well, too dangerous to let live, then why didn’t people find out about it before? If deviants are dangerous to us they must know about what- ever powers they’ve got, surely ?” Rac Her husband shook his head.‘“‘Apparently that doesn’t follow. A deviant might easily go right through his life possessing some extra, non- human gift, yet never know anything about it, consciously, and, therefore, be unable to control or direct it in any way. On the other hand he may know about it early on in life, or at any time at all, in fact. I’m no psycho, though. I don’t know all the answers.” Suddenly she raised her hand, turned her eyes to the ceiling. “Just a minute,”’ she said. ““Hear something?” “Sounds like water dripping.” She nodded. “‘I’d better go and look. I thought the plumber made a bad job of 18 that pipe. I don’t want the bedroom carpet ruined.” . The sound of the water dripping was obscured, mo- mentarily, by another sound. A much louder sound that was something between a clump and a crash, and which came, it seemed, from the kitchen. They stared at each other, bewildered, for the smallest fraction of a second. Then the’ General strode across *the room and jerked open the communicating door. “Well,” he said, softly, staring into the kitchen. “‘ Well.”’ Swiftly his wife joined him and together they watched their son clamber to his feet. It was very easy indeed for both of them to see what had happened. The boy had had his ear to the hatchway, had heard them mention the drip- ping water and, in order to escape possible detection, had turned abruptly with the in- tention of darting out through the back door, which he had been cautious enough to open previously. Unfortunately for him, it was plain to see, his foot had caught on a torn piece of the plastiflooring when he made his abrupt turn, with the consequence that he had lost -his balance and falien. | conmicloooks.comn