Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 47 — page 55: what you’re looking at

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

ye iene —_ ee ae pee er AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION Pilot” placed in a conspicuous position on the Flight Com- mander’s desk. It would be good to see some of “the boys” again. I smiled at Kersch and he looked back with a similar enthusiasm alight in the depths of his own eyes. We stepped into the elevator and sank rapidly. Compressed air hissed and light flickered through the air vents as floor after floor shot away from us. We must have been seven floors below ground level—to my surprise —when the cubicle slowed to an almost imperceptible halt. Another pneumatic whisper, and the doors slid silently open on curved runners. Ahead, there was a long, dimly illuminated passage lined on both sides with steel doors. It was deathly silent, and again I felt my en- thusiasm chill and seep away from me. I looked at Kersch. He was trembling slightly, as though the cold were too much for him, and his face looked strangely intense. Embar- rassed by the absolute silence, I coughed. The sound echoed and re-echoed back and forth 54 along the corridor, gaining a metallic ring as it aged. We walked. Our footsteps rang through the passage, making me feel out of step as the cadence multiplied and multi- plied again, until it sounded as though an army of ghosts were behind us. Suddenly Kersch stopped. He turned to a door on our right and [ noticed an illumi- nated chart at its side. The door was marked “J8” and was heavily rivetted. I saw his eyes flicker over the chart. He said: “Number Seven is airborne. That would be the Superjet that took off as you arrived. He is due back in four minutes.” I felt my mouth open. “That really was piloted by a man, then! But... but...” “Number Seven would be gratified, indeed,” Kersh said. The muscles in his jaw twitched. “‘Let us go inside; you will be able to greet him on his return to the comforts of the crew room.” He pressed a button and the twin doors opened with rather more noise than had his office doors. rar a minute I was quite unable to accustom myself to comiclooks.conn