Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 48 — page 48: what you’re looking at

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

TABARNI DOCUMENT ** Radial deviation six two” nine. 9x two...” The receiver emitted a high whine. ‘What's wrong now?” de- manded Takato. He bore on the volume panel with all his might. “Fighting Base!” the scout commander’s voice whispered in the receiver. “ Fighting Base! Our motors .. . our motors...” Then there was silence. The marshal parted his lips to ask a question when the sudden golden flash at the astrodome answered him. The control binary rocked for a moment. The flash faded quickly and was replaced by a harsh blue glare. Finally there came a tender green effulgence. It dwindled in its turn and the astrodome be- came a blind eye once again. The whole display took only a few seconds. The colonel cleared his throat. “ The weapons must have detonated while the craft were still within range, sir,’ he suggested. The marshal shook his head. “I don’t think so. It didn’t sound as if they had even released the weapons.” The colonel screwed the probe on his scanner to the fullest extent while the mar- shal kept pressing the panel on the receiver. The colonel concentrated. Then he shook his head. “Can’t really see anything, sir,’ he reported. “ Nothing down there but billowing clouds of fission products. It must have been pre-detona- tion of the weapons.” The marshal stared straight before him, quite silent. At last the colonel asked : “ What now, sir?” THE TENSION which had been 47 building up in the Venusian observatory had _ suddenly given way to the limpness of relief. And the relief was quickly followed by a thrill of pleasure. The black giant with the flaming beard was delighted. He slapped the slight shoulders of the woman beside him and chuckled. comicloooks.conm