Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, No. 51 — page 44: what you’re looking at

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

THE ENVIED “Where will all this lead? What will make the next thousand years tolerable?” His answer seemed almost a mockery. “You are not satisfied with the prospect of abstract thought?” “No. How could I be? What human being ever could be?” “Or the joy of serving your fellow beings? Of mak- ing the world easier for creatures of the kind that you once were?” “They don’t appreciate it,’ said Judith in anguish. “IT know they don’t. I never did while I was alive. Some folk get along all right with- out worrying, but they’re the insensitive ones. The others don’t like what they call the Grey dictatorship. They spend half their lives fretting, saying how wonderful it is to be a Grey. And this is what it is like. Why aren't they told? Why don’t you tell them there’s nothing to be envious of?” “Would they believe such a story?” 48 “If you were convincing enough. If you showed them —somehow.”’ The Instructor’s _ silence was, this time, a sceptical one. At last he said: “It has been tried. In various ways we have tried to explain to human beings that ours is a life of pure reason and that they should make the most of their own life while it lasts. You must have seen our proclamations your- self. Did you believe them?” “No,” Judith admitted. “The insensitive ones paid no heed. They did not mind. We made life comfortable for them, and they indulged themselves without worrying. The sensitive ones continued to resent us, believing that we were trying to keep the good things to _ ourselves. Only once or twice did we convince anyone of the true state of affairs in our exist- ence. And that was the worst of all. In compara- tively early times, there was a revolt against our growing power. We knew that an comiclooks.conm