Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, No. 51 — page 53: what you’re looking at

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

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION A pulse began to beat through her mind. The walls of the cubicle receded, then contracted, then receded again, and this time went far, far away. She felt sunshine warm upon her. She lay on a beach, feeling sand between her toes. When she dug her fingers down, they reached colder, damper sand, and the wetness of it was a cool bene- diction on her flesh. Warren laughed beside her. She turned to look up at him, and he put his hand on her arm. The grip of his fingers was savage and excit- ing. : She said: “Why did you take so long?” “Do you love me?” he said. Their mouths met and parted. The breeze blew cool and refreshing; and _ then they were swimming, the water was cold and exhilarat- ing, and she tasted salt on her lips. For a space of time that in her imagination was »meas- ured in hours, yet seemed to be over'in a flash, and was in reality of twenty minutes’ duration exactly, Judith lived in the true world—the world she had neglected while she aciually belonged to it. Her awakening was a wretched one. The walls of the cubicle came _ rushing back, the door opened, and her Instructor came in. She stared at him with hatred: but of course the hatred did not show. Mobility of face and responsiveness of body had been left behind in that dream world. Only mental agony remained. He said: “Did you find that everything went as you would have wished it?” She got up. “I feel un- clean,” she said. “I feel as though I have done some- thing immoral — something cheap and perverse.” “IT see. Some people do feel like that. But this is better than trying hopelessly to cling to the past by main- taining relationships with actual people. It is the best comicloooks.com