Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 52 — page 102: what you’re looking at

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

A DATE WITH THE PAST through a sliding door bearing the legend ‘“‘Laboratory C.” The room he found himself ' in was large, rectangular and windowless, the sole illumina- tion being by a cold blue- white light from the hazed ceiling. There was a miscel- lany of equipment lying about, mostly on the floor, and a great tangle of wires and hooked-up leads ready to trap the unwary. At one end of the room there was a massive built-in information panel, which was presumably connected to the Youn Cal- culator; the other end was dominated by a _ gleaming metal grille, twice the height of a man, and curving in a shallow arc; it was fenced in by two control boards and a complexity of apparatus. Heavy busbars crossed to a nearby bench, on which Lys- sen thought he recognised the humped and tubular frame- work of a magnetic reaction motor. A little green light shone at one end of it. Apart from a slight hum, all was silent, and nothing moved beneath the cold, shadowless light. Del Marno cursed, and darted across to one of the control boards, where a scanner was alight; it glowed vii: as a medley of coloured 101 lines wove an intricate pattern across its screen. He inspected it, and quickly took readings from a cluster of dials lower down. Then he whirled round, his face distorted with emotion. “Up to five hundred years, and she knows the risk... I must go after her You! Lyssen!” He barked out the name so savagely that the other recoiled. “I care not what you do, but if you stay here while I am gone— it should be but a short time— touch nothing, you under- stand? Nothing.” As he spoke, Del Marno picked up what looked like a small metal cigarette case, and fasténed it carefully under his waistband. Lyssen, somewhat at a loss, started to speak of what was uppermost in his mind. “This envelope, sir——’ “Gods! At such a time! Open it yourself, man, and tell me later what stuff it contains.’’ Del Marno took a last, impatient look at the control board, then stationed himself at the dead centre of the big curved grille. He put a hand to the device at his waist, and appeared to press > it. At this precise moment conmicloooks.com)