Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 54 — page 15: what you’re looking at

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

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION not the pioneer type; just a small-minded, blustering loud mouth who had pushed him- self to the forefront in the gathering of honest, taciturn workers who made up the majority of the colonist community. Both Admans and Mayo had fallen foul of Johnson several times during the past four years. Admans, when the man had stormed into his office and insinuated that the high infant mortality rate was due to the medic’s inefficiency. Admans had damned the tide of ignorant bluster by showing Johnson a few specimens, and explaining the real cause of the trouble. Johnson had promptly gone out and bolstered his own self esteem by blurting the confidential information all over the ship, causing un- necessary anguish to his fellow colonists and earning Ad- mans a sharp reprimand from Tutin. The trouble with Mayo had been inevitable. Johnson, like most of his kind, was anti- android and made no bones about stating his views. There 14 had been several embarrassing scenes in the ward room, when Mayo’s naturally truculent disposition had flared up in the face of Johnson’s flat- footed humour. “‘What’s the trouble, John- son?’ said Admans, warily. “It’s about these . . . queer kids our women keep on having, doc.’ The freckled face broke into an obviously ingratiating smile. “I know it ain’t your fault—you’re doing your best. Like you told me, there’s some sort of rays doing the damage—getting down inside us and twisting things [ihe Sasaiee “Thats roughly the theory,’’ said Admans, coldly. “‘Although the physicists have been unable to isolate the radiation, so far.” Johnson pulled an old, charred pipe out of his pocket and sucked on it noisily. “Well, I been thinking, doc. The Astraventurer is travel- ling pretty fast through space. That means that this radiation is big, perhaps millions of miles deep.”’ Admans shifted impatiently in his chair. “I should say that’s pretty obvious.” conmicloooks.conrn