Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 54 — page 16: what you’re looking at

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

THE LESSER BREED “Maybe not,” said John- son, his large, discoloured teeth showing in a triumphant smile at his own cleverness. “Suppose it was small—just big enough to cover the ship. And moving along with us. That would work the same, wouldn’t it?” “Really, Tutin! Do I have to waste my time listening to this rot?” exclaimed Admans. “What kind of a radiation field would cling onto a ship like a leech, and chase it halfway across the galaxy?” “What Johnson is getting at, in his own inimitable way, is that he believes the radia- tion is being produced inside the ship itself,’ said Tutin. Admans spoke with slow exasperation. “That’s ridi- culous, and you know it. This ship is the finest Earth yards have ever produced. Years of work and experi- mentation went into her build- ing. Anyway, the Grenbach drive is in the outer shell of the ship.” “That’s what the Major said,” intervened Johnson, stubbornly. “But I believe that the radiation is not an 15 accident. Somebody on the ship is causing it—somebody | who wants the project to fail. You said yourself that if it goes on much longer there’ll be no normal births at all— and we all know what that would mean.” Admans’ eyes widened. ““That’s madness—whoever it was, would be desiroying himself at the same time. So far, the radiation has only affected the delicate genetic © mechanisms of the body, but we can’t be sure that it will stop there. Those pitiful women—no human being could be so evil as to cause them such anguish.” Johnson laid his pipe en the desk and leaned forward. “No Auman being, doc—but an android isn’t a human being! Radiation doesn’t hurt him—he’s built to take it.” So that was it—the witch hunt was on! Admans turned to Tutin. “If you believe this fairy story, why haven’t you brought Mr. Mayo into the discussion? Or do you prefer to listen to this—expert? Mayo is the only man on this ship who really understands Comichbooks.cCom