Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, No. 56 — page 140: what you’re looking at

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

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION the stars. These were illuminated by a 100 watt bulb behind the paper. The whole set-up was lighted by a 500 watt bulb in a reflector three feet from the ship. The design of the ship was inspired by the books by Clarke and Willy Ley, and the landscape by Bonestell. I hope you like our effort. I may do more of this type of photo- graphy in the future; if so I will send you further copies. I decided to send a copy to the best S.F. mag. —here is the copy. 584740 Cpl. Hall, J. E., 32 Sqdn., R.A.F., Kabrit, M.E.A.F. 15. A fine effort, corporal, but your lunar landscape is not sharp enough for reproduction. Many thanks for sending the print, and we'd love to see any more you make. What about having a go at an artificial satellite? HEART vy. MIND The questions of Nationalism and World Government raised by Peter Summers and David Steven- son in connection with law and power seem to me to miss the vital issues—excepting, perhaps, Mr. Stevenson’s very general ref- erence to guidance by God. As a general rule we plan, not law, but responsible privilege, parliamen- tary privilege and sovereignty at the head of our institutions and governments. These qualities or values are really a freedom from law, though not, of course, irres- ponsible freedom, anarchy or chaos. The old Hebrew philosophy of enforcing the letter of the law so accurately reproduced by dictator- ships is, on the whole, strongly reinforced by the insistence of 139 ' qualities are the science upon causation and strict physical law. But this is open to question. The interaction and limitation of a mass of individual laws derived by analysis can never replace the qualities and values of design, form, stability, harmony, entropy, rhythm, etc., of a com- posite structure because these “cause” of the interaction and limitation. They stand, like responsible privilege, beyond and behind law. Nor are these qualities purely philosophical conceptions. The theorems of stability in the solar system enun- ciated by Lagrange and __ first established by Laplace are just as real as those relating to space, time and energy. R. Carvier, Imperial Hotel, Parramata Road, Leichhardt, Sydney, N.S.W. We beg to disagree, Mr. Carvier. While the individual may well plan his life according to his own pre- judicial opinions of design, form, harmony, etc., the only successful method of running large com- munities is on a rational basis— and that means an acceptance of the axioms of universal causation. All else is irrational, by definition. Irrationality is a privilege for the private individual, not for the public servant. By all means take your pleasures from emotional en- tities, but if you have to direct the lives of other people then let your direction be based on _ scientific principles. Perhaps a man’s most civilised quality is his ability to make his primitive emotions subservient to logical necessities. comiclooks.cormn