Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, No. 56 — page 40: what you’re looking at

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

STRANGE SUICIDE The student stood back. “T.H.T\S.,” he said in a whisper. “Come up to my room—we can talk there.” They did not speak again until they were safely inside the room with the door locked behind them. Then the visitor eased his collar and slumped onto a couch. “Sorry,” he murmured. “You were my last resort.” “‘What happened ?” “Heresy meeting. The Security got there though, and we all only just got away in time. We had turbocars stationed at various points in order to make our getaways in a hurry if it should prove necessary, but I ran into a blind alley by mistake and had to hide from the Security men. As a consequence I missed the turbocar that was waiting for me.” The student’s eyes were very wide and they flicked, every now and again, from the newcomer to the door of the room and back again. If someone had seen him at the door, downstairs ... He swallowed. ““How—how did you know where I was staying?” he asked at length. 39 His visitor smiled tiredly. “We have lists of sympa- thisers—and potential sym- pathisers,” he said softly. “Unfortunately it was a long way to the nearest man whom I knew would help me and it seemed more likely that Id be caught trying to get there than if I took a chance on | finding you here and getting you to let me in. And after all—I did give you the chance to turn me away, you know.” The student nodded. “And the fact that I didn’t turn you. away—what does that prove?” “You know the answer to that better than I do,’ his visitor told him. It was true. He did know the answer. It meant that he had taken the first step in converting a hidden thought into a positive action—pos- sibly a whole series of positive actions. The idea made cold tremors play about his spine. Before, there had always been the comforting thought that “one man could do nothing against an entire way of life.” Now, it appeared, it was not a case of “one man”’ at all. And if there was a Heresy comiclooks.corn