Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, No. 65 — page 71: what you’re looking at

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

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION He met her the next day; and the day after; and their friendship ripened quickly. She introduced him to her circle of intimates, and he found there were still isolated groups of people who avoided the commercials wherever they could. He talked—and he talked with enthusiasm beside Eve—of space and the way a man felt between planets. They listened respect- fully and, he thought, a little enviously. It was the night before he was due to leave for Mars. He sat with Eve in the gay lounge of her home; the blinds were fastened to keep out the neon glare and the walls were sound-proofed. A haven in the middle of the civilised jungle. She had been silent for some minutes, and he asked: “What are you thinking about, Eve?” “You, Jerry. You—out there . . . and wondering if -you’ll come back. I want, so much, for you to come back.”’ He knew, then, that she had been thinking the same thoughts as himself. He took 70 her in his arms and held her, whispering his dreams. “It’s no good, Jerry,’’ she said. ““A woman wants her man all the time. I couldn’t stand sharing you with the Stars ... or waiting for you to return, thinking of David, and knowing that one day I’d receive the routine notifica- tion of your death. I’d always be waiting for it—always!”’ She lifted her gaze and smiled sadly. “Youll have to choose, Jerry. Me—or space. You can’t have both... and I know the answer already. Like David, you’re a dedicated man.”’ Ward felt he was being torn apart by his emotions. He loved Eve, wanted her— but the thought of living permanently on Earth was unbearable. He had been too long in space to adapt to a world that demanded drug- deadened obedience. “Tl write,” he said. ‘“‘I can’t think clearly here... it'll be different when I get into space again. I'll think it out, and write. There must be some way, Eve.”’ b comiclooks.cormn