Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, No. 66 — page 150: what you’re looking at

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

THE CREEP greed for property, greed for territory, and the foulest greed of all—the desire to possess the very souls of other human beings. She gave Blon a complete background to the picture of the present day when she related that since the opening of the twentieth century there had been only six months during which there was not a war being fought somewhere in the world. At the moment, she admitted, there was peace. But it was peace in the shadow of death, unsavoury peace in the in- visible shroud of the Creep. And the Creep itself was only the result of man’s latest attempt to build a weapon which would ensure him a greater share of the world and its wealth than his neighbour possessed. | ““That’s the kind of world this is,” she said. ““You’re in the fortunate position of be- ing able to take it or leave it. We have to take it. That’s why we’re begging your help.” She could see the indecision on the alien’s face and her 149 heart raced with fear. Yet she refused to make any excuses. “You are like that?’ asked Blon. ““You’ve saved my life without being asked and now you plead unselfishly for the lives of millions.” Lena tasted her bitterness to the end. “‘I’m just as selfish. Unles you lived we couldn’t have your help. Without your help the human race on Earth dies. And I’m part of it.” The alien considered. ““Why should I help? I’ve walked into a_ situation which I didn’t create. That situation has caused me a lot of grief. Our ships came here in peace, as yours might have done to another world if you had possessed spaceflight. We sought no conquests. Simply because you can’t live with each other in real peace, simply because your search for weapons has fouled the air with radiations, my ship crashed. Yet you ask me to save you?” Blon put his legs over the edge of the table and stood comiclooks.corn