Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, No. 67 — page 115: what you’re looking at

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

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION been so easy to put myself at the top of the list. Nobody could have stopped me doing so, but I didn’t. Can you understand that, Samuels ?” I felt suddenly embarrassed. I had never heard the’ Old Man speak like this before. I knew he was not asking for sympathy, but he was feeling the need to justify himself and his actions to a fellow human being; probably for the first time in his life. “The way I see it, you’re in command, sir,” I said. “I’ve no complaints. We all volunteered for this duty, knowing that it would be tough.” I hesitated. “But I think you should remember that Chambers was not a volunteer.” He breathed in deeply, pulling his big shoulders back. “IT am in no danger of for- getting that. He was sent here against my wishes, you know. In a group as small and isolated as ours there can be no such thing as a single, privileged civilian; one such person can ruin the discipline and esprit de corps of the whole personnel. Don’t you see? I could not put him first on the roster. All of us have been under such constant stress that any favouritism could precipitate resentment which would endanger the co-ordination of the whole group.” “But he’s in bad shape, sir,” I said. “He might do something stupid.” “IT know, that’s -the devil of it.” The Old Man sat down at his desk. “But I’ve got to take that chance. The welfare of the Base is of far greater importance than that of one man. He’ll be going back on the second ship; that’s as much as I dare do for him. The Psyches will be able to straighten him out when he gets back to Earth.” I knew the Old Man was right, but I had the feeling that six months was too long for Chambers to wait. Whilst he knew that Earth was un- attainable he had been able to stand it, but to know that a ship was coming at last, and that somebody else would be going back with it. That was a different matter. I didn’t see much of Cham- bers for the next couple of days. I was working on my own, ironing out the bugs that had developed in the ventilation system, and he was elsewhere in the Base finishing the overhaul on one of the crawlers. He didn’t . 114 comiclooks.conn