Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, No. 67 — page 72: what you’re looking at

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

POST MORTEM hating. Duffy just wondered how the captain had suc- ceeded in hiding his baseness so long. If the people who had filed past the catafalque all day had only known—— Then Duffy noticed the queue had gone. The quietness was complete with the ab- sence of shuffling feet and muted voices. One solitary mourner remained at the catafalque, a young man, a fuzz-chinned youth who ground one white-knuckled fist into the palm of his other hand and didn’t care who saw the tears on his cheeks. It was the black suit and the lack of uniform that fooled Duffy. He took a full minute to recognise the kid. ““Kenwood,” he said. The second syllable was higher than the first. “Duffy,” the navigator ac- knowledged. At first he didn’t turn his head, then he looked at Duffy’s faceplate and said: ““God, we were wrong!” The lowest form of life in space is a reactor man. But anyone who can make even that grade, anyone who can qualify to put a nickel-soled boot through a spaceship’s port, is no moron—not by a long way. Duffy didn’t have to strain himself to arrive at 71 the reason for Kenwood’s . presence and his vehement condemnation. “There was nothing wrong with you?” he said. “It wasn’t appendicitis?” Kenwood shook his head and looked utterly miserable. “*Too much space, not enough guts, that’s all. The captain was right, and I killed him.” Duffy could see the kid needed stiffening. ““You didn’t force him to make for Earth. The rest of us did that. You were too sick.” ““Nerves. A shot of amphe- tobarbitone and a couple of hours on the trick-cyclist’s couch put me on my feet again. But nothing can bring him back to life.” “Out there,” said Duffy, “you were a dying man—in our estimation. So maybe we were wrong. But Forde had no right to deny you the chance of proper medical attention. He was a regulation- bound skunk.” Kenwood’s baby face creased. ““But he wasn’t,” he said earnestly. ““He may have been stiff about most things, I agree. But stubbornness had nothing to do with his refusal to bypass the Wheel. He knew that to land on Earth meant his own suicide.” comiclooks.com