Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 71 — page 45: what you’re looking at

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

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION look after us.”” Malchin stared towards the surrounding natives. ““Go in the ship and get me the water container. Bring it out and put it in front of me.” Carter hesitated, then obeyed. Malchin handed him the projector, picked up the almost full container, and, opening it, tipped it over. Water gushed out to be absorbed by the arid soil. *‘Water,” he said distinctly. He held up the container, pointed towards the distant stream, then swept his arm back towards the ship. ““Water. You fetch water.’’ He rested the container on the ground and pointed at a native. “You! You fetch water.” Nothing happened. ~ “Bad communication,” said Carter, interested, despite his fears. “They don’t understand you.” “They will,” said Malchin grimly. He glowered at the native and then tried again, sweating a little as he went through the pantomime. He swore when he achieved ex- actly the same result. ‘““Give me the projector,” he said grimly. “This has gone far enough.” He took the weapon, held it in his right hand while he repeated the pantomime with his left, ending by pointing towards” the same native. “‘Water,”’ he gritted. “You fetch water.” He waited five seconds then blasted the native into smoking ruin. “I can’t understand it.” Malchin stared desperately at the wooden bars surround- ing them. “Logically, I was doing the only thing possible. Primitive peoples always fear their gods and expect im- mediate punishment and death if they disobey.”’ “You made a mistake,” said Carter. He was shivering with fear. ““We should have stayed within the ship.” *“What for?’ Malchin was irritated with both himself and the natives, and took it out on his companion. *‘With- out water and with little food that wreck would have proved our coffin. We had to impress the natives. I had to shoot. If I'd let him get away with rank disobedience then the others would have lost their fear of us.” commiclooks.conm