Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 72 — page 114: what you’re looking at

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

A lie can always be justified if it is for the common good. But what if the lie is not a lie? CAT UP A TREE by ROBERT PRESSLIE E WENT THROUGH THE H routine of entering his cell automatically. He checked the door gauge to make sure the pressures in the corridor and the cell were reasonably equal. With the door closed behind him, he heard Janie humming in the dinerette and casually twisted the oxygen demander for double rations. At the same time, his eye took in the temperature and humidity readings and noted that all was well. The entire process of enter- ing his particular section of the Beehive took about ten seconds. Do a thing a thous- and times—take the same pre- cautions several times a day over the course of a year— and you do it without con- scious thought. It’s like remem- bering to put your pants on before going out. Pure routine. Greeting your wife can get like that, too. A casual hello and a Jukewarm peck where a soft whisper and a breathless embrace used to be. Routine. But it wasn’t that way with Drew and Janie Banner. Mar- ried on Earth, with the honey- moon and every minute after that on Mars, they had yet to let themselves slip into matrimonial routine. Drew was through the main room in three strides. Janie met him in the archway of the dinerette. And they clinched. With the dark nimbus of her hair tickling his nose, Drew asked: ‘“‘What’s for eats? Chicken? I smell chicken fried in butter, with chopped parsley and tarragon——”’ “Mmm,” she murmured “Or chicken a l’Espagne, with green pepper and mushrooms, and cubes of celery.”’ Drew tipped her head into his chest to get a clear, unclouded look at the table. The places were set, the self- heating cans were beside the plates, ready for puncturing. He squeezed Janie tighter when 113 comicloooks.conm