Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 72 — page 117: what you’re looking at

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

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION thought so. The problem is a new one to you, Banner, but I’ve had it for months. From clues that the head-shrinkers have picked up from the people we sent home, we—I mean myself and the section directors—we think we know what the problem is and how to solve it.” ‘“‘Where do I come in?” **You’ll be the trigger. We’ve got our weapons for the solution ready. You'll be the trigger. Tomorrow, the meteo- rological section director will be off work with a mild stomach ache. You'll take over his job of announcing the district forecasts. One of them will contain a warning of sandstorm over Area——”’ “But there won’t be any sandstorm tomorrow!”’ Ferguson looked at Drew and dared him to drop his eyes. He slid the top paper from the pile on his desk towards Drew. “That’s the weather outlook for tomorrow. Send it out exactly as it is, except for the sixth item. Change that to sandstorm and amend the atmospheric pressure and temperature fig- ures to suit.” Without Janie, the cell was empty and lifeless. In fact, for Drew, the whole colony lost some of its sparkle and he spent more and more of his waking hours immersed in his work. Since frequent visits to the hospital quarters were discouraged, he saw little of Janie. Each time he did see her, he was more certain that she was fit to return to normal life. Hypnotic treat- ment had erased from her mind all memory of what she had done. She was led to be- lieve that she was convales- cing from an obscure fever. Drew wanted the chief M.O. to use hypnosis again and thus wipe out any future killing instincts. He got a long, involved lecture about how such a course would cut Janie’s personality in half and leave her little better than an amiable, acquiescent idiot. Wait, he was told. Six weeks after the start of Janie’s internment, he was met at the end of the hospital corridor by the chief M.O. *‘She’s going home today,”’ the doctor said. Drew made the wrong in- ference. “To Earth?” 116 comiclooks.corn