Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 72 — page 135: what you’re looking at

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

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION quencies and another relay snapped closed. Power rose to meet the new demand. Algo felt the third relay close and the tension heighten. Then part of the machine moved away, coming towards him. A small object, fuzzed around the outline, and made of some complicated hydrocar- bon, seemingly supported on a calcium structure. The iron complex inside the hollow -calcium tubes bothered Algo. There was absolutely nothing in his memory banks to suggest an identification for the thing. It had gone around the machine to the other side now and was close to another similar thing crouched inside. The rapid repetition of the notes, still in their proper cyclic order, with the corres- ponding polarizing of his internal forces, temporarily distracted Algo. The ninth relay closed with a snap and the arming of the COMMAND circuits was complete. Algo was now fully activated; he hummed faintly and waited. He watched the door rise and fold back against the ceiling. Its removal slightly sharpened the image of the machine waiting outside. It was at that moment that the re-adjustment to his outer surface took place. Algo as- sumed a spherical shape. For longer than he could recall, he had no means of knowing now that his chrono- base had been interrupted, he was again under full audio control. A million horsepower lay poised beneath the dull grey spherical outline of his pulsing body, every cell, per- ceptor, and circuit tuned to obey the command he awaited. It was the unexpected and perplexing repetition of the code signal for the tenth time, once too many, which precipitated matters. Algo literally shuddered. Impulses which should have moved smoothly in the same direc- tions now crossed, negatived themselves and set up ten- sions of enormous complexity and power. Energy surged wildly through his body, was snuffed out and re-routed to be checked again. Erratic, unmodulated motions were triggered off, countermanded and transferred to the second- ary level of delayed action. He was already confused with 134 comiclooks.conrn