Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 72 — page 26: what you’re looking at

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

THE GIVE-AWAY WORLDS Ta and Frank sweated as he thrust coins into the slot, waited for the barrier to click, then headed down a corridor at a run. A man dressed like a-clown grabbed at his arm and yelled some- thing about a circus. Frank tore himself free. He wanted a drink, two drinks, and he wanted them fast. He found them in a room filled with shadows and glow- ing with black-light decora- tions. A grinning skeleton behind the long counter thrust a lambent glass before him as Frank dropped on a stool, pointed to a sign which stated that each drink was two credits, took the money and glided off. The beaker had tiny designs buried in the glass so that, as he looked at it, faces seemed to wink and grin, smile and nod, their expressions changing as he turned the beaker in the invisible black-light streaming from hidden projectors. “Cute, isn’t it?” A humped shadow to his right lifted his own glass, swallowed, set it down empty. “Join me?’ “Give me time.” Frank drank, letting the syrup-sweet 25 concoction slide down his gullet. “Now I’m ready. Thanks.” The shadow gestured, the grinning skeleton glided for- ward with two fresh drinks. Frank lifted his, gagged to the bite of sourness and slammed down the glass. ‘“*What the hell?” **Every drink anadventure,” said the friendly shadow. *“No matter what you ask for, you get what they give you.” ‘Taste titivation,’ explained the grinning skeleton. His voice spoiled the illusion. *“We’ve a kaleidoscope drink- mixer and no two can ever be the same. That’s the speciality of the Cavern. Drinking here never gets boring.” “It could get pretty sicken- ing, though.” Frank tasted his drink again and shuddered. ‘“Sobup pills on request. Want to try again?” ““Why not?” Frank found money, dropped it on the counter. ““Here’s hoping.” The next drink tasted of oranges, the one after of apples, the third of distilled sewer water, but they all had comicloooks.com