Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 72 — page 31: what you’re looking at

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

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION show. Murbash stared at the commercials, seemed about to speak when the coloured images vanished and the pro- gramme started. It was cunning, realistic and quite effective. The scene was the interior of a car and the camera was the driver. The effect was that each viewer was actually in the driving seat, staring through the windscreen and seeing the road unroll before the smooth bonnet. From the speakers came a low rushing noise, the simulated passage of air over the car and, as the speed increased or slackened, so the seats pressed or yielded against the backs of the audience. For the first few minutes the scene was just that of a car rolling along the high- ways, humming around curves and bends. As Mark knew the preliminary stage was im- portant only to instil the illusion, and despite his know- ledge, he felt his feet begin to press the floor, his hands to clutch at an invisible wheel. The rest of the audience ceased to have any reality, only the screen and the im- pression that he was actually driving a car were real. The speed mounted, the humming grew louder, the tyres sang as they rounded curves and other cars slipped past as they were overtaken. The road wound ahead, a line of traffic on the near side, and the camera swung out- wards to pass them. Mark tensed, noticing that forward vision was occluded by the bend of the road and that, if anything were coming the other way, a crash would be inevitable. Something was coming the other way. A heavy truck came into view, swept towards the audi- ence. Tyres screamed as brakes locked and the scene wavered a little. Mark groaned, his foot hard against the floor, and then, as the truck rushed towards him, threw up his hands to protect his face. The sight, sound, and im- pression of actually hitting the other vehicle was so real that women screamed and men yelled as they threw themselves from their seats. The screen went dark, the comiclooks.cormn