Avon Fantasy Reader No. 12 — page 126: what you’re looking at

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

“We're friends,” Millet said, “We won't hurt you.” “How did you get here?” she asked suddenly. “By airplane. We crashed . . .” “Airplane! Bomber!” she said, her voice becoming high pitched till it was almost a scream. “Then it’s true what the books said! You’ve come here to kill all of us! You came here to destroy the factory! You came here to stop the machines! It’s you who wanted the war!” “No. No.” Millet insisted, “We are not going to do anything, Noth- ing, you understand, nothing, There’s no war going on, No war.” ‘No war!” she cried, “there’s always war! Always! The Day will come, my father told me and his father told him. There’s always war! ALWAYS! THE DAY HAS COME!” She pressed hersclf against the wall, shrinking in terror, her knees weakening until she knelt in the corner. Two tears rolled down her checks and then sobs shook her body. “Crazy as a loon,” Johnson whispered. Millet bent down and tried to soothe her. “There’s nothing to be afraid of,” he said softly. “We're not going to do anything. Everything s all right. Just stop crying.” She kept on sobbing and then, her confidence won, Millet put his arms around her until her sobs died down. “This beats everything,” Weaver said, scratching his head. A few minutes later the three men and the girl sat around the desk. Her face was still wet with tears, but her fear was now gone. “What's your name?” Millet asked, “I have none,” she said. “You were born here?” “OF course!” “What do you do here?” “Nothing. 'm the governor of the factory.” Millet repressed a smile and continued. “Why does the factory run?” “Everybody knows that—to make airplanes.” “But all the airplanes are taken to the other factory where they are simply taken apart! What's the sense to that?” She looked at him as if not understanding the question. He re- peated it. “Because,” she said, “because we've always done so, That’s alll Everybody knows that!” “But why? Why?” “I don't know,” she said sharply and irritated, “I don’t know!” “Did it ever,” he said quietly, “occur to you to stop the machines?” She stood up, pale with fright and anger. “Stop the machines?” she asked, trembling. “No! Nobody can do that! Nobody! Fhe factory must go on! It must! It always went on even when the bombers came. Always! Always!” 124 comicbooks.com