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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1a7c459 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #51801 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51801) diff --git a/old/51801-h.zip b/old/51801-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index e43a242..0000000 --- a/old/51801-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51801-h/51801-h.htm b/old/51801-h/51801-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index a585a96..0000000 --- a/old/51801-h/51801-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2024 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=us-ascii" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Immortals, by David Duncan. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - -.ph1, .ph2, .ph3, .ph4 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; } -.ph1 { font-size: xx-large; margin: .67em auto; } -.ph2 { font-size: x-large; margin: .75em auto; } -.ph3 { font-size: large; margin: .83em auto; } -.ph4 { font-size: medium; margin: 1.12em auto; } - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Immortals, by David Duncan - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Immortals - -Author: David Duncan - -Release Date: April 19, 2016 [EBook #51801] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IMMORTALS *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="401" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> -<h1>THE IMMORTALS</h1> - -<p>By DAVID DUNCAN</p> - -<p>Illustrated by Dick Francis</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Galaxy Magazine October 1960.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph3"><i>Staghorn dared tug at the veil that hid the<br /> -future. Maybe it wasn't a crime to look ...<br /> -maybe it was just that the future was ugly!</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph4">I</p> - -<p>Dr. Clarence Peccary was an objective man. His increasing irritation -was caused, he realized, by the fear that his conscience was going to -intervene between him and the vast fortune that was definitely within -his grasp. Millions. Billions! But he wanted to enjoy it.</p> - -<p>He didn't want to skulk through life avoiding the eyes of everyone he -met—particularly when his life might last for centuries. So he sat -glowering at the rectangular screen that was located just above the -control console of Roger Staghorn's great digital computer.</p> - -<p>At the moment Peccary was ready to accuse Staghorn of having no -conscience whatsoever. It was only through an act of scientific -detachment that he reminded himself that Staghorn neither had a fortune -to gain nor cared about gaining one. Staghorn's fulfillment was in -Humanac, the name he'd given the electronic monster that presently -claimed his full attention. He sat at the controls, his eyes luminous -behind the magnification of his thick lenses, his lanky frame arched -forward for a better view of Humanac's screen. Far from showing -annoyance at what he saw, there was a positive leer on his face.</p> - -<p>As well there might be.</p> - -<p>On the screen was the full color picture of a small park in what -appeared to be the center of a medium-sized town. It was a shabby -little park. Rags and tattered papers waggled indolently in the breeze. -The grass was an unkempt, indifferent pattern of greens and browns, as -though the caretaker took small pains in setting his sprinklers. Beyond -the square was a church, its steeple listing dangerously, its windows -broken and its heavy double doors sagging on their hinges.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus1.jpg" width="571" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Staghorn's leers and Dr. Peccary's glowers were not for the scenery, -however, but for the people who wandered aimlessly through the little -park and along the street beyond, carefully avoiding the area beneath -the leaning steeple. All of them were uniformly young, ranging from -perhaps seventeen at one extreme to no more than thirty at the other. -When Dr. Peccary had first seen them, he'd cried out joyfully, "You -see, Staghorn, all young! All handsome!" Then he'd stopped talking as -he studied those in the foreground more closely.</p> - -<p>Their clothing, to call it that, was most peculiar. It was rags.</p> - -<p>Here and there was a garment that bore a resemblance to a dress or -jacket or pair of trousers, but for the most part the people simply had -chunks of cloth wrapped about them in a most careless fashion. Several -would have been arrested for indecent exposure had they appeared -anywhere except on Humanac's screen. However, they seemed indifferent -to this—and to all else. A singularly attractive girl, in a costume -that would have made a Cretan blush, didn't even get a second glance -from, a young Adonis who passed her on the walk. Nor did she bestow one -on him. The park bench held more interest for her, so she sat down on -it.</p> - -<p>Peccary studied her more closely, then straightened with a start.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"I'll be damned," he said. "That's Jenny Cheever!"</p> - -<p>Staghorn continued to leer at the girl. "So you know her?"</p> - -<p>"I know her father. He owns the local variety store. She's only twenty -today, and there she is a hundred years from now, not a day older."</p> - -<p>"Only her image, Dr. Peccary," Staghorn murmured. "Only her image. But -a very pretty one."</p> - -<p>Peccary came to his feet, unable to control his irritation any longer. -"I won't believe it!" he said. "Somehow a piece of misinformation has -been fed into that machine. Its calculations are all wrong!"</p> - -<p>Staghorn refused to be perturbed. "But you just said you recognize -the girl on the bench. I'd say that Humanac has to be working with -needle-point accuracy to put recognizable people into a prediction."</p> - -<p>"Then shift the scene! For all I know this part of town was turned into -an insane asylum fifty years from now." The use of the past tense when -speaking of a future event was not ungrammatical in the presence of -Humanac. "Do you have the volume up?"</p> - -<p>"Certainly. Can't you hear the birds twittering?"</p> - -<p>"But I can't hear anyone talking."</p> - -<p>"Perhaps it's a day of silence."</p> - -<p>Staghorn took another long look at the girl on the parkbench and then -turned to the controls, using the fine adjustment on the geographical -locator. The screen flickered, blinked, and the scene changed. The two -men studied it.</p> - -<p>"Recognize it?" said Staghorn.</p> - -<p>Peccary gave an affirmative grunt. "That's the Jefferson grammar school -on Elm Street. I'm surprised it's still there. But, lord, as long as -they haven't built a new one, you'd think they'd at least keep the old -one repaired."</p> - -<p>"Very shabby," Staghorn agreed.</p> - -<p>It was. Large areas of the exterior plaster had fallen away. Windows -were shattered, and here and there the broken slats of Venetian blinds -stuck through them. The shrubbery around the building was dead; weeds -had sprung up through the cracks in the asphalt in the big play yard. -There was no sign of children.</p> - -<p>"Where is everyone?" Peccary demanded. "You must have the time control -set for a Sunday or holiday."</p> - -<p>"It's Tuesday," Staghorn said. Then both were silent because at that -moment a child appeared, a boy of about eleven.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He burst from the schoolhouse door and ran across the cracked asphalt -toward the playground, glancing back over his shoulder as though -expecting pursuit. Reaching the play apparatus he paused and looked -around desperately. The metal standards for the swings were in place -but no swings hung from them. The fulcrums for the seesaws were there -but they held no wooden planks to permit teetering. The only piece of -equipment that looked capable of affording pleasure was the slide.</p> - -<p>It was a small one, only about six feet high, obviously designed for -toddlers and not for a boy of eleven. Nonetheless, the boy headed for -it eagerly.</p> - -<p>But he'd hardly set foot upon the bottom step of the ladder when the -schoolhouse door burst open a second time. A young woman charged toward -him shouting, "Paul! Get down from there at once! Paul!"</p> - -<p>She was an attractive woman, but her voice held a note of panic. She -ran so swiftly that Paul, whose ascent of the ladder was accelerated -rather than retarded by her command, hadn't quite reached the top when -she seized him around the legs and tried to drag him down.</p> - -<p>"Please, Miss Terry!" he pleaded desperately. "Just this once let me -get to the top! Let me slide down it just once!"</p> - -<p>"Get to the top?" Miss Terry was aghast. "You could fall and kill -yourself. Down you come this instant!"</p> - -<p>"Just one time!" Paul wailed. "Let me do it just once!"</p> - -<p>Miss Terry paid no heed to his anguished cries. She tugged at his legs -while Paul clung to the handrails. But he was the weaker of the two, -and in a few seconds Miss Terry had torn him loose and set him on the -ground. Then, seizing him firmly by the hand, she led him back toward -the schoolhouse.</p> - -<p>Paul went along, sniveling miserably. They entered the building and the -play yard was once more silent and deserted.</p> - -<p>"By God, Staghorn," Peccary thundered, "you've doctored it! You've -deliberately fed false information into Humanac's memory cells!"</p> - -<p>Staghorn turned to glare at his guest, his eyes flaming at the -outrageous suggestion. "The only hypothetical element I've fed into -Humanac is your Y Hormone, Dr. Peccary! You saw me do it. You watched -me check the computer before we started."</p> - -<p>"I refuse to believe that my Y Hormone will bring about the -consequences that machine is predicting!"</p> - -<p>"It's the only new factor that was added."</p> - -<p>"How can you say that? During the next hundred years a thousand other -factors can enter in."</p> - -<p>"But the Y Hormone bears an essential relationship to the whole. Sit -down and stop waving your arms. I'm going to see if we can get into the -school."</p> - -<p>Peccary sat down, seething.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It had been a mistake to bring his Y Hormone to Staghorn. It was simply -that he'd been thinking of himself as such a benefactor to the human -race that he couldn't wait to see a sample of the bright future he -intended to create.</p> - -<p>"Think of it, Staghorn!" he'd said happily, earlier in the evening. -"The phrase 'art is long and time is fleeting' won't mean anything -any more! Artists will have hundreds of years to paint their pictures. -Think of the books that will be written, the music that will be -composed, the magnificent cities that will be built! Everyone will have -time enough to achieve perfection. Think of your work and mine. We'll -live long enough to unravel all the mysteries of the universe!"</p> - -<p>Staghorn had said nothing. Instead, he'd uncorked the small bottle Dr. -Peccary had given him and sniffed at it.</p> - -<p>The bottle contained a sample of the Y Hormone which Dr. Peccary had -spent many years developing. Its principal ingredient was a glandular -extract from insects, an organic compound that controlled the insects' -aging process. If administered artificially, it could keep insects in -the larval stage almost indefinitely.</p> - -<p>Dr. Peccary's great contribution had been to synthesize this -extract—which affected only insects—with protein elements that -could be assimilated by mammals and humans. It had required years of -experimentation, but the result was his Y Hormone—Y for Youth.</p> - -<p>In his laboratory he now had playful kittens that were six years old -and puppies that should have been fully grown dogs. The only human he'd -so far experimented on was himself. But because he'd started taking -the hormone only recently, he was as yet unable to say positively -that it was responsible for the splendid health he was enjoying. His -impatience to know the sociological consequences of the hormone had -made him bring a sample of it to Staghorn.</p> - -<p>After sniffing at the bottle, Staghorn had poured its contents into -Humanac's analyzer.</p> - -<p>The giant computer gurgled and belched a few seconds while it assessed -the nature of the formula. Then Staghorn connected the analyzer with -the machine's memory units.</p> - -<p>As far as Humanac was concerned, the Y Hormone was now an accepted part -of human history.</p> - -<p>But, except for this one added factor, the rest of Humanac's vast -memory was solidly based upon the complete known history of the -earth and the human race. Its principles of operation were the same -as those controlling other electronic "brains," which could be -programmed to predict tides, weather, election results or the state of -a department-store inventory at any given date in the future. Humanac -differed chiefly in the tremendously greater capacity of its memory -cells. Over the years it had digested thousands of books, codifying -and coordinating the information as fast as it was received. Its -photocells had recorded millions of visual impressions. Its auditory -units had absorbed the music and languages of the centuries. And its -methods of evaluation had been given a strictly human touch by feeding -into its resistance chambers the cephalic wave patterns produced by the -brains of Staghorn's colleagues.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>An added feature, though by no means an original one, was the screen -upon which Humanac produced visually the events of the time and place -for which the controls were set.</p> - -<p>This screen was simply the big end of a cathode-ray tube, similar -to those used in television sets. It was adapted from I.B.M.'s 704 -electronic computer used by the Vanguard tracking center to produce -visual predictions of the orbits of artificial satellites.</p> - -<p>Staghorn was constantly having trouble explaining to people that -Humanac was not a time machine that could look into the past or future. -Its pictures of past events were based upon information already present -in its memory cells. Its pictures of future events were predictions -calculated according to the laws of probability. But because Humanac, -unlike a human, never forgot any of the million and one variables -impinging upon any human situation, its predictions were startlingly -accurate.</p> - -<p>Humanac had never been exposed to pictures of Dr. Peccary's home town -nor to those of a girl named Jenny Cheever. It arrived at the likeness -of both town and girl through a purely mathematical process.</p> - -<p>Staghorn's ultimate purpose in building the machine was to use it -in developing a true science of history. Because Humanac was only a -machine, Staghorn could alter its memory at will. By removing the -tiny unit upon which the Battle of Hastings was recorded and then -"re-playing" English history without it, he could find out what actual -effect that particular battle had.</p> - -<p>He was surprised to discover that it had very little. According to -Humanac, the Normans would have conquered England anyway a few months -later.</p> - -<p>At another time, while reviewing the events leading up to the American -Revolution, Humanac had produced a picture of Benjamin Franklin kissing -a beautiful young woman in the office of his printing shop. On impulse -Staghorn removed this seemingly insignificant event from Humanac's -memory and then turned the time dial forward to the present to see what -effect, if any, the episode had had upon history.</p> - -<p>To his amazement, with that single kiss missing, Humanac produced a -picture of the American continent composed of six different nations -speaking French, German, Chinese, Hindu, Arabic and Muskogean—the last -being the language of an Indian nation occupying the Mississippi Valley -and extending northward to Lake Winnepeg. It served as a buffer state -between the Hindus and Chinese in the west and the French, Germans and -Arabs to the east.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was Humanac's ability to predict the future consequences of any -hypothetical event, however, that made it an instrument capable -of revolutionizing history. Once its dependability was thoroughly -established, it would be possible for a Secretary of State to submit -to Humanac the contents of a note intended for a foreign country, then -turn the time controls ahead and get Humanac's prediction of the note's -consequences.</p> - -<p>If the consequences were good, the note would then be sent.</p> - -<p>If they were bad, the Secretary could destroy the note and try -others—until he composed one that produced the desired result.</p> - -<p>Humanac's flaw was that it had no way of explaining the predictions -produced on its screen. It merely showed what would happen when and -if certain things were done. It left it up to the human operator to -figure out why things happened that way.</p> - -<p>This was what was troubling Dr. Peccary.</p> - -<p>He could see not the remotest relationship between his Y Hormone and -the fact that a mathematical probability named Miss Terry should refuse -another mathematical probability named Paul permission to climb to the -top of a six-foot playground slide.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Staghorn had been using the fine adjustment on the geographic -locator and now grunted his satisfaction. "Good! We're in the building, -at least."</p> - -<p>On the screen was a dusky corridor. On either side of it were classroom -doors, some closed, some ajar. Staghorn moved his hand from the fine -adjustment to the even more delicate vernier control which permitted -him to shift the geographic focus inches at a time. The focus drifted -slowly forward to one of the half-open doors, and then he and Dr. -Peccary were able to see into the classroom.</p> - -<p>It was deserted. Desks were thick with dust. Books, yellow with age, -were strewn on the floor.</p> - -<p>Staghorn's hand sought the vernier control again. The picture led them -on down the corridor to another open door.</p> - -<p>Again it was a scene of desolation.</p> - -<p>"This can have nothing to do with my Y Hormone!" Peccary insisted.</p> - -<p>"Then why is your picture on the wall there?" Staghorn said with a note -of malicious pleasure.</p> - -<p>Dr. Peccary looked and started. On the classroom wall was a faded -photograph of himself. Except that he was wearing a different suit -in the picture, he looked just as he looked at the present moment. -Staghorn got a closer focus on the photograph so that Peccary could -read the legend beneath it. <i>Dr. Clarence Peccary, the man who gave the -world the Y Hormone.</i></p> - -<p>"All right then," said Peccary, somewhat mollified by this tribute. "If -they put my picture on school room walls a hundred years from now, it -means I'm an honored man, a man the world admires. And therefore the Y -Hormone <i>can't</i> be the cause of all this desolation!"</p> - -<p>"I've found that Humanac's reasoning and human reasoning differ in many -ways," said Staghorn. On the screen they were out in the corridor again -when from somewhere ahead came a woman's voice.</p> - -<p>"You may recite now, Paul. Please stand up."</p> - -<p>"Ah, that sounds like Miss Terry," said Staghorn. He fingered the -vernier control. The focal point slid forward along the corridor.</p> - -<p>"Stand up and recite, Paul," Miss Terry said more sharply.</p> - -<p>"I think they're in the room on the left," said Peccary.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph4">II</p> - -<p>The focus shifted to the open door and then Peccary and Staghorn could -see into the classroom. This one was in slightly better order than -the others and was occupied by two people. In front sat Miss Terry, -obviously the teacher, and at one of the desks sat Paul. He seemed to -be the entire class. At Miss Terry's urging he was coming to his feet, -his face still stained with tears. He held his book a few inches from -his nose and stared over the top of it sullenly.</p> - -<p>"Go ahead, Paul," said Miss Terry, sweetly stubborn. "I'm waiting."</p> - -<p>Paul looked at his book and read from it in a monotone, enunciating -each word carefully as though it had no relationship to the other -words. "I am a human being and as long as I obey the six rules I shall -live forever."</p> - -<p>"Very good, Paul. Now read the six rules."</p> - -<p>Paul sniffled loudly and commenced reading again. "Rule one: I must -never go near fire or my clothing may catch aflame and burn me up. Rule -two: I must keep away from deep water or I may fall in and drown. Rule -three: I must stay away from high places or I may fall and dash my -brains out." He paused to sniffle and wipe his nose on his sleeve, then -sighed and continued dismally. "Rule four: I must never play with sharp -things or I may cut myself and bleed to death. Rule five: I must never -ride horses or I may fall off and break my neck." Paul paused, lowering -his book.</p> - -<p>"And the sixth rule?" said Miss Terry. "Go ahead and read the sixth -rule."</p> - -<p>Reluctantly Paul lifted his book. "Rule six: Starting when I'm -twenty-one I must take Dr. Peccary's Y Hormone once a week to keep me -young and healthy forever."</p> - -<p>"Excellent, Paul!" said Miss Terry. "And which rule were you breaking -just now on the playground?"</p> - -<p>"I was breaking Rule Three," Paul said, then quoted sadly, "I must stay -away from high places or I may fall and dash my brains out."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Dr. Peccary was on his feet stomping around in front of the computer. -"Sheer idiocy," he muttered. "He doesn't have any brains to dash out! -I'll admit that a computer with sufficient information about the state -of the world might be able to make accurate predictions of events a few -months or possibly a year into the future—but not one hundred years! -In that long an interval even the most trivial error could distort -every circuit in the machine." He jabbed a finger toward the screen -where Paul was seated at his desk again. "And that's what that picture -is—a distortion. I'm not going to let it influence me one bit in what -I intend to—" He broke off because of what was happening on the screen.</p> - -<p>From somewhere outside the school building came the wail of a -deep-throated alarm. Both Miss Terry and Paul were on their feet and by -their expressions, terrified.</p> - -<p>"The Atavars!" Paul cried, his entire body shaking.</p> - -<p>"To the basement, Paul!" Miss Terry's face was blanched as she grasped -Paul's hand and headed toward the door. But halfway there, both came to -a halt, breathless and staring.</p> - -<p>A powerful bearded man strode into the classroom.</p> - -<p>Paul and Miss Terry fell back as he advanced. He was a man of about -fifty, his bushy hair shot with gray, his eyes cold and blue. He was -followed by two younger men who studied Paul and Miss Terry with -interest. All three wore rough work clothing.</p> - -<p>The bearded man pointed at Paul. "There's the boy," he said quietly. -"Take him."</p> - -<p>Paul let out a shriek of terror and fled into a corner as the two men -advanced. He clawed futilely as they laid hands on him. "For God's -sake, shut up," one of the men said with more disgust than anger. He -pinioned Paul's arms while the other man bound them together with a -strip of cloth.</p> - -<p>Miss Terry meanwhile had collapsed into her chair. One of Paul's -captors glanced at her and spoke to the bearded man. "What about her?"</p> - -<p>The bearded man stepped close to Miss Terry and put a hand on her -shoulder. She recoiled as from a snake. "How old are you?" he asked. -Miss Terry made some inarticulate squeaks and the man spoke more -sharply. "When were you born?"</p> - -<p>"Two thousand four," she managed to stutter.</p> - -<p>The bearded man considered this and shook his head. "Over fifty. By -that time they're hopeless. Leave her and bring the boy."</p> - -<p>Miss Terry let out an agonized wail of protest and fainted across her -desk. One of the men slung Paul over his shoulder and the bearded -leader led the group from the room.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Amazing," murmured Staghorn. "Absolutely amazing. One never knows what -to expect."</p> - -<p>"Pure gibberish," said Peccary, then betrayed his interest by saying, -"Can you follow them?"</p> - -<p>"I'm trying to." Staghorn worked at the geographic adjustment and -finally got the screen focused on the corridor again. It was deserted. -The bearded man and his companions had already departed. Staghorn -touched the controls again, the screen flickered and once more the -little park came into focus. But now it, too, was deserted. None of -the ragged men and women were in sight, neither in the park nor on the -street beyond. Staghorn twisted the focus in all directions without -discovering anyone.</p> - -<p>"That whistle we heard was obviously some kind of alarm," he said. -"Everyone must be in hiding—from the Atavars, whoever they are. I -strongly suspect that bearded fellow of being one."</p> - -<p>"You might as well shut it off, Staghorn," Dr. Peccary said coldly. -"It's too much nonsense for any sane man to swallow. And unless that -machine can provide a full and satisfactory explanation as to why my Y -Hormone will bring about the conditions depicted on that screen, I see -no reason to keep the hormone off the market."</p> - -<p>Staghorn turned from the controls to study his companion. "The only -possible way that Humanac could give us the entire background of events -leading up to what we've just seen would be to set the time control -to the present and then leave the machine running until it arrived at -this same period again. That would take a hundred years, and I'm not -going to sit here that long. What's more, I'm not going to touch your Y -Hormone even if you do put it on the market."</p> - -<p>"There'll be plenty who will!"</p> - -<p>"That's what Humanac says, yes."</p> - -<p>Dr. Peccary gestured despairingly. After all, he did have a conscience. -"I simply don't believe my hormone can be responsible!"</p> - -<p>"I'll remind you that your picture was on the classroom wall and that -the sixth rule read by that boy indicated that he was supposed to start -using your hormone when he reached the age of twenty-one. That would be -about the age to stop growing older."</p> - -<p>"That boy is nothing but a mathematical probability!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"That's all you and I are," Staghorn said owlishly. "Mathematical -probabilities. Despite Omar, nothing exactly like either of us has ever -existed before or will exist again."</p> - -<p>"But damn it, Staghorn...." Dr. Peccary sat down, his face in his -hands. "It's worth millions! I've invested years of work and all -the money I could scrape together. I don't see anything wrong in a -scientist's profiting by his discoveries. And to keep it off the -market just because that insane computer says that a hundred years -from now—" He broke off, glaring at Humanac's screen which was still -focused on the deserted park. "It simply doesn't make sense! The -machine doesn't give any reasons for anything. If there were a way -I could talk directly to some of those mathematical probabilities, -question them, ask them what it's all about...." He was on his feet, -striding back and forth before the computer again.</p> - -<p>"Perhaps there is a way," Staghorn said quietly.</p> - -<p>"Eh?"</p> - -<p>"I said that it may be possible for you to talk with them."</p> - -<p>"How?"</p> - -<p>"By making your mind a temporary part of the computer."</p> - -<p>Peccary studied the huge machine apprehensively—its ranks of memory -units, its chambers of flickering tubes, the labyrinth of circuits. -"How would you go about it?"</p> - -<p>"I put you in the transmitter," Staghorn said. He stepped away from -the console and slid back a panel to reveal a niche with a seat in -it. Above the seat was a sort of helmet that resembled a hair drier -in a beauty parlor, except that it was studded with hundreds of tiny -magnets and transistors. Staghorn indicated the helmet. "This picks up -and amplifies brain waves. I've used it to record the cephalic wave -pattern of about a hundred men and women. The recordings are built -into the computer, enabling Humanac to assign a mathematical evaluation -to the influence of human emotion in making historic decisions. In your -case, instead of making a recording of your brain waves, I'd feed the -impulses directly into Humanac's memory units."</p> - -<p>"And what would happen then?"</p> - -<p>"I'm not altogether sure," said Staghorn, and it seemed to Peccary that -Staghorn was finding a definite relish in his uncertainty. "I've never -tried the experiment before."</p> - -<p>"I might get electrocuted?"</p> - -<p>"No. There's no danger of that happening. The current that activates -the transmitter comes from your own brain, and as you know, such -electrical impulses are extremely feeble. That isn't what worries me."</p> - -<p>"Well then, what does?"</p> - -<p>"In some ways Humanac behaves peculiarly like a living organism. For -example, there's one prediction it can never make. Several times I've -fed into it the hypothetical information that the two opposing factions -of the world have declared war. Naturally everyone would like to know -about the outcome of such a war." Staghorn paused, gazing lovingly at -his majestic creation.</p> - -<p>"And what happens?" Dr. Peccary said impatiently.</p> - -<p>"Nothing. That's just it. The moment I turn Humanac into the future -to get a prediction, the screen goes dead. Do you know why it goes -dead?" Staghorn looked at Peccary with a pleased smile and didn't wait -for Peccary to cue him. "It goes dead because, if war were declared, -Humanac would be the first target for enemy bombs. When it predicts a -future event, it has to take all factors into consideration. If one of -those factors is its own destruction, it can predict nothing beyond -that moment."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Peccary repeated this sentence in his mind while he slowly digested its -meaning. What it seemed to mean was that, although Staghorn and Peccary -thought of Humanac as only a complicated machine, Humanac's opinion of -itself was altogether otherwise. It could foresee its own death.</p> - -<p>"I often wonder," mused Staghorn, "about those people we see wandering -around on Humanac's screen. To us they're only images made by a -stream of electrons hitting the end of a cathode ray tube. Their space -and time is an illusion. All the same, Humanac comprises an entire -system—a system modeled as accurately as possible on our own. It's -just possible that the boy we saw, Paul, was experiencing a real -terror."</p> - -<p>Dr. Peccary examined Staghorn in amazement. He had often suspected that -Staghorn's genius was tinged with madness. "You're not suggesting that -those ... those images are conscious?"</p> - -<p>"Ah! What is consciousness?"</p> - -<p>"I didn't come here to get into a metaphysical argument."</p> - -<p>"No, but it's only fair for me to suggest the possible emotional -hazzards involved in hooking you up to Humanac. Because you have to -admit that <i>you'll</i> be conscious during the experiment."</p> - -<p>"Certainly. But I'll be sitting right there." Peccary pointed to the -seat in the transmitter unit.</p> - -<p>"In a sense, yes. Very well, take your seat."</p> - -<p>Peccary eyed the helmet uneasily. "I'm not sure I want to do this."</p> - -<p>"But you do want to make millions from the Y Hormone. And you want to -enjoy it with a clear conscience. Perhaps it's as you say—there may -be other factors involved. By knowing what they are you may be able to -negate their influence." Staghorn's voice was a soft purr as he took -Dr. Peccary's arm and urged him into the transmitter unit. Peccary sat -down. The seat was small and hard.</p> - -<p>"Just bear one thing in mind," Staghorn said. "Don't get lost. It will -be best if you stay in the little park where I can see you and where -you'll be in focus. Unless you're in focus it might be impossible -to—ah—disengage you."</p> - -<p>Dr. Peccary could find no meaning whatsoever in this statement, except -confirmation of his suspicion that Staghorn was mad. He felt this so -strongly that he started to rise from his seat and escape from the -transmitter cell. But at that moment Staghorn lowered the helmet onto -his head. The sensation he experienced was so novel and startling that -he remained seated. For a second or two he could feel the tiny metallic -contacts on the inside of the helmet pressing against his skull, but -this sensation of physical pressure vanished almost at once. It was -replaced by one of headlessness. His body up to his chin still seemed -to be sitting in the transmitter—but his intellect had lost completely -its sense of localization in the head.</p> - -<p>He could think clearly enough, but had no notion as to the spot where -his thoughts originated. Indeed, the whole concept of relative position -seemed ridiculous. At the same instant he felt tall as a mountain and -as low as a rug. His mind could fill the entire universe, while resting -neatly in a thimble. He could also see Staghorn, for his eyes continued -to function and transmit optical patterns, but precisely where he was -while receiving these patterns he couldn't possibly say.</p> - -<p>He heard Staghorn remark, "Fine. The connection is perfect. It's always -better when the subject is bald. I'm going to switch you over into -Humanac's circuits now."</p> - -<p>Staghorn's hand moved across the controls and one of his long fingers -flipped a switch.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>This was the last Dr. Peccary saw of Roger Staghorn. Instantly he found -himself standing in the center of the small park in his home town. His -reaction was not one of alarm. Quite to the contrary, his immediate -thought was one of surprise that he wasn't alarmed. Standing there in -the little square felt entirely normal and proper.</p> - -<p>Next he was jolted by the realization that he must be an image on -Humanac's screen. He quickly looked about in all directions, half -expecting to see Staghorn's huge face peering down from the sky like -God. There was no sign of Staghorn, however. The world about him was -as three-dimensional as any he'd ever known. He was in his home town a -hundred years after he'd last seen it.</p> - -<p>Good lord! He was a hundred and forty-two years old!</p> - -<p>This realization was followed by a host of others. Like a man coming -out of amnesia, his past began filling with memories. He was rich. He -was the richest man on earth. His Y Hormone was used the world over. A -mile away, on the outskirts of town, he could see a portion of his huge -production plant. He lived in a majestic palace surrounded by every -manner of automatic protective device. Protection? From what? And how -had he dared to venture out here in the park alone? But wait ... wait. -It was all an illusion. Actually he was only an image on Humanac's -screen, a mathematical probability.</p> - -<p>He must keep that fact firmly in mind, or he might lose his mental -balance.</p> - -<p>He gazed about at the town, dismayed by its appearance. Not a person -in sight. Not even an automobile. Of course, the motor car might have -become obsolete during the passage of a hundred years. There must be -some new mode of transportation—something undreamed of a century ago!</p> - -<p>While he was wondering what this might be, he heard a -clop-clop-clopping and was astonished to see three horsemen approaching -the square. As they came closer he recognized them as the bearded man -and his two companions.</p> - -<p>The boy Paul was bound firmly behind one of the saddles.</p> - -<p>A strange panic arose in Dr. Peccary's breast, but he managed to -suppress it with a reminder that this was all illusion. He was here -for purposes of information; he must have the courage to get it. So -he forced himself to the curb at the edge of the park. When the riders -were within speaking distance, he managed to hail them with, "Hey, you!"</p> - -<p>His nervousness made his words harsh. But then, there was no reason why -he should speak politely to kidnapers. He saw that Paul was conscious. -The boy had a gag over his mouth but his eyes were open.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The three riders reined in their horses and looked at Peccary with -frank curiosity.</p> - -<p>"Here's one that didn't hide," one of them remarked, in a tone that Dr. -Peccary decided was disrespectful. He stepped forward boldly.</p> - -<p>"May I ask what you intend to do with that boy?" he demanded.</p> - -<p>"He wants to know what we intend to do with the boy," said the same man.</p> - -<p>"Yes, I heard what he said," the bearded man remarked quietly. He -hadn't ceased to study Peccary with his piercing blue eyes. Now he -urged his horse closer. "You must be a stranger here, son?"</p> - -<p>"Not exactly," said Peccary. "As a matter of fact, I was born here. -That was some time ago and it's true I haven't been here recently." The -way the bearded man stared at him made him extremely nervous. "But I'm -sure that kidnaping is against the law. If you don't release that boy -I'll have to—to make a citizen's arrest!" Peccary knew that his words -sounded ridiculous. From the way the three riders exchanged glances it -was evident that they thought the same thing.</p> - -<p>"He's going to make a citizen's arrest," commented the one who liked to -repeat whatever Peccary said.</p> - -<p>"Hush," said the bearded leader. And then to Peccary, "What's your -name, son?"</p> - -<p>"Clarence Peccary. If you don't do as I say I'll—" He stopped short, -his heart leaping as the force of his indiscretion struck him.</p> - -<p>The three men had been struck also.</p> - -<p>The two younger ones were already on the ground, one on either side -of him. Only the bearded man remained mounted. He leaned forward. "I -thought you looked familiar. You're <i>Doctor</i> Peccary of the Y Hormone?" -His voice was a menacing whisper. Peccary finally answered with a slow -nod.</p> - -<p>"He must have flipped, running around alone like this," a man beside -him said. "However, let's never insult fortune!"</p> - -<p>This was the last Dr. Peccary heard. For at that instant one of the -men—he never knew which—struck him forcibly over the head with a -blunt instrument.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph4">III</p> - -<p>At Humanac's controls Roger Staghorn leaped to his feet in alarm as he -saw what was happening on the screen.</p> - -<p>Peccary had collapsed now. The two men were draping him across the -bearded man's saddle. There wasn't an instant to lose! Staghorn leaped -to the transmitter cell where Peccary's material body was seated, -his eyes peacefully closed. Staghorn flipped the switch to disengage -Peccary's consciousness from Humanac's circuits.</p> - -<p>Nothing happened. Peccary's body remained as before, blissfully asleep.</p> - -<p>Good lord, of course nothing happened! How could it? Peccary had just -been knocked cold; at the moment he didn't <i>have</i> any consciousness! -Staghorn opened the circuit again and whirled back to the control -console.</p> - -<p>He looked at the screen. All three men were mounted again. The bearded -leader gestured them on.</p> - -<p>They set spurs to their horses and galloped away, taking the -unconscious Peccary with them.</p> - -<p>"No!" Staghorn shouted at the fleeing images. "No, Dr. Peccary! Stay -in focus!" The horsemen paid no heed—nor did Staghorn expect them to, -rationally. His shouts were only involuntary expressions of despair. -Grasping the geographic locator, he twiddled it wildly, managing to -keep the three riders in focus for several blocks as they sped down a -street of the deserted town.</p> - -<p>Then they rounded a corner and he lost them.</p> - -<p>By the time he got a focus on the area around the corner they were -gone. For several minutes he continued to search, shifting the focal -point all over town, but in vain. Dr. Clarence Peccary was lost inside -Humanac's labyrinthean brain!</p> - -<p>Staghorn was stunned. There would be no difficulty in keeping Peccary's -physical body alive indefinitely by intravenous feeding, but it was -as good as dead while separated from its sense of identity. Worse yet -were the probable consequences to Humanac of having a free soul loose -in its mathematical universe. These were too dire to contemplate. The -machine's reliability might be altogether ruined and Staghorn's life -work destroyed. Under the circumstances there was but one course of -action. He had to find Dr. Peccary and get him back into focus, so that -he could be disengaged from the computer.</p> - -<p>First Staghorn focused the geographic locator on the town square, -the point from which Peccary had been abducted; from there he could -begin tracking him. Next he set the time control so that it would -automatically disengage the transmitter units in exactly three hours.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus2.jpg" width="357" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Whether or not he could find Dr. Peccary in that period of time -Staghorn had no way of knowing; but at least he should be able to get -himself back into focus at the proper moment. Then, in case he'd failed -to find Peccary, he could reset the time clock and try again.</p> - -<p>Next he opened a second transmitter unit, sat down on the little seat -and pulled the helmet down on his head. As sensations of vastness and -lost dimensions spread through him, he reached out and pressed down the -switch that would pour his own brain impulses into Humanac's circuits.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Instantly, as with Dr. Peccary, Staghorn found himself standing in the -little park.</p> - -<p>He examined his hands and slapped his sides a few times, taking time to -assimilate the fact that he felt perfectly solid. Ah, Bishop Berkeley -was right all the time! The universe was subjective—a creation of -consciousness!</p> - -<p>He left off these speculations and recalled himself to his mission.</p> - -<p>Glancing around, he saw that people were beginning to reappear. They -came up from basements and out of the doors of the dilapidated houses -and buildings. If there had been a panic, there was no sign of it -now. The men and women moved indolently, returning toward the park and -the sunlit streets. All were so much the same age and of such similar -beauty that it was difficult to distinguish individual members of the -same sex. But he finally recognized the girl Dr. Peccary had identified -as Jenny Cheever. She had an attractive strawberry birthmark on her hip.</p> - -<p>She strolled back into the park accompanied by a young man. The two of -them took possession of the bench where Jenny had been seated earlier. -They sat well apart from each other, silently contemplating the other -passers-by.</p> - -<p>Feeling that his knowledge of Jenny's name constituted a sort of -introduction, Staghorn approached the couple. The man paid no attention -to him but Jenny watched him curiously. Staghorn was not a man over -whom women swooned, and it occurred to him that she found something odd -about his dark suit and thick spectacles. He seemed to be the only man -in town wearing either.</p> - -<p>"How do you do," he said to her. "I believe you're Ben Cheever's -daughter."</p> - -<p>She continued to examine him languidly, slowly stroking a heavy strand -of her auburn hair. "Am I?" she said at last. "It's been so long I've -forgotten. But then I had to be someone's daughter and since my name -is Cheever, you may be right. I don't remember you. We must have met -ages and ages ago."</p> - -<p>"This is the first time we've met. You were pointed out to me by a -friend."</p> - -<p>She considered this with a puzzled air, and, idly curious, said, "Do -you want to marry me?"</p> - -<p>"Good heavens, no!"</p> - -<p>Jenny didn't seem to be insulted by his abruptness. "I just wondered -why you'd speak to me," she said. "Because if you want to marry me you -have to wait. I've promised to marry him first." She gestured to the -man on the bench with her. The man looked at Staghorn for the first -time.</p> - -<p>"Yeah," he said.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"I see," said Staghorn. "And when is this ... merry event to take -place?"</p> - -<p>"Some day," Jenny said indifferently. "When we both feel like it. -There's no use rushing things. I don't want to use up all the men too -soon."</p> - -<p>"Use them up?"</p> - -<p>"He'll be my twenty-fifth husband."</p> - -<p>"Yeah," said the man. "She'll be my thirty-second wife."</p> - -<p>"Your marriages can't last very long," said Staghorn. Despite the -physical attractiveness of both Jenny and her escort, Staghorn began -to feel clammy in their presence. He had an impression of deep ill -health, a sense of unclean, almost reptilian lassitude.</p> - -<p>"They get shorter all the time," said Jenny, and turned away as though -the conversation bored her. The man too had lost interest.</p> - -<p>Staghorn stood ignored for a moment and then spoke bluntly.</p> - -<p>"Who are the Atavars?"</p> - -<p>The word produced the first genuine reaction. Jenny leaped to her feet. -The man turned red.</p> - -<p>"Don't say that word!" Jenny said.</p> - -<p>"I'm sorry. I'm a stranger."</p> - -<p>"No one can be that much of a stranger!"</p> - -<p>"It's indecent," the man said. He stood up and touched Jenny's arm. "I -feel my blood pounding. Let's go get married."</p> - -<p>Jenny nodded and, with a cold glance at Staghorn, moved away with her -companion. Staghorn was tempted to follow and demand an answer to his -question when he saw Miss Terry approaching. Miss Terry was more likely -to have the information he needed, and in any case—since she was only -in her fifties—she was less than half of Jenny Cheever's age. He hoped -this would make a difference in her attitude. That she was capable -of emotion he already knew. Her expression, as she approached, was -disconsolate.</p> - -<p>Staghorn bowed low before her and introduced himself. "Good afternoon, -Miss Terry. I'm a stranger to you but since you're a teacher by -profession, you may have heard of me. I'm Dr. Roger Staghorn." He -straightened, twisted his lips into a smile and waited for Miss Terry -to associate his name with those scientific achievements that had so -startled the world a hundred years earlier. To his chagrin Miss Terry -only gazed at him blankly and shook her head.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"No," she murmured. Then tears formed in her eyes and she tried to move -on. Staghorn stopped her.</p> - -<p>"Forgive me," he said. "I'm aware of your recent loss. Your pupil, -Paul."</p> - -<p>Her tears dropped more freely. "Sooner or later I knew they'd get him. -The only child in town. And now I have nothing to do. Nothing at all!"</p> - -<p>"They? Just who are they—the Atavars?"</p> - -<p>Miss Terry turned pale. "Don't say it," she pleaded. "In time I'll -forget."</p> - -<p>"But where have they taken Paul? And what will they do with him?"</p> - -<p>"He'll die, of course." She spoke these words almost indifferently, -then wept copiously as she added, "But I'll live on with nothing to do!"</p> - -<p>"Then why didn't someone stop them?" He gestured angrily at the -handsome young males wandering through the park. "All these men—why -don't they rescue Paul?"</p> - -<p>This suggestion so shocked Miss Terry that she stopped weeping. "That's -impossible! There'd be violence. Someone might get killed!"</p> - -<p>"They think of <i>that</i> with a boy's life at stake?" Staghorn felt his -rage rising. He was an irascible man by nature and had controlled -himself so far only because he knew he was part of an illusion. The -sense of illusion was fading rapidly, however. The guiding principles -of morals and ethics were themselves abstractions and therefore -operated just as powerfully in an abstract universe. He grasped Miss -Terry by the arm.</p> - -<p>"I'll go after him myself. Where do I find him?"</p> - -<p>"You can't find him! If you follow they'll capture you too!"</p> - -<p>"I'll chance that! Where have they gone?"</p> - -<p>"I can't tell you! They might punish me!"</p> - -<p>Staghorn shook her heartily, ignoring the fact that she was over -fifty. "Tell me! It so happens that besides Paul, they've captured Dr. -Clarence Peccary, and I'm responsible for his life!"</p> - -<p>At this statement Miss Terry let out a cry of horror. "They've caught -Dr. Peccary? No! No!"</p> - -<p>"They most certainly have. So hurry up and tell me—"</p> - -<p>"We'll all die!" wailed Miss Terry. "We'll all die!"</p> - -<p>"In that case it can't hurt you to tell me."</p> - -<p>"The mountains!" cried Miss Terry. "High Canyon!"</p> - -<p>It was with great difficulty that Staghorn forced directions from her. -The news of Peccary's capture had unsettled her entirely. But despite -the roughness with which he was forced to use her, no one came to her -rescue. Several young men and women gathered at a safe distance to -watch, but they did nothing to interfere.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Staghorn finally elicited the information that High Canyon was several -miles north of town and could be reached by following a dirt road. To -his inquiry as to where he could rent a car, Miss Terry went blank -again. There were no cars. They had been abolished before Miss Terry -was born. She thought there might be one in the museum.</p> - -<p>Staghorn glanced at his watch.</p> - -<p>He'd already been in the transmitter thirty minutes. He had only two -and a half hours to get to High Canyon, rescue Dr. Peccary and Paul and -return to the square. He dared not cut it too fine. He'd have to be -back with a few minutes to spare.</p> - -<p>So, after learning the location of the museum, he took off at a run.</p> - -<p>It was evident that at some period in the past the town had gone -through a surge of prosperity, for there were several quite majestic -buildings whose cornerstones bore dates of the late twentieth century. -But it was also clear that during the last fifty years not only had -few new enterprises been started but the old ones had been allowed to -languish. The museum even lacked an attendant at the door—unless one -gave this title to the bust of Dr. Peccary which stood on a pedestal -just inside the entrance. The plaque beneath the bust noted that Dr. -Peccary had given the museum to the city in 1985 "to preserve for our -immortal posterity a true picture of the world of mortals."</p> - -<p>In the seven and a half decades since, however, this true picture had -suffered badly.</p> - -<p>In the absence of curtains and draperies, and in the nudeness of the -mannekins whose purpose could only have been to display twentieth -century costumes, Staghorn gained a hint as to where the populace got -at least a part of the rags they wore. He didn't pause to examine -details, however. A wall directory with a faded map of the building -had given him the location of the wing of twentieth century machines. -He headed there at once, passing by displays of tractors, bulldozers, -jackhammers and other commonplaces before reaching the automobiles.</p> - -<p>There was an excellent selection of standard and sports models, all a -uniform gray under their coats of dust—and all of them out of gas.</p> - -<p>After so long a time it was doubtful if any would have run anyway. He -had simply hoped that one lone attendant might have kept one in working -condition.</p> - -<p>In the next room, however, he found the reward for his effort. -Bicycles. He chose a racing model.</p> - -<p>A few minutes later he was pedaling rapidly northward on the dirt road -that led to High Canyon.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph4">IV</p> - -<p>Dr. Peccary could feel fingers probing at his sore head. A bit of damp -cloth or cotton was pressed against his upper lip. The sharp odor that -stabbed his nostrils made him jerk his head away and suck in his breath.</p> - -<p>"Good. He's coming around."</p> - -<p>Dr. Peccary opened his eyes. For a few seconds faces and objects swung -around him giddily, but finally the environment achieved stability. He -saw that he was in a log cabin, on a bunk. Seated in a chair beside him -was a man whose manner could belong only to a doctor. Standing behind -the doctor was the bearded man.</p> - -<p>"He'll be all right," the doctor said, packing bottles and probes into -his little black bag.</p> - -<p>Dr. Peccary sat up and touched the back of his head gingerly. It was -very, very sore. He'd never had an illusion quite like this before. -Besides, the illusion had persisted too long. How long had he been out? -Hours? Days? Good lord, had Staghorn deserted him?</p> - -<p>The bearded man ushered the doctor out, locked the door and came back -to observe Peccary. He put a booted foot on the chair and leaned an -elbow on his knee.</p> - -<p>"I hardly need tell you, Dr. Peccary," he said, "that this is the -happiest day of my life."</p> - -<p>"But not of mine," Peccary responded sourly. "I doubt if you can make -it a bit worse by telling me what this is all about and what you plan -to do with me."</p> - -<p>The bearded man showed surprise. "You don't know?"</p> - -<p>"No! I don't know!" Peccary was losing his detachment.</p> - -<p>The bearded man considered him thoughtfully. "I shouldn't have let the -doctor go so soon. Apparently you were hit harder than we thought. -On the other hand it's just possible, living as you have these last -seventy years locked up in your palace and isolated from the rest of -the world, that you've lost touch with what is going on."</p> - -<p>"I've lost touch with a great many things. Obviously I'm a prisoner. -How long is this going to last?"</p> - -<p>"Only until my demolition squad is ready. Then we take you to your -production plant where you produce the Y Hormone. There will be a gun -at your back, of course. You know the combination to get us safely past -the automatic guards. Ah, I've waited all my life for this! Once we're -in the plant, my men will do the rest."</p> - -<p>"You're going to blow it up?"</p> - -<p>"Absolutely!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"And what do you gain by that? The formula for the Y Hormone still -exists!"</p> - -<p>The bearded man laughed. "Yes, I can see you've been out of touch with -the world. It's been thirty years since the country produced anyone -capable of working with that formula. That's when the last university -closed down—thirty years ago."</p> - -<p>"That's shocking," said Dr. Peccary. "But my experiments showed -conclusively that the Y Hormone has no deleterious effect upon -intelligence. I took every precaution!"</p> - -<p>"Nothing wrong with anyone's intelligence," said the bearded man, -"except that no one's under pressure to use it. When the future -stretches on indefinitely, it gets easier and easier to put things off -until tomorrow—even education—until finally it's put off forever. -There's only one man living who understands that formula."</p> - -<p>"And who is that?"</p> - -<p>The bearded man looked down at him hatefully. "Yourself, Dr. Peccary! -That's why we're so delighted to capture you—because now you'll never -use it again!"</p> - -<p>Peccary stared at him aghast. "I understand now! You mean to steal -it. You mean to force it out of me and start producing the Y Hormone -yourself!"</p> - -<p>This accusation resulted in a violent reaction from the bearded man. He -grasped Peccary by the lapels of his jacket and hauled him to his feet. -Peccary could feel the man's powerful hands trembling with rage.</p> - -<p>"You fool! You utter imbecile! Don't you even yet know who we are?"</p> - -<p>Peccary was so throttled by the man's clutch that he could only waggle -his head in the negative. The bearded man's face came close to his.</p> - -<p>"We're mortals!" He flung Peccary back on the bunk contemptuously. "We -accept our allotted span of years and call it quits. But during that -time we live! We have to. It's all the time we have!" He glared at -Peccary a moment before resuming in a milder tone. "After we destroy -your production plant, Dr. Peccary, we're going to kill you. You might -as well know. It's the only way to make certain that the formula for -the Y Hormone will never be used again." Then he smiled. "But take -consolation. With the plant destroyed you'd gradually get old and die -anyway. For the brief period before we execute you, you might even -regain an appreciation for life." He bent suddenly, gripped Peccary's -wrist and hauled him to his feet again. "In fact, you might have -forgotten what life is. I'll refresh your memory. Come along!"</p> - -<p>He dragged Peccary to the door, opened it and led him outside.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus3.jpg" width="568" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Peccary looked around. He found himself on the level floor of a canyon -whose vertical walls rose high on either side. He recognized the place -at once. Often when he was a boy he'd come here to camp overnight. It -had been a delightful wilderness with a year-round stream.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The canyon had changed. Some forty cabins like the one he'd been in -were built in the shade of the southern cliff, and the canyon floor -was covered with green crops and pasture. He heard singing, laughter. -People were at work in the fields, children were building rock castles -at the base of the cliff. On a cabin porch two elderly men sat playing -checkers.</p> - -<p>"The last of the mortals," said the bearded man. "If there are any -other colonies we don't know of them. But when you're gone, Dr. -Peccary, they'll be the first of a new race! You asked earlier what we -intended to do with the boy we kidnaped. There he is." And he pointed -toward the canyon wall.</p> - -<p>Peccary looked and saw Paul climbing upward along crevices and ledges. -The bearded man cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted. "Paul! How -is it?"</p> - -<p>The boy straightened on a rocky pinnacle and looked back. His face was -ecstatic. "I'm climbing!" he crowed. "I've never been so high! I'm -climbing all the way to the top!" He waved and clambered on.</p> - -<p>"Once in a great while a child is born to one of the immortals," the -bearded man said. "If we find him in time we can save him."</p> - -<p>Peccary watched the boy move upward along the cliff. "Then why was he -so terrified when you captured him?"</p> - -<p>"Because he'd had it pounded into him that if the Atavars got him -he'd die. He will, too, eventually. Like any other mortal. But in the -meanwhile—" He broke off and turned on Peccary savagely. "You see, -there's one thing you didn't consider at all! The Y Hormone stops aging -and keeps people healthy, but it can't protect them from accidents. The -immortals can still die if they get hit by a train or fall overboard -in the middle of the ocean. A mortal can accept the possibility of -accidental death because he knows he's going to die anyway sooner -or later, but can't you see the psychological shock to the immortals -when one of them dies? A man who had the potential of living forever, -suddenly wiped out! It's like the end of the world. And so they started -eliminating hazards. Automobiles went first. Then planes and trains. -They weren't needed anyway, because people stopped traveling. To travel -is to court accident. But one precaution breeds another, and before -long people were avoiding all dangerous occupations. With immortality -at stake, even the smallest risk was too much. Planing mills, machine -shops, mines, smelters—bah! Name me an occupation that doesn't -occasionally entail some hazard. Even motherhood!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"But I anticipated the need for birth control! I had the plans all set -up."</p> - -<p>"There was birth control all right, but not the way you planned it. -Ten years after your hormone went on the market the world had an extra -five billion people. For a few years they produced a surge of energy -until the older immortals started eliminating the hazards. After that, -starvation set in. Three-fourths of the population died. Your hormone -can't keep people from starving, either, and it was a shock from which -those who survived never recovered. Every new mouth to feed was a -threat. Childbirth practically stopped. But that left the remaining -immortals in a very soft position. For years now they've been existing -on the leftovers from civilization, finding shelter in the old houses, -ransacking the attics and closets of the dead for scraps of clothing, -daring to plant a few crops in areas where they'll grow with little -care. And after that—boredom."</p> - -<p>He thrust an accusing finger at Peccary. "And you dared to use the -slogan, 'Time to achieve perfection!' I tell you, Dr. Peccary, the -source of man's courage and energy is the knowledge of death! Man was -meant to be mortal. We strive because we know the time is short. We -climb mountains, make love, descend to the depths of the sea and reach -for the stars because the certainty of death urges us on. It's the only -certainty the world had—and you would destroy it!"</p> - -<p>Peccary quailed before the bearded man's ferocity. He was relieved when -his captor's attention was diverted by a party of horsemen who rode -up in neat order and stopped before their leader. Several horses were -loaded with explosives.</p> - -<p>"We're ready, Sir," their spokesman said.</p> - -<p>"Good," said the bearded man. "I see no reason to delay an instant."</p> - -<p>An extra horse had been provided for Dr. Peccary. He was on the point -of being forcibly hoisted into the saddle when he was given a reprieve -by a diversion of another kind.</p> - -<p>Approaching on the path through the center of the canyon, pedaling his -bicycle frantically, came—Staghorn!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He rode up to the group and leapt from his seat, his face blue from -exertion. He'd been climbing all the way from town. He stood gasping -for breath while he dragged his big gold watch from his pocket and -consulted the time. He managed a groan. "Only thirty minutes left. -Miles to go! But it's down hill all the way; we can make it!" He shoved -his bicycle forward. "On the handlebars, Dr. Peccary, quick!"</p> - -<p>Peccary would have liked nothing better. But his movement toward -Staghorn was stopped instantly by the men who were trying to put him on -his horse. "They're going to kill me!" he cried. "They're going to blow -up my factory and kill me!"</p> - -<p>"No, no!" said Staghorn. "That can't be. The consequences would be -disastrous." He turned to the bearded leader. "Look, Sir, I have no -time to explain, and I'm sure you wouldn't believe me even if I did. -All of you are illusions! This entire situation is nothing but a -mathematical probability. And so I insist that you release my friend, -Dr. Peccary, at once!"</p> - -<p>The bearded man was so amazed by this request that he forgot to take -offense. He gaped at Staghorn. "Who are you? I can't imagine an -immortal risking himself on a bicycle!"</p> - -<p>"At this moment I'm desperately mortal, and so is Dr. Peccary!"</p> - -<p>"Nonsense. Dr. Peccary is a hundred and forty-two years old!"</p> - -<p>"I've told you this situation has no existence in reality!"</p> - -<p>The bearded man stomped the ground. "I've been living on this planet -fifty-five years. I know reality when I see it! And what's more, I'm -beginning to think you <i>are</i> one of the immortals. Even an immortal -might show some courage when he knows he's going to be deprived of the -Y Hormone."</p> - -<p>"If you must know, I'm Dr. Roger Staghorn! I can see that there's -industry and education in this canyon and so it's possible you've heard -of me. I have quite a record of scientific achievements back in the -twentieth century."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At this announcement the bearded man goggled at him, then threw back -his head and laughed uproariously. "You couldn't have picked a worse -masquerade. Dr. Roger Staghorn died in 1994!"</p> - -<p>"I can't help that I'm Staghorn!"</p> - -<p>The bearded man stopped laughing and thrust his face forward -threateningly. "You're a fraud! Because it so happens that <i>I'm</i> -Staghorn!"</p> - -<p>"You? Staghorn?"</p> - -<p>"I'm Henry Staghorn, great-grandson of the real Dr. Roger Staghorn!"</p> - -<p>"Impossible. I have no intention of ever getting married!"</p> - -<p>"Dr. Roger Staghorn married when he founded the Atavars, ninety years -ago! He saw the need of leaving mortal offspring and sacrificed himself -to that end. And he's buried in the cliff over there. Furthermore, he -became Dr. Peccary's most bitter enemy. If he were alive today, he'd -be tying the knot for Peccary's neck instead of trying to rescue him." -The bearded man drew a revolver from inside his jacket. "I think I'll -execute you here and now!"</p> - -<p>Peccary all but fainted. If Staghorn were killed all hope was gone. But -Staghorn threw up a commanding hand.</p> - -<p>"Stop, Henry! What you say may be perfectly true from your peculiar -viewpoint. But I'm still Roger Staghorn! Are you going to shoot your -own great-grandfather?"</p> - -<p>Staghorn's tone, rather than his words, made the bearded man pause. He -turned to a companion.</p> - -<p>And in that instant Staghorn moved. After all, he was slightly younger -and more agile than his great-grandson. He leapt onto his bicycle, -shouting at Peccary, "Turn around!"</p> - -<p>Peccary whirled and sprang in the air as Staghorn aimed the bicycle -between his legs. He landed neatly on the handlebars, and with -simultaneous kicks sent the men on either side sprawling. Then he and -Staghorn were off down the canyon.</p> - -<p>Behind them they could hear the thundering hoofs as the horsemen -started in pursuit.</p> - -<p>"Go, Staghorn, go!" Peccary shouted.</p> - -<p>The race would have been lost at once except for the downhill grade. -But because of it, Peccary's added weight was a help instead of a -hindrance. Shots rang out; bullets bounced from the rocks on either -side.</p> - -<p>They made it out of the canyon's mouth and the grade increased on the -long straightaway toward town. Staghorn's feet spun as they darted -downward, maintaining their lead in front of the pursuing horsemen. The -town loomed ahead of them, closer and closer until at last they sped -into a street where the buildings gave them protection from bullets.</p> - -<p>The bicycle slowed. They were on level ground again. Staghorn skidded -around a corner and stopped so suddenly that Dr. Peccary was propelled -forward and landed on his feet at the mouth of an alley. Abandoning the -bicycle, both men charged into it.</p> - -<p>"The square!" Staghorn gasped. "I'm focused on the square!" He hauled -out his watch as he ran. Only seven minutes remained.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The deep-throated alarm whistle was sounding over the town. Its -inhabitants must have sighted the approach of the Atavars for they -were scurrying into buildings and basements, leaving the way clear for -Peccary and Staghorn. They emerged from the alley and turned left for a -block, then doubled back as they were sighted by the searching horsemen.</p> - -<p>The hue and cry was on again, but Peccary's familiarity with his home -town served them well until they came within sight of the square. Then -they stopped in dismay and ducked into a doorway.</p> - -<p>Across the street in the center of the little park, as though divining -that it must be their destination, was Staghorn's great-grandson -and three of his men. Their position enabled them to watch all four -approaches to the square at the same time.</p> - -<p>Staghorn tugged out his watch again. Two minutes. They had to be in -focus! A second late and they'd be locked forever. He watched the -second hand creep around the dial.</p> - -<p>"We have to chance it," he said. "When I start running, run with me!"</p> - -<p>The second hand crept on. A minute left. Staghorn judged the distance -from their hiding place to the grassy plot where the bearded man was -standing. About seventy-five yards. Could he do seventy-five yards in -ten seconds? Could Peccary? Thirty seconds left ... twenty-five ... -twenty. He'd never gone through such a painful count-down ... fifteen -seconds.</p> - -<p>"Ready, Dr. Peccary. It's now or never."</p> - -<p>Thirteen ... twelve ... eleven ... "Go!"</p> - -<p>Staghorn burst from his hiding place with Peccary at his heels. They -dashed for the square. They were over the curb and into the street -before the men in the park saw their approach and let out cries of -triumph.</p> - -<p>"Dip and weave, Dr. Peccary! Dip and weave!"</p> - -<p>They dipped and wove, while bullets ripped at their clothing. They -were running right into the fire, making better targets at every -stride. Staghorn ran with his watch in his hand, and never had time and -distance diminished so slowly.</p> - -<p>Seven seconds, six, five, and they were still alive and across the -street. Four seconds, three, two.</p> - -<p>They were over the park and onto the grass. A bullet crashed into -Staghorn's leg and he fell, diving forward.</p> - -<p>"Got him!" cried his great-grandson. "Now get Peccary!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Three shots rang out as one. But at some point in the bullets' flight -toward Peccary and Staghorn, the square and everything in it vanished.</p> - -<p>Staghorn found himself sitting in Humanac's transmitter unit.</p> - -<p>The time clock had functioned. He was disengaged.</p> - -<p>He lifted the helmet from his head and stumbled from the cell, drawing -a trouser leg up to examine his leg. It seemed that he could detect a -scar. Then he turned and helped Dr. Peccary from the other transmitter. -Both men stepped toward the console to look at Humanac's screen.</p> - -<p>It was still focused on the little park. The bearded man and his -companions were now exchanging glances of consternation. After a moment -the bearded man wet his lips. "Maybe he was right," he said in awed -tones. "No one but my great-grandfather could ever do a trick like -that. And maybe what he said is true. It's all illusion. We're nothing -but mathematical probabilities!"</p> - -<p>At this point Staghorn hauled down the master switch. The screen went -dead as Humanac's power was shut off.</p> - -<p>Some twenty minutes later he had finished draining Dr. Peccary's sample -of the Y Hormone from Humanac's analyzer and had thoroughly cleansed -the computer of any last traces of it. He handed the little bottle of -the hormone back to Dr. Peccary.</p> - -<p>"There," he said. "As far as Humanac is concerned, it's as though it -never was. Do as you wish."</p> - -<p>Dr. Peccary looked at the bottle sadly. It was worth millions. -Billions.</p> - -<p>Then slowly he moved to a laboratory sink and poured the contents of -the bottle down the drain.</p> - -<p>"I can't help wondering," mused Staghorn, "of whose computer we're a -part right now—slight factors in the chain of causation that started -God knows when and will end...."</p> - -<p>"When someone pulls the switch," said Dr. Peccary.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Immortals, by David Duncan - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IMMORTALS *** - -***** This file should be named 51801-h.htm or 51801-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/8/0/51801/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Immortals - -Author: David Duncan - -Release Date: April 19, 2016 [EBook #51801] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IMMORTALS *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - THE IMMORTALS - - By DAVID DUNCAN - - Illustrated by Dick Francis - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Galaxy Magazine October 1960. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - - - - Staghorn dared tug at the veil that hid the - future. Maybe it wasn't a crime to look ... - maybe it was just that the future was ugly! - - -I - -Dr. Clarence Peccary was an objective man. His increasing irritation -was caused, he realized, by the fear that his conscience was going to -intervene between him and the vast fortune that was definitely within -his grasp. Millions. Billions! But he wanted to enjoy it. - -He didn't want to skulk through life avoiding the eyes of everyone he -met--particularly when his life might last for centuries. So he sat -glowering at the rectangular screen that was located just above the -control console of Roger Staghorn's great digital computer. - -At the moment Peccary was ready to accuse Staghorn of having no -conscience whatsoever. It was only through an act of scientific -detachment that he reminded himself that Staghorn neither had a fortune -to gain nor cared about gaining one. Staghorn's fulfillment was in -Humanac, the name he'd given the electronic monster that presently -claimed his full attention. He sat at the controls, his eyes luminous -behind the magnification of his thick lenses, his lanky frame arched -forward for a better view of Humanac's screen. Far from showing -annoyance at what he saw, there was a positive leer on his face. - -As well there might be. - -On the screen was the full color picture of a small park in what -appeared to be the center of a medium-sized town. It was a shabby -little park. Rags and tattered papers waggled indolently in the breeze. -The grass was an unkempt, indifferent pattern of greens and browns, as -though the caretaker took small pains in setting his sprinklers. Beyond -the square was a church, its steeple listing dangerously, its windows -broken and its heavy double doors sagging on their hinges. - -Staghorn's leers and Dr. Peccary's glowers were not for the scenery, -however, but for the people who wandered aimlessly through the little -park and along the street beyond, carefully avoiding the area beneath -the leaning steeple. All of them were uniformly young, ranging from -perhaps seventeen at one extreme to no more than thirty at the other. -When Dr. Peccary had first seen them, he'd cried out joyfully, "You -see, Staghorn, all young! All handsome!" Then he'd stopped talking as -he studied those in the foreground more closely. - -Their clothing, to call it that, was most peculiar. It was rags. - -Here and there was a garment that bore a resemblance to a dress or -jacket or pair of trousers, but for the most part the people simply had -chunks of cloth wrapped about them in a most careless fashion. Several -would have been arrested for indecent exposure had they appeared -anywhere except on Humanac's screen. However, they seemed indifferent -to this--and to all else. A singularly attractive girl, in a costume -that would have made a Cretan blush, didn't even get a second glance -from, a young Adonis who passed her on the walk. Nor did she bestow one -on him. The park bench held more interest for her, so she sat down on -it. - -Peccary studied her more closely, then straightened with a start. - - * * * * * - -"I'll be damned," he said. "That's Jenny Cheever!" - -Staghorn continued to leer at the girl. "So you know her?" - -"I know her father. He owns the local variety store. She's only twenty -today, and there she is a hundred years from now, not a day older." - -"Only her image, Dr. Peccary," Staghorn murmured. "Only her image. But -a very pretty one." - -Peccary came to his feet, unable to control his irritation any longer. -"I won't believe it!" he said. "Somehow a piece of misinformation has -been fed into that machine. Its calculations are all wrong!" - -Staghorn refused to be perturbed. "But you just said you recognize -the girl on the bench. I'd say that Humanac has to be working with -needle-point accuracy to put recognizable people into a prediction." - -"Then shift the scene! For all I know this part of town was turned into -an insane asylum fifty years from now." The use of the past tense when -speaking of a future event was not ungrammatical in the presence of -Humanac. "Do you have the volume up?" - -"Certainly. Can't you hear the birds twittering?" - -"But I can't hear anyone talking." - -"Perhaps it's a day of silence." - -Staghorn took another long look at the girl on the parkbench and then -turned to the controls, using the fine adjustment on the geographical -locator. The screen flickered, blinked, and the scene changed. The two -men studied it. - -"Recognize it?" said Staghorn. - -Peccary gave an affirmative grunt. "That's the Jefferson grammar school -on Elm Street. I'm surprised it's still there. But, lord, as long as -they haven't built a new one, you'd think they'd at least keep the old -one repaired." - -"Very shabby," Staghorn agreed. - -It was. Large areas of the exterior plaster had fallen away. Windows -were shattered, and here and there the broken slats of Venetian blinds -stuck through them. The shrubbery around the building was dead; weeds -had sprung up through the cracks in the asphalt in the big play yard. -There was no sign of children. - -"Where is everyone?" Peccary demanded. "You must have the time control -set for a Sunday or holiday." - -"It's Tuesday," Staghorn said. Then both were silent because at that -moment a child appeared, a boy of about eleven. - - * * * * * - -He burst from the schoolhouse door and ran across the cracked asphalt -toward the playground, glancing back over his shoulder as though -expecting pursuit. Reaching the play apparatus he paused and looked -around desperately. The metal standards for the swings were in place -but no swings hung from them. The fulcrums for the seesaws were there -but they held no wooden planks to permit teetering. The only piece of -equipment that looked capable of affording pleasure was the slide. - -It was a small one, only about six feet high, obviously designed for -toddlers and not for a boy of eleven. Nonetheless, the boy headed for -it eagerly. - -But he'd hardly set foot upon the bottom step of the ladder when the -schoolhouse door burst open a second time. A young woman charged toward -him shouting, "Paul! Get down from there at once! Paul!" - -She was an attractive woman, but her voice held a note of panic. She -ran so swiftly that Paul, whose ascent of the ladder was accelerated -rather than retarded by her command, hadn't quite reached the top when -she seized him around the legs and tried to drag him down. - -"Please, Miss Terry!" he pleaded desperately. "Just this once let me -get to the top! Let me slide down it just once!" - -"Get to the top?" Miss Terry was aghast. "You could fall and kill -yourself. Down you come this instant!" - -"Just one time!" Paul wailed. "Let me do it just once!" - -Miss Terry paid no heed to his anguished cries. She tugged at his legs -while Paul clung to the handrails. But he was the weaker of the two, -and in a few seconds Miss Terry had torn him loose and set him on the -ground. Then, seizing him firmly by the hand, she led him back toward -the schoolhouse. - -Paul went along, sniveling miserably. They entered the building and the -play yard was once more silent and deserted. - -"By God, Staghorn," Peccary thundered, "you've doctored it! You've -deliberately fed false information into Humanac's memory cells!" - -Staghorn turned to glare at his guest, his eyes flaming at the -outrageous suggestion. "The only hypothetical element I've fed into -Humanac is your Y Hormone, Dr. Peccary! You saw me do it. You watched -me check the computer before we started." - -"I refuse to believe that my Y Hormone will bring about the -consequences that machine is predicting!" - -"It's the only new factor that was added." - -"How can you say that? During the next hundred years a thousand other -factors can enter in." - -"But the Y Hormone bears an essential relationship to the whole. Sit -down and stop waving your arms. I'm going to see if we can get into the -school." - -Peccary sat down, seething. - - * * * * * - -It had been a mistake to bring his Y Hormone to Staghorn. It was simply -that he'd been thinking of himself as such a benefactor to the human -race that he couldn't wait to see a sample of the bright future he -intended to create. - -"Think of it, Staghorn!" he'd said happily, earlier in the evening. -"The phrase 'art is long and time is fleeting' won't mean anything -any more! Artists will have hundreds of years to paint their pictures. -Think of the books that will be written, the music that will be -composed, the magnificent cities that will be built! Everyone will have -time enough to achieve perfection. Think of your work and mine. We'll -live long enough to unravel all the mysteries of the universe!" - -Staghorn had said nothing. Instead, he'd uncorked the small bottle Dr. -Peccary had given him and sniffed at it. - -The bottle contained a sample of the Y Hormone which Dr. Peccary had -spent many years developing. Its principal ingredient was a glandular -extract from insects, an organic compound that controlled the insects' -aging process. If administered artificially, it could keep insects in -the larval stage almost indefinitely. - -Dr. Peccary's great contribution had been to synthesize this -extract--which affected only insects--with protein elements that -could be assimilated by mammals and humans. It had required years of -experimentation, but the result was his Y Hormone--Y for Youth. - -In his laboratory he now had playful kittens that were six years old -and puppies that should have been fully grown dogs. The only human he'd -so far experimented on was himself. But because he'd started taking -the hormone only recently, he was as yet unable to say positively -that it was responsible for the splendid health he was enjoying. His -impatience to know the sociological consequences of the hormone had -made him bring a sample of it to Staghorn. - -After sniffing at the bottle, Staghorn had poured its contents into -Humanac's analyzer. - -The giant computer gurgled and belched a few seconds while it assessed -the nature of the formula. Then Staghorn connected the analyzer with -the machine's memory units. - -As far as Humanac was concerned, the Y Hormone was now an accepted part -of human history. - -But, except for this one added factor, the rest of Humanac's vast -memory was solidly based upon the complete known history of the -earth and the human race. Its principles of operation were the same -as those controlling other electronic "brains," which could be -programmed to predict tides, weather, election results or the state of -a department-store inventory at any given date in the future. Humanac -differed chiefly in the tremendously greater capacity of its memory -cells. Over the years it had digested thousands of books, codifying -and coordinating the information as fast as it was received. Its -photocells had recorded millions of visual impressions. Its auditory -units had absorbed the music and languages of the centuries. And its -methods of evaluation had been given a strictly human touch by feeding -into its resistance chambers the cephalic wave patterns produced by the -brains of Staghorn's colleagues. - - * * * * * - -An added feature, though by no means an original one, was the screen -upon which Humanac produced visually the events of the time and place -for which the controls were set. - -This screen was simply the big end of a cathode-ray tube, similar -to those used in television sets. It was adapted from I.B.M.'s 704 -electronic computer used by the Vanguard tracking center to produce -visual predictions of the orbits of artificial satellites. - -Staghorn was constantly having trouble explaining to people that -Humanac was not a time machine that could look into the past or future. -Its pictures of past events were based upon information already present -in its memory cells. Its pictures of future events were predictions -calculated according to the laws of probability. But because Humanac, -unlike a human, never forgot any of the million and one variables -impinging upon any human situation, its predictions were startlingly -accurate. - -Humanac had never been exposed to pictures of Dr. Peccary's home town -nor to those of a girl named Jenny Cheever. It arrived at the likeness -of both town and girl through a purely mathematical process. - -Staghorn's ultimate purpose in building the machine was to use it -in developing a true science of history. Because Humanac was only a -machine, Staghorn could alter its memory at will. By removing the -tiny unit upon which the Battle of Hastings was recorded and then -"re-playing" English history without it, he could find out what actual -effect that particular battle had. - -He was surprised to discover that it had very little. According to -Humanac, the Normans would have conquered England anyway a few months -later. - -At another time, while reviewing the events leading up to the American -Revolution, Humanac had produced a picture of Benjamin Franklin kissing -a beautiful young woman in the office of his printing shop. On impulse -Staghorn removed this seemingly insignificant event from Humanac's -memory and then turned the time dial forward to the present to see what -effect, if any, the episode had had upon history. - -To his amazement, with that single kiss missing, Humanac produced a -picture of the American continent composed of six different nations -speaking French, German, Chinese, Hindu, Arabic and Muskogean--the last -being the language of an Indian nation occupying the Mississippi Valley -and extending northward to Lake Winnepeg. It served as a buffer state -between the Hindus and Chinese in the west and the French, Germans and -Arabs to the east. - - * * * * * - -It was Humanac's ability to predict the future consequences of any -hypothetical event, however, that made it an instrument capable -of revolutionizing history. Once its dependability was thoroughly -established, it would be possible for a Secretary of State to submit -to Humanac the contents of a note intended for a foreign country, then -turn the time controls ahead and get Humanac's prediction of the note's -consequences. - -If the consequences were good, the note would then be sent. - -If they were bad, the Secretary could destroy the note and try -others--until he composed one that produced the desired result. - -Humanac's flaw was that it had no way of explaining the predictions -produced on its screen. It merely showed what would happen when and -if certain things were done. It left it up to the human operator to -figure out why things happened that way. - -This was what was troubling Dr. Peccary. - -He could see not the remotest relationship between his Y Hormone and -the fact that a mathematical probability named Miss Terry should refuse -another mathematical probability named Paul permission to climb to the -top of a six-foot playground slide. - -Meanwhile Staghorn had been using the fine adjustment on the geographic -locator and now grunted his satisfaction. "Good! We're in the building, -at least." - -On the screen was a dusky corridor. On either side of it were classroom -doors, some closed, some ajar. Staghorn moved his hand from the fine -adjustment to the even more delicate vernier control which permitted -him to shift the geographic focus inches at a time. The focus drifted -slowly forward to one of the half-open doors, and then he and Dr. -Peccary were able to see into the classroom. - -It was deserted. Desks were thick with dust. Books, yellow with age, -were strewn on the floor. - -Staghorn's hand sought the vernier control again. The picture led them -on down the corridor to another open door. - -Again it was a scene of desolation. - -"This can have nothing to do with my Y Hormone!" Peccary insisted. - -"Then why is your picture on the wall there?" Staghorn said with a note -of malicious pleasure. - -Dr. Peccary looked and started. On the classroom wall was a faded -photograph of himself. Except that he was wearing a different suit -in the picture, he looked just as he looked at the present moment. -Staghorn got a closer focus on the photograph so that Peccary could -read the legend beneath it. _Dr. Clarence Peccary, the man who gave the -world the Y Hormone._ - -"All right then," said Peccary, somewhat mollified by this tribute. "If -they put my picture on school room walls a hundred years from now, it -means I'm an honored man, a man the world admires. And therefore the Y -Hormone _can't_ be the cause of all this desolation!" - -"I've found that Humanac's reasoning and human reasoning differ in many -ways," said Staghorn. On the screen they were out in the corridor again -when from somewhere ahead came a woman's voice. - -"You may recite now, Paul. Please stand up." - -"Ah, that sounds like Miss Terry," said Staghorn. He fingered the -vernier control. The focal point slid forward along the corridor. - -"Stand up and recite, Paul," Miss Terry said more sharply. - -"I think they're in the room on the left," said Peccary. - - -II - -The focus shifted to the open door and then Peccary and Staghorn could -see into the classroom. This one was in slightly better order than -the others and was occupied by two people. In front sat Miss Terry, -obviously the teacher, and at one of the desks sat Paul. He seemed to -be the entire class. At Miss Terry's urging he was coming to his feet, -his face still stained with tears. He held his book a few inches from -his nose and stared over the top of it sullenly. - -"Go ahead, Paul," said Miss Terry, sweetly stubborn. "I'm waiting." - -Paul looked at his book and read from it in a monotone, enunciating -each word carefully as though it had no relationship to the other -words. "I am a human being and as long as I obey the six rules I shall -live forever." - -"Very good, Paul. Now read the six rules." - -Paul sniffled loudly and commenced reading again. "Rule one: I must -never go near fire or my clothing may catch aflame and burn me up. Rule -two: I must keep away from deep water or I may fall in and drown. Rule -three: I must stay away from high places or I may fall and dash my -brains out." He paused to sniffle and wipe his nose on his sleeve, then -sighed and continued dismally. "Rule four: I must never play with sharp -things or I may cut myself and bleed to death. Rule five: I must never -ride horses or I may fall off and break my neck." Paul paused, lowering -his book. - -"And the sixth rule?" said Miss Terry. "Go ahead and read the sixth -rule." - -Reluctantly Paul lifted his book. "Rule six: Starting when I'm -twenty-one I must take Dr. Peccary's Y Hormone once a week to keep me -young and healthy forever." - -"Excellent, Paul!" said Miss Terry. "And which rule were you breaking -just now on the playground?" - -"I was breaking Rule Three," Paul said, then quoted sadly, "I must stay -away from high places or I may fall and dash my brains out." - - * * * * * - -Dr. Peccary was on his feet stomping around in front of the computer. -"Sheer idiocy," he muttered. "He doesn't have any brains to dash out! -I'll admit that a computer with sufficient information about the state -of the world might be able to make accurate predictions of events a few -months or possibly a year into the future--but not one hundred years! -In that long an interval even the most trivial error could distort -every circuit in the machine." He jabbed a finger toward the screen -where Paul was seated at his desk again. "And that's what that picture -is--a distortion. I'm not going to let it influence me one bit in what -I intend to--" He broke off because of what was happening on the screen. - -From somewhere outside the school building came the wail of a -deep-throated alarm. Both Miss Terry and Paul were on their feet and by -their expressions, terrified. - -"The Atavars!" Paul cried, his entire body shaking. - -"To the basement, Paul!" Miss Terry's face was blanched as she grasped -Paul's hand and headed toward the door. But halfway there, both came to -a halt, breathless and staring. - -A powerful bearded man strode into the classroom. - -Paul and Miss Terry fell back as he advanced. He was a man of about -fifty, his bushy hair shot with gray, his eyes cold and blue. He was -followed by two younger men who studied Paul and Miss Terry with -interest. All three wore rough work clothing. - -The bearded man pointed at Paul. "There's the boy," he said quietly. -"Take him." - -Paul let out a shriek of terror and fled into a corner as the two men -advanced. He clawed futilely as they laid hands on him. "For God's -sake, shut up," one of the men said with more disgust than anger. He -pinioned Paul's arms while the other man bound them together with a -strip of cloth. - -Miss Terry meanwhile had collapsed into her chair. One of Paul's -captors glanced at her and spoke to the bearded man. "What about her?" - -The bearded man stepped close to Miss Terry and put a hand on her -shoulder. She recoiled as from a snake. "How old are you?" he asked. -Miss Terry made some inarticulate squeaks and the man spoke more -sharply. "When were you born?" - -"Two thousand four," she managed to stutter. - -The bearded man considered this and shook his head. "Over fifty. By -that time they're hopeless. Leave her and bring the boy." - -Miss Terry let out an agonized wail of protest and fainted across her -desk. One of the men slung Paul over his shoulder and the bearded -leader led the group from the room. - - * * * * * - -"Amazing," murmured Staghorn. "Absolutely amazing. One never knows what -to expect." - -"Pure gibberish," said Peccary, then betrayed his interest by saying, -"Can you follow them?" - -"I'm trying to." Staghorn worked at the geographic adjustment and -finally got the screen focused on the corridor again. It was deserted. -The bearded man and his companions had already departed. Staghorn -touched the controls again, the screen flickered and once more the -little park came into focus. But now it, too, was deserted. None of -the ragged men and women were in sight, neither in the park nor on the -street beyond. Staghorn twisted the focus in all directions without -discovering anyone. - -"That whistle we heard was obviously some kind of alarm," he said. -"Everyone must be in hiding--from the Atavars, whoever they are. I -strongly suspect that bearded fellow of being one." - -"You might as well shut it off, Staghorn," Dr. Peccary said coldly. -"It's too much nonsense for any sane man to swallow. And unless that -machine can provide a full and satisfactory explanation as to why my Y -Hormone will bring about the conditions depicted on that screen, I see -no reason to keep the hormone off the market." - -Staghorn turned from the controls to study his companion. "The only -possible way that Humanac could give us the entire background of events -leading up to what we've just seen would be to set the time control -to the present and then leave the machine running until it arrived at -this same period again. That would take a hundred years, and I'm not -going to sit here that long. What's more, I'm not going to touch your Y -Hormone even if you do put it on the market." - -"There'll be plenty who will!" - -"That's what Humanac says, yes." - -Dr. Peccary gestured despairingly. After all, he did have a conscience. -"I simply don't believe my hormone can be responsible!" - -"I'll remind you that your picture was on the classroom wall and that -the sixth rule read by that boy indicated that he was supposed to start -using your hormone when he reached the age of twenty-one. That would be -about the age to stop growing older." - -"That boy is nothing but a mathematical probability!" - - * * * * * - -"That's all you and I are," Staghorn said owlishly. "Mathematical -probabilities. Despite Omar, nothing exactly like either of us has ever -existed before or will exist again." - -"But damn it, Staghorn...." Dr. Peccary sat down, his face in his -hands. "It's worth millions! I've invested years of work and all -the money I could scrape together. I don't see anything wrong in a -scientist's profiting by his discoveries. And to keep it off the -market just because that insane computer says that a hundred years -from now--" He broke off, glaring at Humanac's screen which was still -focused on the deserted park. "It simply doesn't make sense! The -machine doesn't give any reasons for anything. If there were a way -I could talk directly to some of those mathematical probabilities, -question them, ask them what it's all about...." He was on his feet, -striding back and forth before the computer again. - -"Perhaps there is a way," Staghorn said quietly. - -"Eh?" - -"I said that it may be possible for you to talk with them." - -"How?" - -"By making your mind a temporary part of the computer." - -Peccary studied the huge machine apprehensively--its ranks of memory -units, its chambers of flickering tubes, the labyrinth of circuits. -"How would you go about it?" - -"I put you in the transmitter," Staghorn said. He stepped away from -the console and slid back a panel to reveal a niche with a seat in -it. Above the seat was a sort of helmet that resembled a hair drier -in a beauty parlor, except that it was studded with hundreds of tiny -magnets and transistors. Staghorn indicated the helmet. "This picks up -and amplifies brain waves. I've used it to record the cephalic wave -pattern of about a hundred men and women. The recordings are built -into the computer, enabling Humanac to assign a mathematical evaluation -to the influence of human emotion in making historic decisions. In your -case, instead of making a recording of your brain waves, I'd feed the -impulses directly into Humanac's memory units." - -"And what would happen then?" - -"I'm not altogether sure," said Staghorn, and it seemed to Peccary that -Staghorn was finding a definite relish in his uncertainty. "I've never -tried the experiment before." - -"I might get electrocuted?" - -"No. There's no danger of that happening. The current that activates -the transmitter comes from your own brain, and as you know, such -electrical impulses are extremely feeble. That isn't what worries me." - -"Well then, what does?" - -"In some ways Humanac behaves peculiarly like a living organism. For -example, there's one prediction it can never make. Several times I've -fed into it the hypothetical information that the two opposing factions -of the world have declared war. Naturally everyone would like to know -about the outcome of such a war." Staghorn paused, gazing lovingly at -his majestic creation. - -"And what happens?" Dr. Peccary said impatiently. - -"Nothing. That's just it. The moment I turn Humanac into the future -to get a prediction, the screen goes dead. Do you know why it goes -dead?" Staghorn looked at Peccary with a pleased smile and didn't wait -for Peccary to cue him. "It goes dead because, if war were declared, -Humanac would be the first target for enemy bombs. When it predicts a -future event, it has to take all factors into consideration. If one of -those factors is its own destruction, it can predict nothing beyond -that moment." - - * * * * * - -Peccary repeated this sentence in his mind while he slowly digested its -meaning. What it seemed to mean was that, although Staghorn and Peccary -thought of Humanac as only a complicated machine, Humanac's opinion of -itself was altogether otherwise. It could foresee its own death. - -"I often wonder," mused Staghorn, "about those people we see wandering -around on Humanac's screen. To us they're only images made by a -stream of electrons hitting the end of a cathode ray tube. Their space -and time is an illusion. All the same, Humanac comprises an entire -system--a system modeled as accurately as possible on our own. It's -just possible that the boy we saw, Paul, was experiencing a real -terror." - -Dr. Peccary examined Staghorn in amazement. He had often suspected that -Staghorn's genius was tinged with madness. "You're not suggesting that -those ... those images are conscious?" - -"Ah! What is consciousness?" - -"I didn't come here to get into a metaphysical argument." - -"No, but it's only fair for me to suggest the possible emotional -hazzards involved in hooking you up to Humanac. Because you have to -admit that _you'll_ be conscious during the experiment." - -"Certainly. But I'll be sitting right there." Peccary pointed to the -seat in the transmitter unit. - -"In a sense, yes. Very well, take your seat." - -Peccary eyed the helmet uneasily. "I'm not sure I want to do this." - -"But you do want to make millions from the Y Hormone. And you want to -enjoy it with a clear conscience. Perhaps it's as you say--there may -be other factors involved. By knowing what they are you may be able to -negate their influence." Staghorn's voice was a soft purr as he took -Dr. Peccary's arm and urged him into the transmitter unit. Peccary sat -down. The seat was small and hard. - -"Just bear one thing in mind," Staghorn said. "Don't get lost. It will -be best if you stay in the little park where I can see you and where -you'll be in focus. Unless you're in focus it might be impossible -to--ah--disengage you." - -Dr. Peccary could find no meaning whatsoever in this statement, except -confirmation of his suspicion that Staghorn was mad. He felt this so -strongly that he started to rise from his seat and escape from the -transmitter cell. But at that moment Staghorn lowered the helmet onto -his head. The sensation he experienced was so novel and startling that -he remained seated. For a second or two he could feel the tiny metallic -contacts on the inside of the helmet pressing against his skull, but -this sensation of physical pressure vanished almost at once. It was -replaced by one of headlessness. His body up to his chin still seemed -to be sitting in the transmitter--but his intellect had lost completely -its sense of localization in the head. - -He could think clearly enough, but had no notion as to the spot where -his thoughts originated. Indeed, the whole concept of relative position -seemed ridiculous. At the same instant he felt tall as a mountain and -as low as a rug. His mind could fill the entire universe, while resting -neatly in a thimble. He could also see Staghorn, for his eyes continued -to function and transmit optical patterns, but precisely where he was -while receiving these patterns he couldn't possibly say. - -He heard Staghorn remark, "Fine. The connection is perfect. It's always -better when the subject is bald. I'm going to switch you over into -Humanac's circuits now." - -Staghorn's hand moved across the controls and one of his long fingers -flipped a switch. - - * * * * * - -This was the last Dr. Peccary saw of Roger Staghorn. Instantly he found -himself standing in the center of the small park in his home town. His -reaction was not one of alarm. Quite to the contrary, his immediate -thought was one of surprise that he wasn't alarmed. Standing there in -the little square felt entirely normal and proper. - -Next he was jolted by the realization that he must be an image on -Humanac's screen. He quickly looked about in all directions, half -expecting to see Staghorn's huge face peering down from the sky like -God. There was no sign of Staghorn, however. The world about him was -as three-dimensional as any he'd ever known. He was in his home town a -hundred years after he'd last seen it. - -Good lord! He was a hundred and forty-two years old! - -This realization was followed by a host of others. Like a man coming -out of amnesia, his past began filling with memories. He was rich. He -was the richest man on earth. His Y Hormone was used the world over. A -mile away, on the outskirts of town, he could see a portion of his huge -production plant. He lived in a majestic palace surrounded by every -manner of automatic protective device. Protection? From what? And how -had he dared to venture out here in the park alone? But wait ... wait. -It was all an illusion. Actually he was only an image on Humanac's -screen, a mathematical probability. - -He must keep that fact firmly in mind, or he might lose his mental -balance. - -He gazed about at the town, dismayed by its appearance. Not a person -in sight. Not even an automobile. Of course, the motor car might have -become obsolete during the passage of a hundred years. There must be -some new mode of transportation--something undreamed of a century ago! - -While he was wondering what this might be, he heard a -clop-clop-clopping and was astonished to see three horsemen approaching -the square. As they came closer he recognized them as the bearded man -and his two companions. - -The boy Paul was bound firmly behind one of the saddles. - -A strange panic arose in Dr. Peccary's breast, but he managed to -suppress it with a reminder that this was all illusion. He was here -for purposes of information; he must have the courage to get it. So -he forced himself to the curb at the edge of the park. When the riders -were within speaking distance, he managed to hail them with, "Hey, you!" - -His nervousness made his words harsh. But then, there was no reason why -he should speak politely to kidnapers. He saw that Paul was conscious. -The boy had a gag over his mouth but his eyes were open. - - * * * * * - -The three riders reined in their horses and looked at Peccary with -frank curiosity. - -"Here's one that didn't hide," one of them remarked, in a tone that Dr. -Peccary decided was disrespectful. He stepped forward boldly. - -"May I ask what you intend to do with that boy?" he demanded. - -"He wants to know what we intend to do with the boy," said the same man. - -"Yes, I heard what he said," the bearded man remarked quietly. He -hadn't ceased to study Peccary with his piercing blue eyes. Now he -urged his horse closer. "You must be a stranger here, son?" - -"Not exactly," said Peccary. "As a matter of fact, I was born here. -That was some time ago and it's true I haven't been here recently." The -way the bearded man stared at him made him extremely nervous. "But I'm -sure that kidnaping is against the law. If you don't release that boy -I'll have to--to make a citizen's arrest!" Peccary knew that his words -sounded ridiculous. From the way the three riders exchanged glances it -was evident that they thought the same thing. - -"He's going to make a citizen's arrest," commented the one who liked to -repeat whatever Peccary said. - -"Hush," said the bearded leader. And then to Peccary, "What's your -name, son?" - -"Clarence Peccary. If you don't do as I say I'll--" He stopped short, -his heart leaping as the force of his indiscretion struck him. - -The three men had been struck also. - -The two younger ones were already on the ground, one on either side -of him. Only the bearded man remained mounted. He leaned forward. "I -thought you looked familiar. You're _Doctor_ Peccary of the Y Hormone?" -His voice was a menacing whisper. Peccary finally answered with a slow -nod. - -"He must have flipped, running around alone like this," a man beside -him said. "However, let's never insult fortune!" - -This was the last Dr. Peccary heard. For at that instant one of the -men--he never knew which--struck him forcibly over the head with a -blunt instrument. - - -III - -At Humanac's controls Roger Staghorn leaped to his feet in alarm as he -saw what was happening on the screen. - -Peccary had collapsed now. The two men were draping him across the -bearded man's saddle. There wasn't an instant to lose! Staghorn leaped -to the transmitter cell where Peccary's material body was seated, -his eyes peacefully closed. Staghorn flipped the switch to disengage -Peccary's consciousness from Humanac's circuits. - -Nothing happened. Peccary's body remained as before, blissfully asleep. - -Good lord, of course nothing happened! How could it? Peccary had just -been knocked cold; at the moment he didn't _have_ any consciousness! -Staghorn opened the circuit again and whirled back to the control -console. - -He looked at the screen. All three men were mounted again. The bearded -leader gestured them on. - -They set spurs to their horses and galloped away, taking the -unconscious Peccary with them. - -"No!" Staghorn shouted at the fleeing images. "No, Dr. Peccary! Stay -in focus!" The horsemen paid no heed--nor did Staghorn expect them to, -rationally. His shouts were only involuntary expressions of despair. -Grasping the geographic locator, he twiddled it wildly, managing to -keep the three riders in focus for several blocks as they sped down a -street of the deserted town. - -Then they rounded a corner and he lost them. - -By the time he got a focus on the area around the corner they were -gone. For several minutes he continued to search, shifting the focal -point all over town, but in vain. Dr. Clarence Peccary was lost inside -Humanac's labyrinthean brain! - -Staghorn was stunned. There would be no difficulty in keeping Peccary's -physical body alive indefinitely by intravenous feeding, but it was -as good as dead while separated from its sense of identity. Worse yet -were the probable consequences to Humanac of having a free soul loose -in its mathematical universe. These were too dire to contemplate. The -machine's reliability might be altogether ruined and Staghorn's life -work destroyed. Under the circumstances there was but one course of -action. He had to find Dr. Peccary and get him back into focus, so that -he could be disengaged from the computer. - -First Staghorn focused the geographic locator on the town square, -the point from which Peccary had been abducted; from there he could -begin tracking him. Next he set the time control so that it would -automatically disengage the transmitter units in exactly three hours. - -Whether or not he could find Dr. Peccary in that period of time -Staghorn had no way of knowing; but at least he should be able to get -himself back into focus at the proper moment. Then, in case he'd failed -to find Peccary, he could reset the time clock and try again. - -Next he opened a second transmitter unit, sat down on the little seat -and pulled the helmet down on his head. As sensations of vastness and -lost dimensions spread through him, he reached out and pressed down the -switch that would pour his own brain impulses into Humanac's circuits. - - * * * * * - -Instantly, as with Dr. Peccary, Staghorn found himself standing in the -little park. - -He examined his hands and slapped his sides a few times, taking time to -assimilate the fact that he felt perfectly solid. Ah, Bishop Berkeley -was right all the time! The universe was subjective--a creation of -consciousness! - -He left off these speculations and recalled himself to his mission. - -Glancing around, he saw that people were beginning to reappear. They -came up from basements and out of the doors of the dilapidated houses -and buildings. If there had been a panic, there was no sign of it -now. The men and women moved indolently, returning toward the park and -the sunlit streets. All were so much the same age and of such similar -beauty that it was difficult to distinguish individual members of the -same sex. But he finally recognized the girl Dr. Peccary had identified -as Jenny Cheever. She had an attractive strawberry birthmark on her hip. - -She strolled back into the park accompanied by a young man. The two of -them took possession of the bench where Jenny had been seated earlier. -They sat well apart from each other, silently contemplating the other -passers-by. - -Feeling that his knowledge of Jenny's name constituted a sort of -introduction, Staghorn approached the couple. The man paid no attention -to him but Jenny watched him curiously. Staghorn was not a man over -whom women swooned, and it occurred to him that she found something odd -about his dark suit and thick spectacles. He seemed to be the only man -in town wearing either. - -"How do you do," he said to her. "I believe you're Ben Cheever's -daughter." - -She continued to examine him languidly, slowly stroking a heavy strand -of her auburn hair. "Am I?" she said at last. "It's been so long I've -forgotten. But then I had to be someone's daughter and since my name -is Cheever, you may be right. I don't remember you. We must have met -ages and ages ago." - -"This is the first time we've met. You were pointed out to me by a -friend." - -She considered this with a puzzled air, and, idly curious, said, "Do -you want to marry me?" - -"Good heavens, no!" - -Jenny didn't seem to be insulted by his abruptness. "I just wondered -why you'd speak to me," she said. "Because if you want to marry me you -have to wait. I've promised to marry him first." She gestured to the -man on the bench with her. The man looked at Staghorn for the first -time. - -"Yeah," he said. - - * * * * * - -"I see," said Staghorn. "And when is this ... merry event to take -place?" - -"Some day," Jenny said indifferently. "When we both feel like it. -There's no use rushing things. I don't want to use up all the men too -soon." - -"Use them up?" - -"He'll be my twenty-fifth husband." - -"Yeah," said the man. "She'll be my thirty-second wife." - -"Your marriages can't last very long," said Staghorn. Despite the -physical attractiveness of both Jenny and her escort, Staghorn began -to feel clammy in their presence. He had an impression of deep ill -health, a sense of unclean, almost reptilian lassitude. - -"They get shorter all the time," said Jenny, and turned away as though -the conversation bored her. The man too had lost interest. - -Staghorn stood ignored for a moment and then spoke bluntly. - -"Who are the Atavars?" - -The word produced the first genuine reaction. Jenny leaped to her feet. -The man turned red. - -"Don't say that word!" Jenny said. - -"I'm sorry. I'm a stranger." - -"No one can be that much of a stranger!" - -"It's indecent," the man said. He stood up and touched Jenny's arm. "I -feel my blood pounding. Let's go get married." - -Jenny nodded and, with a cold glance at Staghorn, moved away with her -companion. Staghorn was tempted to follow and demand an answer to his -question when he saw Miss Terry approaching. Miss Terry was more likely -to have the information he needed, and in any case--since she was only -in her fifties--she was less than half of Jenny Cheever's age. He hoped -this would make a difference in her attitude. That she was capable -of emotion he already knew. Her expression, as she approached, was -disconsolate. - -Staghorn bowed low before her and introduced himself. "Good afternoon, -Miss Terry. I'm a stranger to you but since you're a teacher by -profession, you may have heard of me. I'm Dr. Roger Staghorn." He -straightened, twisted his lips into a smile and waited for Miss Terry -to associate his name with those scientific achievements that had so -startled the world a hundred years earlier. To his chagrin Miss Terry -only gazed at him blankly and shook her head. - - * * * * * - -"No," she murmured. Then tears formed in her eyes and she tried to move -on. Staghorn stopped her. - -"Forgive me," he said. "I'm aware of your recent loss. Your pupil, -Paul." - -Her tears dropped more freely. "Sooner or later I knew they'd get him. -The only child in town. And now I have nothing to do. Nothing at all!" - -"They? Just who are they--the Atavars?" - -Miss Terry turned pale. "Don't say it," she pleaded. "In time I'll -forget." - -"But where have they taken Paul? And what will they do with him?" - -"He'll die, of course." She spoke these words almost indifferently, -then wept copiously as she added, "But I'll live on with nothing to do!" - -"Then why didn't someone stop them?" He gestured angrily at the -handsome young males wandering through the park. "All these men--why -don't they rescue Paul?" - -This suggestion so shocked Miss Terry that she stopped weeping. "That's -impossible! There'd be violence. Someone might get killed!" - -"They think of _that_ with a boy's life at stake?" Staghorn felt his -rage rising. He was an irascible man by nature and had controlled -himself so far only because he knew he was part of an illusion. The -sense of illusion was fading rapidly, however. The guiding principles -of morals and ethics were themselves abstractions and therefore -operated just as powerfully in an abstract universe. He grasped Miss -Terry by the arm. - -"I'll go after him myself. Where do I find him?" - -"You can't find him! If you follow they'll capture you too!" - -"I'll chance that! Where have they gone?" - -"I can't tell you! They might punish me!" - -Staghorn shook her heartily, ignoring the fact that she was over -fifty. "Tell me! It so happens that besides Paul, they've captured Dr. -Clarence Peccary, and I'm responsible for his life!" - -At this statement Miss Terry let out a cry of horror. "They've caught -Dr. Peccary? No! No!" - -"They most certainly have. So hurry up and tell me--" - -"We'll all die!" wailed Miss Terry. "We'll all die!" - -"In that case it can't hurt you to tell me." - -"The mountains!" cried Miss Terry. "High Canyon!" - -It was with great difficulty that Staghorn forced directions from her. -The news of Peccary's capture had unsettled her entirely. But despite -the roughness with which he was forced to use her, no one came to her -rescue. Several young men and women gathered at a safe distance to -watch, but they did nothing to interfere. - - * * * * * - -Staghorn finally elicited the information that High Canyon was several -miles north of town and could be reached by following a dirt road. To -his inquiry as to where he could rent a car, Miss Terry went blank -again. There were no cars. They had been abolished before Miss Terry -was born. She thought there might be one in the museum. - -Staghorn glanced at his watch. - -He'd already been in the transmitter thirty minutes. He had only two -and a half hours to get to High Canyon, rescue Dr. Peccary and Paul and -return to the square. He dared not cut it too fine. He'd have to be -back with a few minutes to spare. - -So, after learning the location of the museum, he took off at a run. - -It was evident that at some period in the past the town had gone -through a surge of prosperity, for there were several quite majestic -buildings whose cornerstones bore dates of the late twentieth century. -But it was also clear that during the last fifty years not only had -few new enterprises been started but the old ones had been allowed to -languish. The museum even lacked an attendant at the door--unless one -gave this title to the bust of Dr. Peccary which stood on a pedestal -just inside the entrance. The plaque beneath the bust noted that Dr. -Peccary had given the museum to the city in 1985 "to preserve for our -immortal posterity a true picture of the world of mortals." - -In the seven and a half decades since, however, this true picture had -suffered badly. - -In the absence of curtains and draperies, and in the nudeness of the -mannekins whose purpose could only have been to display twentieth -century costumes, Staghorn gained a hint as to where the populace got -at least a part of the rags they wore. He didn't pause to examine -details, however. A wall directory with a faded map of the building -had given him the location of the wing of twentieth century machines. -He headed there at once, passing by displays of tractors, bulldozers, -jackhammers and other commonplaces before reaching the automobiles. - -There was an excellent selection of standard and sports models, all a -uniform gray under their coats of dust--and all of them out of gas. - -After so long a time it was doubtful if any would have run anyway. He -had simply hoped that one lone attendant might have kept one in working -condition. - -In the next room, however, he found the reward for his effort. -Bicycles. He chose a racing model. - -A few minutes later he was pedaling rapidly northward on the dirt road -that led to High Canyon. - - -IV - -Dr. Peccary could feel fingers probing at his sore head. A bit of damp -cloth or cotton was pressed against his upper lip. The sharp odor that -stabbed his nostrils made him jerk his head away and suck in his breath. - -"Good. He's coming around." - -Dr. Peccary opened his eyes. For a few seconds faces and objects swung -around him giddily, but finally the environment achieved stability. He -saw that he was in a log cabin, on a bunk. Seated in a chair beside him -was a man whose manner could belong only to a doctor. Standing behind -the doctor was the bearded man. - -"He'll be all right," the doctor said, packing bottles and probes into -his little black bag. - -Dr. Peccary sat up and touched the back of his head gingerly. It was -very, very sore. He'd never had an illusion quite like this before. -Besides, the illusion had persisted too long. How long had he been out? -Hours? Days? Good lord, had Staghorn deserted him? - -The bearded man ushered the doctor out, locked the door and came back -to observe Peccary. He put a booted foot on the chair and leaned an -elbow on his knee. - -"I hardly need tell you, Dr. Peccary," he said, "that this is the -happiest day of my life." - -"But not of mine," Peccary responded sourly. "I doubt if you can make -it a bit worse by telling me what this is all about and what you plan -to do with me." - -The bearded man showed surprise. "You don't know?" - -"No! I don't know!" Peccary was losing his detachment. - -The bearded man considered him thoughtfully. "I shouldn't have let the -doctor go so soon. Apparently you were hit harder than we thought. -On the other hand it's just possible, living as you have these last -seventy years locked up in your palace and isolated from the rest of -the world, that you've lost touch with what is going on." - -"I've lost touch with a great many things. Obviously I'm a prisoner. -How long is this going to last?" - -"Only until my demolition squad is ready. Then we take you to your -production plant where you produce the Y Hormone. There will be a gun -at your back, of course. You know the combination to get us safely past -the automatic guards. Ah, I've waited all my life for this! Once we're -in the plant, my men will do the rest." - -"You're going to blow it up?" - -"Absolutely!" - - * * * * * - -"And what do you gain by that? The formula for the Y Hormone still -exists!" - -The bearded man laughed. "Yes, I can see you've been out of touch with -the world. It's been thirty years since the country produced anyone -capable of working with that formula. That's when the last university -closed down--thirty years ago." - -"That's shocking," said Dr. Peccary. "But my experiments showed -conclusively that the Y Hormone has no deleterious effect upon -intelligence. I took every precaution!" - -"Nothing wrong with anyone's intelligence," said the bearded man, -"except that no one's under pressure to use it. When the future -stretches on indefinitely, it gets easier and easier to put things off -until tomorrow--even education--until finally it's put off forever. -There's only one man living who understands that formula." - -"And who is that?" - -The bearded man looked down at him hatefully. "Yourself, Dr. Peccary! -That's why we're so delighted to capture you--because now you'll never -use it again!" - -Peccary stared at him aghast. "I understand now! You mean to steal -it. You mean to force it out of me and start producing the Y Hormone -yourself!" - -This accusation resulted in a violent reaction from the bearded man. He -grasped Peccary by the lapels of his jacket and hauled him to his feet. -Peccary could feel the man's powerful hands trembling with rage. - -"You fool! You utter imbecile! Don't you even yet know who we are?" - -Peccary was so throttled by the man's clutch that he could only waggle -his head in the negative. The bearded man's face came close to his. - -"We're mortals!" He flung Peccary back on the bunk contemptuously. "We -accept our allotted span of years and call it quits. But during that -time we live! We have to. It's all the time we have!" He glared at -Peccary a moment before resuming in a milder tone. "After we destroy -your production plant, Dr. Peccary, we're going to kill you. You might -as well know. It's the only way to make certain that the formula for -the Y Hormone will never be used again." Then he smiled. "But take -consolation. With the plant destroyed you'd gradually get old and die -anyway. For the brief period before we execute you, you might even -regain an appreciation for life." He bent suddenly, gripped Peccary's -wrist and hauled him to his feet again. "In fact, you might have -forgotten what life is. I'll refresh your memory. Come along!" - -He dragged Peccary to the door, opened it and led him outside. - -Peccary looked around. He found himself on the level floor of a canyon -whose vertical walls rose high on either side. He recognized the place -at once. Often when he was a boy he'd come here to camp overnight. It -had been a delightful wilderness with a year-round stream. - - * * * * * - -The canyon had changed. Some forty cabins like the one he'd been in -were built in the shade of the southern cliff, and the canyon floor -was covered with green crops and pasture. He heard singing, laughter. -People were at work in the fields, children were building rock castles -at the base of the cliff. On a cabin porch two elderly men sat playing -checkers. - -"The last of the mortals," said the bearded man. "If there are any -other colonies we don't know of them. But when you're gone, Dr. -Peccary, they'll be the first of a new race! You asked earlier what we -intended to do with the boy we kidnaped. There he is." And he pointed -toward the canyon wall. - -Peccary looked and saw Paul climbing upward along crevices and ledges. -The bearded man cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted. "Paul! How -is it?" - -The boy straightened on a rocky pinnacle and looked back. His face was -ecstatic. "I'm climbing!" he crowed. "I've never been so high! I'm -climbing all the way to the top!" He waved and clambered on. - -"Once in a great while a child is born to one of the immortals," the -bearded man said. "If we find him in time we can save him." - -Peccary watched the boy move upward along the cliff. "Then why was he -so terrified when you captured him?" - -"Because he'd had it pounded into him that if the Atavars got him -he'd die. He will, too, eventually. Like any other mortal. But in the -meanwhile--" He broke off and turned on Peccary savagely. "You see, -there's one thing you didn't consider at all! The Y Hormone stops aging -and keeps people healthy, but it can't protect them from accidents. The -immortals can still die if they get hit by a train or fall overboard -in the middle of the ocean. A mortal can accept the possibility of -accidental death because he knows he's going to die anyway sooner -or later, but can't you see the psychological shock to the immortals -when one of them dies? A man who had the potential of living forever, -suddenly wiped out! It's like the end of the world. And so they started -eliminating hazards. Automobiles went first. Then planes and trains. -They weren't needed anyway, because people stopped traveling. To travel -is to court accident. But one precaution breeds another, and before -long people were avoiding all dangerous occupations. With immortality -at stake, even the smallest risk was too much. Planing mills, machine -shops, mines, smelters--bah! Name me an occupation that doesn't -occasionally entail some hazard. Even motherhood!" - - * * * * * - -"But I anticipated the need for birth control! I had the plans all set -up." - -"There was birth control all right, but not the way you planned it. -Ten years after your hormone went on the market the world had an extra -five billion people. For a few years they produced a surge of energy -until the older immortals started eliminating the hazards. After that, -starvation set in. Three-fourths of the population died. Your hormone -can't keep people from starving, either, and it was a shock from which -those who survived never recovered. Every new mouth to feed was a -threat. Childbirth practically stopped. But that left the remaining -immortals in a very soft position. For years now they've been existing -on the leftovers from civilization, finding shelter in the old houses, -ransacking the attics and closets of the dead for scraps of clothing, -daring to plant a few crops in areas where they'll grow with little -care. And after that--boredom." - -He thrust an accusing finger at Peccary. "And you dared to use the -slogan, 'Time to achieve perfection!' I tell you, Dr. Peccary, the -source of man's courage and energy is the knowledge of death! Man was -meant to be mortal. We strive because we know the time is short. We -climb mountains, make love, descend to the depths of the sea and reach -for the stars because the certainty of death urges us on. It's the only -certainty the world had--and you would destroy it!" - -Peccary quailed before the bearded man's ferocity. He was relieved when -his captor's attention was diverted by a party of horsemen who rode -up in neat order and stopped before their leader. Several horses were -loaded with explosives. - -"We're ready, Sir," their spokesman said. - -"Good," said the bearded man. "I see no reason to delay an instant." - -An extra horse had been provided for Dr. Peccary. He was on the point -of being forcibly hoisted into the saddle when he was given a reprieve -by a diversion of another kind. - -Approaching on the path through the center of the canyon, pedaling his -bicycle frantically, came--Staghorn! - - * * * * * - -He rode up to the group and leapt from his seat, his face blue from -exertion. He'd been climbing all the way from town. He stood gasping -for breath while he dragged his big gold watch from his pocket and -consulted the time. He managed a groan. "Only thirty minutes left. -Miles to go! But it's down hill all the way; we can make it!" He shoved -his bicycle forward. "On the handlebars, Dr. Peccary, quick!" - -Peccary would have liked nothing better. But his movement toward -Staghorn was stopped instantly by the men who were trying to put him on -his horse. "They're going to kill me!" he cried. "They're going to blow -up my factory and kill me!" - -"No, no!" said Staghorn. "That can't be. The consequences would be -disastrous." He turned to the bearded leader. "Look, Sir, I have no -time to explain, and I'm sure you wouldn't believe me even if I did. -All of you are illusions! This entire situation is nothing but a -mathematical probability. And so I insist that you release my friend, -Dr. Peccary, at once!" - -The bearded man was so amazed by this request that he forgot to take -offense. He gaped at Staghorn. "Who are you? I can't imagine an -immortal risking himself on a bicycle!" - -"At this moment I'm desperately mortal, and so is Dr. Peccary!" - -"Nonsense. Dr. Peccary is a hundred and forty-two years old!" - -"I've told you this situation has no existence in reality!" - -The bearded man stomped the ground. "I've been living on this planet -fifty-five years. I know reality when I see it! And what's more, I'm -beginning to think you _are_ one of the immortals. Even an immortal -might show some courage when he knows he's going to be deprived of the -Y Hormone." - -"If you must know, I'm Dr. Roger Staghorn! I can see that there's -industry and education in this canyon and so it's possible you've heard -of me. I have quite a record of scientific achievements back in the -twentieth century." - - * * * * * - -At this announcement the bearded man goggled at him, then threw back -his head and laughed uproariously. "You couldn't have picked a worse -masquerade. Dr. Roger Staghorn died in 1994!" - -"I can't help that I'm Staghorn!" - -The bearded man stopped laughing and thrust his face forward -threateningly. "You're a fraud! Because it so happens that _I'm_ -Staghorn!" - -"You? Staghorn?" - -"I'm Henry Staghorn, great-grandson of the real Dr. Roger Staghorn!" - -"Impossible. I have no intention of ever getting married!" - -"Dr. Roger Staghorn married when he founded the Atavars, ninety years -ago! He saw the need of leaving mortal offspring and sacrificed himself -to that end. And he's buried in the cliff over there. Furthermore, he -became Dr. Peccary's most bitter enemy. If he were alive today, he'd -be tying the knot for Peccary's neck instead of trying to rescue him." -The bearded man drew a revolver from inside his jacket. "I think I'll -execute you here and now!" - -Peccary all but fainted. If Staghorn were killed all hope was gone. But -Staghorn threw up a commanding hand. - -"Stop, Henry! What you say may be perfectly true from your peculiar -viewpoint. But I'm still Roger Staghorn! Are you going to shoot your -own great-grandfather?" - -Staghorn's tone, rather than his words, made the bearded man pause. He -turned to a companion. - -And in that instant Staghorn moved. After all, he was slightly younger -and more agile than his great-grandson. He leapt onto his bicycle, -shouting at Peccary, "Turn around!" - -Peccary whirled and sprang in the air as Staghorn aimed the bicycle -between his legs. He landed neatly on the handlebars, and with -simultaneous kicks sent the men on either side sprawling. Then he and -Staghorn were off down the canyon. - -Behind them they could hear the thundering hoofs as the horsemen -started in pursuit. - -"Go, Staghorn, go!" Peccary shouted. - -The race would have been lost at once except for the downhill grade. -But because of it, Peccary's added weight was a help instead of a -hindrance. Shots rang out; bullets bounced from the rocks on either -side. - -They made it out of the canyon's mouth and the grade increased on the -long straightaway toward town. Staghorn's feet spun as they darted -downward, maintaining their lead in front of the pursuing horsemen. The -town loomed ahead of them, closer and closer until at last they sped -into a street where the buildings gave them protection from bullets. - -The bicycle slowed. They were on level ground again. Staghorn skidded -around a corner and stopped so suddenly that Dr. Peccary was propelled -forward and landed on his feet at the mouth of an alley. Abandoning the -bicycle, both men charged into it. - -"The square!" Staghorn gasped. "I'm focused on the square!" He hauled -out his watch as he ran. Only seven minutes remained. - - * * * * * - -The deep-throated alarm whistle was sounding over the town. Its -inhabitants must have sighted the approach of the Atavars for they -were scurrying into buildings and basements, leaving the way clear for -Peccary and Staghorn. They emerged from the alley and turned left for a -block, then doubled back as they were sighted by the searching horsemen. - -The hue and cry was on again, but Peccary's familiarity with his home -town served them well until they came within sight of the square. Then -they stopped in dismay and ducked into a doorway. - -Across the street in the center of the little park, as though divining -that it must be their destination, was Staghorn's great-grandson -and three of his men. Their position enabled them to watch all four -approaches to the square at the same time. - -Staghorn tugged out his watch again. Two minutes. They had to be in -focus! A second late and they'd be locked forever. He watched the -second hand creep around the dial. - -"We have to chance it," he said. "When I start running, run with me!" - -The second hand crept on. A minute left. Staghorn judged the distance -from their hiding place to the grassy plot where the bearded man was -standing. About seventy-five yards. Could he do seventy-five yards in -ten seconds? Could Peccary? Thirty seconds left ... twenty-five ... -twenty. He'd never gone through such a painful count-down ... fifteen -seconds. - -"Ready, Dr. Peccary. It's now or never." - -Thirteen ... twelve ... eleven ... "Go!" - -Staghorn burst from his hiding place with Peccary at his heels. They -dashed for the square. They were over the curb and into the street -before the men in the park saw their approach and let out cries of -triumph. - -"Dip and weave, Dr. Peccary! Dip and weave!" - -They dipped and wove, while bullets ripped at their clothing. They -were running right into the fire, making better targets at every -stride. Staghorn ran with his watch in his hand, and never had time and -distance diminished so slowly. - -Seven seconds, six, five, and they were still alive and across the -street. Four seconds, three, two. - -They were over the park and onto the grass. A bullet crashed into -Staghorn's leg and he fell, diving forward. - -"Got him!" cried his great-grandson. "Now get Peccary!" - - * * * * * - -Three shots rang out as one. But at some point in the bullets' flight -toward Peccary and Staghorn, the square and everything in it vanished. - -Staghorn found himself sitting in Humanac's transmitter unit. - -The time clock had functioned. He was disengaged. - -He lifted the helmet from his head and stumbled from the cell, drawing -a trouser leg up to examine his leg. It seemed that he could detect a -scar. Then he turned and helped Dr. Peccary from the other transmitter. -Both men stepped toward the console to look at Humanac's screen. - -It was still focused on the little park. The bearded man and his -companions were now exchanging glances of consternation. After a moment -the bearded man wet his lips. "Maybe he was right," he said in awed -tones. "No one but my great-grandfather could ever do a trick like -that. And maybe what he said is true. It's all illusion. We're nothing -but mathematical probabilities!" - -At this point Staghorn hauled down the master switch. The screen went -dead as Humanac's power was shut off. - -Some twenty minutes later he had finished draining Dr. Peccary's sample -of the Y Hormone from Humanac's analyzer and had thoroughly cleansed -the computer of any last traces of it. He handed the little bottle of -the hormone back to Dr. Peccary. - -"There," he said. "As far as Humanac is concerned, it's as though it -never was. Do as you wish." - -Dr. Peccary looked at the bottle sadly. It was worth millions. -Billions. - -Then slowly he moved to a laboratory sink and poured the contents of -the bottle down the drain. - -"I can't help wondering," mused Staghorn, "of whose computer we're a -part right now--slight factors in the chain of causation that started -God knows when and will end...." - -"When someone pulls the switch," said Dr. Peccary. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Immortals, by David Duncan - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IMMORTALS *** - -***** This file should be named 51801.txt or 51801.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/8/0/51801/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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