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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..aa76373 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #65053 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65053) diff --git a/old/65053-0.txt b/old/65053-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index df1dc61..0000000 --- a/old/65053-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1245 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Meet Me in Tomorrow, by Guy Archette - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Meet Me in Tomorrow - -Author: Guy Archette - -Release Date: April 10, 2021 [eBook #65053] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEET ME IN TOMORROW *** - - - - - MEET ME IN TOMORROW - - By GUY ARCHETTE - - Ellen was everything Andy Pearce wanted in - a girl. Yet he could never let her know of his love, - for she was part of a world he was about to leave! - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy - December 1950 - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -The gravel road wound its way through quiet country fields cloaked in -the fresh green of early summer. Andy Pearce watched it with expectant -eyes and the odd feeling that it was winding up within him like twine, -making an ever-growing ball of tension. - -It wouldn't be long now, he thought. He was excited--and not a little -afraid. - -Abruptly Pearce leaned toward the windshield of the coupe. "That's the -place, Dave!" He pointed to a wall of trees that had just come into -view around a curve. - -"At last!" Ellen Thorpe sighed, from her seat between the two men. "I -was beginning to think it would take all day to reach this wonderful -picnic spot of yours, Andy." - -"It better be good," Dave Fuller growled. "After letting myself be -coaxed into this trip and driving all morning." - -"Good?" Pearce was grinning, though his voice held no humor. "Dave, -I guarantee it's going to be better than anything you can possibly -imagine." - -Ellen frowned at Pearce. "You know, Andy, somehow you scare me." - -"It's the beast in him," Fuller put in. "The gals are always fooled by -Andy's curly hair and soulful eyes, but sooner or later they wake up to -his true nature." - -She wrinkled her nose at him. "I think you're a beast, too. All men are -beasts. But as for Andy, he takes first prize. He had to go and ruin -the date I made for him and Susie. It practically broke her heart that -she wasn't going with us today." - -Pearce moved his hands in a helpless gesture. "I'm sorry about Susie, -but this was one time I didn't want to be fixed up with a date." - -"I don't think you ever did," Ellen said bitterly. "I practically had -to browbeat you into all the dates I made for you." - -"Your concern for my ... well, call it social life, is deeply -appreciated," Pearce returned with mild sarcasm. - -"Yours?" she protested. "Andy Pearce, I assure you that arranging your -dates was nothing more or less than self-defense on my part. I didn't -want people to get the idea that I was preparing for a life of bigamy -by always going out with two men." - -"I plead self-defense, too." Pearce was sober. "Romantic complications -are something I wanted to avoid. Anyhow, getting back to this picnic -today, I wanted it to be strictly a family affair." - -Fuller's red head swung around in dismay. "Good grief, Andy, don't tell -me all your relatives are going to be out here! If that's the reason -you wanted to visit your boyhood stamping grounds--" - -"Relax," Pearce said. "No relatives. I was speaking figuratively. I -never had enough relatives to mention. An uncle brought me up, and he -departed this vale of tears a long time ago." - -Fuller looked relieved. "Relatives make me nervous." - -"Then you'd better stop this rattle-trap of yours." Pearce gestured at -the trees, now almost abreast of the coupe. "Not that the fact we've -arrived has anything to do with it." - - * * * * * - -Fuller turned the car into a stretch of grass beside the road and -braked to a stop. "End of the line!" he announced. Then he glanced at -Pearce in uneasy speculation. "Or is it? I hope it doesn't take a stiff -hike to get to your boyhood Eden." - -"Quit griping," Pearce said. "We're almost there now. And don't forget -I promised that this is going to be worth your trouble." - -"I'll bet!" Fuller muttered. Despite his skeptical tone, his blue eyes -lingered on Pearce in veiled wonder. - -Pearce let himself stiffly out of the car. Ellen followed, glancing -about her curiously. She was a slim, graceful girl, dark, yet with a -quality of glowing vividness. Her shining hair had been cut short in -the current fashion, its boyish effect offset by her large, lustrous -eyes and full red lips. - -She stretched on tiptoe, for a moment standing motionless and -statuesque. Pearce watched her with a sudden, flashing intensity. Pain -touched him, and regret. - -But it was too late--too late even to think of what might have been.... - -She turned. "This is a wild, lonely-looking place you've dragged us out -to, Andy." - -He nodded, his gray eyes kindling with memories. "It hasn't changed -since I was a kid. Except for the road. It's got gravel on it now." - -"What, no red carpet?" Fuller asked in mock surprise, as he too emerged -from the coupe. "A lousy welcome for our boy Andy. No red carpet." - -"Cut it out," Ellen admonished. "These aren't the surroundings for low -comedy. Let's just be simple, sociable folk enjoying a picnic. Bring -out the eats, and we'll get started." - -Looking exaggeratedly chastened, Fuller opened the trunk at the rear of -the coupe and began handing out objects. There was a basket of food, -blankets, a record player, and a cardboard carton containing beer -packed in dry ice. There was also a large suitcase belonging to Pearce. - -Fuller hefted this exploratively. "Just a little something for the -picnic," he said, glancing at Ellen. "That's what Andy told me when he -put this hunk of luggage in the car. Why, it's as heavy as the national -debt!" - -"Nobody's asking you to carry it," Pearce said mildly. - -"No--but I wish I could figure out what you're up to," Fuller returned. - -Pearce shook a warning finger, "If wishes were limousines, the accident -toll among joy-riding beggars would be terrific." - -"Very funny." Fuller turned to Ellen again. "Do you think it's decent -of Andy to worry his friends like this?" - -She studied Pearce a moment, her dark eyes solemn. Then she moved her -slim shoulders in a philosophical shrug. "Since we've come this far, I -guess we'll just have to put up with it." - -"That's the spirit!" Pearce said. "Just put your lives in my hands, -little ones--and let the insurance premiums fall where they may." -He bent to pick up the suitcase and the record player, hoping that -he had moved quickly enough to hide the pain and unhappiness that -had momentarily showed in his face. The situation was proving more -difficult than he had thought it would be. He had hoped to make the -picnic a light-hearted affair, to keep Fuller and Ellen from suspecting -at the very outset that something unusual was taking place. - - * * * * * - -He strode into the woods. Fuller followed with the blankets and the -beer carton, and Ellen with the basket of food. - -The glade proved easy enough to locate. It was smaller than Pearce -remembered, but the semi-circle of large stones along one side was -much the same. The trees that rose all around gave their old effect of -seclusion, of shutting out the world. Beyond the enclosure they made -were the shadows cast by inter-laced boughs, and through these came the -plaintive cries of birds, somehow like the sound of waves on an island -shore. - -Pearce glanced around him slowly, relishing the familiarity of the -scene, his thoughts leaping a chasm of fifteen years. One memory in -particular was suddenly very vivid. - -"So this is the place, Andy," Ellen said behind him. "Why, it's just -perfect!" She swung to Fuller. "Don't you think this is worth the -drive?" - -"I refuse to give my opinion until I've had enough beer to put me in -the proper mood," Fuller growled. - -"Start opening it, then," Ellen said. "I'll get the food ready." - -They ate seated on the blankets, around the appetizingly laden -tablecloth Ellen had spread. Pearce was too intense to have much of -an interest in food, but he managed to consume what normally would -have been expected of him. He was sharply aware that the minutes -were running out, that the deadline was now swiftly approaching. The -knowledge strengthened the undercurrent of dread within him, brought a -pang of sadness. - -But he did not want these last moments with Ellen and Dave to be -touched with melancholy, nor did he want them to sense his troubled -emotional state. He helped to keep a casual conversation going, and -whenever this threatened to lag, he started the record player. - -Shadows deepened within the glade as the afternoon wore on. Pearce -helped Ellen to clean up the picnic remains, then sprawled beside -Fuller to finish what was left of the beer. From the record player came -the strains of a symphony. Ellen seated herself nearby, tapping one -slender foot in time to the music. - -Distractedly Pearce thought of the fleeting, precious minutes. He -glanced at his watch. - -Fuller abruptly sat up. "There you go again, Andy!" - -"What?" Pearce was startled. - -"Looking at that doggoned watch of yours." Fuller's expression was -accusing. "You aren't fooling anybody, Andy. You're up to some -thing--and it's about time you explained yourself. This beating around -the bush is no way to treat your friends. You drag us out here, to -the place where you grew up. You have a suitcase along that certainly -doesn't have bricks in it. You drop mysterious hints about something -special." - -Fuller's voice softened, his blue eyes turned anxious. "Just what have -you got up your sleeve, Andy?" - - * * * * * - -Pearce looked away, pain, a sudden tightness in his chest. He said -slowly, "Well, I'm taking a sort of trip, Dave. I ... I'm afraid I'm -never going to see you and Ellen again." - -"Andy!" Ellen's voice was a stricken whisper. - -"Never see us again...." Fuller muttered blankly. - -The symphony came to an end. There was a moment of strained quiet. - -"What are you talking about, Andy?" Fuller demanded in hurt -bewilderment. "Where are you going that you'll never see me and Ellen -again?" - -"It's a long story," Pearce said. He grinned faintly. "I mean that. -It's a story that begins fifteen years in the past and ends some -two thousand years in the future." - -Fuller and Ellen were rigid, staring. Pearce drained the last of his -beer and lighted a cigarette. - -"In another way," he went on, "the story really begins right where we -are now. This part of the woods always was a favorite spot of mine. -I'd sneak off here to read books and magazines that I borrowed from -a neighbor whose taste in literature was on the blood and thunder -side--lucky for me. My uncle didn't like to see me reading, thought it -a waste of time. But it was in the middle of the Depression, and there -wasn't much else to do. Uncle was an intolerant old bird, a widower, -and he wasn't happy about getting stuck with me. I didn't like it, -either, but there didn't seem anything a twelve-year-old kid could do -about it." - -Pearce drew at his cigarette, his gray eyes squinting into distance. -"Uncle's chicken farm was a lonely place, and in self-defense I guess -I developed a lot more imagination than most kids my age. Most of the -time I wasn't on the farm at all--except when Uncle gave me a spanking -by way of a reminder. I was out on the deserts of Mars, or walking the -streets of a lost city in Africa, or tracking down an international -spy ring in London. This day-dreaming, as I can see now, was pretty -important." - -Fuller said impatiently, "But Andy, what on earth does this build-up -have to do with the trip you're going to make?" - -"Keep your shirt on," Pearce said. "You'll see." - -He resumed. "What I've outlined was the general situation when I came -here one summer afternoon, to read a book. About a half-hour later -something happened that practically made me jump out of my skin. The -air in the glade seemed suddenly to thicken, and the trees all around -grew crazily twisted, as though seen through optical glass. I felt -oddly light, dizzy and sick at the same time. And from somewhere came a -deep, humming sound--the kind of sound that might have been made by a -string on a giant harp. - -"The next thing I knew there was a sort of machine in the glade that -seemed to have popped right out of nowhere. It was a metal globe about -eight feet across, with tapering legs or supports on the bottom to keep -it upright. There was the outline of a door in the side turned toward -me. - -"I was scared stiff, of course, but I had been reading about this kind -of thing happening in stories--and as far as I was concerned, there was -hardly any dividing line between stories and real life. So I stayed -put. I knew the machine was something special, because I'd never seen -anything like it outside of the illustrations in the more imaginative -type of magazines." - - * * * * * - -Pearce drew at his cigarette again. Fuller and Ellen were like store -window figures, arranged in attitudes of rapt attention. - -"After several seconds the door in the side of the machine opened and a -woman stepped out. I thought she was the most beautiful creature I had -ever seen, a princess--or an angel. She looked the way ancient Egyptian -women must have looked. She made me think of a tropical flower, which -wasn't far from truth, considering that she came from a time when the -Earth was--or will be--a great deal warmer than it is now. She was -wearing a sort of thin dress that sparkled as though covered with -jewels, and over this she held a long cloak. It was summer, but I -suppose it was a bit too cool for her. - -"She smiled at me--and I was glad I had stuck around. She said she -hoped I hadn't been frightened by the appearance of her machine, and I -guess I tried to sell her the idea that I strangled lions with my bare -hands just for exercise. Then she explained that her name was Nela, and -that she had come from two thousand years in the future especially to -see me. Her machine, of course, was a time machine." - -"Good grief!" Fuller said explosively. "What kind of a gag are you -trying to put over, Andy?" - -"I know just how it all sounds," Pearce returned. "But believe me, -for one of the few times in my life I'm dead serious. Keep quiet and -listen. I don't have much time left." - -"Go on, Andy," Ellen said. "I'm fascinated." - -Pearce took a final puff of his cigarette crushed it out in the grass, -and continued. "Nela explained how it was possible to travel in time, -but in the sort of terms a kid would understand. Even what I've figured -out up to now isn't specific enough to be worth detailing, except -to say that what we consider space and time are merely illusions -of sense perception. They are really one stationary system or -complex--stationary, yet dynamic and changing within itself--and under -certain conditions one can travel through this system, from future -to past, or the other way around, like through a museum--the biggest -museum that can possibly be imagined. - -"Nela's machine operated on energy principles that won't be known -for a great many years yet, and it will be even longer before those -principles are put into application. She was, in effect, making a -round-trip from one part of the museum to another--a trip that took -her across two thousand years of what we call time, or across a couple -of hundred light years of what we call space. It's one and the same -thing. Actually, she was following a sort of huge orbit, and was, -so to speak, stopping off along the route. A trip between one point -and another can be made only once, because even that one trip brings -changes which affect the whole system, or complex. One point, it seems, -is always shifted so that it lies outside of any orbit which can be -plotted from the other. - -"Nela told me about the kind of world she came from, too, and it -sounded--and still sounds--like a perfect place. There was, so she -said, practically no government, practically no laws, restrictions, or -penalties. In two thousand years enough had been learned about the mind -to make these unnecessary. Men at last were truly equal. There was no -longer any need to work for a living. Machines of all sorts attended to -every task and human requirement. Earth was one huge garden--and there -was plenty of room for everyone. Men had reached the stars and had -found new homes almost beyond number. - -"An ideal picture--but there was a catch to it. The machines on which -Nela's people depended were breaking down, and it seemed nobody knew -even how to begin repairing them. The men of her time could take suns -apart and put them back together again, but the machines baffled them -in much the same way that our atomic scientists would be baffled -when it came to repairing a suit of Medieval armor. The answer to -the problem was to obtain the help of persons who understood the -construction and operation of the machines at least as well as Medieval -armorers understood their steel suits. And that answer--in both -cases--lay back in time." - - * * * * * - -Pearce changed position on the blanket under him and glanced at his -watch. He went on, "Time travel had been accomplished well before -Nela's period, but the process had proved too involved and tricky for -serious, large-scale use. The important thing, though, was that a -number of machines were immediately available for time travel, and Nela -was one of those chosen to operate them. She was, it seems, a gal of -parts. In addition to being one of the leaders of a world-wide group -which had been formed to deal with the machine break-down problem, she -was also an expert on time travel and an authority on Twentieth Century -life. - -"Actually, you see, Nela's people were undergoing a cultural -renaissance, a reawakening of interest in every field of knowledge -and endeavor. For many hundreds of years there had been stagnation. -The machines had filled every human want, and there had been little -need for effort of any kind. Also, progress had been discouraged by a -hidebound government, which had remained in power through its control -of certain of the more important machines. The government had fallen -when realization came that it could do nothing to keep the machines in -repair, but the damage had been done. After centuries of a hands-off -attitude toward the machines, nobody else knew how to repair them, -either. Rapid progress was made everywhere except in this one direction. - -"Nela and the others decided to travel to different points in time and -obtain specialists who would each be able to deal with some particular -repair job on the machines. The machines, of course, were not the -product of any one time period, but were the cumulative result of the -knowledge and skills of different periods. I was the specialist with -whom contact was made at this point in time. It was, I realize now, -quite a complicated business. - -"When a beautiful girl appears in a time machine and tells some young -man she needs his help, he doesn't just drop whatever he happens to -be doing and go sailing blithely off into the mysterious future. Not -in real life. He has to consider his family and friends, the career -he was working on, all the things familiar and important to him, his -surroundings, interests and amusements, climate, customs, clothing--all -the rest. He has to consider that he might not be happy in the -future, that he might not fit, that he might not even be physically -comfortable, that the beautiful girl herself might very well turn out -to be disappointing. - -"But if he is a young man of average intelligence, he most likely -wouldn't even bother to consider these things. He simply would refuse -to believe the beautiful girl from the future, would be certain it was -some sort of a hoax. Or he might even be scared stiff by the very idea -of traveling in time. All of which boils down to the fact that the girl -from the future would face a mighty tough job getting the right kind of -young man to help her." - -"I get it now," Fuller broke in musingly. "So that's what your suitcase -is for, Andy." Then his voice sharpened with protest. "But it ... it's -ridiculous! I just can't believe it's possible." - -"The young man of average intelligence speaking," Pearce murmured. - -"Yeah?" Fuller swung to Ellen. "What do you think?" - - * * * * * - -She shook her dark head slightly, lower lip caught between her teeth. -"I'm trying not to think... Go on, Andy--before I start thinking." - -"Hate to have that happen, if Dave's mental acrobatics are any -example." Pearce abruptly sobered, glancing at his watch. "Well," he -resumed, "Nela and the others foresaw the difficulties they would -encounter in obtaining help, and they figured out what they hoped would -be a fool-proof method of approach. What happened in my case shows -what this was. It seems Nela first scouted out a group of specialists -to find a couple with the right qualifications. The man she wanted had -to be young and adventurous, without any family or romantic ties. Then -she narrowed her field still further by tracing her selection back to -childhood and making direct contact there. - -"It was clever--for after all, the child is father to the man. A child -is credulous and imaginative to an extent a man is not. And a child is -adventurous, will let his enthusiasms carry him spontaneously where -a man will hesitate and look for a catch. Most of all a child is -impressionable and can be imbued with an idea which he will follow like -a beacon light all his life. - -"I was the child Nela finally settled on. The Andy Pearce she had first -scouted still existed in time, and nothing would change for him. But no -paradox is involved, for what we call time is an illusion, a subjective -quality arising from an awareness of objective conditions--and these -conditions are not quite what we think they are. That first Andy Pearce -was something like a bubble moving in a glass tube. All Nela did was -put another bubble in motion. The tube itself was not affected, nor was -time shifted, bent, nullified, or anything of the sort. Each bubble was -as real as anything can be said to be real, each existed in its own -particular space-time, each was completely distinct and independent of -the other. - -"Nela visited me here several times, while she told me all the details -of her mission. She was also getting acquainted with me and giving -me time to thoroughly digest the idea of going with her. I agreed to -go, of course. It seemed the most natural thing in the world to do, -and I didn't change my mind. Once she had satisfied herself on that -score, she worked out a plan of operations for me to follow until I was -finally ready to leave. The plan took in schools, subjects, finances, -and the like. Nela, you see, was making a big improvement on the first -Andy Pearce. - -"I never saw Nela again after those first visits. It was quite -unnecessary, as I can see now. For she and her people understood the -mind with an amazing thoroughness, and during her talks she subtly -injected me with knowledge, emotions and ideals that set me in motion -toward my goal as effectively and undeviatingly as though I had been -hypnotized. And I suspect that she set other bubbles in motion as well, -to guide and assist me and generally keep me moving in one direction." - - * * * * * - -Pearce gestured. "I've kept moving, all right. Fifteen years have -passed, and I know all I need to know about the particular technical -subject Nela chose me to handle. I'm ready to leave--and I'm leaving -very soon. Nela is coming here to pick me up, having meanwhile been -moving to this point along her orbit to make one last stop-off before -completing the swing back to her own point in time. There can be no -return, for once I leave, this point in time can never be reached -again. But then I've had fifteen years to get used to the idea. - -"This picnic today was in the nature of a farewell party. You, Dave -and Ellen, have been the only friends I've allowed myself--and you've -both been fine friends. I wanted you both to know exactly where I -was going instead of doing a mysterious fade-out. I felt I owed you -that much. I've never told anyone about Nela before--not because the -information was likely to prove harmful, or anything of the sort, but -simply because it would have created doubts about my sanity. I know I -can trust you with it for the same reason." - -Pearce spread his hands, grinning crookedly. "Well, I hope that leaves -me and my suitcase explained to the complete satisfaction of everyone." - -Fuller ran his hand through his red hair in agitation and rose to his -feet. "It's the damnedest story I've ever heard, Andy. I wish I could -be dead certain it isn't a gag. I can't believe it--or maybe it's just -that I can't accept the idea of never seeing you again. If this hadn't -come all of a sudden--" He broke off, gesturing helplessly. - -"Picnics," Ellen muttered to no one in particular, "are going to be -permanently spoiled for me." - -"Hell!" Fuller growled. "I need a drink. I guess we all need a drink." -He reached out as though to detain Pearce. "Andy, I've got a bottle in -the car. For emergencies, you know--and this certainly is an emergency. -So stay right here, Andy. Don't go running off into the future until I -get back. Promise?" - -"On my word of honor," Pearce said. - -"Don't drop that bottle, Dave," Ellen put in. - -With a last anxious glance at Pearce, Fuller turned and hurried away -through the trees. Pearce was abruptly, sharply aware that he was alone -with Ellen. - -She seemed aware of it also. For a moment her dark eyes met his with a -kind of pensive directness, then dropped. - -There was an uncomfortable silence. - -"I'll never be quite the same again after today, Andy," Ellen murmured -at last. - -He stared morosely at his hands. "I'm sorry. I guess I did spring the -story a bit too suddenly. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything at all, -done a quiet fade-out." - -"I think I'd rather have known what happened to you than otherwise." -She traced a design on the blanket with one slim finger, then said, -"Andy, you made a remark in the car--about avoiding what you called -romantic complications. Were you avoiding them because you were -eventually going away with this Nela female?" - -He nodded. "Something like that." - -"Wasn't it because you were in love with her?" - -"Why, I ... I don't think so." He was startled. "I guess it's true -that I had a crush on her as a kid, but I haven't seen her for fifteen -years. I hardly feel I ever knew her." - -"Then even though you're going away with her, there is someone you care -for?" - -He hesitated for an aching instant, finally managed a shrug. "It isn't -important. Not any more." - -"It is--to me. Andy, this is no time for historical novel gallantry -or radio soap opera self-renunciation. This is the last chance we'll -ever have to be completely frank with each other." Her dark eyes were -intent. "Andy, do you love me?" - -"I ... well--" He groped in confusion, with the feeling that he had -suddenly found himself on a tight-rope, hundreds of feet in the air. -Then he nodded miserably. "Yes." - -"Then just why did you take it for granted that I was Dave's girl?" -Ellen demanded bitterly. - -"I thought Dave was the one you were interested in. He was my best -friend, and I didn't want to--" - -"You thought! Didn't it ever occur to you to find out?" - - * * * * * - -He made a helpless gesture. "I wanted to, Ellen--but I don't see what -good it could have done. I was going away, you know." - -"Don't you think I could have changed your mind about that? Don't you -think I can change your mind--even now?" Abruptly she leaned toward -him, her small face lighted as though by some fierce inner fire, at -once pleading and demanding. "Andy--kiss me!" - -Despite himself, that fire touched him, kindled to a blaze. His lips -met hers with a quickening pressure, his hands slipped from her -shoulders to draw her tightly against him. For long seconds nothing -else had reality or importance. The glade dissolved around him, and he -seemed to float in a dark sea that rose and fell with a wild rhythm. - -Then awareness of his act exploded in him. He released the girl -abruptly and drew away. - -"It's hopeless, Ellen! I can't back down now." - -She shook her dark head in swift protest. "It isn't hopeless, Andy. It -isn't too late. I just proved that to you." - -"But Nela is depending on me. I can't let her down." - -"You owe her nothing! She took advantage of you at a time when you -weren't mature and experienced enough to exercise good judgment. Why -should you feel obligated to her now?" - -"I agreed to go with her. If I let her down, she won't be able to -obtain a replacement with my particular type of training. She can visit -this point in time only once." - -"That's her problem, Andy. You have your own life to live. Why -shouldn't you be able to live it as you choose? You don't know just -what sort of a life the future holds for you--but you do know what -you'll find here." - -He gripped his knees hard, finally shook his head. "This is something -bigger than we are, Ellen--something more important than your personal -happiness, or mine. It isn't just that Nela is depending on me. Behind -her is a whole civilization. It's the greatest responsibility a man can -be given. If I backed down, I'd never feel right again. I'd always have -it on my conscience." - -She slumped in despair. "Then there's nothing else I can do to change -your mind?" - -"Nothing, Ellen. I'm sorry." - -Silence closed down again. A painful, uneasy silence, the silence of -people between whom an unsurmountable barrier exists. - -The silence added fuel to Pearce's inner turmoil. He wished that it had -been possible to leave without hurting Ellen, even without discovering -that she returned his own feelings. The knowledge that he would never -see her again had been difficult enough to face. For in these last -months the picture of her had come to haunt him--Ellen, with her -shining dark hair and her slim vital body, at once gaily humorous and -warmly sympathetic. He knew that he would never forget her, or cease -thinking of the happiness he might have found with her. - -"It might be a good idea to wipe that lipstick off your face, Andy," -Ellen murmured at last. - -Pearce fumbled for a handkerchief and scrubbed at his mouth. The action -brought forward something that had been hovering at the back of his -mind. - -"What about Dave?" he asked abruptly. "I hope I haven't spoiled -anything for him." - - * * * * * - -She shook her head with a grave seriousness. "Dave knows how I feel. -And it isn't much of a loss where he's concerned, because he's been -taking a growing interest in Susie. She has a terrific crush on him, -and that's the reason she wanted to come with us so badly today. But -you insisted on a three-sided party and as usual left Dave to nursemaid -me." - -Pearce felt a dull amazement. Engrossed with his preparations for -leaving he had not sensed the emotional undercurrents beneath the -outwardly placid surface of Dave and Ellen. - -Ellen, he thought suddenly. Dave was accounted for--but Ellen? He could -not voice the question, feeling himself too inextricably bound up in -it. - -There was the sound of footsteps as Fuller returned, brandishing a -bottle. "Here it is!" he announced. "Get out the glasses, Ellen." - -She produced three plastic tumblers from the basket, and Fuller poured -a generous drink in each. He raised his own tumbler in a solemn gesture. - -"Here's to Andy. Bon voyage--and a high old time in the future!" - -"Thanks," Pearce said in self-conscious acknowledgement. He swallowed -the whisky in a gulp, felt its raw warmth spread through him. - -Bon voyage, he thought. The voyage part was true enough. But he doubted -if he would have a high old time. He would always think of Ellen. And -Dave. And all the other people he had known, who would continue to -move against the old familiar background of their existence, among all -the old familiar things, without sudden violent change, or pain, or -loss. He would think of movies and dances, baseball games and parties. -And restaurants and nightclubs and small quiet bars. And apple pie -and coffee, hamburgers and malted milk. And his favorite brand of -cigarettes, and two pants suits and straw hats in the summer. And beer -and sport pages and classical records on a drowsy Sunday afternoon. And -politics and elections and critical internal situations. And crowded -downtown streets and quiet suburban cottages--all the other things he -had known and liked, or had taken for granted and had not thought much -about. He would think of them because they wouldn't exist in the future -any more, because people would have changed, would have different -ideals, habits and tastes. - -Fuller filled the tumblers again and made an effort at the sort of -artificially cheerful small talk that precedes the sailing of a troop -ship. - -Pearce, who had surreptitiously been keeping check on his watch, -finally gestured. "It's almost time for Nela to pick me up--and I'd -like to be alone when she comes. The situation might be too complicated -if you and Ellen were present, Dave. I want things to be as easy as -possible all around." - -Fuller looked disappointed. "I was kind of hoping to get a look at this -gal from the future, Andy. I still don't know whether to believe your -story or not." - -"Give me the benefit of the doubt, anyway, will you?" Pearce pleaded. -He turned to Ellen. "You'll do this last favor for me?" - -She nodded and leaned forward on tiptoe. "Good-bye, Andy--and good -luck." Her voice was little more than a whisper. - - * * * * * - -He touched her lips with his and for a moment stood looking down at -her, thinking once more of what might have been. An echo of his own -thoughts seemed to glisten wetly in her dark eyes. Abruptly she turned -away. - -Pearce gripped Fuller's hand. "So long, Dave." - -"Take care of yourself, Andy." Fuller looked painfully reflective, then -suddenly held out the bottle. "Here, Andy, you take this. You might -need it." - -Pearce watched with a deep inward aching as Fuller and Ellen strode -from the glade. Reaching the trees, they turned to look back at him. -They hesitated, waved--were gone. - -Pearce felt that the last door to the past had been irrevocably closed. - -He looked down at the bottle he was holding and lifted it to his mouth. -Then he lighted a cigarette, glanced at his watch again, and fell to -pacing along one edge of the glade. His eyes roved tensely about him, -expectant and dreading. - -Thoughts shifted uneasily in his mind. Would Nela actually appear? -Fifteen years had passed for him--a matter of a few hours to her. -But perhaps something had gone wrong. Perhaps she had miscalculated -somewhere. - -And on mental scales he balanced Ellen against the future, wondering if -his choice had been wise. Could the future possibly hold the happiness -he might have known with Ellen, in the age familiar to him? - -He heard a car motor start up in the distance. The sound rose in -volume, then began fading. Dave and Ellen were on their way back to -the city. - -He felt suddenly alone--somehow abandoned. - -Raising the bottle to his lips again, he resumed his nervous pacing. -And then he stopped, frozen, aware of a change in his surroundings. -The air in the glade was thickening queerly, the trees all around were -growing crazily distorted. And he heard a deep humming sound--the kind -of sound that might have been made by a string on a giant harp. - -Across the glade, appearing as though from nothingness itself, -an object was taking shape--a metal globe. Bands of distortion -surrounded it like ripples in water. For an instant the globe seemed -unsubstantial, illusory--then it was solid, resting quietly on the -floor of the glade. - -[Illustration: Andy stood out in the small clearing, waving a goodbye -to them, while behind him a strange metallic globe suddenly shimmered -in the air....] - -Pearce watched it, his heart pounding. - -"Andy!" - -The call hit him like a physical blow. Stunned, he whirled to see Ellen -hurrying toward him through the trees. - -"Andy!" she cried again. "Are you all right?" - -"Ellen!" he gasped. "What are you doing here? I thought you left with -Dave." - - * * * * * - -She caught breathlessly at his arm, steadying herself. "I made him go -without me. I ... I couldn't leave you, Andy." Her voice rose. "I'm -going with you!" - -His mind whirled in dismayed confusion. He sent a swift glance at the -metal globe. Any moment now, the door would open-- - -"Ellen, you can't go!" - -"Why not? I'm willing to take the risk. And I'll be happy, whatever the -future is like, as long as I'm with you." - -He shook his head in despair. "It ... well, I'm afraid it's just -impossible, that's all. No provision has been made for you. I don't -know even if there would be room for you. I don't know if Nela can -allow you in her plans, or--" - -He broke off. Glancing at the globe again, he saw that the door was -opening. - -He waited for Nela to appear, wondering what her reaction would be when -she saw Ellen, wondering how this hopelessly tangled situation could -possibly be resolved. - -The door of the globe stood fully open. Nothing else happened. - -Pearce waited a moment longer, puzzled, then slowly looked into the -globe. Except for two padded seats and a myriad of instruments on the -curving walls, the interior of the machine was empty. - -He turned in bewilderment to Ellen. "Something's wrong! Nela isn't -inside." - -Ellen looked gravely thoughtful. "Andy, I think I know what happened -to her. She was an authority on Twentieth Century life, you know. She -no doubt had all sorts of records to help her. She could speak the -kind of English used here, she understood social customs, the economic -situation, knew how to dress and act. What she didn't know, she could -pick up by being careful and observing. In short, she could pass as an -ordinary Twentieth Century girl, and hardly anyone would guess she was -different." - -Pearce's bewilderment grew. "What are you getting at?" - -"Well, Andy, suppose this Nela wanted to make absolutely sure you'd be -happy in the future, that nothing would interfere with your efficiency -and general well-being. There was a big job ahead of you, and a lot -depended on your particular field of knowledge and type of skill. So -to make absolutely sure of you she stopped off along her route back to -spend your last several months here with you. It wouldn't be hard for -a clever girl like her to get acquainted with you and Dave. And you -hadn't seen her for fifteen years, Andy. You wouldn't recognize her -easily--especially if she'd had her hair cut short and wore Twentieth -Century clothes and make-up." - -Pearce stared at her a moment longer, then caught at her arms. "Ellen! -You ... you're Nela!" - -She nodded slowly, her smile uncertain and touched with shyness. "I -hope you aren't disappointed, Andy, or that you hate me for having -tricked you the way I did." - -He laughed, a wild delight surging up in him. "Neither," he said. "And -I'm going to prove it!" - -He proved it to her entire satisfaction. Finally, hand in hand, they -turned to the doorway of the globe. - -"I suppose you brought the machine here by remote control or something -of the sort," Pearce told Nela. - -"Yes. I had a special gadget in my purse. The machine was here all -along, you see, traveling a few minutes ahead in time." - -"And Dave?" he said suddenly. "Did you tell him?" - -"I told him I was going with you and hinted the reason why. He'll -figure it out presently--even if he never completely believes it. -Little has really changed for Dave. He'll marry Susie and lead a -perfectly normal life." - -Pearce halted Nela as she was about to enter the globe. "There's a -little custom of this time that I'd like to observe. If you're as -much of an authority on Twentieth Century life as you claim, you'll -understand." - -He gathered her up in his arms and carried her over the threshold. Her -smile and then the pressure of her lips indicated that she understood. - -The door closed. The trees at the edge of the glade grew crazily -distorted, shimmering bands enclosed the globe like ripples in water, -there was a humming sound like a giant harp string-- - -And then the glade was empty. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEET ME IN TOMORROW *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Meet Me in Tomorrow</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Guy Archette</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: April 10, 2021 [eBook #65053]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEET ME IN TOMORROW ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter x-ebookmaker-drop"> - <img src="images/illusc.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>MEET ME IN TOMORROW</h1> - -<h2>By GUY ARCHETTE</h2> - -<p>Ellen was everything Andy Pearce wanted in<br /> -a girl. Yet he could never let her know of his love,<br /> -for she was part of a world he was about to leave!</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy<br /> -December 1950<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>The gravel road wound its way through quiet country fields cloaked in -the fresh green of early summer. Andy Pearce watched it with expectant -eyes and the odd feeling that it was winding up within him like twine, -making an ever-growing ball of tension.</p> - -<p>It wouldn't be long now, he thought. He was excited—and not a little -afraid.</p> - -<p>Abruptly Pearce leaned toward the windshield of the coupe. "That's the -place, Dave!" He pointed to a wall of trees that had just come into -view around a curve.</p> - -<p>"At last!" Ellen Thorpe sighed, from her seat between the two men. "I -was beginning to think it would take all day to reach this wonderful -picnic spot of yours, Andy."</p> - -<p>"It better be good," Dave Fuller growled. "After letting myself be -coaxed into this trip and driving all morning."</p> - -<p>"Good?" Pearce was grinning, though his voice held no humor. "Dave, -I guarantee it's going to be better than anything you can possibly -imagine."</p> - -<p>Ellen frowned at Pearce. "You know, Andy, somehow you scare me."</p> - -<p>"It's the beast in him," Fuller put in. "The gals are always fooled by -Andy's curly hair and soulful eyes, but sooner or later they wake up to -his true nature."</p> - -<p>She wrinkled her nose at him. "I think you're a beast, too. All men are -beasts. But as for Andy, he takes first prize. He had to go and ruin -the date I made for him and Susie. It practically broke her heart that -she wasn't going with us today."</p> - -<p>Pearce moved his hands in a helpless gesture. "I'm sorry about Susie, -but this was one time I didn't want to be fixed up with a date."</p> - -<p>"I don't think you ever did," Ellen said bitterly. "I practically had -to browbeat you into all the dates I made for you."</p> - -<p>"Your concern for my ... well, call it social life, is deeply -appreciated," Pearce returned with mild sarcasm.</p> - -<p>"Yours?" she protested. "Andy Pearce, I assure you that arranging your -dates was nothing more or less than self-defense on my part. I didn't -want people to get the idea that I was preparing for a life of bigamy -by always going out with two men."</p> - -<p>"I plead self-defense, too." Pearce was sober. "Romantic complications -are something I wanted to avoid. Anyhow, getting back to this picnic -today, I wanted it to be strictly a family affair."</p> - -<p>Fuller's red head swung around in dismay. "Good grief, Andy, don't tell -me all your relatives are going to be out here! If that's the reason -you wanted to visit your boyhood stamping grounds—"</p> - -<p>"Relax," Pearce said. "No relatives. I was speaking figuratively. I -never had enough relatives to mention. An uncle brought me up, and he -departed this vale of tears a long time ago."</p> - -<p>Fuller looked relieved. "Relatives make me nervous."</p> - -<p>"Then you'd better stop this rattle-trap of yours." Pearce gestured at -the trees, now almost abreast of the coupe. "Not that the fact we've -arrived has anything to do with it."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Fuller turned the car into a stretch of grass beside the road and -braked to a stop. "End of the line!" he announced. Then he glanced at -Pearce in uneasy speculation. "Or is it? I hope it doesn't take a stiff -hike to get to your boyhood Eden."</p> - -<p>"Quit griping," Pearce said. "We're almost there now. And don't forget -I promised that this is going to be worth your trouble."</p> - -<p>"I'll bet!" Fuller muttered. Despite his skeptical tone, his blue eyes -lingered on Pearce in veiled wonder.</p> - -<p>Pearce let himself stiffly out of the car. Ellen followed, glancing -about her curiously. She was a slim, graceful girl, dark, yet with a -quality of glowing vividness. Her shining hair had been cut short in -the current fashion, its boyish effect offset by her large, lustrous -eyes and full red lips.</p> - -<p>She stretched on tiptoe, for a moment standing motionless and -statuesque. Pearce watched her with a sudden, flashing intensity. Pain -touched him, and regret.</p> - -<p>But it was too late—too late even to think of what might have been....</p> - -<p>She turned. "This is a wild, lonely-looking place you've dragged us out -to, Andy."</p> - -<p>He nodded, his gray eyes kindling with memories. "It hasn't changed -since I was a kid. Except for the road. It's got gravel on it now."</p> - -<p>"What, no red carpet?" Fuller asked in mock surprise, as he too emerged -from the coupe. "A lousy welcome for our boy Andy. No red carpet."</p> - -<p>"Cut it out," Ellen admonished. "These aren't the surroundings for low -comedy. Let's just be simple, sociable folk enjoying a picnic. Bring -out the eats, and we'll get started."</p> - -<p>Looking exaggeratedly chastened, Fuller opened the trunk at the rear of -the coupe and began handing out objects. There was a basket of food, -blankets, a record player, and a cardboard carton containing beer -packed in dry ice. There was also a large suitcase belonging to Pearce.</p> - -<p>Fuller hefted this exploratively. "Just a little something for the -picnic," he said, glancing at Ellen. "That's what Andy told me when he -put this hunk of luggage in the car. Why, it's as heavy as the national -debt!"</p> - -<p>"Nobody's asking you to carry it," Pearce said mildly.</p> - -<p>"No—but I wish I could figure out what you're up to," Fuller returned.</p> - -<p>Pearce shook a warning finger, "If wishes were limousines, the accident -toll among joy-riding beggars would be terrific."</p> - -<p>"Very funny." Fuller turned to Ellen again. "Do you think it's decent -of Andy to worry his friends like this?"</p> - -<p>She studied Pearce a moment, her dark eyes solemn. Then she moved her -slim shoulders in a philosophical shrug. "Since we've come this far, I -guess we'll just have to put up with it."</p> - -<p>"That's the spirit!" Pearce said. "Just put your lives in my hands, -little ones—and let the insurance premiums fall where they may." -He bent to pick up the suitcase and the record player, hoping that -he had moved quickly enough to hide the pain and unhappiness that -had momentarily showed in his face. The situation was proving more -difficult than he had thought it would be. He had hoped to make the -picnic a light-hearted affair, to keep Fuller and Ellen from suspecting -at the very outset that something unusual was taking place.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He strode into the woods. Fuller followed with the blankets and the -beer carton, and Ellen with the basket of food.</p> - -<p>The glade proved easy enough to locate. It was smaller than Pearce -remembered, but the semi-circle of large stones along one side was -much the same. The trees that rose all around gave their old effect of -seclusion, of shutting out the world. Beyond the enclosure they made -were the shadows cast by inter-laced boughs, and through these came the -plaintive cries of birds, somehow like the sound of waves on an island -shore.</p> - -<p>Pearce glanced around him slowly, relishing the familiarity of the -scene, his thoughts leaping a chasm of fifteen years. One memory in -particular was suddenly very vivid.</p> - -<p>"So this is the place, Andy," Ellen said behind him. "Why, it's just -perfect!" She swung to Fuller. "Don't you think this is worth the -drive?"</p> - -<p>"I refuse to give my opinion until I've had enough beer to put me in -the proper mood," Fuller growled.</p> - -<p>"Start opening it, then," Ellen said. "I'll get the food ready."</p> - -<p>They ate seated on the blankets, around the appetizingly laden -tablecloth Ellen had spread. Pearce was too intense to have much of -an interest in food, but he managed to consume what normally would -have been expected of him. He was sharply aware that the minutes -were running out, that the deadline was now swiftly approaching. The -knowledge strengthened the undercurrent of dread within him, brought a -pang of sadness.</p> - -<p>But he did not want these last moments with Ellen and Dave to be -touched with melancholy, nor did he want them to sense his troubled -emotional state. He helped to keep a casual conversation going, and -whenever this threatened to lag, he started the record player.</p> - -<p>Shadows deepened within the glade as the afternoon wore on. Pearce -helped Ellen to clean up the picnic remains, then sprawled beside -Fuller to finish what was left of the beer. From the record player came -the strains of a symphony. Ellen seated herself nearby, tapping one -slender foot in time to the music.</p> - -<p>Distractedly Pearce thought of the fleeting, precious minutes. He -glanced at his watch.</p> - -<p>Fuller abruptly sat up. "There you go again, Andy!"</p> - -<p>"What?" Pearce was startled.</p> - -<p>"Looking at that doggoned watch of yours." Fuller's expression was -accusing. "You aren't fooling anybody, Andy. You're up to some -thing—and it's about time you explained yourself. This beating around -the bush is no way to treat your friends. You drag us out here, to -the place where you grew up. You have a suitcase along that certainly -doesn't have bricks in it. You drop mysterious hints about something -special."</p> - -<p>Fuller's voice softened, his blue eyes turned anxious. "Just what have -you got up your sleeve, Andy?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Pearce looked away, pain, a sudden tightness in his chest. He said -slowly, "Well, I'm taking a sort of trip, Dave. I ... I'm afraid I'm -never going to see you and Ellen again."</p> - -<p>"Andy!" Ellen's voice was a stricken whisper.</p> - -<p>"Never see us again...." Fuller muttered blankly.</p> - -<p>The symphony came to an end. There was a moment of strained quiet.</p> - -<p>"What are you talking about, Andy?" Fuller demanded in hurt -bewilderment. "Where are you going that you'll never see me and Ellen -again?"</p> - -<p>"It's a long story," Pearce said. He grinned faintly. "I mean that. -It's a story that begins fifteen years in the past and ends some -two thousand years in the future."</p> - -<p>Fuller and Ellen were rigid, staring. Pearce drained the last of his -beer and lighted a cigarette.</p> - -<p>"In another way," he went on, "the story really begins right where we -are now. This part of the woods always was a favorite spot of mine. -I'd sneak off here to read books and magazines that I borrowed from -a neighbor whose taste in literature was on the blood and thunder -side—lucky for me. My uncle didn't like to see me reading, thought it -a waste of time. But it was in the middle of the Depression, and there -wasn't much else to do. Uncle was an intolerant old bird, a widower, -and he wasn't happy about getting stuck with me. I didn't like it, -either, but there didn't seem anything a twelve-year-old kid could do -about it."</p> - -<p>Pearce drew at his cigarette, his gray eyes squinting into distance. -"Uncle's chicken farm was a lonely place, and in self-defense I guess -I developed a lot more imagination than most kids my age. Most of the -time I wasn't on the farm at all—except when Uncle gave me a spanking -by way of a reminder. I was out on the deserts of Mars, or walking the -streets of a lost city in Africa, or tracking down an international -spy ring in London. This day-dreaming, as I can see now, was pretty -important."</p> - -<p>Fuller said impatiently, "But Andy, what on earth does this build-up -have to do with the trip you're going to make?"</p> - -<p>"Keep your shirt on," Pearce said. "You'll see."</p> - -<p>He resumed. "What I've outlined was the general situation when I came -here one summer afternoon, to read a book. About a half-hour later -something happened that practically made me jump out of my skin. The -air in the glade seemed suddenly to thicken, and the trees all around -grew crazily twisted, as though seen through optical glass. I felt -oddly light, dizzy and sick at the same time. And from somewhere came a -deep, humming sound—the kind of sound that might have been made by a -string on a giant harp.</p> - -<p>"The next thing I knew there was a sort of machine in the glade that -seemed to have popped right out of nowhere. It was a metal globe about -eight feet across, with tapering legs or supports on the bottom to keep -it upright. There was the outline of a door in the side turned toward -me.</p> - -<p>"I was scared stiff, of course, but I had been reading about this kind -of thing happening in stories—and as far as I was concerned, there was -hardly any dividing line between stories and real life. So I stayed -put. I knew the machine was something special, because I'd never seen -anything like it outside of the illustrations in the more imaginative -type of magazines."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Pearce drew at his cigarette again. Fuller and Ellen were like store -window figures, arranged in attitudes of rapt attention.</p> - -<p>"After several seconds the door in the side of the machine opened and a -woman stepped out. I thought she was the most beautiful creature I had -ever seen, a princess—or an angel. She looked the way ancient Egyptian -women must have looked. She made me think of a tropical flower, which -wasn't far from truth, considering that she came from a time when the -Earth was—or will be—a great deal warmer than it is now. She was -wearing a sort of thin dress that sparkled as though covered with -jewels, and over this she held a long cloak. It was summer, but I -suppose it was a bit too cool for her.</p> - -<p>"She smiled at me—and I was glad I had stuck around. She said she -hoped I hadn't been frightened by the appearance of her machine, and I -guess I tried to sell her the idea that I strangled lions with my bare -hands just for exercise. Then she explained that her name was Nela, and -that she had come from two thousand years in the future especially to -see me. Her machine, of course, was a time machine."</p> - -<p>"Good grief!" Fuller said explosively. "What kind of a gag are you -trying to put over, Andy?"</p> - -<p>"I know just how it all sounds," Pearce returned. "But believe me, -for one of the few times in my life I'm dead serious. Keep quiet and -listen. I don't have much time left."</p> - -<p>"Go on, Andy," Ellen said. "I'm fascinated."</p> - -<p>Pearce took a final puff of his cigarette crushed it out in the grass, -and continued. "Nela explained how it was possible to travel in time, -but in the sort of terms a kid would understand. Even what I've figured -out up to now isn't specific enough to be worth detailing, except -to say that what we consider space and time are merely illusions -of sense perception. They are really one stationary system or -complex—stationary, yet dynamic and changing within itself—and under -certain conditions one can travel through this system, from future -to past, or the other way around, like through a museum—the biggest -museum that can possibly be imagined.</p> - -<p>"Nela's machine operated on energy principles that won't be known -for a great many years yet, and it will be even longer before those -principles are put into application. She was, in effect, making a -round-trip from one part of the museum to another—a trip that took -her across two thousand years of what we call time, or across a couple -of hundred light years of what we call space. It's one and the same -thing. Actually, she was following a sort of huge orbit, and was, -so to speak, stopping off along the route. A trip between one point -and another can be made only once, because even that one trip brings -changes which affect the whole system, or complex. One point, it seems, -is always shifted so that it lies outside of any orbit which can be -plotted from the other.</p> - -<p>"Nela told me about the kind of world she came from, too, and it -sounded—and still sounds—like a perfect place. There was, so she -said, practically no government, practically no laws, restrictions, or -penalties. In two thousand years enough had been learned about the mind -to make these unnecessary. Men at last were truly equal. There was no -longer any need to work for a living. Machines of all sorts attended to -every task and human requirement. Earth was one huge garden—and there -was plenty of room for everyone. Men had reached the stars and had -found new homes almost beyond number.</p> - -<p>"An ideal picture—but there was a catch to it. The machines on which -Nela's people depended were breaking down, and it seemed nobody knew -even how to begin repairing them. The men of her time could take suns -apart and put them back together again, but the machines baffled them -in much the same way that our atomic scientists would be baffled -when it came to repairing a suit of Medieval armor. The answer to -the problem was to obtain the help of persons who understood the -construction and operation of the machines at least as well as Medieval -armorers understood their steel suits. And that answer—in both -cases—lay back in time."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Pearce changed position on the blanket under him and glanced at his -watch. He went on, "Time travel had been accomplished well before -Nela's period, but the process had proved too involved and tricky for -serious, large-scale use. The important thing, though, was that a -number of machines were immediately available for time travel, and Nela -was one of those chosen to operate them. She was, it seems, a gal of -parts. In addition to being one of the leaders of a world-wide group -which had been formed to deal with the machine break-down problem, she -was also an expert on time travel and an authority on Twentieth Century -life.</p> - -<p>"Actually, you see, Nela's people were undergoing a cultural -renaissance, a reawakening of interest in every field of knowledge -and endeavor. For many hundreds of years there had been stagnation. -The machines had filled every human want, and there had been little -need for effort of any kind. Also, progress had been discouraged by a -hidebound government, which had remained in power through its control -of certain of the more important machines. The government had fallen -when realization came that it could do nothing to keep the machines in -repair, but the damage had been done. After centuries of a hands-off -attitude toward the machines, nobody else knew how to repair them, -either. Rapid progress was made everywhere except in this one direction.</p> - -<p>"Nela and the others decided to travel to different points in time and -obtain specialists who would each be able to deal with some particular -repair job on the machines. The machines, of course, were not the -product of any one time period, but were the cumulative result of the -knowledge and skills of different periods. I was the specialist with -whom contact was made at this point in time. It was, I realize now, -quite a complicated business.</p> - -<p>"When a beautiful girl appears in a time machine and tells some young -man she needs his help, he doesn't just drop whatever he happens to -be doing and go sailing blithely off into the mysterious future. Not -in real life. He has to consider his family and friends, the career -he was working on, all the things familiar and important to him, his -surroundings, interests and amusements, climate, customs, clothing—all -the rest. He has to consider that he might not be happy in the -future, that he might not fit, that he might not even be physically -comfortable, that the beautiful girl herself might very well turn out -to be disappointing.</p> - -<p>"But if he is a young man of average intelligence, he most likely -wouldn't even bother to consider these things. He simply would refuse -to believe the beautiful girl from the future, would be certain it was -some sort of a hoax. Or he might even be scared stiff by the very idea -of traveling in time. All of which boils down to the fact that the girl -from the future would face a mighty tough job getting the right kind of -young man to help her."</p> - -<p>"I get it now," Fuller broke in musingly. "So that's what your suitcase -is for, Andy." Then his voice sharpened with protest. "But it ... it's -ridiculous! I just can't believe it's possible."</p> - -<p>"The young man of average intelligence speaking," Pearce murmured.</p> - -<p>"Yeah?" Fuller swung to Ellen. "What do you think?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>She shook her dark head slightly, lower lip caught between her teeth. -"I'm trying not to think... Go on, Andy—before I start thinking."</p> - -<p>"Hate to have that happen, if Dave's mental acrobatics are any -example." Pearce abruptly sobered, glancing at his watch. "Well," he -resumed, "Nela and the others foresaw the difficulties they would -encounter in obtaining help, and they figured out what they hoped would -be a fool-proof method of approach. What happened in my case shows -what this was. It seems Nela first scouted out a group of specialists -to find a couple with the right qualifications. The man she wanted had -to be young and adventurous, without any family or romantic ties. Then -she narrowed her field still further by tracing her selection back to -childhood and making direct contact there.</p> - -<p>"It was clever—for after all, the child is father to the man. A child -is credulous and imaginative to an extent a man is not. And a child is -adventurous, will let his enthusiasms carry him spontaneously where -a man will hesitate and look for a catch. Most of all a child is -impressionable and can be imbued with an idea which he will follow like -a beacon light all his life.</p> - -<p>"I was the child Nela finally settled on. The Andy Pearce she had first -scouted still existed in time, and nothing would change for him. But no -paradox is involved, for what we call time is an illusion, a subjective -quality arising from an awareness of objective conditions—and these -conditions are not quite what we think they are. That first Andy Pearce -was something like a bubble moving in a glass tube. All Nela did was -put another bubble in motion. The tube itself was not affected, nor was -time shifted, bent, nullified, or anything of the sort. Each bubble was -as real as anything can be said to be real, each existed in its own -particular space-time, each was completely distinct and independent of -the other.</p> - -<p>"Nela visited me here several times, while she told me all the details -of her mission. She was also getting acquainted with me and giving -me time to thoroughly digest the idea of going with her. I agreed to -go, of course. It seemed the most natural thing in the world to do, -and I didn't change my mind. Once she had satisfied herself on that -score, she worked out a plan of operations for me to follow until I was -finally ready to leave. The plan took in schools, subjects, finances, -and the like. Nela, you see, was making a big improvement on the first -Andy Pearce.</p> - -<p>"I never saw Nela again after those first visits. It was quite -unnecessary, as I can see now. For she and her people understood the -mind with an amazing thoroughness, and during her talks she subtly -injected me with knowledge, emotions and ideals that set me in motion -toward my goal as effectively and undeviatingly as though I had been -hypnotized. And I suspect that she set other bubbles in motion as well, -to guide and assist me and generally keep me moving in one direction."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Pearce gestured. "I've kept moving, all right. Fifteen years have -passed, and I know all I need to know about the particular technical -subject Nela chose me to handle. I'm ready to leave—and I'm leaving -very soon. Nela is coming here to pick me up, having meanwhile been -moving to this point along her orbit to make one last stop-off before -completing the swing back to her own point in time. There can be no -return, for once I leave, this point in time can never be reached -again. But then I've had fifteen years to get used to the idea.</p> - -<p>"This picnic today was in the nature of a farewell party. You, Dave -and Ellen, have been the only friends I've allowed myself—and you've -both been fine friends. I wanted you both to know exactly where I -was going instead of doing a mysterious fade-out. I felt I owed you -that much. I've never told anyone about Nela before—not because the -information was likely to prove harmful, or anything of the sort, but -simply because it would have created doubts about my sanity. I know I -can trust you with it for the same reason."</p> - -<p>Pearce spread his hands, grinning crookedly. "Well, I hope that leaves -me and my suitcase explained to the complete satisfaction of everyone."</p> - -<p>Fuller ran his hand through his red hair in agitation and rose to his -feet. "It's the damnedest story I've ever heard, Andy. I wish I could -be dead certain it isn't a gag. I can't believe it—or maybe it's just -that I can't accept the idea of never seeing you again. If this hadn't -come all of a sudden—" He broke off, gesturing helplessly.</p> - -<p>"Picnics," Ellen muttered to no one in particular, "are going to be -permanently spoiled for me."</p> - -<p>"Hell!" Fuller growled. "I need a drink. I guess we all need a drink." -He reached out as though to detain Pearce. "Andy, I've got a bottle in -the car. For emergencies, you know—and this certainly is an emergency. -So stay right here, Andy. Don't go running off into the future until I -get back. Promise?"</p> - -<p>"On my word of honor," Pearce said.</p> - -<p>"Don't drop that bottle, Dave," Ellen put in.</p> - -<p>With a last anxious glance at Pearce, Fuller turned and hurried away -through the trees. Pearce was abruptly, sharply aware that he was alone -with Ellen.</p> - -<p>She seemed aware of it also. For a moment her dark eyes met his with a -kind of pensive directness, then dropped.</p> - -<p>There was an uncomfortable silence.</p> - -<p>"I'll never be quite the same again after today, Andy," Ellen murmured -at last.</p> - -<p>He stared morosely at his hands. "I'm sorry. I guess I did spring the -story a bit too suddenly. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything at all, -done a quiet fade-out."</p> - -<p>"I think I'd rather have known what happened to you than otherwise." -She traced a design on the blanket with one slim finger, then said, -"Andy, you made a remark in the car—about avoiding what you called -romantic complications. Were you avoiding them because you were -eventually going away with this Nela female?"</p> - -<p>He nodded. "Something like that."</p> - -<p>"Wasn't it because you were in love with her?"</p> - -<p>"Why, I ... I don't think so." He was startled. "I guess it's true -that I had a crush on her as a kid, but I haven't seen her for fifteen -years. I hardly feel I ever knew her."</p> - -<p>"Then even though you're going away with her, there is someone you care -for?"</p> - -<p>He hesitated for an aching instant, finally managed a shrug. "It isn't -important. Not any more."</p> - -<p>"It is—to me. Andy, this is no time for historical novel gallantry -or radio soap opera self-renunciation. This is the last chance we'll -ever have to be completely frank with each other." Her dark eyes were -intent. "Andy, do you love me?"</p> - -<p>"I ... well—" He groped in confusion, with the feeling that he had -suddenly found himself on a tight-rope, hundreds of feet in the air. -Then he nodded miserably. "Yes."</p> - -<p>"Then just why did you take it for granted that I was Dave's girl?" -Ellen demanded bitterly.</p> - -<p>"I thought Dave was the one you were interested in. He was my best -friend, and I didn't want to—"</p> - -<p>"You thought! Didn't it ever occur to you to find out?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He made a helpless gesture. "I wanted to, Ellen—but I don't see what -good it could have done. I was going away, you know."</p> - -<p>"Don't you think I could have changed your mind about that? Don't you -think I can change your mind—even now?" Abruptly she leaned toward -him, her small face lighted as though by some fierce inner fire, at -once pleading and demanding. "Andy—kiss me!"</p> - -<p>Despite himself, that fire touched him, kindled to a blaze. His lips -met hers with a quickening pressure, his hands slipped from her -shoulders to draw her tightly against him. For long seconds nothing -else had reality or importance. The glade dissolved around him, and he -seemed to float in a dark sea that rose and fell with a wild rhythm.</p> - -<p>Then awareness of his act exploded in him. He released the girl -abruptly and drew away.</p> - -<p>"It's hopeless, Ellen! I can't back down now."</p> - -<p>She shook her dark head in swift protest. "It isn't hopeless, Andy. It -isn't too late. I just proved that to you."</p> - -<p>"But Nela is depending on me. I can't let her down."</p> - -<p>"You owe her nothing! She took advantage of you at a time when you -weren't mature and experienced enough to exercise good judgment. Why -should you feel obligated to her now?"</p> - -<p>"I agreed to go with her. If I let her down, she won't be able to -obtain a replacement with my particular type of training. She can visit -this point in time only once."</p> - -<p>"That's her problem, Andy. You have your own life to live. Why -shouldn't you be able to live it as you choose? You don't know just -what sort of a life the future holds for you—but you do know what -you'll find here."</p> - -<p>He gripped his knees hard, finally shook his head. "This is something -bigger than we are, Ellen—something more important than your personal -happiness, or mine. It isn't just that Nela is depending on me. Behind -her is a whole civilization. It's the greatest responsibility a man can -be given. If I backed down, I'd never feel right again. I'd always have -it on my conscience."</p> - -<p>She slumped in despair. "Then there's nothing else I can do to change -your mind?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing, Ellen. I'm sorry."</p> - -<p>Silence closed down again. A painful, uneasy silence, the silence of -people between whom an unsurmountable barrier exists.</p> - -<p>The silence added fuel to Pearce's inner turmoil. He wished that it had -been possible to leave without hurting Ellen, even without discovering -that she returned his own feelings. The knowledge that he would never -see her again had been difficult enough to face. For in these last -months the picture of her had come to haunt him—Ellen, with her -shining dark hair and her slim vital body, at once gaily humorous and -warmly sympathetic. He knew that he would never forget her, or cease -thinking of the happiness he might have found with her.</p> - -<p>"It might be a good idea to wipe that lipstick off your face, Andy," -Ellen murmured at last.</p> - -<p>Pearce fumbled for a handkerchief and scrubbed at his mouth. The action -brought forward something that had been hovering at the back of his -mind.</p> - -<p>"What about Dave?" he asked abruptly. "I hope I haven't spoiled -anything for him."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>She shook her head with a grave seriousness. "Dave knows how I feel. -And it isn't much of a loss where he's concerned, because he's been -taking a growing interest in Susie. She has a terrific crush on him, -and that's the reason she wanted to come with us so badly today. But -you insisted on a three-sided party and as usual left Dave to nursemaid -me."</p> - -<p>Pearce felt a dull amazement. Engrossed with his preparations for -leaving he had not sensed the emotional undercurrents beneath the -outwardly placid surface of Dave and Ellen.</p> - -<p>Ellen, he thought suddenly. Dave was accounted for—but Ellen? He could -not voice the question, feeling himself too inextricably bound up in -it.</p> - -<p>There was the sound of footsteps as Fuller returned, brandishing a -bottle. "Here it is!" he announced. "Get out the glasses, Ellen."</p> - -<p>She produced three plastic tumblers from the basket, and Fuller poured -a generous drink in each. He raised his own tumbler in a solemn gesture.</p> - -<p>"Here's to Andy. Bon voyage—and a high old time in the future!"</p> - -<p>"Thanks," Pearce said in self-conscious acknowledgement. He swallowed -the whisky in a gulp, felt its raw warmth spread through him.</p> - -<p>Bon voyage, he thought. The voyage part was true enough. But he doubted -if he would have a high old time. He would always think of Ellen. And -Dave. And all the other people he had known, who would continue to -move against the old familiar background of their existence, among all -the old familiar things, without sudden violent change, or pain, or -loss. He would think of movies and dances, baseball games and parties. -And restaurants and nightclubs and small quiet bars. And apple pie -and coffee, hamburgers and malted milk. And his favorite brand of -cigarettes, and two pants suits and straw hats in the summer. And beer -and sport pages and classical records on a drowsy Sunday afternoon. And -politics and elections and critical internal situations. And crowded -downtown streets and quiet suburban cottages—all the other things he -had known and liked, or had taken for granted and had not thought much -about. He would think of them because they wouldn't exist in the future -any more, because people would have changed, would have different -ideals, habits and tastes.</p> - -<p>Fuller filled the tumblers again and made an effort at the sort of -artificially cheerful small talk that precedes the sailing of a troop -ship.</p> - -<p>Pearce, who had surreptitiously been keeping check on his watch, -finally gestured. "It's almost time for Nela to pick me up—and I'd -like to be alone when she comes. The situation might be too complicated -if you and Ellen were present, Dave. I want things to be as easy as -possible all around."</p> - -<p>Fuller looked disappointed. "I was kind of hoping to get a look at this -gal from the future, Andy. I still don't know whether to believe your -story or not."</p> - -<p>"Give me the benefit of the doubt, anyway, will you?" Pearce pleaded. -He turned to Ellen. "You'll do this last favor for me?"</p> - -<p>She nodded and leaned forward on tiptoe. "Good-bye, Andy—and good -luck." Her voice was little more than a whisper.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He touched her lips with his and for a moment stood looking down at -her, thinking once more of what might have been. An echo of his own -thoughts seemed to glisten wetly in her dark eyes. Abruptly she turned -away.</p> - -<p>Pearce gripped Fuller's hand. "So long, Dave."</p> - -<p>"Take care of yourself, Andy." Fuller looked painfully reflective, then -suddenly held out the bottle. "Here, Andy, you take this. You might -need it."</p> - -<p>Pearce watched with a deep inward aching as Fuller and Ellen strode -from the glade. Reaching the trees, they turned to look back at him. -They hesitated, waved—were gone.</p> - -<p>Pearce felt that the last door to the past had been irrevocably closed.</p> - -<p>He looked down at the bottle he was holding and lifted it to his mouth. -Then he lighted a cigarette, glanced at his watch again, and fell to -pacing along one edge of the glade. His eyes roved tensely about him, -expectant and dreading.</p> - -<p>Thoughts shifted uneasily in his mind. Would Nela actually appear? -Fifteen years had passed for him—a matter of a few hours to her. -But perhaps something had gone wrong. Perhaps she had miscalculated -somewhere.</p> - -<p>And on mental scales he balanced Ellen against the future, wondering if -his choice had been wise. Could the future possibly hold the happiness -he might have known with Ellen, in the age familiar to him?</p> - -<p>He heard a car motor start up in the distance. The sound rose in -volume, then began fading. Dave and Ellen were on their way back to -the city.</p> - -<p>He felt suddenly alone—somehow abandoned.</p> - -<p>Raising the bottle to his lips again, he resumed his nervous pacing. -And then he stopped, frozen, aware of a change in his surroundings. -The air in the glade was thickening queerly, the trees all around were -growing crazily distorted. And he heard a deep humming sound—the kind -of sound that might have been made by a string on a giant harp.</p> - -<p>Across the glade, appearing as though from nothingness itself, -an object was taking shape—a metal globe. Bands of distortion -surrounded it like ripples in water. For an instant the globe seemed -unsubstantial, illusory—then it was solid, resting quietly on the -floor of the glade.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p>Andy stood out in the small clearing, waving a goodbye to them, while behind him a strange metallic globe suddenly shimmered in the air....</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Pearce watched it, his heart pounding.</p> - -<p>"Andy!"</p> - -<p>The call hit him like a physical blow. Stunned, he whirled to see Ellen -hurrying toward him through the trees.</p> - -<p>"Andy!" she cried again. "Are you all right?"</p> - -<p>"Ellen!" he gasped. "What are you doing here? I thought you left with -Dave."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>She caught breathlessly at his arm, steadying herself. "I made him go -without me. I ... I couldn't leave you, Andy." Her voice rose. "I'm -going with you!"</p> - -<p>His mind whirled in dismayed confusion. He sent a swift glance at the -metal globe. Any moment now, the door would open—</p> - -<p>"Ellen, you can't go!"</p> - -<p>"Why not? I'm willing to take the risk. And I'll be happy, whatever the -future is like, as long as I'm with you."</p> - -<p>He shook his head in despair. "It ... well, I'm afraid it's just -impossible, that's all. No provision has been made for you. I don't -know even if there would be room for you. I don't know if Nela can -allow you in her plans, or—"</p> - -<p>He broke off. Glancing at the globe again, he saw that the door was -opening.</p> - -<p>He waited for Nela to appear, wondering what her reaction would be when -she saw Ellen, wondering how this hopelessly tangled situation could -possibly be resolved.</p> - -<p>The door of the globe stood fully open. Nothing else happened.</p> - -<p>Pearce waited a moment longer, puzzled, then slowly looked into the -globe. Except for two padded seats and a myriad of instruments on the -curving walls, the interior of the machine was empty.</p> - -<p>He turned in bewilderment to Ellen. "Something's wrong! Nela isn't -inside."</p> - -<p>Ellen looked gravely thoughtful. "Andy, I think I know what happened -to her. She was an authority on Twentieth Century life, you know. She -no doubt had all sorts of records to help her. She could speak the -kind of English used here, she understood social customs, the economic -situation, knew how to dress and act. What she didn't know, she could -pick up by being careful and observing. In short, she could pass as an -ordinary Twentieth Century girl, and hardly anyone would guess she was -different."</p> - -<p>Pearce's bewilderment grew. "What are you getting at?"</p> - -<p>"Well, Andy, suppose this Nela wanted to make absolutely sure you'd be -happy in the future, that nothing would interfere with your efficiency -and general well-being. There was a big job ahead of you, and a lot -depended on your particular field of knowledge and type of skill. So -to make absolutely sure of you she stopped off along her route back to -spend your last several months here with you. It wouldn't be hard for -a clever girl like her to get acquainted with you and Dave. And you -hadn't seen her for fifteen years, Andy. You wouldn't recognize her -easily—especially if she'd had her hair cut short and wore Twentieth -Century clothes and make-up."</p> - -<p>Pearce stared at her a moment longer, then caught at her arms. "Ellen! -You ... you're Nela!"</p> - -<p>She nodded slowly, her smile uncertain and touched with shyness. "I -hope you aren't disappointed, Andy, or that you hate me for having -tricked you the way I did."</p> - -<p>He laughed, a wild delight surging up in him. "Neither," he said. "And -I'm going to prove it!"</p> - -<p>He proved it to her entire satisfaction. Finally, hand in hand, they -turned to the doorway of the globe.</p> - -<p>"I suppose you brought the machine here by remote control or something -of the sort," Pearce told Nela.</p> - -<p>"Yes. I had a special gadget in my purse. The machine was here all -along, you see, traveling a few minutes ahead in time."</p> - -<p>"And Dave?" he said suddenly. "Did you tell him?"</p> - -<p>"I told him I was going with you and hinted the reason why. He'll -figure it out presently—even if he never completely believes it. -Little has really changed for Dave. He'll marry Susie and lead a -perfectly normal life."</p> - -<p>Pearce halted Nela as she was about to enter the globe. "There's a -little custom of this time that I'd like to observe. If you're as -much of an authority on Twentieth Century life as you claim, you'll -understand."</p> - -<p>He gathered her up in his arms and carried her over the threshold. Her -smile and then the pressure of her lips indicated that she understood.</p> - -<p>The door closed. The trees at the edge of the glade grew crazily -distorted, shimmering bands enclosed the globe like ripples in water, -there was a humming sound like a giant harp string—</p> - -<p>And then the glade was empty.</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEET ME IN TOMORROW ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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