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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #65772 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65772)
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-The Project Gutenberg eBook of Once Upon a Monbeast..., by Charles E.
-Fritch
-
-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: Once Upon a Monbeast...
-
-Author: Charles E. Fritch
-
-Release Date: July 5, 2021 [eBook #65772]
-
-Language: English
-
-Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed
- Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
-
-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ONCE UPON A MONBEAST... ***
-
-
-
-
-
- ONCE UPON A MONBEAST...
-
- By Charles E. Fritch
-
- Pity the poor science-fiction writer who
- creates bug-eyed monsters. You only see them
- in print--he may have to live with a few!...
-
- [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
- Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy
- March 1952
- Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
- the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
-
-
-That's not my real name up there, and in a little while you'll discover
-the reason why. If you read my real name attached to this, you'd think
-it was just another fantastic yarn I batted out and then you'd forget
-it. And you'd laugh. You'll probably laugh anyway--for awhile--but I've
-got to get this thing off my chest once and for all.
-
-I was a struggling science-fiction author at the time it began--or
-rather, just before it began. Nope, that's not right--struggling isn't
-the word; it doesn't express the blood, sweat and postage stamps that
-went into a creation, the hope and the futility that ran hot and cold
-with each morning's mail, the psychological and financial insecurity
-that comes to a beginner crazy enough to tackle such a field. And then,
-to top it off, I got a letter from Donald MacDonald.
-
-That's not _his_ real name either, and in a little while you'll find
-out the reason why. He's one of the all-time greats in science-fiction
-and still is, and a fan not knowing his work would be suspected of
-having lost his marbles. So a "name" author writes me a letter. Great,
-huh?
-
-No.
-
-I'd sent MacDonald a batch of my manuscripts, humbly asking the great
-man to favor them with a glance if a moment ever came while he was
-resting a bit between dashing off novelettes. And would he kindly
-let me know--frankly, honestly, without fear of injuring my delicate
-feelings--what he thought of the work?
-
-He would. And did. The letter read:
-
- Dear Mr. ....:
-
- I appreciate your efforts at trying to crack the stf field, but I'm
- afraid I'll have to disillusion you. I have read your manuscripts
- with considerable care and am sorry to report that you seem to have
- no talent for writing and especially none for science-fiction.
-
- I would suggest you turn your energies to something else--saxophone
- playing, stamp collecting--anything else. If you insist upon
- writing, however, have you considered fillers?
-
- Best wishes,
- Donald MacDonald.
-
-What I should have done was go out into the country, and let the
-gathering steam blow its lid. But I didn't. If I'd gotten an automobile
-in motion, I would have run down the nearest boy scout just to see his
-blood spatter. Instead, I sat down and wrote a letter to Mr. Donald
-MacDonald.
-
-It was a fine letter, full of colorful phrases and split infinitives.
-To hell with grammar at a time like that, I rationalized. I told him in
-no uncertain terms just what I thought of him and his criticisms. I'd
-be a science-fiction writer just to show him up for the incompetent he
-was, I said. I guess I said a lot of things. It was a letter full of
-more than fire and brimstone. It was radioactive.
-
-I mailed it. Then I had a beer.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Two days later, while I was bravely punching typewriter keys in a
-desperate effort to make good my boast, a small, haggard-looking fellow
-came to the door and rang the bell.
-
-"We don't want any," I said.
-
-He peered through the screen door and said, "I'm MacDonald," in a
-nervous, uncertain voice.
-
-"MacDonald who?"
-
-"Donald MacDonald. May I come in?"
-
-"You're kidding. No, by God, you're not. You _are_ Donald MacDonald."
-
-He smiled wanly. "May I come in? I flew all the way--"
-
-"Just to see me?"
-
-"I--er--it was no trouble. I took a _skyorie_."
-
-"A what?"
-
-"May I come in?"
-
-"Sure, sure, c'mon in. Have a chair. Drink?"
-
-"No, thanks," he said, seating himself. "I'm afraid I've been--that
-is--er--No, I don't believe so."
-
-"I got your letter," I said, suddenly remembering. My awe at the
-presence of the great man was suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of
-"Now, what the hell does he want?"
-
-"And I got yours," MacDonald said. "That's why I'm here." He gazed at
-my typewriter as though it were ready to bite him. "You didn't take my
-advice?"
-
-"Hardly," I said, rather flippantly. "Once the bug has bitten you--"
-
-"Have you had anything accepted?"
-
-I stared at the rug, hating the man for asking. "No, not yet," I
-admitted grudgingly, "but--"
-
-"Then the bug hasn't _really_ bitten you yet," he said. "You'll know it
-when he does."
-
-"I--uh--guess my letter was a bit--er--abrupt," I said, not knowing how
-else to fill the silence.
-
-"You were pretty mad," he admitted, "and I don't blame you; I should
-have known better than to tell you that way. But in this game,
-you've--well, you've got to learn to take criticism. If your work's
-bad, admit it and throw in the towel."
-
-"And mine's bad?"
-
-He shrugged, avoiding my eyes. "I'm afraid so."
-
-But the steam had been released and the period of mourning had ended,
-so "I'll improve," I told him.
-
-"You're wasting your time."
-
-"Possibly. What I can't understand, though, is why a big name in
-science-fiction comes way the devil out here just to advise me to stop
-knocking my head against a wall."
-
-"Perhaps more than your head is at stake," he said.
-
-"What?"
-
-"Nothing," he said hastily. For a moment his pale face held a haunted
-look, and he rose, looking like a man unsure of himself. "I can't talk
-you out of it, so I'd better go."
-
-"Wait a minute. Just what did you mean by that other remark?"
-
-Donald MacDonald glanced around him as though he were afraid invisible
-beings might be eavesdropping. "You really want to know the reason why?"
-
-I nodded.
-
-"Your work is good," he said seriously. "Too good. Not up to par on
-some points, but in a few years you'll be going places. That's why I
-sneaked away from them and came here--to beg you to reconsider, to stop
-this writing now, before it's too late."
-
-"You mean--you _can't_ mean--you're not--afraid of competition?"
-
-He waved an annoyed hand. "Competition, hell! There's always room for
-more. You don't understand," he went on, screwing his face into a look
-of determination. "I'm trying to save your peace of mind, your sanity
-perhaps. The mind is a great and powerful thing, sometimes dangerous.
-All these things--these alien creatures that a science-fiction author
-creates--"
-
-"Yes?"
-
-But he had straightened suddenly, a look of terror on a face gone
-ashen. He went to the door like a man being pushed, fumbled for the
-knob. "I beg of you, for your sake, forget it," he called back. Then he
-was gone.
-
-I went out on the porch but MacDonald was not in sight. I heard a
-strange noise as of the flapping of great leathery wings. A shadow
-passed across the lawn. I looked up.
-
-Nothing.
-
- * * * * *
-
-The next morning I got a small envelope in the mail. The letter inside
-read, "Enclosed is a check for your story THE MONBEAST...." I sank into
-the softest chair in the world and read those wonderful, wonderful
-words, and held the check in my hand and read those wonderful,
-wonderful figures. I was so in a trance I hardly noticed the tiny
-decimal point that scampered on tiny legs across the check. I hardly
-felt the small, sharp bite--but....
-
-My first acceptance! It was incredible the exhilaration that flowed
-through me in that instant. It was like a much-needed shot of
-adrenaline, like cool springwater to a thirsty man. I had a check for
-a story someone thought enough of to publish. I was an author. A real,
-live, honest-to-goodness author with a check in my hand to prove to a
-critical world that I wasn't a bum after all. Suddenly the world was a
-big, wide, wonderful place to live in, and I loved everyone in it--even
-the poor, disillusioned Donald MacDonald.
-
-But why stop here? I thought. There were more checks where that came
-from. If I could sell one story, I could sell two, and then three, and
-four. So I did. In a way, it was something like digging my own grave.
-You don't understand that now, but in a little while you'll see the
-reason why.
-
- * * * * *
-
-After I had haunted the newsstand for about three months, the great day
-came. THE MONBEAST was the last story in the magazine (at the time I
-thought they really should have featured it) and my name was misspelled
-on the contents page, but it was a great day just the same. A day of
-triumph. A day for rejoicing. I'd had several stories accepted during
-the several months' interval, but this was the day that the fruits of
-my labor became evident to the world.
-
-I walked home with a proud, firm step, casually displaying the magazine
-to the vast public eye, to friend and foe alike. I tried to act
-nonchalant, as though this were old stuff to an established writer like
-me. It was a day of glory, of triumph, rivaling Caesar's victorious
-march into Rome.
-
-That evening I read the story over and over again, marveling at the
-perfection of its form, savoring the exquisite flavor of each delicate,
-richly-hued, word, the uniqueness of each choice, well-turned phrase. I
-fell asleep with the magazine in my hand.
-
- * * * * *
-
-The next morning the monbeast was sitting at the foot of my bed.
-
-"Okay, okay," it said, blinking its bug-eyes at me, "don't act so
-surprised. MacDonald warned you, didn't he?"
-
-"But--but--"
-
-"Sure, I'm real," the monbeast volunteered, scratching its scaly head
-with a long-nailed finger. "That's the trouble with you guys. You're
-full of imagination, but you can't face reality."
-
-"Where--where'd you come from?"
-
-The monbeast shrugged massive green shoulders. "The whole thing's much
-too technical for me to worry about. All I know is us BEMs exist, and
-we get to your dimension via science-fiction."
-
-"That 'power of mind' MacDonald was talking about?" I said, shuddering
-a bit.
-
-"Something like that. Other forms of fiction deal with things native to
-your world. Science-fiction regards us BEMs as real, so while we don't
-ordinarily exist here, there's a stress created in the barrier between
-us, and we come through."
-
-"Then you're really real?"
-
-"Practically. Right now, though, you're the only one who can see and
-hear me. You haven't characterized me sufficiently so that the readers
-will be convinced that I'm real. But that's okay. You'll improve."
-
-"Thanks. But now what about you?" I said, trying to not appear
-overanxious. "Are you returning to your own dimension or are you
-staying here for awhile?"
-
- * * * * *
-
-The monbeast grinned, showing the eighty sharp-pointed teeth I knew it
-possessed. "Sorry, I'm here to stay. I'm your brainchild, you know, so
-I'll have to stick to you."
-
-I gulped. "Stick to me?"
-
-"Only figuratively," the monbeast said. "But I'll be around." He
-cocked a bug-eye at me and said gravely, "We'd better get a few things
-straight right from the start. One of them is that as far as you're
-concerned, I'm as real as that bedpost."
-
-"Real?" I tried to laugh that off, but the sound came out a little
-weakly. "That's silly. You're just a product of my imagination."
-
-"Am I?" the monbeast said.
-
-He thrust the scaly face close to mine and yawned. Suddenly the room
-became a turkish bath.
-
-"Okay, okay," I said hastily, "turn it off."
-
-Coolness came, and I breathed easier as the steam dissipated.
-
-"Secondly, you're going to create bigger and better BEMs and make them
-more convincing," the monbeast continued. "With all you writers turning
-us loose, we can have a swell time in this world."
-
-"But how can you?" I protested. "You said the readers wouldn't believe
-in you, so you don't exist for them."
-
-"Science-fiction is growing," the monbeast said. "Everyday more people
-are getting to realize that there is more to the world than those
-things they see around them. They believe what they read in love
-stories and detective stories. Science-fiction is next."
-
-"Suppose I don't want to create more BEMs?" I said. "Suppose I take up
-saxophone playing or something and leave science-fiction alone."
-
-"You can't stop writing it now, any more than a true fan can stop
-reading it. The bug has bitten you." He smiled a piano keyboard of
-teeth and continued, "Besides, I could be obliged to--er--inspire you
-just a bit. But you just work along with me, and we'll both do fine."
-
-So we did.
-
- * * * * *
-
-The monbeast isn't such a bad fellow after all, once you get to know
-him. Neither are the other BEMs hanging around my house. Oh, yes, there
-are others, lots of them. Hanging from the rafters. Under chairs. In
-coffee cups. Everywhere. It's an occupational hazard, you know.
-
-Chances are, though, you wouldn't be able to see them--unless you're a
-real gone science-fiction fan, and even then maybe not. But someday you
-will.
-
-Someday you'll be sitting in your favorite chair reading your favorite
-science-fiction magazine, and you'll look up....
-
-Maybe it'll be sitting on the desk beside you, running one of four
-hands through a nest of snakes on its scaly head. Maybe it'll be only
-an inch tall and perched on the piano watching you. Maybe at first
-it'll be just a warm, dank breath on the back of your neck.
-
-No telling _when_ it'll be either. Maybe next year, next month;
-tomorrow. Who knows--perhaps even now.
-
-Here's a little tip. When you lay down this magazine, turn around
-slowly. Have you ever had the feeling that something was going on
-behind your back but when you turned around you saw nothing? What's
-that? You think maybe you've got that feeling right now?
-
-Listen, on second thought, now that you know, maybe you better not turn
-around. Take this as a gag. A nice big laugh. You'll be a lot better
-off that way.
-
-What you don't know can't hurt you....
-
-*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ONCE UPON A MONBEAST... ***
-
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-<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Once Upon a Monbeast..., by Charles E. Fritch</p>
-<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
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-
-<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Once Upon a Monbeast...</p>
- <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Charles E. Fritch</p>
-<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: July 5, 2021 [eBook #65772]</p>
-<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p>
- <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</p>
-<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ONCE UPON A MONBEAST... ***</div>
-
-<div class="titlepage">
-
-<h1>ONCE UPON A MONBEAST...</h1>
-
-<h2>By Charles E. Fritch</h2>
-
-<p>Pity the poor science-fiction writer who<br />
-creates bug-eyed monsters. You only see them<br />
-in print&mdash;he may have to live with a few!...</p>
-
-<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br />
-Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy<br />
-March 1952<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>That's not my real name up there, and in a little while you'll discover
-the reason why. If you read my real name attached to this, you'd think
-it was just another fantastic yarn I batted out and then you'd forget
-it. And you'd laugh. You'll probably laugh anyway&mdash;for awhile&mdash;but I've
-got to get this thing off my chest once and for all.</p>
-
-<p>I was a struggling science-fiction author at the time it began&mdash;or
-rather, just before it began. Nope, that's not right&mdash;struggling isn't
-the word; it doesn't express the blood, sweat and postage stamps that
-went into a creation, the hope and the futility that ran hot and cold
-with each morning's mail, the psychological and financial insecurity
-that comes to a beginner crazy enough to tackle such a field. And then,
-to top it off, I got a letter from Donald MacDonald.</p>
-
-<p>That's not <i>his</i> real name either, and in a little while you'll find
-out the reason why. He's one of the all-time greats in science-fiction
-and still is, and a fan not knowing his work would be suspected of
-having lost his marbles. So a "name" author writes me a letter. Great,
-huh?</p>
-
-<p>No.</p>
-
-<p>I'd sent MacDonald a batch of my manuscripts, humbly asking the great
-man to favor them with a glance if a moment ever came while he was
-resting a bit between dashing off novelettes. And would he kindly
-let me know&mdash;frankly, honestly, without fear of injuring my delicate
-feelings&mdash;what he thought of the work?</p>
-
-<p>He would. And did. The letter read:</p>
-
-<div class="blockquot">
-<p>Dear Mr. ....:</p>
-
-<p>I appreciate your efforts at trying to crack the stf field, but I'm
-afraid I'll have to disillusion you. I have read your manuscripts with
-considerable care and am sorry to report that you seem to have no
-talent for writing and especially none for science-fiction.</p>
-
-<p>I would suggest you turn your energies to something else&mdash;saxophone
-playing, stamp collecting&mdash;anything else. If you insist upon writing,
-however, have you considered fillers?</p>
-
-<p class="ph1">Best wishes,<br />
-Donald MacDonald.</p></div>
-
-<p>What I should have done was go out into the country, and let the
-gathering steam blow its lid. But I didn't. If I'd gotten an automobile
-in motion, I would have run down the nearest boy scout just to see his
-blood spatter. Instead, I sat down and wrote a letter to Mr. Donald
-MacDonald.</p>
-
-<p>It was a fine letter, full of colorful phrases and split infinitives.
-To hell with grammar at a time like that, I rationalized. I told him in
-no uncertain terms just what I thought of him and his criticisms. I'd
-be a science-fiction writer just to show him up for the incompetent he
-was, I said. I guess I said a lot of things. It was a letter full of
-more than fire and brimstone. It was radioactive.</p>
-
-<p>I mailed it. Then I had a beer.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>Two days later, while I was bravely punching typewriter keys in a
-desperate effort to make good my boast, a small, haggard-looking fellow
-came to the door and rang the bell.</p>
-
-<p>"We don't want any," I said.</p>
-
-<p>He peered through the screen door and said, "I'm MacDonald," in a
-nervous, uncertain voice.</p>
-
-<p>"MacDonald who?"</p>
-
-<p>"Donald MacDonald. May I come in?"</p>
-
-<p>"You're kidding. No, by God, you're not. You <i>are</i> Donald MacDonald."</p>
-
-<p>He smiled wanly. "May I come in? I flew all the way&mdash;"</p>
-
-<p>"Just to see me?"</p>
-
-<p>"I&mdash;er&mdash;it was no trouble. I took a <i>skyorie</i>."</p>
-
-<p>"A what?"</p>
-
-<p>"May I come in?"</p>
-
-<p>"Sure, sure, c'mon in. Have a chair. Drink?"</p>
-
-<p>"No, thanks," he said, seating himself. "I'm afraid I've been&mdash;that
-is&mdash;er&mdash;No, I don't believe so."</p>
-
-<p>"I got your letter," I said, suddenly remembering. My awe at the
-presence of the great man was suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of
-"Now, what the hell does he want?"</p>
-
-<p>"And I got yours," MacDonald said. "That's why I'm here." He gazed at
-my typewriter as though it were ready to bite him. "You didn't take my
-advice?"</p>
-
-<p>"Hardly," I said, rather flippantly. "Once the bug has bitten you&mdash;"</p>
-
-<p>"Have you had anything accepted?"</p>
-
-<p>I stared at the rug, hating the man for asking. "No, not yet," I
-admitted grudgingly, "but&mdash;"</p>
-
-<p>"Then the bug hasn't <i>really</i> bitten you yet," he said. "You'll know it
-when he does."</p>
-
-<p>"I&mdash;uh&mdash;guess my letter was a bit&mdash;er&mdash;abrupt," I said, not knowing how
-else to fill the silence.</p>
-
-<p>"You were pretty mad," he admitted, "and I don't blame you; I should
-have known better than to tell you that way. But in this game,
-you've&mdash;well, you've got to learn to take criticism. If your work's
-bad, admit it and throw in the towel."</p>
-
-<p>"And mine's bad?"</p>
-
-<p>He shrugged, avoiding my eyes. "I'm afraid so."</p>
-
-<p>But the steam had been released and the period of mourning had ended,
-so "I'll improve," I told him.</p>
-
-<p>"You're wasting your time."</p>
-
-<p>"Possibly. What I can't understand, though, is why a big name in
-science-fiction comes way the devil out here just to advise me to stop
-knocking my head against a wall."</p>
-
-<p>"Perhaps more than your head is at stake," he said.</p>
-
-<p>"What?"</p>
-
-<p>"Nothing," he said hastily. For a moment his pale face held a haunted
-look, and he rose, looking like a man unsure of himself. "I can't talk
-you out of it, so I'd better go."</p>
-
-<p>"Wait a minute. Just what did you mean by that other remark?"</p>
-
-<p>Donald MacDonald glanced around him as though he were afraid invisible
-beings might be eavesdropping. "You really want to know the reason why?"</p>
-
-<p>I nodded.</p>
-
-<p>"Your work is good," he said seriously. "Too good. Not up to par on
-some points, but in a few years you'll be going places. That's why I
-sneaked away from them and came here&mdash;to beg you to reconsider, to stop
-this writing now, before it's too late."</p>
-
-<p>"You mean&mdash;you <i>can't</i> mean&mdash;you're not&mdash;afraid of competition?"</p>
-
-<p>He waved an annoyed hand. "Competition, hell! There's always room for
-more. You don't understand," he went on, screwing his face into a look
-of determination. "I'm trying to save your peace of mind, your sanity
-perhaps. The mind is a great and powerful thing, sometimes dangerous.
-All these things&mdash;these alien creatures that a science-fiction author
-creates&mdash;"</p>
-
-<p>"Yes?"</p>
-
-<p>But he had straightened suddenly, a look of terror on a face gone
-ashen. He went to the door like a man being pushed, fumbled for the
-knob. "I beg of you, for your sake, forget it," he called back. Then he
-was gone.</p>
-
-<p>I went out on the porch but MacDonald was not in sight. I heard a
-strange noise as of the flapping of great leathery wings. A shadow
-passed across the lawn. I looked up.</p>
-
-<p>Nothing.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>The next morning I got a small envelope in the mail. The letter inside
-read, "Enclosed is a check for your story THE MONBEAST...." I sank into
-the softest chair in the world and read those wonderful, wonderful
-words, and held the check in my hand and read those wonderful,
-wonderful figures. I was so in a trance I hardly noticed the tiny
-decimal point that scampered on tiny legs across the check. I hardly
-felt the small, sharp bite&mdash;but....</p>
-
-<p>My first acceptance! It was incredible the exhilaration that flowed
-through me in that instant. It was like a much-needed shot of
-adrenaline, like cool springwater to a thirsty man. I had a check for
-a story someone thought enough of to publish. I was an author. A real,
-live, honest-to-goodness author with a check in my hand to prove to a
-critical world that I wasn't a bum after all. Suddenly the world was a
-big, wide, wonderful place to live in, and I loved everyone in it&mdash;even
-the poor, disillusioned Donald MacDonald.</p>
-
-<p>But why stop here? I thought. There were more checks where that came
-from. If I could sell one story, I could sell two, and then three, and
-four. So I did. In a way, it was something like digging my own grave.
-You don't understand that now, but in a little while you'll see the
-reason why.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>After I had haunted the newsstand for about three months, the great day
-came. THE MONBEAST was the last story in the magazine (at the time I
-thought they really should have featured it) and my name was misspelled
-on the contents page, but it was a great day just the same. A day of
-triumph. A day for rejoicing. I'd had several stories accepted during
-the several months' interval, but this was the day that the fruits of
-my labor became evident to the world.</p>
-
-<p>I walked home with a proud, firm step, casually displaying the magazine
-to the vast public eye, to friend and foe alike. I tried to act
-nonchalant, as though this were old stuff to an established writer like
-me. It was a day of glory, of triumph, rivaling Caesar's victorious
-march into Rome.</p>
-
-<p>That evening I read the story over and over again, marveling at the
-perfection of its form, savoring the exquisite flavor of each delicate,
-richly-hued, word, the uniqueness of each choice, well-turned phrase. I
-fell asleep with the magazine in my hand.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p>The next morning the monbeast was sitting at the foot of my bed.</p>
-
-<p>"Okay, okay," it said, blinking its bug-eyes at me, "don't act so
-surprised. MacDonald warned you, didn't he?"</p>
-
-<p>"But&mdash;but&mdash;"</p>
-
-<p>"Sure, I'm real," the monbeast volunteered, scratching its scaly head
-with a long-nailed finger. "That's the trouble with you guys. You're
-full of imagination, but you can't face reality."</p>
-
-<p>"Where&mdash;where'd you come from?"</p>
-
-<p>The monbeast shrugged massive green shoulders. "The whole thing's much
-too technical for me to worry about. All I know is us BEMs exist, and
-we get to your dimension via science-fiction."</p>
-
-<p>"That 'power of mind' MacDonald was talking about?" I said, shuddering
-a bit.</p>
-
-<p>"Something like that. Other forms of fiction deal with things native to
-your world. Science-fiction regards us BEMs as real, so while we don't
-ordinarily exist here, there's a stress created in the barrier between
-us, and we come through."</p>
-
-<p>"Then you're really real?"</p>
-
-<p>"Practically. Right now, though, you're the only one who can see and
-hear me. You haven't characterized me sufficiently so that the readers
-will be convinced that I'm real. But that's okay. You'll improve."</p>
-
-<p>"Thanks. But now what about you?" I said, trying to not appear
-overanxious. "Are you returning to your own dimension or are you
-staying here for awhile?"</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>The monbeast grinned, showing the eighty sharp-pointed teeth I knew it
-possessed. "Sorry, I'm here to stay. I'm your brainchild, you know, so
-I'll have to stick to you."</p>
-
-<p>I gulped. "Stick to me?"</p>
-
-<p>"Only figuratively," the monbeast said. "But I'll be around." He
-cocked a bug-eye at me and said gravely, "We'd better get a few things
-straight right from the start. One of them is that as far as you're
-concerned, I'm as real as that bedpost."</p>
-
-<p>"Real?" I tried to laugh that off, but the sound came out a little
-weakly. "That's silly. You're just a product of my imagination."</p>
-
-<p>"Am I?" the monbeast said.</p>
-
-<p>He thrust the scaly face close to mine and yawned. Suddenly the room
-became a turkish bath.</p>
-
-<p>"Okay, okay," I said hastily, "turn it off."</p>
-
-<p>Coolness came, and I breathed easier as the steam dissipated.</p>
-
-<p>"Secondly, you're going to create bigger and better BEMs and make them
-more convincing," the monbeast continued. "With all you writers turning
-us loose, we can have a swell time in this world."</p>
-
-<p>"But how can you?" I protested. "You said the readers wouldn't believe
-in you, so you don't exist for them."</p>
-
-<p>"Science-fiction is growing," the monbeast said. "Everyday more people
-are getting to realize that there is more to the world than those
-things they see around them. They believe what they read in love
-stories and detective stories. Science-fiction is next."</p>
-
-<p>"Suppose I don't want to create more BEMs?" I said. "Suppose I take up
-saxophone playing or something and leave science-fiction alone."</p>
-
-<p>"You can't stop writing it now, any more than a true fan can stop
-reading it. The bug has bitten you." He smiled a piano keyboard of
-teeth and continued, "Besides, I could be obliged to&mdash;er&mdash;inspire you
-just a bit. But you just work along with me, and we'll both do fine."</p>
-
-<p>So we did.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>The monbeast isn't such a bad fellow after all, once you get to know
-him. Neither are the other BEMs hanging around my house. Oh, yes, there
-are others, lots of them. Hanging from the rafters. Under chairs. In
-coffee cups. Everywhere. It's an occupational hazard, you know.</p>
-
-<p>Chances are, though, you wouldn't be able to see them&mdash;unless you're a
-real gone science-fiction fan, and even then maybe not. But someday you
-will.</p>
-
-<p>Someday you'll be sitting in your favorite chair reading your favorite
-science-fiction magazine, and you'll look up....</p>
-
-<p>Maybe it'll be sitting on the desk beside you, running one of four
-hands through a nest of snakes on its scaly head. Maybe it'll be only
-an inch tall and perched on the piano watching you. Maybe at first
-it'll be just a warm, dank breath on the back of your neck.</p>
-
-<p>No telling <i>when</i> it'll be either. Maybe next year, next month;
-tomorrow. Who knows&mdash;perhaps even now.</p>
-
-<p>Here's a little tip. When you lay down this magazine, turn around
-slowly. Have you ever had the feeling that something was going on
-behind your back but when you turned around you saw nothing? What's
-that? You think maybe you've got that feeling right now?</p>
-
-<p>Listen, on second thought, now that you know, maybe you better not turn
-around. Take this as a gag. A nice big laugh. You'll be a lot better
-off that way.</p>
-
-<p>What you don't know can't hurt you....</p>
-
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