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Fantascience Digest, v. 2, issue 2, January-February 1939

Page 20

Page 20     FANTASCIENCE DIGEST

been listening to her all along. He's been looking horrifiedly at a terrible misshapen Thing which jumps up and down in a huge glass bowl. The scientist chuckled sardonically, "You like my leetle pet?" he asks; then he breaks forth into a peal of insane laughter.

Isn't this exciting?

Suddenly he becomes sober again and tells Flush that this shocking obscenity was once---can I bring myself to tell you?---was once a [[underline]]]tree[[end underline]], which he changed into an animal. Gosh!

He adds that he has also changed smaller animals into plants.Then, lowering his voice ominously, he sais, "But I haff neffer changed a [[underline]]man[[end underline]] into a plant!"

Being very intelligent,Flush gets what the scientist is leading up to, and runs for the door. But the Russian, rushing, catches the reporter and brings him back itno the room.

[[underline]]Now[[end underline]], that's what makes the story different. The scientist doesn't experiment on Flush or change him into a plant; he allows the reporter to interview him, like Flush wanted int he first place. And he doesn't keep him captive in a cell beneath the house; he shakes hands with him and says to give his regards to the City Editor, who's an old schoolmate of his. And the scientist isn't crazy after all. It's the daughter that's nuts.

Fooled you, didn't I?

[[underline]]TALE OF THE COMPROMISER[[end underline]]
By Robert G. Thompson

Majestically the Compromiser trampled through the void. None knew when he had started, for long before any of the worlds now existing had been born, he had trampled through the cosmos, regulating it as he thought best. Larger than any non-intelligent star he was, far larger; maybe not omnipotent, but certainly so to all planetary forms of life. He called himself the Compromiser because he was so powerful, and compromise is the ultimate law of the cosmos.
He was now approaching the planet Terra. He studied it for forms of intelligent life and saw two; men and the insects. Suddenly he realized there was not room for both. Soon, as the Compromiser reckoned time, there would be a war between the two; a ferocious war. And the Compromiser was disgusted by the thought of war. the thing to do was to destroy one form. But which? In some ways one was superior, in some ways, the other.

So, after pondering for several hundred revolutions of the planet, the Compromiser decided to leave it to chance. He would spin the planet's satellite. If it stopped with the eastern hemisphere facing the Compromiser, man would go. If the western, the insects.
So he spun it. But he spun it too fast. It hurled with terrific speed toward its primary.It kept getting closer and closer, and then it collided! After the collision, the Compromiser looked down upon the planet. An amazing sight met his eyes; all life had been completely destroyed by the catastrophe!
The Compromiser laughed loud and long. He had spun the satellite to see which form of life he should destroy, and as a result of his spinning, the satellite had destroyed both, and thereby made the decision unnecessary.
Still chuckling, the Compromiser trampled on through the void.

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Page 20 FANTASCIENCE DIGEST been listening to her all along. He's been looking horrifiedly at a terrible misshapen Thing which jumps up and down in a huge glass bowl. The scientist chuckled sardonically, "You like my leetle pet?" he asks; then he breaks forth into a peal of insane laughter. Isn't this exciting? Suddenly he becomes sober again and tells Flush that this shocking obscenity was once---can I bring myself to tell you?---was once a [[underline]]]tree[[end underline]], which he changed into an animal. Gosh! He adds that he has also changed smaller animals into plants.Then, lowering his voice ominously, he sais, "But I haff neffer changed a [[underline]]man[[end underline]] into a plant!" Being very intelligent,Flush gets what the scientist is leading up to, and runs for the door. But the Russian, rushing, catches the reporter and brings him back itno the room. [[underline]]Now[[end underline]], that's what makes the story different. The scientist doesn't experiment on Flush or change him into a plant; he allows the reporter to interview him, like Flush wanted int he first place. And he doesn't keep him captive in a cell beneath the house; he shakes hands with him and says to give his regards to the City Editor, who's an old schoolmate of his. And the scientist isn't crazy after all. It's the daughter that's nuts. Fooled you, didn't I? [[underline]]TALE OF THE COMPROMISER[[end underline]] By Robert G. Thompson Majestically the Compromiser trampled through the void. None knew when he had started, for long before any of the worlds now existing had been born, he had trampled through the cosmos, regulating it as he thought best. Larger than any non-intelligent star he was, far larger; maybe not omnipotent, but certainly so to all planetary forms of life. He called himself the Compromiser because he was so powerful, and compromise is the ultimate law of the cosmos. He was now approaching the planet Terra. He studied it for forms of intelligent life and saw two; men and the insects. Suddenly he realized there was not room for both. Soon, as the Compromiser reckoned time, there would be a war between the two; a ferocious war. And the Compromiser was disgusted by the thought of war. the thing to do was to destroy one form. But which? In some ways one was superior, in some ways, the other. So, after pondering for several hundred revolutions of the planet, the Compromiser decided to leave it to chance. He would spin the planet's satellite. If it stopped with the eastern hemisphere facing the Compromiser, man would go. If the western, the insects. So he spun it. But he spun it too fast. It hurled with terrific speed toward its primary.It kept getting closer and closer, and then it collided! After the collision, the Compromiser looked down upon the planet. An amazing sight met his eyes; all life had been completely destroyed by the catastrophe! The Compromiser laughed loud and long. He had spun the satellite to see which form of life he should destroy, and as a result of his spinning, the satellite had destroyed both, and thereby made the decision unnecessary. Still chuckling, the Compromiser trampled on through the void.