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Cosmic Tales, v. 2, issue 1, Summer 1939
Page 34
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34, COSMIC TALES NEMESIS OF TIME By JOHN F. BURKE The little man hesitated at the foot of the imposing flight of steps, looked around nervously, then scuttled up as tho pursued by a horde of tax-collectors. He charged thru the swing doors, and then stopped and looked around. The hall of the Experimental Institute of Science (founded 1940) was large and imposing, dawrfing the few human beings, who occasionally walked across it. One man, evidently an attendant, stopped in front of the little man, and voiced a question, using a tone of reverent awe. "Er - er - I want to see the Professor, or whoever it is who's doing this time travel business." said the little man nervously. "My name is Briggs - Bartholomew Briggs" "It is not exactly time travel, Sir," said the attendant, more or less respectfully. "It is suspended animation with which the professor is experimenting. I think - ah -- here he comes now." A tall man with a slight stoop, and little patches of grey on what had once been a fine head of hair, was approaching them. He was staring at the floor, apparently wrapt in contemplation of the mosaic that was such a feature of the main hall. When the attendant coughed, he looked up with a slight frown, and raised his eyebrows in an unspoken question. The little man shuffled his feet, and then burst out: "You are asking for volunteers to try out your new process, sir, What about me?" The great man smiled and shook his head. "I'm afraid not," he said quietly. "We already have a number of strong, young men who are willing to undertake this experiment. I don't think we need you - besides you look like a family man... if I may say do - don't you think- " "That's just it!" screamed Bartholomew Briggs, "I'm a family man - and I've got a mother-in-law. My life is hell upon earth. She's an absolute fiend, and I swore last night that I would kill myself sooner than stand her endless nagging any longer. That woman, oh. When I saw your name mentioned in connection with this experiment, I came along. You say that you can put people into suspended animation, don't you, so that they'll wake about a hundred years hence?" "I think I can, " said Professor Hart, scratching his chin thotfully "But it is a risk - those put under the influence of my special serum might never wake up. They might just die and -" "That doesn't matter," babbled Briggs. "If I'm going to die I might as well die in the cause of science as just throwing myself into the river, which I probably will do if you don't have me. If I die, then I die; but if I live, I'll wake a hundred years hence, and my mother-in-law will be dead by then!" Despite the tragedy in the little man's miserable face, it was all that the great scientist could do to control his merriment. The attendant made no attempt to do so, but just walked away gurgling and spluttering into his handkerchief. "All right," said the great man at last ..." ********** Bartholomew Briggs sat on the edge of the clean white operating table, rather nervous now that the moment had come, but still anxious to go thru with it and to escape the clutches of his mother - in-law . "this is one of the greatest moments of my life," said the doctor who was to attend to him in a few moments - rather a chatty individual. "Science is certainly
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34, COSMIC TALES NEMESIS OF TIME By JOHN F. BURKE The little man hesitated at the foot of the imposing flight of steps, looked around nervously, then scuttled up as tho pursued by a horde of tax-collectors. He charged thru the swing doors, and then stopped and looked around. The hall of the Experimental Institute of Science (founded 1940) was large and imposing, dawrfing the few human beings, who occasionally walked across it. One man, evidently an attendant, stopped in front of the little man, and voiced a question, using a tone of reverent awe. "Er - er - I want to see the Professor, or whoever it is who's doing this time travel business." said the little man nervously. "My name is Briggs - Bartholomew Briggs" "It is not exactly time travel, Sir," said the attendant, more or less respectfully. "It is suspended animation with which the professor is experimenting. I think - ah -- here he comes now." A tall man with a slight stoop, and little patches of grey on what had once been a fine head of hair, was approaching them. He was staring at the floor, apparently wrapt in contemplation of the mosaic that was such a feature of the main hall. When the attendant coughed, he looked up with a slight frown, and raised his eyebrows in an unspoken question. The little man shuffled his feet, and then burst out: "You are asking for volunteers to try out your new process, sir, What about me?" The great man smiled and shook his head. "I'm afraid not," he said quietly. "We already have a number of strong, young men who are willing to undertake this experiment. I don't think we need you - besides you look like a family man... if I may say do - don't you think- " "That's just it!" screamed Bartholomew Briggs, "I'm a family man - and I've got a mother-in-law. My life is hell upon earth. She's an absolute fiend, and I swore last night that I would kill myself sooner than stand her endless nagging any longer. That woman, oh. When I saw your name mentioned in connection with this experiment, I came along. You say that you can put people into suspended animation, don't you, so that they'll wake about a hundred years hence?" "I think I can, " said Professor Hart, scratching his chin thotfully "But it is a risk - those put under the influence of my special serum might never wake up. They might just die and -" "That doesn't matter," babbled Briggs. "If I'm going to die I might as well die in the cause of science as just throwing myself into the river, which I probably will do if you don't have me. If I die, then I die; but if I live, I'll wake a hundred years hence, and my mother-in-law will be dead by then!" Despite the tragedy in the little man's miserable face, it was all that the great scientist could do to control his merriment. The attendant made no attempt to do so, but just walked away gurgling and spluttering into his handkerchief. "All right," said the great man at last ..." ********** Bartholomew Briggs sat on the edge of the clean white operating table, rather nervous now that the moment had come, but still anxious to go thru with it and to escape the clutches of his mother - in-law . "this is one of the greatest moments of my life," said the doctor who was to attend to him in a few moments - rather a chatty individual. "Science is certainly
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