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Cosmic Booklet, issue 1, June 1944

Page 2

THE MAGICIAN OF SPACE
by James V. Taurasi

Last call to get aboard sounded from the Mars-Earth space ship, SPACEHOPPER. A lone figure separated from the crowd and walked up the gangplank. She carried no baggage, only a small hand-bag. She was what is generally known as an Earthborn-artian. She was small and slender as the regular Martian, but had the golden coloring of Earth instead of the lead coloring usually associated with a Martian. She came inside and signed her name on the ships' record book. Jane 6EM35 was the name she signed. She took out her passport and showed it to the officer. He signed it, gave her the key to her cabin, and gave the signal to take down the gangplank. The air-look closed with a hiss, and the next moment the ship rose and was off on its journey to the Earth.

In her cabin Jane 6EM35 took a small map out of her handbag and studied it very carefully, the placed it on the metal floor and set fire to it. The ashes she picked up and threw down the air-shaft that supplied her room. No one would ever find it.

Days passed uneventfully. Then came the night that the midway dinner was to be held. Every passenger who wasn't space-sick and all the officers who weren't on duty gathered in the great dining-room of the ship for the gala event. Jane had a table near where the Captain, a plump little man, and the highest ranking Earth and Martian men and women sat. During the dinner, one of the society women of Earth exclaimed to the Captain.

"Can't we get some fresh fruit aboard this liner? I should think that a person of my standards should have a little consideration."

"I'm very sorry mam, but it's impossible to carry fresh fruit on a trip of this kind. It takes up too much room and we must make use of every square inch we have."

Before him, Jane gazed at the Captain as if in deep thought, then she relaxed and continued eating. The Captain turned to his food. His face got white, great beads of sweat stood on his forehead. The society woman next to him gave a snort. The rest of the officers stood looking at the Captain's dish with their mouths open. There in front of the Captain stood a dish containing the most perisable [perishable] fruit of Earth!

No use saying that the Captain was angry the rest of the meal; he was. But above all he wanted to know how fruit had come aboard an Earth liner which had just left Mars. It was a moss, but this was just the beginning. For the next two days things like that would begin happened throughout the ship. Passengers would say that they would like so and so, and it would appear for them. One woman exclaimed that she would like a new gown, and, when she turned to look into a mirror, she saw that she was wearing it. She was out cold for two whole hours.

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THE MAGICIAN OF SPACE by James V. Taurasi Last call to get aboard sounded from the Mars-Earth space ship, SPACEHOPPER. A lone figure separated from the crowd and walked up the gangplank. She carried no baggage, only a small hand-bag. She was what is generally known as an Earthborn-artian. She was small and slender as the regular Martian, but had the golden coloring of Earth instead of the lead coloring usually associated with a Martian. She came inside and signed her name on the ships' record book. Jane 6EM35 was the name she signed. She took out her passport and showed it to the officer. He signed it, gave her the key to her cabin, and gave the signal to take down the gangplank. The air-look closed with a hiss, and the next moment the ship rose and was off on its journey to the Earth. In her cabin Jane 6EM35 took a small map out of her handbag and studied it very carefully, the placed it on the metal floor and set fire to it. The ashes she picked up and threw down the air-shaft that supplied her room. No one would ever find it. Days passed uneventfully. Then came the night that the midway dinner was to be held. Every passenger who wasn't space-sick and all the officers who weren't on duty gathered in the great dining-room of the ship for the gala event. Jane had a table near where the Captain, a plump little man, and the highest ranking Earth and Martian men and women sat. During the dinner, one of the society women of Earth exclaimed to the Captain. "Can't we get some fresh fruit aboard this liner? I should think that a person of my standards should have a little consideration." "I'm very sorry mam, but it's impossible to carry fresh fruit on a trip of this kind. It takes up too much room and we must make use of every square inch we have." Before him, Jane gazed at the Captain as if in deep thought, then she relaxed and continued eating. The Captain turned to his food. His face got white, great beads of sweat stood on his forehead. The society woman next to him gave a snort. The rest of the officers stood looking at the Captain's dish with their mouths open. There in front of the Captain stood a dish containing the most perisable [perishable] fruit of Earth! No use saying that the Captain was angry the rest of the meal; he was. But above all he wanted to know how fruit had come aboard an Earth liner which had just left Mars. It was a moss, but this was just the beginning. For the next two days things like that would begin happened throughout the ship. Passengers would say that they would like so and so, and it would appear for them. One woman exclaimed that she would like a new gown, and, when she turned to look into a mirror, she saw that she was wearing it. She was out cold for two whole hours.