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The Great Gray Plague By: Raymond F. Jones (1915-1994) |
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BY RAYMOND F. JONES
There is no enemy so hard to fight as a dull gray fog. It's not
solid enough to beat, too indefinite to kill, and too omnipresent
to escape.
[Transcribers Note: This etext was produced from Analog Science Fact and
Science Fiction February 1962. Extensive research did not uncover any
evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] [Illustration]
Dr. William Baker was fifty and didn't mind it a bit. Fifty was a
tremendously satisfying age. With that exact number of years behind him
a man had stature that could be had in no other way. Younger men, who
achieve vast things at, say, thirty five, are always spoken of with
their age as a factor. And no matter what the intent of the connection,
when a man's accomplishments are linked to the number of years since he
was born there is always a sense of apologia about it. But when a man is fifty his age is no longer mentioned. His name stands
alone on whatever foundation his achievements have provided. He has
stature without apology, if the years have been profitably spent. William Baker considered his years had been very profitably spent. He
had achieved the Ph. D. and the D. Sc. degrees in the widely separated
fields of electronics and chemistry. He had been responsible for some of
the most important radar developments of the World War II period. And
now he held a post that was the crowning achievement of those years of
study and effort. On this day of his fiftieth birthday he walked briskly along the
corridor of the Bureau building. He paused only when he came to the
glass door which was lettered in gold: National Bureau of Scientific
Development, Dr. William Baker, Director. He was unable to regard that
door without a sense of pride. But he was convinced the pride was
thoroughly justifiable. He turned the knob and stepped into the office. Then his brisk stride
came to a pause. He closed the door slowly and frowned. The room was
empty. Neither his receptionist nor his secretary, who should have been
visible in the adjoining room, were at their posts. Through the other
open door, at his left, he could see that his administrative assistant,
Dr. James Pehrson, was not at his desk. He had always expected his staff to be punctual. In annoyance that took
some of the glint off this day, he twisted the knob of his own office
door and strode in. He stopped just inside the room, and a warm wave of affection welled up
within him. All nine members of his immediate staff were gathered around
the table in the center of his office. On the table was a cake with pink
frosting. A single golden candle burned brightly in the middle of the
inscription: Happy Birthday, Chief. The staff broke into a frighteningly off key rendition of "Happy
Birthday to You." William Baker smiled fondly, catching the eye of each
of them as they badgered the song to its conclusion. Afterward, he stood for a moment, aware of the moisture in his own eyes,
then said quietly, "Thank you. Thank you very much, Family. This is most
unexpected. None of you will ever know how much I appreciate your
thoughtfulness." "Don't go away," said Doris Quist, his blond and efficient secretary.
"There's more. This is from all of us." He opened the package she offered him. A genuine leather brief case. Of
course, the Government didn't approve of gifts like this. If he observed
the rules strictly, he ought to decline the gift, but he just couldn't
do that. The faces of Doris and the others were glowing as he held up
the magnificent brief case. This was the first time such a thing had
occurred in his office, and a man hit fifty only once. "Thanks so much for remembering," Baker said. "Things like this and
people like you make it all worth while." When they were all gone he sat down at his desk to take up the day's
routine. He felt a little twinge of guilt at the great satisfaction that
filled him. But he couldn't help it... Continue reading book >>
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