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Of Time and Texas By: William F. Nolan (1928-) |
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of
time
and
texas by ... William F. Nolan
Open the C. Cydwick Ohms Time
Door, take but a single step, and
"In one fell swoop," declared Professor C. Cydwick Ohms, releasing a
thin blue ribbon of pipe smoke and rocking back on his heels, " I
intend to solve the greatest problem facing mankind today. Colonizing
the Polar Wastes was a messy and fruitless business. And the Enforced
Birth Control Program couldn't be enforced. Overpopulation still remains
the thorn in our side. Gentlemen " He paused to look each of the
assembled reporters in the eye. " there is but one answer." "Mass annihilation?" quavered a cub reporter. "Posh, boy! Certainly not!" The professor bristled. "The answer
is TIME!" "Time?" "Exactly," nodded Ohms. With a dramatic flourish he swept aside a red
velvet drape to reveal a tall structure of gleaming metal. "As
witness!" "Golly, what's that thing?" queried the cub. "This thing ," replied the professor acidly, " is the C. Cydwick Ohms
Time Door." "Whillikers, a Time Machine!" "Not so, not so. Please , boy! A Time Machine, in the popular sense,
is impossible. Wild fancy! However " The professor tapped the dottle
from his pipe. " by a mathematically precise series of infinite
calculations, I have developed the remarkable C. Cydwick Ohms Time Door.
Open it, take but a single step and, presto! The Past!" "But, where in the past, Prof.?" Ohms smiled easily down at the tense ring of faces. "Gentlemen, beyond
this door lies the sprawling giant of the Southwest enough land to
absorb Earth's overflow like that !" He snapped his fingers. "I speak,
gentlemen, of Texas, 1957!" "What if the Texans object ?" "They have no choice. The Time Door is strictly a one way passage. I saw
to that. It will be utterly impossible for anyone in 1957 to re enter
our world of 2057. And now the Past awaits!" He tossed aside his professorial robes. Under them Cydwick Ohms wore an
ancient and bizarre costume: black riding boots, highly polished and
trimmed in silver; wool chaps; a wide, jewel studded belt with an
immense buckle; a brightly checked shirt topped by a blazing red
bandana. Briskly, he snapped a tall ten gallon hat on his head, and
stepped to the Time Door. Gripping an ebony handle, he tugged upward. The huge metal door oiled
slowly back. "Time," said Cydwick Ohms simply, gesturing toward the gray
nothingness beyond the door. The reporters and photographers surged forward, notebooks and cameras at
the ready. "What if the door swings shut after you're gone?" one of them
asked. "A groundless fear, boy," assured Ohms. "I have seen to it that the Time
Door can never be closed. And now good bye, gentlemen. Or, to use the
proper colloquialism so long, hombres! " Ohms bowed from the waist, gave his ten gallon hat a final tug, and took
a single step forward. And did not disappear. He stood, blinking. Then he swore, beat upon the unyielding wall of
grayness with clenched fists, and fell back, panting, to his desk. "I've failed!" he moaned in a lost voice. "The C. Cydwick Ohms Time Door
is a botch!" He buried his head in trembling hands. The reporters and photographers began to file out. Suddenly the professor raised his head. " Listen! " he warned. A slow rumbling, muted with distance, emanated from the dense grayness
of the Time Door. Faint yips and whoopings were distinct above the
rumble. The sounds grew steadily to a thousand beating drums to a
rolling sea of thunder! Shrieking, the reporters and photographers scattered for the stairs. Ah, another knotty problem to be solved, mused Professor Cydwick Ohms,
swinging, with some difficulty, onto one of three thousand Texas steers
stampeding into the laboratory.
Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Fantastic Universe November 1956.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and
typographical errors have been corrected without note. Provided by LoyalBooks.com Continue reading book >>
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Science |
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