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The Gift Bearer By: Charles Louis Fontenay (1917-2007) |
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By CHARLES L. FONTENAY
This could well have been Montcalm's greatest opportunity;
a chance to bring mankind priceless gifts from worlds beyond.
But Montcalm was a solid family man and what about that nude
statue in the park?
It was one of those rare strokes of poetic something or other that the
whole business occurred the morning after the stormy meeting of the
Traskmore censorship board. Like the good general he was, Richard J. Montcalm had foreseen trouble
at this meeting, for it was the boldest invasion yet into the territory
of evil and laxity. His forces were marshaled. Several of the town's
ministers who had been with him on other issues had balked on this one,
but he had three of them present, as well as heads of several women's
clubs. As he had anticipated, the irresponsible liberals were present to do
battle, headed by red haired Patrick Levitt. "This board," said Levitt in his strong, sarcastic voice, "has gone too
far. It was all right to get rid of the actual filth ... and everyone
will agree there was some. But when you banned the sale of some
magazines and books because they had racy covers or because the contents
were a little too sophisticated to suit the taste of members of this
board ... well, you can carry protection of our youth to the point of
insulting the intelligence of adults who have a right to read what they
want to." "You're talking about something that's already in the past, Mr. Levitt,"
said Montcalm mildly. "Let's keep to the issue at hand. You won't deny
that children see this indecent statue every day?" "No, I won't deny it!" snapped Levitt. "Why shouldn't they see it? They
can see the plate of the original in the encyclopaedia. It's a fine copy
of a work of art." Montcalm waited for some rebuttal from his supporters, but none was
forthcoming. On this matter, they apparently were unwilling to go
farther than the moral backing of their presence. "I do not consider the statue of a naked woman art, even if it is called
'Dawn,'" he said bitingly. He looked at his two colleagues and received
their nods of acquiescence. He ruled: "The statue must be removed from
the park and from public view." Levitt had one parting shot. "Would it solve the board's problem if we put a brassiere and panties on
the statue?" he demanded. "Mr. Levitt's levity is not amusing. The board has ruled," said Montcalm
coldly, arising to signify the end of the meeting. That night Montcalm slept the satisfied sleep of the just. He awoke shortly after dawn to find a strange, utterly beautiful naked
woman in his bedroom. For a bemused instant Montcalm thought the statue
of Dawn in the park had come to haunt him. His mouth fell open but he
was unable to speak. "Take me to your President," said the naked woman musically, with an
accent that could have been Martian. Mrs. Montcalm awoke. "What's that? What is it, Richard?" she asked sleepily. "Don't look, Millie!" exclaimed Montcalm, clapping a hand over her eyes. "Nonsense!" she snapped, pushing his hand aside and sitting up. She
gasped and her eyes went wide, and in an instinctive, unreasonable
reaction she clutched the covers up around her own nightgowned bosom. "Who are you, young woman?" demanded Montcalm indignantly. "How did you
get in here?" "I am a visitor from what you would call an alien planet," she said. "Of
course," she added thoughtfully, "it isn't alien to me." "The woman's mad," said Montcalm to his wife. A warning noise sounded in
the adjoining bedroom. Alarmed, he instructed: "Go and keep the children
out of here until I can get her to put on some clothes. They mustn't see
her like this." Mrs. Montcalm got out of bed, but she gave her husband a searching
glance. "Are you sure I can trust you in here with her?" she asked. "Millie!" exclaimed Montcalm sternly, shocked. She dropped her eyes and
left the room. When the door closed behind her, he turned to the strange
woman and said: "Now, look, young lady, I'll get you one of Millie's dresses... Continue reading book >>
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Fiction |
Literature |
Science |
Short stories |
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