Books Should Be Free Loyal Books Free Public Domain Audiobooks & eBook Downloads |
|
The Happy Man By: Gerald W. Page (1939-) |
---|
![]()
This etext was produced from Analog Science Fact & Fiction March 1963.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed. THE HAPPY MAN
More's "Utopia" was isolated
cut off from the dreary world outside.
All Utopias are....
by GERALD W. PAGE
ILLUSTRATED BY GEORGE SCHELLING
Nelson saw the girl at the same time she saw him. He had just rounded
an outcropping of rock about ten miles from the East Coast Mausoleum.
They were facing each other, poised defensively, eyes alertly on each
other, about twenty feet apart. She was blond and lean with the
conditioning of outdoor life, almost to the point of thinness. And
although not really beautiful, she was attractive and young, probably
not yet twenty. Her features were even and smooth, her hair wild about
her face. She wore a light blouse and faded brown shorts made from a
coarse homespun material. Nelson had not expected to run into anyone
and apparently, neither had she. They stood staring at each other for
a long time; how long, Nelson was unable to decide, later. A little foolishly, Nelson realized that something would have to be
done by one of them. "I'm Hal Nelson," he said. It had been a long
time since he had last spoken; his voice sounded strange in the
wilderness. The girl moved tensely, but did not come any closer to
him. Her eyes stayed fixed on him and he knew that her ears were
straining for any sound that might warn her of a trap. Nelson started to take a step, then checked himself, cursing himself
for his eager blundering. The girl stepped back once, quickly, like an
animal uncertain if it had been threatened. Nelson stepped back,
slowly, and spoke again. "I'm a waker, like you. You can tell by my
rags." It was true enough, but the girl only frowned. Her alertness
did not relax. "I've been one for ten or twelve years. I escaped from a Commune in
Tannerville when I was in my senior year. They never even got me into
one of the coffins. As I said, I'm a waker." He spoke slowly, gently
and he hoped soothingly. "You don't have to be afraid of me. Now tell
me who you are." The girl pushed a lock of almost yellow hair from her eyes with the
back of her hand, but it was her only show of carelessness. She was
strong and light. She was considerably smaller than he and could
probably handle herself as well as he in this country. The landscape
was thick with bushes, conifers and rocks. She would have no trouble
in getting away from him if he scared her; and he would scare her with
almost any sudden movement. It had been too long for Nelson to keep
track of when he had been accompanied by others and he hungered for
companionship; especially for a woman. The patrol that had captured
Sammy and Jeanne and the old man, Gardner, had also gotten Edna and
almost had gotten him. The fact that the girl was alone now more than
likely meant that she had no one either. They needed each other.
Nelson did not want to scare her off. So he sat down on the ground with his back to a large rock and
rummaged in his pack to find a can. "You hungry?" he asked looking up at her. He couldn't be sure at the
distance, but he thought that her eyes were brown. Brown, and huge;
like a colt's. He held the can out where she could see it. She
repeated the gesture of a while ago to brush back that same lock of
almost yellow hair, but there was a change in her face which he could
see even twenty feet away, and another, more subtle change about her
which he had to sense. "You're hungry, all right, aren't you?" he
said. He almost tossed her the can, but realized in time that she
would run. He considered for a moment and then held it out to her. She
focused her eyes on the can and for a moment Nelson might have been
able to reach her before she turned and ran; but he had better sense
than to try... Continue reading book >>
|
Genres for this book |
---|
Literature |
Science |
eBook links |
---|
Wikipedia – Gerald W. Page |
Wikipedia – The Happy Man |
eBook Downloads | |
---|---|
ePUB eBook • iBooks for iPhone and iPad • Nook • Sony Reader |
Kindle eBook • Mobi file format for Kindle |
Read eBook • Load eBook in browser |
Text File eBook • Computers • Windows • Mac |
Review this book |
---|