Evening star., 1940-06-30
Il Short Story Complete in This Issue

came IN, ana SO was dlIeduy Han d"dhe "lloi
the Leadervoice said, 'Glory. Everybody up.
| rolled out of my berth, like all the Others got
into my uniform, and stood at attention facing
the Leaderproector. 1t flickered little, and then
the image of the Leader was there as usual, say
ing, Glory give you work. And we all salut-
ed. same as always and said, Glory, my
Leader!'
Then we all filed into the dispensary and got
our breakfast pills. They tasted sort OF bitter
the way they always did, and remembered the
time when was kid and we still ate food that
YOU chewed and that had a good taste to 1t.
But naturally didn't say anything, not even to
JX342 who marched just ahead of me. Not with
Leaderscopes all around, taking your image
and voice right into Headquarters
So we filed into the Auditorium, to get our
orders for the day. The Leadersman said, Glory
to the Leader" and we said, Glory to the
Leader, and then he began to give us our assign
ments That was when the first unusual thing
happened had figured I'd be sent to the Lab
oratory to tote chemicals again, the back break
ing lob I'd been getting for two months. But
instead was detailed with JH342 and these
twelve other fellows to report to the Head Lead
ersman for special duty. didn't know what 1t
would be, of course, but was tickled, anyway:
anything was better than totlng chemicals
Well, while we we're marching over to Head
quarters of course we we're out of range OF the
Leaderscopes, so JX342 began talking to me a
little, under his breath. There's going to be a
revolution, he whispered.
aE SAID it so low that there wasn't much
I,,t - Iy,oa
to have him talking like that If fellow got
caught saying that word, he was as good as
dead Cut it out, | said.
OF course | didn't believe him, anyway.
JX342 was always picking up news that wasn't
So Once he had even told me that some fellow
in the Laboratory had figured out way to re-
claim New York, and make it habltable again;
and everybody knew that ever since the last
war, when the Leader finally wiped out the
Democratic Rebels. New York and all the rest
of what used to be the United States except our
little Leadersland here on the coast, had been
left SO thickly encrusted with molten metal that
it had no more chance of ever being lived on
again than did any of the rest OF the world
Might as we'll try to inhablt Europe again.
See here Red | said Il called him that when
nobody was listening - he was red-headed).
you'll get yourself into the gas chamber If you
don't quit talking to people Still, didn't really
want him to stop talking to people - to me.
anyway Because he was about the only one
who ever did Just didn't want him killed.
whats the difference" says Red. When
this revolution comes, it'll be the end of all of u.s.
anyway | got it pretty straight. Some of the
Leadersmen down in Area 8 got hold of the
Formula And if the Leader doesn't give in to
them. they're going to let it loose, They know
it. kill them as we'll as everybody else, but -
For Gods sake, Red. take it easy
He Just grinned IF anybody heard you say
ing God you be just as near the gas chamber
as I'd get on revolution" He was right, of
course 1t was something had picked up as
kid and it just slipped out.
By that time we were coming to Headquarters,
anyway 50 we had to stop talking. We filed in,
and there was squad of twenty females there
from the female barracks And that's how the
day took another hipfop for me. Because one
of them was She.
She was a little, dark-haired female and
don't know what it was that made me think
any more about her than about the other fe
males except that one day had brushed against
her, when we were working in the Laboratory,
and it made me feel sort of funny, like an electric