Felony
Felony
ogel started with crossword puzzles ... and worked his way up to Man's greatest enigma!
Book Excerpt
own world," said Amenth brokenly, "I am a moron. A criminal moron. Once, out of a childish malice, I destroyed beauty. One of the singing crystals." He shuddered. "I was punished. They sent me here--to the snake pit. Sentence for felony. This--" he indicated the helmet--"would have fused three seconds after I used it. So, incidentally, would this entire shop. I had no time to construct a feedback dispersion."
"Tell me about your world," Vogel said.
Amenth told him.
Vogel's breath hissed softly between his teeth. All his life an unformed vision had tormented him, driven him toward perfection. Abruptly the vision was reality. He smiled, moved forward. "You shouldn't have told me."
Amenth saw the intent in his eyes and started to beg. Vogel clipped him behind the ear.
He put the helmet on, gingerly. The electrodes tingled against his temple and his grin was wry as he thought of Alice. Then he depressed the stud.
Vogel sobbed.
* * * * *
Color blinded him, r
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A very short, but reasonably interesting story.
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Vogel, a scheming, manipulative man, hires an illegal alien, Amenth, to work in his machine shop, and finds him not only clever, but a real alien. And a convict.
Good characterizations, and an imaginative ending; the descriptions are good too.
Good characterizations, and an imaginative ending; the descriptions are good too.
05/11/2013