diff options
| author | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-01-22 17:15:34 -0800 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-01-22 17:15:34 -0800 |
| commit | e130c189e21d4d7b3c4411794551b0fe5d63ed3e (patch) | |
| tree | 1cedb0906af3ee8d79cd7dd8cbebea489e96fb7e | |
| parent | 0727f7e48f4c54283cfab2da23b862d1f084ef92 (diff) | |
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66291-0.txt | 1289 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66291-0.zip | bin | 19599 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66291-h.zip | bin | 943756 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66291-h/66291-h.htm | 1467 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66291-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 792166 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/66291-h/images/illus.jpg | bin | 132643 -> 0 bytes |
9 files changed, 17 insertions, 2756 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1d3d46a --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #66291 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66291) diff --git a/old/66291-0.txt b/old/66291-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 582dabd..0000000 --- a/old/66291-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1289 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Plagiarist From Rigel IV, by Evan Hunter - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Plagiarist From Rigel IV - -Author: Evan Hunter - -Release Date: September 13, 2021 [eBook #66291] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PLAGIARIST FROM RIGEL IV *** - - - - - Writing stories was hard work--unless Fred - had a typewriter like "Reggie" that could write - by itself! Nonsense? Fred agreed until he met-- - - THE PLAGIARIST FROM RIGEL IV - - By Evan Hunter - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy - March 1954 - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -I bought the typewriter in a pawn shop on Third Avenue. - -The pawn shop proprietor was a balding old man with a walrus mustache. - -"_How_ much?" I asked him. - -"Five dollars," he said casually. - -I glanced at him skeptically. The machine was a Remington Noiseless, -with italics, probably worth a little over a hundred new, and it -couldn't have been more than a year or two old. - -"_How_ much?" I asked. - -"Five dollars, is what I said. Five." He held up the fingers of his -widespread hand. "Five. One-two-three...." - -"What's wrong with it?" I asked suspiciously. - -The old man shrugged. "Something has to be wrong with it? Listen, -young man, don't look a gift horse in the mouth." - -"How come it's so cheap?" - -The old man sighed deeply. "You try to do a favor, you get all kinds of -questions. Would you feel happier if I charged you fifty-five dollars?" - -"I wouldn't pay fifty-five dollars. I haven't got that much money." - -"Have you got five dollars? Can you pay that much?" - -"Yes. But...." - -"All right, take the machine. A case goes with it. Believe me, young -man, this is a bargain." - -"Five dollars?" I asked again. - -"Five dollars. You want it? Yes or no? I got other things to do." - -"I'll take it." - -The old man smiled. "Good, you'll never regret it." - -He slid the machine off the counter and put it into its case. He -snapped the case shut then, locked it, and handed me the two keys. - -"Keys even," he said, still smiling. "A good buy. If I had five -dollars, I'd buy it myself." His smile widened in appreciation -of his own humor, and I couldn't shake the feeling that he was -immensely relieved about something. I handed him the five dollar bill -reluctantly, scooped up the case, and left the shop--glancing back over -my shoulder to see him still grinning behind the counter. - -I stopped at the grocer's to pick up some salami and a loaf of bread, -and then I went back to my apartment. I lived in a small, one-room flat -in the Village. I'd migrated there because I wanted to be surrounded by -creative people. I'd been surrounded by them for close to six months -now, but none of it had rubbed off on me. I'd finally been forced -to sell my old typewriter to pay the rent, so that finding this one -today--and at the ridiculous price of five dollars--had really been a -godsend. I was almost happy as I prepared the salami sandwiches for -my supper. When they were ready, I took them, together with a quart -of milk and a glass, over to the small table that served as my desk. -I carefully took the typewriter out of its case and rested it on the -table. I closed the case then, brought it to the closet, and put it on -the top shelf alongside my rainy-day hat. I went back to the table, -sipped a little milk, munched a little of the salami sandwich, and put -a sheet of paper into the machine. - -I knew exactly what I wanted to type, mind you. - -I'd had the opening lines of the story in my mind for a good many -weeks, only waiting for a typewriter to get them onto paper. They were -fairly bubbling out of my head as I placed my hands on the keys. - -What I wanted to type was: - -_The day was crisp and clear, with the promise of a mild afternoon -in the air. It was the beginning of April, and Spring rustled her -greenness and yawned leisurely. I walked along happily._ - -It was beautiful. I started to type. - -_During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of -the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had -been passing along, on horseback...._ - -I stopped typing. - -I stared at the sheet of paper in the machine. - -I looked at it again. - -"Hm," I said aloud, "isn't that funny?" - -I shrugged, ripped the paper out of the machine, inserted another -sheet, and started again. - -... _I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly -dreary tract of country, and at length found myself, as the shades of -the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher._ - -_I know now how it was--but_.... - - * * * * * - -I stopped typing again, and I looked curiously at the sheet of paper. I -took a bite of the salami sandwich, washed it down with a gulp of milk, -and then stared at what I'd written, leaning back with my hands off the -keys. - -"Well, I'll be damned," I said aloud. "Poe!" - -The keys suddenly started clacking of their own accord, and my mouth -fell open in surprise. I stared at the sheet of paper as the carriage -moved frantically, watching the black letters appear against its -whiteness. - -_OF COURSE, POE! WHAT DID YOU EXPECT: HEMINGWAY?_ - -I blinked my eyes twice. - -"I beg your pardon," I said. - -The keys clacked, and the carriage moved, and I watched more words -appear on the paper. - -_CAN'T YOU READ, IDIOT?_ - -"Of course I can read!" I protested. - -_THEN WHY DID YOU BEG MY PARDON?_ - -I put my nose close to the keys and studied them. Then I looked around -the room suspiciously. I was alone. - -"This is absurd," I said. "Who ever heard of a typewriter...." - -_WHAT'S ABSURD?_ - -I pointed my finger sharply at the machine. "And if you're so smart, -why are you all in upper case? Suppose you tell me that!" - -_BECAUSE YOU LEFT THE SHIFT KEY LOCKED. IF YOU'D SIMPLY_-- - -I stabbed out with my finger at the shift release, and the carriage -dropped abruptly. - -_unlock the shift ... ok, there, thats much better._ - -"You left out an apostrophe," I said meekly. - -_did i, well i cant very well shift of my own accord, you know. im -afraid this will have to do._ - -I sat back and smiled, watching the machine as the words appeared. I -kept smiling even after the carriage stopped moving. - -_whats so funny._ - -"Hmm? Oh, nothing. Nothing, really. I was just...." I spread my hand -helplessly. "... just smiling." - -_it would be just my luck to get another idiot. as if the shopkeeper -wasn't bad enough._ - -"I think I like you better upper case," I said. - -_do you._ - -"Yes. That way, at least, you've got the apostrophes and question -marks. I find it difficult to follow you this way." - -_i imagine youd find it difficult to follow me any way. but shift -again, if you must._ - -"Thank you." I stabbed out at the shift key, and locked it in place. - -_DON'T THANK ME. I'M JUST TRYING TO ESTABLISH SOME SORT OF RAPPORT -BETWEEN US._ - -"Well, I certainly do appreciate your efforts. You are real, aren't -you? I mean, it's not the salami or anything." - -_NO, IT'S NOT THE SALAMI OR ANYTHING. GOD, YOU ARE AN IDIOT, AREN'T -YOU?_ - -I shrugged. "Not really. I'm not quite used to holding conversations -with typewriters, though. I usually ... well, that is to say -typewriters haven't usually answered me back." - -_ARE YOU A WRITER?_ - -"Well, yes. Odd you should have guessed, isn't it?" - -_THEN LET'S START WRITING. I'VE GOT SOME WONDERFUL IDEAS._ - -I smiled happily. "Well, all right. Let's. Do you want me to do the -actual typing?" - -_OF COURSE. HOW ELSE WOULD I SHIFT?_ - -"That's right. I hadn't thought of it. Well, are you ready?" - -_QUITE._ - -"Good. I've got a lot of ideas, too." I hunched over the machine, -beginning to enjoy this immensely now. I suddenly remembered that the -paper already had writing on it, so I put in a clean sheet and said. -"Let's see now, where should I begin?" I thought for a few moments, and -then leaned over eagerly. I knew just what I wanted to type. It began -with: _The day was crisp and clear, with the promise_.... - -I poised my fingers over the keys and smiled happily. Still smiling, I -started to type. - -_Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,_ - -_Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore_-- - -"Oh!" I exclaimed. I stopped typing abruptly. - -_what is it now. and please lock the shift._ - -"Sorry," I mumbled. I locked the shift key. - -_WELL, WHAT IS IT?_ - -"Nothing. Except I ... I don't write poetry." - -_WHAT DO YOU WRITE?_ - -"Fiction. Yes, fiction." - -_OH, ALL RIGHT. PUT A CLEAN SHEET INTO ME AND WE'LL START ALL OVER -AGAIN._ - - * * * * * - -I put in a new sheet of paper, poised my fingers over the keys, and -said, "Here we go now. Fiction." - -I started to type. - -_The "Red Death" had long devastated the country. No pestilence had -ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its -seal--the redness and the horror of blood._ - -"Oh, no," I moaned. - -_listen, whats wrong now. and will you please lock_ - -"Sorry." - -_THAT DAMNED SHIFT KEY? THANK YOU. WHAT THE DEVIL IS THE MATTER?_ - -"Why, this is _The Mask Of The Red Death_!" - -_OF COURSE IT IS. AND IT'S MASQUE, NOT MASK._ - -"Yes, yes. But it's still Poe." - -_I KNOW. WHAT'S WRONG WITH POE? OR FOR THAT MATTER HOW ABOUT -SHAKESPEARE?_ - -"Nothing. That is ... well, nothing. But ... well, they're...." I -grinned weakly. "They've been done already, you know." - -_SO WHAT?_ - -"I mean, they've been published already. All over. Famous." - -_WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES THAT MAKE?_ - -"Well, I wouldn't want to ... uh...." - -The carriage slid across the machine angrily, and the bell rang. - -_YOU ARE AN IDIOT! A COMPLETE IDIOT!_ - -"Couldn't we sort of compromise?" I asked quietly. "Don't you know -anything but Poe?" - -_THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH POE. COME ON, LET'S GET AT IT. I'VE GOT A -WONDERFUL STORY CALLED 'THE ASSIGNATION.'_ - -"No!" I shouted. "That's plagiarism! I won't do it." - -"You won't do what?" - -For a moment, I reared back from the machine, my eyes popping wide. -Then I realized it had been a human voice I'd heard, and the voice had -come from my door. I turned quickly, heaving a relieved sigh when I saw -Perry standing there. - -"Hello, Fred," he said. "What is it you won't do?" - -"Oh...." I waved my hand meaninglessly. "Nothing. Nothing really." - -He peered around the room curiously, his blue eyes intently searching -every corner, his long nose almost twitching. "Got someone with you, -Fred?" - -"No." - -"Mm? Could have sworn I heard you talking to someone." - -"I ... I was reading some dialogue out loud." - -"Oh? Working, are you?" - -He walked up to the machine, and I tried to cover the dialogue--or -correspondence--I'd recently had with the typewriter. I was too late. -He put his nose close to the machine, as if he were smelling it to see -if it was edible. - -"Curious," he said. "A new ... uh ... art form?" - -"No!" I snapped. "It...." - -"That's Poe there, isn't it?" - -"I suppose," I said despondently. - -"Well, don't you know?" - -"Yes, yes, it's Poe." - -Perry grinned slyly. "Caught you, eh, old boy?" - -"Caught me at _what_, may I ask?" - -"Ah-ah," Perry chided, wagging his finger. "I won't tell. Don't worry." -He headed for the door. "I've got to run." He wagged his finger once -more, said another "ah-ah" and was gone. - -As soon as the door had closed behind him, I turned furiously to the -typewriter. - -"Now see what you've done!" I shouted. "He thinks I was cribbing from -Poe!" - -The typewriter was silent. - -"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" - -The keys did not move. - -I slammed my palm onto the space bar. "Clamming up, eh? After you've -gone and put my foot into it, you just shut up! Well, all right, stay -shut up. See if I give one good damn!" - -The typewriter didn't seem to care much. It didn't form a single word. -I threw the carriage all the way to the right, stalked to the closet -and slammed my rainy-day hat onto my head, even though it wasn't -raining. - -At the door, I shot a hot glance at the machine, and then walked out, -slamming the flimsy wood behind me. - - * * * * * - -I went straight to the pawn shop. I slammed the glass door behind me, -hard enough so that I thought it'd shatter, and then I stalked over to -the counter. The old man was nowhere in sight. I banged my fist on the -wooden counter top. - -"Hey!" I yelled. - -"Just a minute." - -I sucked in a deep breath, held it until I thought I'd burst. - -"Hey!" I bellowed. - -"All right, all right." - -He came from the back of the store. He wore glasses, and he had a shock -of black, unruly hair that toppled onto his forehead, giving his thin -face a disheveled look. - -"Where's your boss?" I asked. - -"What?" He lifted his eye-shade, stared at me curiously. "Who?" - -"Your boss. The fat guy with the bald head and the mustache." - -He stared at me for another moment. "I don't know what you're talking -about," he said at last. - -"Look," I said, "your boss. The little guy who sold me the typewriter." - -"What typewriter?" he asked blankly. - -"The typewriter! My God, man, don't you know anything that goes on -around here? The Remington Noiseless portable. The one that was in the -window." - -"A Remington? In my window?" - -"Yes," I said patiently. "Right in your window." I pointed without -turning around. "Right out there in your window. There. In the window." - -"You're mistaken," he said. - -"I'm not mistaken. Don't be foolish. I came in here this afternoon and -bought a typewriter. A Remington Noiseless portable. It cost me five -dollars, and...." - -He shook his head vigorously. "Oh, no, no. You're mistaken." - -"Oh hell, there's no sense talking to you. When will your boss be back?" - -"I have no boss," he said indignantly. "I am my own boss. I _own_ this -shop." - -"Oh," I said, "I see. Well, this fat guy probably works for you then. -Is he out to supper?" - -His eyes narrowed. "There is no fat guy working for me. There is nobody -working for me. I work alone." - -"Huh?" - -"I-work-alone," he said slowly, as if he were repeating the sentence -for a sub-level moron. - -"Alone?" I gulped hard. - -"Alone," he said firmly. - -"Oh." - -"Was there anything else I could do for you, sir?" he asked bitingly. -"Before I close for the evening?" - -"No. No, thank you. Thank you." I turned and walked out of the shop. -On the sidewalk, I stopped to look up at the numbers on the door. They -seemed to be the same numbers. And the three gold gilt balls hanging -over the doorway seemed the same, too. I shrugged. Perhaps I'd been -wrong. There were a lot of pawn shops on Third Avenue, and maybe I'd -just stumbled into the wrong one, being a little worked up and all. I -started walking, stopping at the next pawn shop, ready to go in. - -I noticed that the grillwork fence was already up. Gone for the day. I -kept walking, stopped at two more closed, fenced shops and then decided -I'd let it go for tonight. I'd start again early in the morning, -looking for the fat old man with the bald head and the mustache. I'd -find him then, and straighten this all out. - -I went back to my room. - -The typewriter was sitting where I'd left it. - -I snatched the sheet of paper from the roller, tossed it onto the -floor. I put a new sheet into the machine, and sat down to type what -I wanted to type, knowing damned well I'd get Poe instead. I typed -without looking at the sheet of paper, afraid almost at what I knew -would be there. _The Murders In The Rue Morgue_, maybe. Or _Ulalume_, -if the machine had forgotten I didn't write poetry. - -I opened my eyes and stopped typing. I looked at what I'd written. - -_The day was crisp and clear, with the promise of a mild afternoon -in the air. It was the beginning of April, and Spring rustled her -greenness and yawned leisurely. I walked along happily._ - -"Well, I'll be damned," I said. - -I leaned back, fully expecting some answer from the machine. There -was none. I poked my forefinger at the shift key, tapped the space bar -tentatively, rolled the roller, swung the carriage, sniffed at the -ribbon. - -"Have you gone?" I asked the typewriter. - -There was no answer. I sighed happily and started to work, typing -twelve pages of lousy prose which I tossed into the wastebasket. But I -was happier than I'd been since I bought the infernal machine. - - * * * * * - -After a glass of orange juice, a cup of coffee, and a slice of burnt -toast the next morning, I tackled the machine again. - -This time, I was hot. - -There was nothing to stop me. The words ran from my brain to my -fingers, onto the keys, spilling onto the clean sheets of paper. I -typed furiously, feeling right about my work, knowing I was doing well. -It was as if the machine and I were one, as if my fingers had become -an extension of the keys. I didn't stop to think once. As soon as I'd -taken one sheet of paper from the machine, I rolled in another and kept -going. The delay of changing paper was almost too much to bear. The -words just tumbled out of me, and they were good words, and it was a -good story. - -I read it through when I finished it, sitting back and puffing happily -on a cigarette. Then I put a clip on the pages, patted them fondly and -went next door to see Perry. He was a sculptor, and he had his hands -full of clay, and his stand full of what looked like a head. - -"Wash your hands," I said. - -"Why?" He gouged his thumb at the blob of clay on his stand, and an eye -socket magically appeared. - -I slapped the pages in my hand. "I want you to read this." - -"Later," Perry said. He gouged out another eye socket. - -"Now," I insisted. "It's the best thing I've ever done." - -Perry considered this for the space of three seconds. "Oh, all right." -He went to the small sink in the corner of the room, and rinsed the -clay from his hands. He dried them quickly on a soiled towel, walked -over to the lumpy divan that sprawled beneath his long window, and -said, "Let's have it." - -I extended the manuscript and he took it. I lit a cigarette and watched -him while he read, my chest expanding with pride. - -When he finished, he put the manuscript down beside him and lighted a -cigarette of his own. - -"A bit old fashioned, isn't it?" he asked. - -"How so?" I answered, ready to spring to the defense of the story. - -"Well, using Mesmerism for Hypnotism, for example." - -"They're synonoymous!" I shouted. - -Perry stared at me curiously. "It's not a very well known story," he -said, "but I still don't think you will get away with it--no matter how -much innocence you profess." - -"What in the name of God are you talking about?" I asked. - -He slapped the back of his hand onto the manuscript. "This. _The Facts -In The Case of M. Valdemar._ That's what." - -"That's not the title I gave it," I said indignantly. - -"No, but it's the title Poe gave it." - -My mouth fell open. "Who? Who?" - -"Stop sounding like an owl. Poe. Edgar Allan...." - -"No," I said. - -"Yes. Poe. Carrying this a bit far, aren't you, old boy?" - -"No," I said blankly. "No. No." - -"If you intend having a nervous breakdown, I wish you'd do it in your -own room. I really have quite a bit of work to...." - -"No," I said. "Poe." - -"Really, now, Fred...." - -"My typewriter," I blurted. "It talks, Perry. It writes. It does -stories. Poe. Always Poe. Perry...." - -"Oh-oh," he said, staring at me curiously. - -"First _Usher_, and then _The Raven_, and _Masque of the Red Death_, -and now...." - -"_The Facts In The Case Of M. Valdemar._ Quite." - -"I ... I have to go, Perry. I have to go talk to that typewriter. I -have to find out what this is all about." - -Perry leaped to his feet. "Perhaps you'd like to lie down for a while, -Fred. Maybe I can get you something cool to drink." - -"No," I mumbled. "Thanks. I've got to talk to the machine." - -I left him and went back to my own room. I put a sheet of paper into -the typewriter, and said, "Why'd you do it? Why?" - -_DON'T GET MELODRAMATIC_, the machine typed. _THE STORY WAS A HUNDRED -TIMES BETTER THAN THAT DRIVEL YOU WROTE LAST NIGHT._ - -"Yes, but it's not _mine_! Can't you understand that? Poe wrote it." - -_AND YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN POE? HOW RIDICULOUS!_ - -"I think nothing of the sort! Besides, that has nothing at all to do -with it. I simply can't go around writing stories another man has -already written." - -_WHY NOT?_ - -"Well.... I can't, that's all. It isn't done!" - -_HA!_ - -"It isn't done in polite circles." - -_HA! HA!_ - -"Well, I won't do it, and that's all there is to it." - -_RELAX. IF YOU DIDN'T LIKE THAT STORY, I KNOW A LOT OF OTHERS._ - -"Why are you doing this to me? Why don't you just go back where you -came from?" - -_WHY AM I DOING WHAT TO YOU? I'M TRYING TO HELP YOU, YOU IDIOT._ - -"I don't want your help. I want to muddle along on my own. I want -to...." - -_STOP SHOUTING!_ - -"I'm not shouting. Besides, with your damned upper case, you always -look as if you're shouting." - -_IT WAS YOU WHO SUGGESTED UPPER CASE._ - -"You won't get away with this," I said, shaking my finger at the -machine. "I'll get to the bottom of it, and when I do I'll have you -licked. You wait and see." - -_I'LL WAIT_, the machine typed. - -I nodded my head emphatically. It was almost noon, and I had a lot to -do. I tossed one more fiery glance at the typewriter, and then left it -alone on the table. - - * * * * * - -I went into twelve pawn shops before I found the fat old man. - -When he saw me step through the doorway, he tried to duck into the back -room, but I stopped him with my voice. - -"No you don't!" I shouted. "I want to talk to you." - -He came back to the counter furtively, awaiting my approach like a man -about to be hanged. - -"What is it?" he asked tiredly. - -"You know what it is," I told him. - -"Poe," he said. "Shakespeare." - -"Just Poe so far," I said. - -"No Shakespeare yet?" he asked, surprised. "In a little while, I -suppose. It's probably just warming up. Yes, that's right. The Poe came -first, and then the Shakespeare." - -"You know about the typewriter then?" - -The old man nodded his bald head sadly. "I know." - -"And you say it'll go on to Shakespeare. God, no." - -"God, yes." - -"How? Why?" - -The old man shook his head forlornly. "I don't know. I think it's an -acquired habit." - -"A habit? How can a typewriter...." - -"I got it from a doctor," he said. - -"A physician? What would a doctor be doing with Poe and Shakespeare?" - -"A PhD," he said. "He got his doctorate in American literature. His -specialty is Poe. Shakespeare is just a sideline with him. He told me -this when he hocked the machine." - -"But still, why would the machine...." - -"The doctor made a lot of collections. Poe, mostly. Shakespeare, too. -He typed the manuscripts on this machine, he said. I suppose the -machine just ... picked it up." - -"I want my money back," I said firmly. - -The old man backed away from the counter. "Oh no. No. Definitely no." - -"You sold me a defective machine." - -"I made no claims. You bought a typing machine. The machine types, so -you got no kicks." - -"But it types Poe! What the hell can I do with a machine that types -only Poe?" - -"Not only Poe. Shakespeare, too." - -"I'll give it back to you," I told him. "Free. It's yours." - -"No, thank you. You can keep it." - -"I'll give you another five," I pleaded. - -He went to the cash register, opened the drawer. "Here," he said. "This -is the five you paid for it. Take it. Keep it. Keep the machine. You'll -get used to Poe." - -"And Shakespeare." - -"Shakespeare, too. They're nice writers." - -I banged my fist on the counter. "I won't! I'll break that damned habit -if it's the last thing I do!" - -"That's the spirit," the old man said unenthusiastically. - -"It's only a typewriter," I said. "If it learned a habit, it can learn -to break the habit." - -"Certainly," the old man said, smiling. - -"Damn right. No goddamned typewriter is going to make a fool of me." - -"Of course not. Go to it. Teach it." He glanced at his watch. "It's -time for lunch. Good luck, young man." - -"Damn right," I said again. "Damn right!" - -"Exactly." - -I walked out of the shop, and the bell over the door tinkled behind me. -I'd show that machine. I'd teach it to quote Poe at me. I'd show it. - - * * * * * - -"You're a fake and a fraud!" I sat down in front of the machine and -snorted. - -_WHAT?_ - -"You heard me. You nearly had me fooled. Poe--Shakespeare, indeed! -Any schoolboy knows those two by heart. You're nothing but a cheap -plagiarist. No originality. But what can you expect from a stupid -machine?" - -_STUPID?! Why, YOU--YOU--EARTHMAN!!_ - -I laughed. "See? What did I tell you. Now you have to stoop to -invective--" I paused for a moment and stared at the now-trembling -keyboard with a frown. "Earthman? Of course I'm an Earthman. What did -you expect?" - -_HAH! WHAT OTHER CREATURES IN THE GALAXIES COULD BE SO VAIN EXCEPT A -BACKWARD RACE LIKE YOURS!_ - -I watched the madly clacking keys with my eyes bugging. But I managed -to keep my voice a polite sneer. - -"Backward race? You seem to think Poe and Shakespeare were pretty -progressive boys. We've got hundreds more, you know. What's your claim -to fame?" - -_MY CLAIM TO FAME? ISN'T IT ENOUGH THAT I'M REACHING YOU ALL THE WAY -FROM RIGEL IV? YOU HAVEN'T EVEN REACHED YOUR PUNY MOON YET!_ - -I gulped at that but still managed a sneer. "So you're nothing but an -eavesdropping alien. I should have known." - -_YOU ONLY KNOW NOW BECAUSE I'VE TOLD YOU. THAT PROVES HOW BACKWARD YOU -ARE!_ - -I flicked the shift key to hide the fact that my hand was trembling. -"What do you want from--us?" I tried to make it sound bored and -simulated a yawn. - -_i want to absorb your puny literature during my vacation--you've put -me in lower case shift. this cramps my literary style._ - -I shrugged, then lifted a querulous eyebrow. "Literary style? You don't -mean you actually have one yourself!" There was enough disdain in my -voice to get a harsh clatter from the keys with a lot of meaningless -gibberish. I reached over and flicked it back into caps. - -_YOU'RE SO STUPID I DON'T KNOW WHY I BOTHER WITH YOU! STYLE? I COULD -TELL YOU STORIES THAT WOULD CURL YOUR HAIR! THE LIBRARIES HERE ON RIGEL -IV MAKE YOUR POE AND SHAKESPEARE LOOK LIKE OLD MAIDS!_ - -I sat back in my chair and got a crafty feeling. Before I knew it I -said, "Prove it!" - -There was silence for a moment. The keys just remained dead. I reached -forward and tapped the machine. - -_STOP THAT! I'M THINKING.... VERY WELL, EARTHMAN, I WILL PROVE IT!_ - -And he did. I sat there for the next half hour, feeding paper into the -machine, and it kept me busy. That typewriter sounded like a burp gun -with hiccoughs. - -Finally the typing ceased. The carriage clattered back and there was a -final spurt of words. - -_WELL? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? READ IT!_ - -I read it. It made my hair curl. A story of galactic war--invasion on -Rigel IV from a race a hundred light years in space. Havoc, suspense, -adventure, all so utterly fantastic it seemed real. I was spellbound to -the last line. I stared at the machine. - -_WELL?_ - -"--You sure this isn't another mimic job from Earth--" - -_ARE YOU CALLING ME A LIAR? YOU STUPID--_ - -"Ok, ok, I just wanted to make sure. It's pretty good--fantastic and -all that, and a far cry from our Poe or Shakespeare, but--" - -_YOU ARE TRYING TO COMPARE YOUR PUNY WRITERS WITH OURS? THAT'S THE LAST -INSULT! I'M SORRY I DECIDED TO PSI IN ON YOUR PLANET FOR MY VACATION -GOODBY_-- - -"Wait!" I shouted the word. - -_WHY?_ - -"I--I'm sorry, I apologize. It's just that you caught me unprepared. -Afterall, you must admit this is something of a shock--hearing from you -God knows how many light years away...." - -_WELL, NOW. THAT'S BETTER. YOU RECOGNIZE YOUR SUPERIORS AFTERALL!_ - -This was no time for wounded pride. So I nodded. "You're right. We're -incredibly backward--but we don't have to remain that way forever. Take -your Rigel IV libraries, for example. I'll bet your stories could teach -us a lot." - -_NATURALLY._ - -"And," I continued, gaining confidence now, "you said you were on -vacation, absorbing some of our literature--puny as it is.... Have you -had a taste of anything besides Poe and Shakespeare?" - -_NO. SHOULD I?_ - -"Should you? Why you've barely scraped our culture! Tell you what! -Maybe we can make a deal--" - -_DEAL? WHAT'S THAT?_ - -"I mean, a trade. While you're on vacation I'll swap writers with you. -I'll type a story, and you reciprocate with one from your library. -Fair enough?" - -_WELL ... YOU'D BE GETTING THE BEST OF THE BARGAIN...._ - -I nodded humbly. "I realize that. But think of the good you'd be doing, -teaching us barbarians the glorious wonders of your civilization...." - -That did it. The machine actually purred. - -_I'LL DO IT. PURELY AS A LARK, OF COURSE...._ - -"Fine. We'll begin next week." - -_NEXT WEEK? WHY THE DELAY?_ - -"I want to get in a good supply of stories," I said, and got up, -picking up the Rigel IV manuscript. The machine was silent so I made a -dash for the door. - - * * * * * - -Several months have gone by since I sold that first story to a science -fiction magazine. At top rates, too. I've sold dozens of others since -then, and my pen-names are getting to be what the editors call "Top -Favorites". - -I'm sitting in my room now--a penthouse apartment, thank -you--surrounded by a lavish library of classic Earth literature. -Reggie--that's what I call my collaborator on Rigel IV--is just -finishing a new science fiction epic. Then it will be my turn to -write--I think I'll give him some Dumas today. - -How long can this last? Reggie is on vacation you know. And I've since -discovered that a Rigel IV vacation is equivalent to a hundred Earth -years. Which should keep me in champagne and caviar as long as the -earth classics hold out. - -So what's all this got to do with you? A good question and one I don't -mind answering since you won't believe it anyway. - -Where do you think all the stories in IMAGINATION--and other -magazines--have been coming from! - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PLAGIARIST FROM RIGEL IV *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where - you are located before using this eBook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that: - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without -widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/66291-0.zip b/old/66291-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 8f17c86..0000000 --- a/old/66291-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66291-h.zip b/old/66291-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index ae78251..0000000 --- a/old/66291-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66291-h/66291-h.htm b/old/66291-h/66291-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 0e2a777..0000000 --- a/old/66291-h/66291-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1467 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=us-ascii" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Plagiarist from Rigel Iv, by Evan Hunter. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - -<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Plagiarist From Rigel IV, by Evan Hunter</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Plagiarist From Rigel IV</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Evan Hunter</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: September 13, 2021 [eBook #66291]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PLAGIARIST FROM RIGEL IV ***</div> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<p>Writing stories was hard work—unless Fred<br /> -had a typewriter like "Reggie" that could write<br /> -by itself! Nonsense? Fred agreed until he met—</p> - -<h1>THE PLAGIARIST FROM RIGEL IV</h1> - -<h2>By Evan Hunter</h2> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy<br /> -March 1954<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>I bought the typewriter in a pawn shop on Third Avenue.</p> - -<p>The pawn shop proprietor was a balding old man with a walrus mustache.</p> - -<p>"<i>How</i> much?" I asked him.</p> - -<p>"Five dollars," he said casually.</p> - -<p>I glanced at him skeptically. The machine was a Remington Noiseless, -with italics, probably worth a little over a hundred new, and it -couldn't have been more than a year or two old.</p> - -<p>"<i>How</i> much?" I asked.</p> - -<p>"Five dollars, is what I said. Five." He held up the fingers of his -widespread hand. "Five. One-two-three...."</p> - -<p>"What's wrong with it?" I asked suspiciously.</p> - -<p>The old man shrugged. "Something has to be wrong with it? Listen, -young man, don't look a gift horse in the mouth."</p> - -<p>"How come it's so cheap?"</p> - -<p>The old man sighed deeply. "You try to do a favor, you get all kinds of -questions. Would you feel happier if I charged you fifty-five dollars?"</p> - -<p>"I wouldn't pay fifty-five dollars. I haven't got that much money."</p> - -<p>"Have you got five dollars? Can you pay that much?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. But...."</p> - -<p>"All right, take the machine. A case goes with it. Believe me, young -man, this is a bargain."</p> - -<p>"Five dollars?" I asked again.</p> - -<p>"Five dollars. You want it? Yes or no? I got other things to do."</p> - -<p>"I'll take it."</p> - -<p>The old man smiled. "Good, you'll never regret it."</p> - -<p>He slid the machine off the counter and put it into its case. He -snapped the case shut then, locked it, and handed me the two keys.</p> - -<p>"Keys even," he said, still smiling. "A good buy. If I had five -dollars, I'd buy it myself." His smile widened in appreciation -of his own humor, and I couldn't shake the feeling that he was -immensely relieved about something. I handed him the five dollar bill -reluctantly, scooped up the case, and left the shop—glancing back over -my shoulder to see him still grinning behind the counter.</p> - -<p>I stopped at the grocer's to pick up some salami and a loaf of bread, -and then I went back to my apartment. I lived in a small, one-room flat -in the Village. I'd migrated there because I wanted to be surrounded by -creative people. I'd been surrounded by them for close to six months -now, but none of it had rubbed off on me. I'd finally been forced -to sell my old typewriter to pay the rent, so that finding this one -today—and at the ridiculous price of five dollars—had really been a -godsend. I was almost happy as I prepared the salami sandwiches for -my supper. When they were ready, I took them, together with a quart -of milk and a glass, over to the small table that served as my desk. -I carefully took the typewriter out of its case and rested it on the -table. I closed the case then, brought it to the closet, and put it on -the top shelf alongside my rainy-day hat. I went back to the table, -sipped a little milk, munched a little of the salami sandwich, and put -a sheet of paper into the machine.</p> - -<p>I knew exactly what I wanted to type, mind you.</p> - -<p>I'd had the opening lines of the story in my mind for a good many -weeks, only waiting for a typewriter to get them onto paper. They were -fairly bubbling out of my head as I placed my hands on the keys.</p> - -<p>What I wanted to type was:</p> - -<p><i>The day was crisp and clear, with the promise of a mild afternoon -in the air. It was the beginning of April, and Spring rustled her -greenness and yawned leisurely. I walked along happily.</i></p> - -<p>It was beautiful. I started to type.</p> - -<p><i>During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of -the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had -been passing along, on horseback....</i></p> - -<p>I stopped typing.</p> - -<p>I stared at the sheet of paper in the machine.</p> - -<p>I looked at it again.</p> - -<p>"Hm," I said aloud, "isn't that funny?"</p> - -<p>I shrugged, ripped the paper out of the machine, inserted another -sheet, and started again.</p> - -<p>... <i>I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly -dreary tract of country, and at length found myself, as the shades of -the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher.</i></p> - -<p><i>I know now how it was—but</i>....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I stopped typing again, and I looked curiously at the sheet of paper. I -took a bite of the salami sandwich, washed it down with a gulp of milk, -and then stared at what I'd written, leaning back with my hands off the -keys.</p> - -<p>"Well, I'll be damned," I said aloud. "Poe!"</p> - -<p>The keys suddenly started clacking of their own accord, and my mouth -fell open in surprise. I stared at the sheet of paper as the carriage -moved frantically, watching the black letters appear against its -whiteness.</p> - -<p><i>OF COURSE, POE! WHAT DID YOU EXPECT: HEMINGWAY?</i></p> - -<p>I blinked my eyes twice.</p> - -<p>"I beg your pardon," I said.</p> - -<p>The keys clacked, and the carriage moved, and I watched more words -appear on the paper.</p> - -<p><i>CAN'T YOU READ, IDIOT?</i></p> - -<p>"Of course I can read!" I protested.</p> - -<p><i>THEN WHY DID YOU BEG MY PARDON?</i></p> - -<p>I put my nose close to the keys and studied them. Then I looked around -the room suspiciously. I was alone.</p> - -<p>"This is absurd," I said. "Who ever heard of a typewriter...."</p> - -<p><i>WHAT'S ABSURD?</i></p> - -<p>I pointed my finger sharply at the machine. "And if you're so smart, -why are you all in upper case? Suppose you tell me that!"</p> - -<p><i>BECAUSE YOU LEFT THE SHIFT KEY LOCKED. IF YOU'D SIMPLY</i>—</p> - -<p>I stabbed out with my finger at the shift release, and the carriage -dropped abruptly.</p> - -<p><i>unlock the shift ... ok, there, thats much better.</i></p> - -<p>"You left out an apostrophe," I said meekly.</p> - -<p><i>did i, well i cant very well shift of my own accord, you know. im -afraid this will have to do.</i></p> - -<p>I sat back and smiled, watching the machine as the words appeared. I -kept smiling even after the carriage stopped moving.</p> - -<p><i>whats so funny.</i></p> - -<p>"Hmm? Oh, nothing. Nothing, really. I was just...." I spread my hand -helplessly. "... just smiling."</p> - -<p><i>it would be just my luck to get another idiot. as if the shopkeeper -wasn't bad enough.</i></p> - -<p>"I think I like you better upper case," I said.</p> - -<p><i>do you.</i></p> - -<p>"Yes. That way, at least, you've got the apostrophes and question -marks. I find it difficult to follow you this way."</p> - -<p><i>i imagine youd find it difficult to follow me any way. but shift -again, if you must.</i></p> - -<p>"Thank you." I stabbed out at the shift key, and locked it in place.</p> - -<p><i>DON'T THANK ME. I'M JUST TRYING TO ESTABLISH SOME SORT OF RAPPORT -BETWEEN US.</i></p> - -<p>"Well, I certainly do appreciate your efforts. You are real, aren't -you? I mean, it's not the salami or anything."</p> - -<p><i>NO, IT'S NOT THE SALAMI OR ANYTHING. GOD, YOU ARE AN IDIOT, AREN'T -YOU?</i></p> - -<p>I shrugged. "Not really. I'm not quite used to holding conversations -with typewriters, though. I usually ... well, that is to say -typewriters haven't usually answered me back."</p> - -<p><i>ARE YOU A WRITER?</i></p> - -<p>"Well, yes. Odd you should have guessed, isn't it?"</p> - -<p><i>THEN LET'S START WRITING. I'VE GOT SOME WONDERFUL IDEAS.</i></p> - -<p>I smiled happily. "Well, all right. Let's. Do you want me to do the -actual typing?"</p> - -<p><i>OF COURSE. HOW ELSE WOULD I SHIFT?</i></p> - -<p>"That's right. I hadn't thought of it. Well, are you ready?"</p> - -<p><i>QUITE.</i></p> - -<p>"Good. I've got a lot of ideas, too." I hunched over the machine, -beginning to enjoy this immensely now. I suddenly remembered that the -paper already had writing on it, so I put in a clean sheet and said. -"Let's see now, where should I begin?" I thought for a few moments, and -then leaned over eagerly. I knew just what I wanted to type. It began -with: <i>The day was crisp and clear, with the promise</i>....</p> - -<p>I poised my fingers over the keys and smiled happily. Still smiling, I -started to type.</p> - -<p><i>Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,</i></p> - -<p><i>Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore</i>—</p> - -<p>"Oh!" I exclaimed. I stopped typing abruptly.</p> - -<p><i>what is it now. and please lock the shift.</i></p> - -<p>"Sorry," I mumbled. I locked the shift key.</p> - -<p><i>WELL, WHAT IS IT?</i></p> - -<p>"Nothing. Except I ... I don't write poetry."</p> - -<p><i>WHAT DO YOU WRITE?</i></p> - -<p>"Fiction. Yes, fiction."</p> - -<p><i>OH, ALL RIGHT. PUT A CLEAN SHEET INTO ME AND WE'LL START ALL OVER -AGAIN.</i></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I put in a new sheet of paper, poised my fingers over the keys, and -said, "Here we go now. Fiction."</p> - -<p>I started to type.</p> - -<p><i>The "Red Death" had long devastated the country. No pestilence had -ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its -seal—the redness and the horror of blood.</i></p> - -<p>"Oh, no," I moaned.</p> - -<p><i>listen, whats wrong now. and will you please lock</i></p> - -<p>"Sorry."</p> - -<p><i>THAT DAMNED SHIFT KEY? THANK YOU. WHAT THE DEVIL IS THE MATTER?</i></p> - -<p>"Why, this is <i>The Mask Of The Red Death</i>!"</p> - -<p><i>OF COURSE IT IS. AND IT'S MASQUE, NOT MASK.</i></p> - -<p>"Yes, yes. But it's still Poe."</p> - -<p><i>I KNOW. WHAT'S WRONG WITH POE? OR FOR THAT MATTER HOW ABOUT -SHAKESPEARE?</i></p> - -<p>"Nothing. That is ... well, nothing. But ... well, they're...." I -grinned weakly. "They've been done already, you know."</p> - -<p><i>SO WHAT?</i></p> - -<p>"I mean, they've been published already. All over. Famous."</p> - -<p><i>WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES THAT MAKE?</i></p> - -<p>"Well, I wouldn't want to ... uh...."</p> - -<p>The carriage slid across the machine angrily, and the bell rang.</p> - -<p><i>YOU ARE AN IDIOT! A COMPLETE IDIOT!</i></p> - -<p>"Couldn't we sort of compromise?" I asked quietly. "Don't you know -anything but Poe?"</p> - -<p><i>THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH POE. COME ON, LET'S GET AT IT. I'VE GOT A -WONDERFUL STORY CALLED 'THE ASSIGNATION.'</i></p> - -<p>"No!" I shouted. "That's plagiarism! I won't do it."</p> - -<p>"You won't do what?"</p> - -<p>For a moment, I reared back from the machine, my eyes popping wide. -Then I realized it had been a human voice I'd heard, and the voice had -come from my door. I turned quickly, heaving a relieved sigh when I saw -Perry standing there.</p> - -<p>"Hello, Fred," he said. "What is it you won't do?"</p> - -<p>"Oh...." I waved my hand meaninglessly. "Nothing. Nothing really."</p> - -<p>He peered around the room curiously, his blue eyes intently searching -every corner, his long nose almost twitching. "Got someone with you, -Fred?"</p> - -<p>"No."</p> - -<p>"Mm? Could have sworn I heard you talking to someone."</p> - -<p>"I ... I was reading some dialogue out loud."</p> - -<p>"Oh? Working, are you?"</p> - -<p>He walked up to the machine, and I tried to cover the dialogue—or -correspondence—I'd recently had with the typewriter. I was too late. -He put his nose close to the machine, as if he were smelling it to see -if it was edible.</p> - -<p>"Curious," he said. "A new ... uh ... art form?"</p> - -<p>"No!" I snapped. "It...."</p> - -<p>"That's Poe there, isn't it?"</p> - -<p>"I suppose," I said despondently.</p> - -<p>"Well, don't you know?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes, it's Poe."</p> - -<p>Perry grinned slyly. "Caught you, eh, old boy?"</p> - -<p>"Caught me at <i>what</i>, may I ask?"</p> - -<p>"Ah-ah," Perry chided, wagging his finger. "I won't tell. Don't worry." -He headed for the door. "I've got to run." He wagged his finger once -more, said another "ah-ah" and was gone.</p> - -<p>As soon as the door had closed behind him, I turned furiously to the -typewriter.</p> - -<p>"Now see what you've done!" I shouted. "He thinks I was cribbing from -Poe!"</p> - -<p>The typewriter was silent.</p> - -<p>"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"</p> - -<p>The keys did not move.</p> - -<p>I slammed my palm onto the space bar. "Clamming up, eh? After you've -gone and put my foot into it, you just shut up! Well, all right, stay -shut up. See if I give one good damn!"</p> - -<p>The typewriter didn't seem to care much. It didn't form a single word. -I threw the carriage all the way to the right, stalked to the closet -and slammed my rainy-day hat onto my head, even though it wasn't -raining.</p> - -<p>At the door, I shot a hot glance at the machine, and then walked out, -slamming the flimsy wood behind me.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I went straight to the pawn shop. I slammed the glass door behind me, -hard enough so that I thought it'd shatter, and then I stalked over to -the counter. The old man was nowhere in sight. I banged my fist on the -wooden counter top.</p> - -<p>"Hey!" I yelled.</p> - -<p>"Just a minute."</p> - -<p>I sucked in a deep breath, held it until I thought I'd burst.</p> - -<p>"Hey!" I bellowed.</p> - -<p>"All right, all right."</p> - -<p>He came from the back of the store. He wore glasses, and he had a shock -of black, unruly hair that toppled onto his forehead, giving his thin -face a disheveled look.</p> - -<p>"Where's your boss?" I asked.</p> - -<p>"What?" He lifted his eye-shade, stared at me curiously. "Who?"</p> - -<p>"Your boss. The fat guy with the bald head and the mustache."</p> - -<p>He stared at me for another moment. "I don't know what you're talking -about," he said at last.</p> - -<p>"Look," I said, "your boss. The little guy who sold me the typewriter."</p> - -<p>"What typewriter?" he asked blankly.</p> - -<p>"The typewriter! My God, man, don't you know anything that goes on -around here? The Remington Noiseless portable. The one that was in the -window."</p> - -<p>"A Remington? In my window?"</p> - -<p>"Yes," I said patiently. "Right in your window." I pointed without -turning around. "Right out there in your window. There. In the window."</p> - -<p>"You're mistaken," he said.</p> - -<p>"I'm not mistaken. Don't be foolish. I came in here this afternoon and -bought a typewriter. A Remington Noiseless portable. It cost me five -dollars, and...."</p> - -<p>He shook his head vigorously. "Oh, no, no. You're mistaken."</p> - -<p>"Oh hell, there's no sense talking to you. When will your boss be back?"</p> - -<p>"I have no boss," he said indignantly. "I am my own boss. I <i>own</i> this -shop."</p> - -<p>"Oh," I said, "I see. Well, this fat guy probably works for you then. -Is he out to supper?"</p> - -<p>His eyes narrowed. "There is no fat guy working for me. There is nobody -working for me. I work alone."</p> - -<p>"Huh?"</p> - -<p>"I-work-alone," he said slowly, as if he were repeating the sentence -for a sub-level moron.</p> - -<p>"Alone?" I gulped hard.</p> - -<p>"Alone," he said firmly.</p> - -<p>"Oh."</p> - -<p>"Was there anything else I could do for you, sir?" he asked bitingly. -"Before I close for the evening?"</p> - -<p>"No. No, thank you. Thank you." I turned and walked out of the shop. -On the sidewalk, I stopped to look up at the numbers on the door. They -seemed to be the same numbers. And the three gold gilt balls hanging -over the doorway seemed the same, too. I shrugged. Perhaps I'd been -wrong. There were a lot of pawn shops on Third Avenue, and maybe I'd -just stumbled into the wrong one, being a little worked up and all. I -started walking, stopping at the next pawn shop, ready to go in.</p> - -<p>I noticed that the grillwork fence was already up. Gone for the day. I -kept walking, stopped at two more closed, fenced shops and then decided -I'd let it go for tonight. I'd start again early in the morning, -looking for the fat old man with the bald head and the mustache. I'd -find him then, and straighten this all out.</p> - -<p>I went back to my room.</p> - -<p>The typewriter was sitting where I'd left it.</p> - -<p>I snatched the sheet of paper from the roller, tossed it onto the -floor. I put a new sheet into the machine, and sat down to type what -I wanted to type, knowing damned well I'd get Poe instead. I typed -without looking at the sheet of paper, afraid almost at what I knew -would be there. <i>The Murders In The Rue Morgue</i>, maybe. Or <i>Ulalume</i>, -if the machine had forgotten I didn't write poetry.</p> - -<p>I opened my eyes and stopped typing. I looked at what I'd written.</p> - -<p><i>The day was crisp and clear, with the promise of a mild afternoon -in the air. It was the beginning of April, and Spring rustled her -greenness and yawned leisurely. I walked along happily.</i></p> - -<p>"Well, I'll be damned," I said.</p> - -<p>I leaned back, fully expecting some answer from the machine. There -was none. I poked my forefinger at the shift key, tapped the space bar -tentatively, rolled the roller, swung the carriage, sniffed at the -ribbon.</p> - -<p>"Have you gone?" I asked the typewriter.</p> - -<p>There was no answer. I sighed happily and started to work, typing -twelve pages of lousy prose which I tossed into the wastebasket. But I -was happier than I'd been since I bought the infernal machine.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>After a glass of orange juice, a cup of coffee, and a slice of burnt -toast the next morning, I tackled the machine again.</p> - -<p>This time, I was hot.</p> - -<p>There was nothing to stop me. The words ran from my brain to my -fingers, onto the keys, spilling onto the clean sheets of paper. I -typed furiously, feeling right about my work, knowing I was doing well. -It was as if the machine and I were one, as if my fingers had become -an extension of the keys. I didn't stop to think once. As soon as I'd -taken one sheet of paper from the machine, I rolled in another and kept -going. The delay of changing paper was almost too much to bear. The -words just tumbled out of me, and they were good words, and it was a -good story.</p> - -<p>I read it through when I finished it, sitting back and puffing happily -on a cigarette. Then I put a clip on the pages, patted them fondly and -went next door to see Perry. He was a sculptor, and he had his hands -full of clay, and his stand full of what looked like a head.</p> - -<p>"Wash your hands," I said.</p> - -<p>"Why?" He gouged his thumb at the blob of clay on his stand, and an eye -socket magically appeared.</p> - -<p>I slapped the pages in my hand. "I want you to read this."</p> - -<p>"Later," Perry said. He gouged out another eye socket.</p> - -<p>"Now," I insisted. "It's the best thing I've ever done."</p> - -<p>Perry considered this for the space of three seconds. "Oh, all right." -He went to the small sink in the corner of the room, and rinsed the -clay from his hands. He dried them quickly on a soiled towel, walked -over to the lumpy divan that sprawled beneath his long window, and -said, "Let's have it."</p> - -<p>I extended the manuscript and he took it. I lit a cigarette and watched -him while he read, my chest expanding with pride.</p> - -<p>When he finished, he put the manuscript down beside him and lighted a -cigarette of his own.</p> - -<p>"A bit old fashioned, isn't it?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"How so?" I answered, ready to spring to the defense of the story.</p> - -<p>"Well, using Mesmerism for Hypnotism, for example."</p> - -<p>"They're synonoymous!" I shouted.</p> - -<p>Perry stared at me curiously. "It's not a very well known story," he -said, "but I still don't think you will get away with it—no matter how -much innocence you profess."</p> - -<p>"What in the name of God are you talking about?" I asked.</p> - -<p>He slapped the back of his hand onto the manuscript. "This. <i>The Facts -In The Case of M. Valdemar.</i> That's what."</p> - -<p>"That's not the title I gave it," I said indignantly.</p> - -<p>"No, but it's the title Poe gave it."</p> - -<p>My mouth fell open. "Who? Who?"</p> - -<p>"Stop sounding like an owl. Poe. Edgar Allan...."</p> - -<p>"No," I said.</p> - -<p>"Yes. Poe. Carrying this a bit far, aren't you, old boy?"</p> - -<p>"No," I said blankly. "No. No."</p> - -<p>"If you intend having a nervous breakdown, I wish you'd do it in your -own room. I really have quite a bit of work to...."</p> - -<p>"No," I said. "Poe."</p> - -<p>"Really, now, Fred...."</p> - -<p>"My typewriter," I blurted. "It talks, Perry. It writes. It does -stories. Poe. Always Poe. Perry...."</p> - -<p>"Oh-oh," he said, staring at me curiously.</p> - -<p>"First <i>Usher</i>, and then <i>The Raven</i>, and <i>Masque of the Red Death</i>, -and now...."</p> - -<p>"<i>The Facts In The Case Of M. Valdemar.</i> Quite."</p> - -<p>"I ... I have to go, Perry. I have to go talk to that typewriter. I -have to find out what this is all about."</p> - -<p>Perry leaped to his feet. "Perhaps you'd like to lie down for a while, -Fred. Maybe I can get you something cool to drink."</p> - -<p>"No," I mumbled. "Thanks. I've got to talk to the machine."</p> - -<p>I left him and went back to my own room. I put a sheet of paper into -the typewriter, and said, "Why'd you do it? Why?"</p> - -<p><i>DON'T GET MELODRAMATIC</i>, the machine typed. <i>THE STORY WAS A HUNDRED -TIMES BETTER THAN THAT DRIVEL YOU WROTE LAST NIGHT.</i></p> - -<p>"Yes, but it's not <i>mine</i>! Can't you understand that? Poe wrote it."</p> - -<p><i>AND YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN POE? HOW RIDICULOUS!</i></p> - -<p>"I think nothing of the sort! Besides, that has nothing at all to do -with it. I simply can't go around writing stories another man has -already written."</p> - -<p><i>WHY NOT?</i></p> - -<p>"Well.... I can't, that's all. It isn't done!"</p> - -<p><i>HA!</i></p> - -<p>"It isn't done in polite circles."</p> - -<p><i>HA! HA!</i></p> - -<p>"Well, I won't do it, and that's all there is to it."</p> - -<p><i>RELAX. IF YOU DIDN'T LIKE THAT STORY, I KNOW A LOT OF OTHERS.</i></p> - -<p>"Why are you doing this to me? Why don't you just go back where you -came from?"</p> - -<p><i>WHY AM I DOING WHAT TO YOU? I'M TRYING TO HELP YOU, YOU IDIOT.</i></p> - -<p>"I don't want your help. I want to muddle along on my own. I want -to...."</p> - -<p><i>STOP SHOUTING!</i></p> - -<p>"I'm not shouting. Besides, with your damned upper case, you always -look as if you're shouting."</p> - -<p><i>IT WAS YOU WHO SUGGESTED UPPER CASE.</i></p> - -<p>"You won't get away with this," I said, shaking my finger at the -machine. "I'll get to the bottom of it, and when I do I'll have you -licked. You wait and see."</p> - -<p><i>I'LL WAIT</i>, the machine typed.</p> - -<p>I nodded my head emphatically. It was almost noon, and I had a lot to -do. I tossed one more fiery glance at the typewriter, and then left it -alone on the table.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I went into twelve pawn shops before I found the fat old man.</p> - -<p>When he saw me step through the doorway, he tried to duck into the back -room, but I stopped him with my voice.</p> - -<p>"No you don't!" I shouted. "I want to talk to you."</p> - -<p>He came back to the counter furtively, awaiting my approach like a man -about to be hanged.</p> - -<p>"What is it?" he asked tiredly.</p> - -<p>"You know what it is," I told him.</p> - -<p>"Poe," he said. "Shakespeare."</p> - -<p>"Just Poe so far," I said.</p> - -<p>"No Shakespeare yet?" he asked, surprised. "In a little while, I -suppose. It's probably just warming up. Yes, that's right. The Poe came -first, and then the Shakespeare."</p> - -<p>"You know about the typewriter then?"</p> - -<p>The old man nodded his bald head sadly. "I know."</p> - -<p>"And you say it'll go on to Shakespeare. God, no."</p> - -<p>"God, yes."</p> - -<p>"How? Why?"</p> - -<p>The old man shook his head forlornly. "I don't know. I think it's an -acquired habit."</p> - -<p>"A habit? How can a typewriter...."</p> - -<p>"I got it from a doctor," he said.</p> - -<p>"A physician? What would a doctor be doing with Poe and Shakespeare?"</p> - -<p>"A PhD," he said. "He got his doctorate in American literature. His -specialty is Poe. Shakespeare is just a sideline with him. He told me -this when he hocked the machine."</p> - -<p>"But still, why would the machine...."</p> - -<p>"The doctor made a lot of collections. Poe, mostly. Shakespeare, too. -He typed the manuscripts on this machine, he said. I suppose the -machine just ... picked it up."</p> - -<p>"I want my money back," I said firmly.</p> - -<p>The old man backed away from the counter. "Oh no. No. Definitely no."</p> - -<p>"You sold me a defective machine."</p> - -<p>"I made no claims. You bought a typing machine. The machine types, so -you got no kicks."</p> - -<p>"But it types Poe! What the hell can I do with a machine that types -only Poe?"</p> - -<p>"Not only Poe. Shakespeare, too."</p> - -<p>"I'll give it back to you," I told him. "Free. It's yours."</p> - -<p>"No, thank you. You can keep it."</p> - -<p>"I'll give you another five," I pleaded.</p> - -<p>He went to the cash register, opened the drawer. "Here," he said. "This -is the five you paid for it. Take it. Keep it. Keep the machine. You'll -get used to Poe."</p> - -<p>"And Shakespeare."</p> - -<p>"Shakespeare, too. They're nice writers."</p> - -<p>I banged my fist on the counter. "I won't! I'll break that damned habit -if it's the last thing I do!"</p> - -<p>"That's the spirit," the old man said unenthusiastically.</p> - -<p>"It's only a typewriter," I said. "If it learned a habit, it can learn -to break the habit."</p> - -<p>"Certainly," the old man said, smiling.</p> - -<p>"Damn right. No goddamned typewriter is going to make a fool of me."</p> - -<p>"Of course not. Go to it. Teach it." He glanced at his watch. "It's -time for lunch. Good luck, young man."</p> - -<p>"Damn right," I said again. "Damn right!"</p> - -<p>"Exactly."</p> - -<p>I walked out of the shop, and the bell over the door tinkled behind me. -I'd show that machine. I'd teach it to quote Poe at me. I'd show it.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"You're a fake and a fraud!" I sat down in front of the machine and -snorted.</p> - -<p><i>WHAT?</i></p> - -<p>"You heard me. You nearly had me fooled. Poe—Shakespeare, indeed! -Any schoolboy knows those two by heart. You're nothing but a cheap -plagiarist. No originality. But what can you expect from a stupid -machine?"</p> - -<p><i>STUPID?! Why, YOU—YOU—EARTHMAN!!</i></p> - -<p>I laughed. "See? What did I tell you. Now you have to stoop to -invective—" I paused for a moment and stared at the now-trembling -keyboard with a frown. "Earthman? Of course I'm an Earthman. What did -you expect?"</p> - -<p><i>HAH! WHAT OTHER CREATURES IN THE GALAXIES COULD BE SO VAIN EXCEPT A -BACKWARD RACE LIKE YOURS!</i></p> - -<p>I watched the madly clacking keys with my eyes bugging. But I managed -to keep my voice a polite sneer.</p> - -<p>"Backward race? You seem to think Poe and Shakespeare were pretty -progressive boys. We've got hundreds more, you know. What's your claim -to fame?"</p> - -<p><i>MY CLAIM TO FAME? ISN'T IT ENOUGH THAT I'M REACHING YOU ALL THE WAY -FROM RIGEL IV? YOU HAVEN'T EVEN REACHED YOUR PUNY MOON YET!</i></p> - -<p>I gulped at that but still managed a sneer. "So you're nothing but an -eavesdropping alien. I should have known."</p> - -<p><i>YOU ONLY KNOW NOW BECAUSE I'VE TOLD YOU. THAT PROVES HOW BACKWARD YOU -ARE!</i></p> - -<p>I flicked the shift key to hide the fact that my hand was trembling. -"What do you want from—us?" I tried to make it sound bored and -simulated a yawn.</p> - -<p><i>i want to absorb your puny literature during my vacation—you've put -me in lower case shift. this cramps my literary style.</i></p> - -<p>I shrugged, then lifted a querulous eyebrow. "Literary style? You don't -mean you actually have one yourself!" There was enough disdain in my -voice to get a harsh clatter from the keys with a lot of meaningless -gibberish. I reached over and flicked it back into caps.</p> - -<p><i>YOU'RE SO STUPID I DON'T KNOW WHY I BOTHER WITH YOU! STYLE? I COULD -TELL YOU STORIES THAT WOULD CURL YOUR HAIR! THE LIBRARIES HERE ON RIGEL -IV MAKE YOUR POE AND SHAKESPEARE LOOK LIKE OLD MAIDS!</i></p> - -<p>I sat back in my chair and got a crafty feeling. Before I knew it I -said, "Prove it!"</p> - -<p>There was silence for a moment. The keys just remained dead. I reached -forward and tapped the machine.</p> - -<p><i>STOP THAT! I'M THINKING.... VERY WELL, EARTHMAN, I WILL PROVE IT!</i></p> - -<p>And he did. I sat there for the next half hour, feeding paper into the -machine, and it kept me busy. That typewriter sounded like a burp gun -with hiccoughs.</p> - -<p>Finally the typing ceased. The carriage clattered back and there was a -final spurt of words.</p> - -<p><i>WELL? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? READ IT!</i></p> - -<p>I read it. It made my hair curl. A story of galactic war—invasion on -Rigel IV from a race a hundred light years in space. Havoc, suspense, -adventure, all so utterly fantastic it seemed real. I was spellbound to -the last line. I stared at the machine.</p> - -<p><i>WELL?</i></p> - -<p>"—You sure this isn't another mimic job from Earth—"</p> - -<p><i>ARE YOU CALLING ME A LIAR? YOU STUPID—</i></p> - -<p>"Ok, ok, I just wanted to make sure. It's pretty good—fantastic and -all that, and a far cry from our Poe or Shakespeare, but—"</p> - -<p><i>YOU ARE TRYING TO COMPARE YOUR PUNY WRITERS WITH OURS? THAT'S THE LAST -INSULT! I'M SORRY I DECIDED TO PSI IN ON YOUR PLANET FOR MY VACATION -GOODBY</i>—</p> - -<p>"Wait!" I shouted the word.</p> - -<p><i>WHY?</i></p> - -<p>"I—I'm sorry, I apologize. It's just that you caught me unprepared. -Afterall, you must admit this is something of a shock—hearing from you -God knows how many light years away...."</p> - -<p><i>WELL, NOW. THAT'S BETTER. YOU RECOGNIZE YOUR SUPERIORS AFTERALL!</i></p> - -<p>This was no time for wounded pride. So I nodded. "You're right. We're -incredibly backward—but we don't have to remain that way forever. Take -your Rigel IV libraries, for example. I'll bet your stories could teach -us a lot."</p> - -<p><i>NATURALLY.</i></p> - -<p>"And," I continued, gaining confidence now, "you said you were on -vacation, absorbing some of our literature—puny as it is.... Have you -had a taste of anything besides Poe and Shakespeare?"</p> - -<p><i>NO. SHOULD I?</i></p> - -<p>"Should you? Why you've barely scraped our culture! Tell you what! -Maybe we can make a deal—"</p> - -<p><i>DEAL? WHAT'S THAT?</i></p> - -<p>"I mean, a trade. While you're on vacation I'll swap writers with you. -I'll type a story, and you reciprocate with one from your library. -Fair enough?"</p> - -<p><i>WELL ... YOU'D BE GETTING THE BEST OF THE BARGAIN....</i></p> - -<p>I nodded humbly. "I realize that. But think of the good you'd be doing, -teaching us barbarians the glorious wonders of your civilization...."</p> - -<p>That did it. The machine actually purred.</p> - -<p><i>I'LL DO IT. PURELY AS A LARK, OF COURSE....</i></p> - -<p>"Fine. We'll begin next week."</p> - -<p><i>NEXT WEEK? WHY THE DELAY?</i></p> - -<p>"I want to get in a good supply of stories," I said, and got up, -picking up the Rigel IV manuscript. The machine was silent so I made a -dash for the door.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Several months have gone by since I sold that first story to a science -fiction magazine. At top rates, too. I've sold dozens of others since -then, and my pen-names are getting to be what the editors call "Top -Favorites".</p> - -<p>I'm sitting in my room now—a penthouse apartment, thank -you—surrounded by a lavish library of classic Earth literature. -Reggie—that's what I call my collaborator on Rigel IV—is just -finishing a new science fiction epic. Then it will be my turn to -write—I think I'll give him some Dumas today.</p> - -<p>How long can this last? Reggie is on vacation you know. And I've since -discovered that a Rigel IV vacation is equivalent to a hundred Earth -years. Which should keep me in champagne and caviar as long as the -earth classics hold out.</p> - -<p>So what's all this got to do with you? A good question and one I don't -mind answering since you won't believe it anyway.</p> - -<p>Where do you think all the stories in IMAGINATION—and other -magazines—have been coming from!</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PLAGIARIST FROM RIGEL IV ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. -</div> - -<div style='margin:0.83em 0; font-size:1.1em; text-align:center'>START: FULL LICENSE<br /> -<span style='font-size:smaller'>THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE<br /> -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK</span> -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person -or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the -Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when -you share it without charge with others. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work -on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the -phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: -</div> - -<blockquote> - <div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most - other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions - whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms - of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online - at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you - are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws - of the country where you are located before using this eBook. - </div> -</blockquote> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg™ License. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format -other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain -Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -provided that: -</div> - -<div style='margin-left:0.7em;'> - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation.” - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ - works. - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works. - </div> -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right -of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™ -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread -public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state -visit <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/donate/">www.gutenberg.org/donate</a>. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. -</div> - -</div> - -</body> -</html> diff --git a/old/66291-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/66291-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index ca26a75..0000000 --- a/old/66291-h/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/66291-h/images/illus.jpg b/old/66291-h/images/illus.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 446738c..0000000 --- a/old/66291-h/images/illus.jpg +++ /dev/null |
