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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78072 ***
+
+
+
+
+                                Preview
+
+                         by Frank Belknap Long
+
+
+
+
+  _Have you ever sat in a movie theater and permitted your imagination
+  to take you far beyond the events depicted on the screen? Perhaps we
+  all do this at times. But this tragedy in minuscule should give you
+  pause and cure you of the habit forever._ The flying saucer folk may
+  just happen to be watching you.
+
+  =Mr. Scanlon had reasons of his own for insisting on a preview. But
+  what they were nobody knows!=
+
+
+
+
+“What every discerning theatergoer is searching for,” said Mr. Scanlon,
+“is a kind of sixth-sense heightening of perception. I choose to call
+it a superseding experience--a blotting out of the mundane and familiar
+and the substitution of the totally unexpected. In short, a superior
+vision of reality. Stella, you see, is a ‘stripped’ actress.”
+
+Mr. Scanlon looked about him, and smiled. “No, gentlemen. I’m not being
+Rabelaisian, or thinking of the burlesque stage. She’s a ‘stripped’
+actress in the sense that the kind of realism I’ve been talking about
+is her guiding star. Everything else--every shred of romantic or
+sentimental tinsel--has been stripped away.”
+
+“But, Mr. Scanlon! Surely--”
+
+“Gentlemen, I think you’ll agree that her first liaison with Hollywood
+has carried her to heights undreamed of in your philosophy--if drama
+critics can legitimately be said to possess a philosophy.”
+
+“But, Mr. Scanlon--”
+
+“Gentlemen, be patient. Relax. You’ll never see another preview like
+this, and you must enjoy it to the full. There go the lights.”
+
+The lights dimmed and the long, cinemascopic screen brimmed with a
+deep-toned miracle of radiance.
+
+Into the Black Hills on a white charger rode Robert Mitchum. The epoch
+which was to resound with his deeds of valor was not immediately
+determinable. But from the peaceful aspect of the landscape everyone
+took it for granted that it was B.C. (Before Custer)--until the new
+techniques of sound dispersal which convey an illusion of torment in
+depth went into action. From every nook and cranny of the theater
+rifles cracked in earsplitting synchronization.
+
+It was no run-of-the-hill Western. Every part was played to perfection,
+against the kind of historically realistic background that had made
+“Shane” and a scant dozen lesser pictures classics of their kind.
+
+The critics flanking Mr. Scanlon realized this, and unlimbering their
+fastidious brows they started scribbling.
+
+“There she is,” said Mr. Scanlon. “Gentlemen, this should be your most
+rewarding moment.”
+
+Into the center of that scenic magnificence stepped Stella. Her blonde
+loveliness was peculiarly her very own, and it was easy to see that
+everything was just right for her.
+
+“No powder, no cream, no lipstick,” murmured Mr. Scanlon.
+
+“But surely, Mr. Scanlon, she’s made up for the screen--”
+
+“Historically makeup would have been an anachronism,” Mr. Scanlon
+pointed out. “The women of that age had to get along as best they
+could. Remember Calamity Jane? She was as ugly as a warthog, but her
+lovers were legion.”
+
+There was a brief dimming of the radiance. And then, into the Black
+Hills on a pulsing shape of darkness rode--
+
+“It’s Humpty Dumpty!” someone gasped.
+
+“No.”
+
+“No, it’s got tentacles. Can’t you see? They must have been shooting
+one of those science fiction pictures on another set. One of the extras
+must have strayed by accident--”
+
+“And he’s waving them. Look!”
+
+“Good grief, how did that bomb crater get there?”
+
+“It’s unbelievable! She’s changing into a seal!”
+
+The divine Stella was indeed changing. But no seal--or mermaid--had
+ever gone flapping over the Western hills on eight dangling appendages,
+blue-green in hue.
+
+Of course the hills were no longer the Black Hills of the Dakotas. But
+no one could ask Mr. Scanlon about that because he had disappeared.
+One moment he had been leaning forward in his seat, alert and smiling.
+Then he was gone. He had simply vanished--dwindled and faded into
+nothingness like an unstable isotope assailed by some invisible energy
+source.
+
+No narrative is complete if it does not terminate with some sort of
+explanation. But how could there be one when no man or woman on Earth
+would ever know where Mr. Scanlon went, or why he had insisted on a
+preview in the first place?
+
+How could there be one when there was no one to remember--no one to
+recall how _They_ landed in numbers from their flat, saucer-like ships
+exactly one week later, and took care to strip from the minds of men
+all proudly treasured knowledge of the many-splendored things of Earth?
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber’s Note:
+
+
+ This etext was produced from Fantastic Universe, January 1956 (Vol. 4,
+No. 6). Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
+copyright on this publication was renewed.
+
+ Obvious errors in punctuation have been silently corrected in this
+version, while spelling and hyphenation have been kept as is.
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78072 ***
diff --git a/78072-h/78072-h.htm b/78072-h/78072-h.htm
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+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html lang="en">
+<head>
+    <meta charset="UTF-8">
+    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
+    <title>
+      Preview | Project Gutenberg
+    </title>
+    <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover">
+    <style>
+
+body {
+    margin-left: 10%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+}
+
+h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {
+    text-align: center; /* all headings centered */
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+p {
+    margin-top: .51em;
+    text-align: justify;
+    margin-bottom: .49em;
+}
+
+.p2       {margin-top: 2em;}
+
+
+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%;}
+@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} }
+
+
+div.chapter {page-break-before: always;}
+h2.nobreak  {page-break-before: avoid;}
+
+
+blockquote {
+    margin-top: 0;
+    margin-bottom: 0;
+    margin-left: 5%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+}
+
+.center   {text-align: center;}
+
+
+figcaption   {font-weight: bold;}
+figcaption p {margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: .2em; text-align: inherit;}
+
+/* Images */
+
+img {
+    max-width: 100%;
+    height: auto;
+}
+
+
+.figcenter {
+    margin: auto;
+    text-align: center;
+    page-break-inside: avoid;
+    max-width: 100%;
+}
+
+
+/* Transcriber's notes */
+.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA;
+    color: black;
+    font-size:small;
+    padding:0.5em;
+    margin-bottom:5em;
+    font-family:sans-serif, serif;
+}
+
+.f15       {font-size: 1.5em;}
+img.w20    {width: 20em;}
+
+/* Illustration classes */
+.illowe113_9375 {width: 113.9375em;}
+    </style>
+</head>
+<body>
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78072 ***</div>
+
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowe113_9375" id="cover">
+  <img class="w20" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      Transcribed from Fantastic Universe, January 1956 (Vol. 4, No. 6).
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"></div>
+<h1>
+Preview
+</h1>
+
+<p class="center f15">by <strong>Frank Belknap Long</strong></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"></div>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p><i>Have you ever sat in a movie theater and permitted your
+imagination to take you far beyond the events depicted on the screen?
+Perhaps we all do this at times. But this tragedy in minuscule should
+give you pause and cure you of the habit forever.</i> The flying
+saucer folk may just happen to be watching you.</p>
+
+<p class="p2"><b>Mr. Scanlon had reasons of his own for insisting on a preview. But
+what they were nobody knows!</b></p>
+</blockquote>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"><div class="chapter"></div>
+
+
+<p>“What every discerning theatergoer is searching for,” said Mr. Scanlon,
+“is a kind of sixth-sense heightening of perception. I choose to call
+it a superseding experience—a blotting out of the mundane and familiar
+and the substitution of the totally unexpected. In short, a superior
+vision of reality. Stella, you see, is a ‘stripped’ actress.”</p>
+
+<p>Mr.
+Scanlon looked about him, and smiled. “No, gentlemen. I’m not being
+Rabelaisian, or thinking of the burlesque stage. She’s a ‘stripped’
+actress in the sense that the kind of realism I’ve been talking
+about is her guiding star. Everything else—every shred of romantic
+or sentimental tinsel—has been stripped away.”</p>
+
+<p>“But, Mr. Scanlon! Surely—”</p>
+
+<p>“Gentlemen, I think you’ll agree that her first liaison with
+Hollywood has carried her to heights undreamed of in your philosophy—if
+drama critics can legitimately be said to possess a philosophy.”</p>
+
+<p>“But, Mr. Scanlon—”</p>
+
+<p>“Gentlemen, be patient. Relax. You’ll never see
+another preview like this, and you must enjoy it to the full. There
+go the lights.”</p>
+
+<p>The lights dimmed and the long, cinemascopic screen
+brimmed with a deep-toned miracle of radiance.</p>
+
+<p>Into the Black Hills on
+a white charger rode Robert Mitchum. The epoch which was to resound
+with his deeds of valor was not immediately determinable. But from the
+peaceful aspect of the landscape everyone took it for granted that it
+was B.C. (Before Custer)—until the new techniques of sound dispersal
+which convey an illusion of torment in depth went into action. From
+every nook and cranny of the theater rifles cracked in earsplitting
+synchronization.</p>
+
+<p>It was no run-of-the-hill Western. Every part was
+played to perfection, against the kind of historically realistic
+background that had made “Shane” and a scant dozen lesser pictures
+classics of their kind.</p>
+
+<p>The critics flanking Mr. Scanlon realized
+this, and unlimbering their fastidious brows they started scribbling.</p>
+
+<p>“There she is,” said Mr. Scanlon. “Gentlemen, this should be your most
+rewarding moment.”</p>
+
+<p>Into the center of that scenic magnificence stepped
+Stella. Her blonde loveliness was peculiarly her very own, and it was
+easy to see that everything was just right for her.</p>
+
+<p>“No powder, no cream, no lipstick,” murmured Mr. Scanlon.</p>
+
+<p>“But surely, Mr. Scanlon,
+she’s made up for the screen—”</p>
+
+<p>“Historically makeup would have been an
+anachronism,” Mr. Scanlon pointed out. “The women of that age had to
+get along as best they could. Remember Calamity Jane? She was as ugly
+as a warthog, but her lovers were legion.”</p>
+
+<p>There was a brief dimming
+of the radiance. And then, into the Black Hills on a pulsing shape
+of darkness rode—</p>
+
+<p>“It’s Humpty Dumpty!” someone gasped.</p>
+
+<p>“No.”</p>
+
+<p>“No,
+it’s got tentacles. Can’t you see? They must have been shooting one
+of those science fiction pictures on another set. One of the extras
+must have strayed by accident—”</p>
+
+<p>“And he’s waving them. Look!”</p>
+
+<p>“Good
+grief, how did that bomb crater get there?”</p>
+
+<p>“It’s unbelievable! She’s
+changing into a seal!”</p>
+
+<p>The divine Stella was indeed changing. But no
+seal—or mermaid—had ever gone flapping over the Western hills on eight
+dangling appendages, blue-green in hue.</p>
+
+<p>Of course the hills were no
+longer the Black Hills of the Dakotas. But no one could ask Mr. Scanlon
+about that because he had disappeared. One moment he had been leaning
+forward in his seat, alert and smiling. Then he was gone. He had simply
+vanished—dwindled and faded into nothingness like an unstable isotope
+assailed by some invisible energy source.</p>
+
+<p>No narrative is complete if
+it does not terminate with some sort of explanation. But how could
+there be one when no man or woman on Earth would ever know where Mr.
+Scanlon went, or why he had insisted on a preview in the first place?</p>
+
+<p>How could there be one when there was no one to remember—no one to
+recall how <i>They</i> landed in numbers from their flat, saucer-like ships
+exactly one week later, and took care to strip from the minds of men
+all proudly treasured knowledge of the many-splendored things of Earth?</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter"></div><div class="transnote">
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="Transcribers_Note">
+    Transcriber’s Note:
+  </h2>
+
+
+
+<p>This etext was produced from Fantastic Universe, January 1956 (Vol. 4,
+No. 6). Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
+copyright on this publication was renewed.</p>
+
+<p>Obvious errors in punctuation have been silently corrected in this
+version, while spelling and hyphenation have been kept as is.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78072 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
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diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
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+This book, 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
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for eBook #78072
+(https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78072)