Mission Earth Volume 4: An Alien Affair by L. Ron Hubbard

Author:L. Ron Hubbard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction
ISBN: 9781592125906
Publisher: Galaxy Press
Published: 2011-04-08T04:00:00+00:00

PART THIRTY-TWO

Chapter 7

I awoke in a world that was against me.

The repairers had patched up the penthouse. My baggage had not been sitting in the lobby so I had to assume that Utanc had paid the damages bill.

The resident doctor, with a midnight “Tch, tch, tch. We must learn we must not let our fingers stray,” had patched up my hands.

Right now, a December sun was streaming in the French doors, closed upon the wintry terrace. It was hurting my eyes.

Working as well as I could with cotton-thickened hands, I pushed down the sheet. The bruises had not yet turned as blue and yellow as I knew they would. I felt like I had been mistaken for a piece of pavement and run over by a steamroller. That feeling was confirmed whenever I moved.

But an Apparatus officer is made of stern stuff. I still had a pair of guns. They were black-powder dueling pistols, a pair. I had picked them up cheap one day, thinking they were originals. They were just replicas, modernly built on an 1810 pattern. They were flintlock. They had nine-inch barrels. They were .50 caliber and that half-inch slug could almost cut a body in half. Clumsily, since my bandages were in the way, I cocked and snapped each one. Very gratifying sparks! Powder and balls were in the case. Grunting and hurting my fingers, I got them loaded with enough charge to kill an elephant. That done, I got on to less important things.

I showered as best I could. Every drop inflicted near mortal injury. I got the bandages wet. I had to dry them by holding my hands in the gas fireplace. I was encouraged. They only caught fire twice.

Moaning a bit at the pain of holding the phone, I ordered breakfast.

And with it, of course, came that gods (bleeped) morning paper.

Masochism knows no limits.

I opened it. There it was, front page:

WHIZ KID

COURT TRIUMPH

In a startling development, the Whiz Kid has won his court battle with MIW.

Boggle, Gouge & Hound today announced that in the case of Wister vs. Massachusetts Institute of Wrectology, an instant out-of-court settlement had been reached for an undisclosed amount.

The president of MIW himself verified that Wister was back in class and on the job in the restaurant.

Student riots ceased at once.

(See photos page 23, “Victorious Students Flood Back to Classes Throughout Nation.”)

Speculation was rife in court circles as to the amount of settlement. Herman T. Guesswinkle, the noted astrologer, placed it in the millions. . . .

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