The Eleventh Golden Age of Science Fiction Megapack by F.L. Wallace
Author:F.L. Wallace
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: science fiction, short stories, sci-fi, pulp, Megapack
ISBN: 9781479404582
Publisher: Wildside Press LLC
Published: 2014-11-25T16:00:00+00:00
MEZZEROW LOVES COMPANY
Originally published in Galaxy Science Fiction, June 1956.
The official took their passports, scanning the immense variety of stamps he had to choose from. He selected one with multicolored ink that suited his fancy and smeared it against the small square of plastic.
âMarcus Mezzerow?â he asked, glancing at the older man and back at the passport. His lips quivered with amusement at what was printed there. âThere seems to be a mistake in the name of the planet,â he said. âItâs hard to believe theyâd call it Messy Row.â
âThere is a mistake,â said Marcus heavily. âHowever, thereâs nothing you can do about it. Itâs listed as Messy Row on the charts.â
The officialâs face twitched and he bent over the other passport. He was slow in stamping it. âWilbur Mezzerow?â he asked the young man.
âThatâs me,â said Wilbur. âIsnât it a terrible thing to do? Youâd almost think people on Earth canât spellâor maybe they donât listen. Thatâs why Pa and me are here.â
âWilbur, this man is not responsible for our misfortune,â said Marcus. âNeither can he correct it. Donât bore him with our problems.â
âWell, sure.â
âCome on.â
âWelcome to Earth,â said the official as they walked away. He caught sight of a woman coming toward him and cringed inwardly before he recognized that she, too, had just arrived from one of the outer worlds. He could tell because of the absence of the identifying gleam in her eyes. On principle heâd stamp her passport with dull and dingy ink.
Wilbur scuffled along beside his father. He hadnât attained his full growth, but he was as tall though not as heavy as Marcus. âWhere are we going now?â he asked. âGet the name changed?â
âDonât gawk,â said Marcus, restraining his own tendency to gaze around in bewilderment. Things had changed since his father had been here. âNo, weâre not. Itâs simple, but it may take longer than we think. We have to act as if Earth is an unfriendly planet.â
âHardly seems like a planet.â
âIt is. If you scratch deep enough under those buildings, youâll find soil and rock.â Even Marcus didnât know how deep that scratch would have to be.
âSeems hard to believe it was once likeâuhâMezzerow.â Wilbur was looking at the buildings and pedestrians streaming past and the little flutter cars that filled the air. âBet you canât find any place to be alone in.â
âMore people are alone within ten miles of us than you have ever seen,â said Marcus. He stopped in front of a building and consulted a small notebook. The address agreed, but he looked in vain for a name. There wasnât a name on any of the buildings. Nevertheless, this ought to be it. Theyâd been walking for miles and he had checked all the streets. He spoke to Wilbur and they went inside.
It was a hotel. The Universe over, there is no mistaking a hotel for anything else. Continuous arrivals and departures stamp it with peculiar impermanency. A person might stay twenty years and yet seem as transient as the man still signing the registry.
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