John Harper's Insight By Dick Purcell Can the mind breach time? Harper was sure he had caught a news item that would change his life. Ironically he caught only a part of it.... [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy October 1956 Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] They thought he was insane. And with good reason. Here was a man who'd spent his life in a machine shop coming down one morning to say in all apparent sincerity, "I've decided to be a concert pianist." Jan Grabowski, on the turret lathe grinned and said, "Sure, John. They'll bring in a grand piano and you can practice between cuts." "They laughed when I sat down to the piano," someone bellowed and there was general laughter and the thing was forgotten. But later, when he told the boss he was quitting, they looked at each other in amazement. He'd evidently gone mad and that was no laughing matter because they liked John. Sam Paine, harassed plant manager still found time to be human. When he discovered John was serious, he sat down and gave him half an hour, figuring he could find the quirk and straighten the man out. As they went to his office, he swiftly classified his employee: John Harper--33 years old--introverted--intelligent over and above his job. Harper seemed to be without ambition, though and Sam wondered about this but had never had time to talk with him much. After the half hour was up, Paine sighed and let him go. Obviously the concert pianist gag was a coverup for something else--some fancied wrong--perhaps plain restlessness. Alone, Paine went back over the conversation, intrigued by John Harper's strange determination. "This talk about being a concert pianist is a gag of course, isn't it, John?" "No, Mr. Paine." "But man--you're too old to start a thing like that. You never in your life studied music did you?" "No, sir." "Then let me tell you--first, in a thing like that, you've got to have talent. Have you got talent?" "I don't know." It had seemed ridiculous, seriously pinpointing things that should have been obvious. "Well let's say you have--just for argument's sake. All right--talent has to be caught early and nourished--like a seed--get what I mean? A man can't start at your age and get any place in a game the experts started in at eight or nine--as children." "You may be right, Mr. Paine, but maybe that doesn't apply to me. Maybe it does, of course, but I've got to find out." Sam Paine gave up. He told John Harper his job would be waiting when he wanted it again--even gave him an extra week's pay, but that was to salve his conscience because he felt he should bring in a psychiatrist at company expense to see what had gone wrong with Harper. Then he shrugged and put the thing out of his mind. Funny things happen in this day and age, he thought.