Mass media -- Audiences -- Fiction; Science fiction; Short stories; Space flight to the moon -- Fiction; Stowaways -- Fiction
A sharp shrill whistle dug into his brain. He jerked around. Far across
the expanse of park a black skycar came whirring, gliding, sliding
toward him. The ultrasonic whistle sharpened painfully and he knew this
was pursuit.
The pilot hadn't been so honest, maybe. But that made no difference
now. It had never been anything anyway that would have gone on forever.
No matter when the black skycar came for him there would never have
been a place to hide. It didn't matter now, not after seeing Glora
Delar and Brittain together like this.
But before the Guards picked him up--
He ran toward the lake. The skycar was an elongated shadow over the
glassy water, over the glossy mechanically moving leaves of the huge
water-lilies, over the backs of the clock-work swans. The whistle
seemed to split his skull.
"Glora!" he shouted.
He ran toward them. Evidently they didn't hear him; she didn't turn;
Brittain didn't turn. Brooks' shout faded across the lake into the
glowing bubble and died.
He grabbed her arm and spun her around. Carl Brittain walked on, and
Brooks stared into Glora Delar's eyes. A cold shiver went down his
neck. What was the matter? Where was the warmth, the love, the passion,
the worship, the dark deep longing? There was no recognition, and
without that there could never be any of the other things. However
the big psychogenic radial projection screens functioned, the Actors
and Actresses probably were never aware of the individuals they
entertained. They entertained _all_ the Workers.
_All the Workers._
"Glora, look at me! I wrote the letters, thousands of fan letters! You
answered them. They were addressed to me, personally! Me, Andy Brooks!"
She said slowly. "An--dy--Brooks--"
Fifty feet away the skycar settled. Swans glided silently across the
lake of glass without noticing anything; water-lilies moved in the
unchanging breeze. Glora Delar's eyes were on a level with his.
"Don't you know me?" Brooks shouted wildly. "You've got to! Andy
Brooks!"
She repeated his name.
"Yes, yes!" Brooks screamed. "Look at me--Andy Brooks! Remember the
Lost World of Anghar! Why dream of each other? Why should we fool
ourselves with dreams? I'm here now, I'm real, you're real! I've broken
a Class-A Law tripley to come here to you. Glora, you've got to see me,
talk to me!"
"An--ghar--"
"Listen to me, Glora! The World of Anghar. The Armies of Vasca. _Our_
dream. I was holding the castle. Vasca's fleets were laying siege. I
was guarding the seawall. How could it have gone on so long without you
knowing? It was our dream."
"Vas--ca--"
Sobbing frantically, Brooks turned. Two guards were leaping from their
skycar. One of them was shouting, "You there, halt! We've orders to
kill you if you resist."
"Get back!" Brooks cried. "Stay right there!" He lifted the neurogun.
Now he wished he'd brought the blastgun; he'd have blown these Guards
and their skycar in a million pieces.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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