Clawing at his sword-torn throat, the fearless old soldier brought his hand away coated with the crimson of his own blood. Falling forward, he traced the Sign of the Cross on the stone floor in gleaming scarlet, kissed it, and then glared up at the men who surrounded him, his eyes hard with anger and hate."I'm going to Heaven," he said, his voice harsh and whispery. "Andyou, youbastards, can go toHell!"
Clawing at his sword-torn throat, the fearless old soldier brought his hand away coated with the crimson of his own blood. Falling forward, he traced the Sign of the Cross on the stone floor in gleaming scarlet, kissed it, and then glared up at the men who surrounded him, his eyes hard with anger and hate.
"I'm going to Heaven," he said, his voice harsh and whispery. "Andyou, youbastards, can go toHell!"
It would have made one hell of an ending—but it had to be sacrificed in the interests of Truth.
So I rest my case.
I will even go further than that; I defy anyone to point out a single out-and-out lie in the whole story. G'wan—Idareya!
(SECRET ASIDE TO THE READER; J. W. C., Jr., PLEASE DONOTREAD!)
Ah, but wait! Thereisa villain in the piece!
Idid not lie to you, no. But you were lied to, all the same.
By whom?
By none less than that conniving arch-fiend, John W. Campbell, Jr., that's who!
Wasn't it he who bought the story?
And wasn't it he who, with malice aforethought, published it in a package which was plainly labeled Science Fiction?
And, therefore, didn't you have every right to think itwasscience fiction?
Sure you did!
I am guilty of nothing more than weakness; my poor, frail sense of ethics collapsed completely at the sight of the bribe he offered me to become a party to the dark conspiracy that sprang from the depths of his own demoniac mind. Ah, well; none of us is perfect, I suppose.
David Gordon.
Transcriber's Note:This etext was produced fromAstounding Science FictionMarch 1959. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without note.