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Acolyte, vol 1, issue 3, whole 3, Spring 1943
Page 15
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their march through the centuries. And their mysteries? Yes, be careful of that superstition you can't explain---it may be that you will anger a somnolent Jove or a militant Mars. To have a fiery thunderbolt flash past may be nothing much after a fire-blitz; but Jove had a reputation as a marksman. Again, mighty Thor's hammer or Freya's sword---yes, walk circumspectly. Harking back to the ladder superstition, this seems such an open and shut case that one is forced to wonder - is there any more behind it? Does a leaning ladder carry undreamed of potentialities of power so that it has become accursed? One could go on this way for many more of our presentday superstition, sifting the false from the true. One must scorn the idle---but there is just that faint, ghostly thought, are they impotent when defied? Which are true and which carry menace? Do YOU know? ---ooOoo--- VARIETY IS THE SPICE by Harry Warner, Jr. -oOo- "Did someone call me?" The fire-spitting little green devil squatted in the pentagon, barely visible through the smoke. Warren Graham seemed startled, for just an instant. "You came?" he finally asked. "Of course. The incantation and the ritual and the--the preparations were unnecessary. The preparations are annoying, in fact. Rather gruesome, and entirely too sloppy. I come when I am really needed, and the form of the invocation is unimportant." "You know what I want, then?" "A change?" "I thought so. You're thirtyish, big, handsome, have money and the ability to earn plenty more of it. Are you sure you couldn't solve your own problem, without my help?" Graham, his self-composure regained, sprawled in the large armchair in the corner of the room. The apartment was furnished in perfect taste. It was very obviously a bachelor's quarters, with the absence of useless bric-a-brac and decorations, and the perfect neatness that characterize the solitary man's home. The little green devil glided out of the pentagon, with none of the traditional respect for its powers. His small horns quivering just a little, he hastened hopefully to the fireplace set in one wall. Finding it artificial, he came back and propped himself disappointedly against the radiator. "First," Graham said thoughtfully, "I'll have to know what the price will be. You can grant what I want; that's agreed. If we can strike a bargain---" The imp snickered. Fiddling with the radiator control, he managed to turn on maximum heat. He sighed contentedly, and spoke. "Forget legends and traditions. What do you think a person could possibly do for me, or give me, that I couldn't do or get for myself? More important, what could I possibly desire? "And don't say 'soul'. I've heard that too often before. The old authors never really dealt with me. Anyone who does is too much in earnest to waste time starting a legend or writing an epic poem about his experience." "All right," said Graham. "I need a change, primarily; secondly, excitement, and the thrills that come from new experiences. That you already know. Now it's up to you. If you ask no price, and will give your services, so much the better for me." -- 15 --
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their march through the centuries. And their mysteries? Yes, be careful of that superstition you can't explain---it may be that you will anger a somnolent Jove or a militant Mars. To have a fiery thunderbolt flash past may be nothing much after a fire-blitz; but Jove had a reputation as a marksman. Again, mighty Thor's hammer or Freya's sword---yes, walk circumspectly. Harking back to the ladder superstition, this seems such an open and shut case that one is forced to wonder - is there any more behind it? Does a leaning ladder carry undreamed of potentialities of power so that it has become accursed? One could go on this way for many more of our presentday superstition, sifting the false from the true. One must scorn the idle---but there is just that faint, ghostly thought, are they impotent when defied? Which are true and which carry menace? Do YOU know? ---ooOoo--- VARIETY IS THE SPICE by Harry Warner, Jr. -oOo- "Did someone call me?" The fire-spitting little green devil squatted in the pentagon, barely visible through the smoke. Warren Graham seemed startled, for just an instant. "You came?" he finally asked. "Of course. The incantation and the ritual and the--the preparations were unnecessary. The preparations are annoying, in fact. Rather gruesome, and entirely too sloppy. I come when I am really needed, and the form of the invocation is unimportant." "You know what I want, then?" "A change?" "I thought so. You're thirtyish, big, handsome, have money and the ability to earn plenty more of it. Are you sure you couldn't solve your own problem, without my help?" Graham, his self-composure regained, sprawled in the large armchair in the corner of the room. The apartment was furnished in perfect taste. It was very obviously a bachelor's quarters, with the absence of useless bric-a-brac and decorations, and the perfect neatness that characterize the solitary man's home. The little green devil glided out of the pentagon, with none of the traditional respect for its powers. His small horns quivering just a little, he hastened hopefully to the fireplace set in one wall. Finding it artificial, he came back and propped himself disappointedly against the radiator. "First," Graham said thoughtfully, "I'll have to know what the price will be. You can grant what I want; that's agreed. If we can strike a bargain---" The imp snickered. Fiddling with the radiator control, he managed to turn on maximum heat. He sighed contentedly, and spoke. "Forget legends and traditions. What do you think a person could possibly do for me, or give me, that I couldn't do or get for myself? More important, what could I possibly desire? "And don't say 'soul'. I've heard that too often before. The old authors never really dealt with me. Anyone who does is too much in earnest to waste time starting a legend or writing an epic poem about his experience." "All right," said Graham. "I need a change, primarily; secondly, excitement, and the thrills that come from new experiences. That you already know. Now it's up to you. If you ask no price, and will give your services, so much the better for me." -- 15 --
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