He smiled. “I’m Golem101.”
A.D. 2280
So?dis?Candida?
N.
Dishere Souse Amourica?
Nn.
Zit Jewropey?
Nnn.
Wherjeez?
Guff!Guff!Guff!
Blessya.
N’achoo, man. She’s his name. Guff. Dig? Gay-you-ffuck. Guff. You beez inna Guffa Viewnitey Status. Lassitude 101001 degrades norse.
! Whajeer ?
Anus Domino 100011101000
!! I beez friz feisty year ??
Y. Gotta cure fwattailsya now .·. us move youse S fom Lasky to Guff.
Gone telly esplainment what I up agin inna dishere mod Guff?
Shoe. Where fom original?
Afro.
Oak. But Ifirsth gotta putyouse inna pitcher. How happenny. She’s all happyning !strong! ago, inna twemmy onus hungries, 2175.
Whakine rap izzat? 2175?
Wazza talktypus ago then. Youse ear me close, man, and me—
GIRLman!
Oop! Scuze! No notice tits. Lissen, girlman, &me input whahap while youse cryøgens friz in coughins. Tell how + why hole Guff change fom = peoples to ≠. Tell how oletypus mans go aus-out, exstink like dinnersours, and N*E*W breed primal poisons like us we make quantum jump & replace her inna Guff. Y’gotta dig ifn wanna beez = to us.
I think I go back inna coughin.
Nnnn! Lissen!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alfred Bester began writing science fiction stories for Thrilling Wonder Stories in the 1930s. Twenty years later, his novels The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination were hailed as vital new contributions to the field, and have since become classics. From his start in science fiction, Bester got into scripting comics, and then radio series like “Nick Carter,” “Charlie Chan,” and “The Shadow.” He became a successful TV scriptwriter, then spent some years in Europe; on his return to the U.S. he was offered a column in holiday magazine, for which he rode on the maiden flight of the first Boeing 747, interviewed luminaries like Sophia Loren and Sir Laurence Olivier, and finally became a senior editor of the magazine.
As one friend put it, “Alfie Bester lives as though the whole world was made for his entertainment.” Bester currently divides his time between a farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and New York City.
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