﻿The Project Gutenberg eBook of Atavism, by Erik Fennel

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you
will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
using this eBook.

Title: Atavism

Author: Erik Fennel

Release Date: December 28, 2020 [eBook #64157]

Language: English

Character set encoding: UTF-8

Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed
             Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ATAVISM ***




                                ATAVISM

                            By ERIK FENNEL

                Bombs crashed. Ack-ack hammered. Gunnar
                 and Martha crouched in a cave, slowly
             starving, grimly preferring death to capture.
               What a time for a Martian to visit Earth!

           [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
                      Planet Stories Spring 1947.
         Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
         the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]


The amphibious force moved in with big guns ready, with rockets
and flame throwers and LCI's and LCT's and planes and thousands
of combat-hardened men, expecting to shoot the works against the
fog-shrouded little island that might have held the northern key to
invasion.

The men were all tensely expectant. All, that is, except the nurse and
the Air Force radioman whom one of the LCT's had picked up en route,
drifting in a rubber life raft. But their apparent indifference to the
impending battle aroused little comment. The task force had its own
problems to consider, and that pair had already had it rugged. Their
plane, they said, had been shot down weeks before and they'd been
dodging Japs ever since.

When the ramp of the first landing craft grated on the gravel and word
went back to the waiting ships that the battle was off, that the
Japs for some unknown reason of their own had pulled out without even
pausing to destroy their equipment, the nurse and the radioman seemed
as calm as though it were what they had expected all along. But in the
excitement over the startling new development their peculiar behavior
was overlooked. They didn't complain, for they had no desire to do any
more lying than necessary....

       *       *       *       *       *

... Yark was a Great Brain. Even the more advanced embryos were
conscious of his revered status. But his three eyes blinked in
rotation--a sure sign of pleasure in a Martian--and in the pleasure of
addressing the most distinguished Martians from every field of endeavor
his outlines wavered and grew dim. For seconds at a time he _thinned
out_ almost to transparency.

He addressed the gathering orally, though of course all present were
sufficiently advanced for direct brain-to-brain communication. Yark
fancied himself as an orator--the one atavistic trait he consciously
allowed himself--and mental contact did not allow the little frills of
speech-making.

"The outer hull of the spaceship is made of oxides," he declared,
"because the planet selected for initial exploration has an
unconscionable amount of oxygen in its atmosphere, and oxides will not
oxidize."

Mental applause resounded through the great Hall. This was excellent
Martian logic.

"Construction of the vessel was relatively simple. The great problem
lay in developing a life form which could withstand the rigors of the
journey.

"What sets us apart from the lower forms of life?"

The question was purely rhetorical. Every Martian knew it was the
ability to change form at will.

"This trait is of course due to superior mental ability and training.
But even for us there has been a definite limitation, caused of course
by residual atavisms ... atavisms which we must, and some day will,
extirpate completely from our glorious race."

Excitement overcame his mental control and for a moment he became
completely invisible. He frowned mentally as he caught a tittering
reaction from some individual in the audience. Invisibility, too,
was an aspect of shape adaptation, of superiority, though because it
no longer served a useful purpose it had come to be regarded with
suspicion as an atavistic trait. This was particularly true of the
involuntary invisibility which sometimes accompanied high emotional
tension. A powerful and growing school of thought even considered
emotions themselves as atavisms.

A human audience would have fidgeted as Yark recounted in minutest
detail the processes by which Erg, to whom had been granted the honor
of becoming the first Martian to visit another planet, had been reduced
to the lowest common denominator of Martian consciousness, a mass of
specialized but undifferentiated cells. And Yark, Yark of the Council
of Great Brains, had been in charge since the very earliest stages of
Erg's embryohood.

"This reduction," Yark declared, "has been possible only by complete
elimination of all atavistic traits. Even latent ones." He told with
obvious satisfaction of Erg's unprecedented perfect zero score on the
famous Yark Anti-Atavism Test.

"Erg will remain in full telepathic contact with me," the Great
Brain continued. "Immediately following the landing there will be a
period of quiescence, necessary to allow Erg to adjust himself to
his new environment. During this period he will be able to gather
and retransmit mental impressions from any intelligent creatures
nearby--providing of course any such creatures exist upon this
barbarously un-Martian planet--but his individuality will remain
passive.

"Following the period of quiescence, differentiation of cells will take
place. Erg will then be a full-fledged Martian and will explore the
entire planet. After that, who knows what vistas of greatness lie ahead?

"In his present form only I, his mentor and creator, can retain
contact. But you honored Martians will be allowed to become attuned to
my brain and thus receive Erg's reports."

He paused and held aloft a transparent cylinder. The Martians stirred
with interest. They were all greatly impressed, although Erg resembled
nothing so much as a pot roast in a jar. They had never heard of a pot
roast.

"We shall now dispatch Erg upon his epochal journey."

       *       *       *       *       *

Gunnar Viborg paced restlessly to keep warm, kicking irritably at the
pile of mouldy straw in the back of the cave and the deflated life raft
from which they had sneaked ashore the night after their plane had been
shot down at sea.

"Martha," he said, "this is no good. If we don't get food now, tonight,
we'll be too weak if we ever do get a chance for a getaway. I say,
let's make a grab now and take our chances afterward. How about it?"

The nurse, her attractive face now pinched with cold and hunger,
nodded. Both were well aware that a raid on a Jap supply cache would
start an intensive search, but hunger and desperation are companions.

They checked their pistols, their only weapons except Gunnar's trench
knife, and started out. They had already chosen their objective, but
were only halfway there when the raid began. Probing searchlight beams
broke futilely against the hovering clouds and the night rocked with
falling bombs and the insane yammer of anti-aircraft fire.

One raid more or less meant little in their situation and, even while
they crouched between two huge boulders, Gunnar kept remembering that
wonderful restaurant in his Minnesota home town, its strong black
coffee and thick steaks and beautiful apple pie.

"Quit that, stomach!" he told himself.

The raid seemed to have ended and they were moving on again when,
without warning, the night was shattered by a blue flash somewhere
above. The glare penetrated even the blanketing fog and for an instant
left the island starkly outlined in a brilliance exceeding daylight.
Instantly the ack-ack resumed its uproar, firing blindly. A thousand
freight trains seemed to rumble by overhead.

Then a ball-shaped object, emitting a dying trail of flame, whistled
out of the overcast like a gigantic bomb. Sparks flashed from a rock as
it struck and rebounded. It bounced again and came tumbling down the
hill, clanging against boulders, hissing and steaming with its own heat
as it encountered patches of snow.

"What--what the hell is it?" Martha whispered.

"Some sort of rocket plane. I didn't know we had anything like that."

Gunnar ran forward to investigate as it came to rest near them. It
was metal, but battered completely beyond recognition. Part of it was
ripped and torn as though by a shell.

"Let's get out of here," Martha urged as Gunnar probed the wreckage.
"The Japs are coming."

Gunnar prodded once more at a loosened section, which swung aside to
disclose a padded compartment. The transparent cylindrical container he
hauled out was scorched but unbroken.

"Let's _go_!" Martha pleaded.

They had to endure an eternity of anxious waiting, huddled in a
snowbank while a Nip patrol went by. Gunnar held on to his loot. He had
gotten one glimpse of the contents, and it looked like food.

Their clothing was soaked with melted snow and sweat when at last they
regained the comparative safety of their cave.

Gunnar had trouble with the container. The fastenings refused to
unfasten.

"Quit stalling," Martha complained. "I'm hungry."

Finally Gunnar smashed the thing open with a chunk of rock and hacked
off a couple of pieces with his trench knife. The meat resembled an
outstandingly low grade of Spam, interspersed with bits of gristle that
made tough chewing, and it had a strong gamey taste.

"Not American," Gunnar remarked.

"Some kind of _ersatz_, probably Jap," Martha commented between bites.
They were too hungry to be choosey.

A sound from the cave's mouth interrupted their meal. Gunnar gripped
his trench knife and pistol as he moved stealthily forward. Then he
laughed.

"What is it?" Martha inquired, her gun ready, too.

The half-breed husky growled again, sniffed hungrily and entered the
cave snarling. Old scars and new gashes in his flea-bitten hide showed
his familiarity with the ways of Jap soldiery.

"One of the dogs the Aleuts left behind when the Japs drove them out,"
Gunnar said.

He threw a small chunk of gristle. The dog cowered at the motion but
darted forward as the piece fell and wolfed it down without chewing.

"Here you are, pooch," Gunnar called.

"Why, he's starved," Martha observed.

Gunnar held more meat in his hand and backed into the cave. The dog
followed, wagging his stumpy tail, all growling and menace forgotten as
he found the humans friendly.

"We can't let him live," he said reluctantly as the dog accepted the
food from his hand. "He'd run in and out and lead the Japs here."

"I guess you're right," the nurse agreed, "But--"

Gunnar picked up his knife, but the dog chose that moment to lick his
wrist with a rough, wet tongue, place one paw on his knee and look up
inquiringly. Gunnar extended it toward Martha. "Here, you do it. I
can't."

She made no move to take the weapon. "I can't, either. He trusts us."

She yawned. A few seconds later he did likewise. Then the dog yawned,
too. Gunnar fought another yawn.

"Something--aangh--wrong--aangh--with that meat!" he cried, sudden
alarm struggling with drowsiness. "I feel doped!"

       *       *       *       *       *

Drowsiness won. He leaned back against the straw in the darkness and
closed his eyes.

Martha's eyelids were heavy but she was still a nurse. She shook
him violently. "Sleep in those wet clothes and you'll wake up with
pneumonia. Get them off!" she ordered.

Dizzily they undressed in the blackness, wringing out their sopping
clothing and hanging it on projecting points of rock in the cave.
Before they finished the dog was snoring loudly in the straw.

Martha felt silly and lightheaded. "Gunnar," she said. "Let's call him
Frankie. He sings." She giggled.

Then she yawned once more, burrowed into the straw and was sound asleep.

Gunnar had just time to place the two guns and his knife nearby before
he too lost consciousness....

... Heat. Cold. Heat again. Violent motion. A ripping shock. The
sensations would have been excruciatingly painful to any Martian still
possessed of anything so atavistic as a pain sense.

Motion impulses were replaced by vague manifestations of the presence
of alien life forms nearby. Two units of alien life. Sensations of
Erg becoming the center of some unintelligible, barbaric scene of
jubilation, as though he were being received with great joy.

Yark was mildly surprised. Life on this distant planet had evolved
further than he had anticipated. The ceremony was confusing, but at
least those organisms had developed sufficiently to recognize Erg's
inherent superiority and to receive him accordingly.

Rapidly the jubilation died away. Erg was entering the stage of total
quiescence, and evidently these alien creatures had quiescent periods
too.

The flow of thought impulses ceased and the assembly waited, members
gossiping mentally while Yark kept his brain receptive.

Time passed, and suddenly an inaudible scream of mental anguish was
ripped from Yark's brain before he could repress it. The assembly came
to instant attention, all mental small talk forgotten.

Yark writhed. Differentiation had begun--but what differentiation! Erg,
the incomparable Erg, the most carefully normalized of all Martian
personalities--had suddenly developed advanced multiple schizophrenia.
He had split into three personalities, two disgustingly atavistic,
while the third--_ugh_! That one was indescribably horrid. Yark had
just time to distinguish between the three when their thought trains
impinged on his brain, all three at once.

Yark's brain was shaken to its very foundations by the intensity of
their un-Martian confusion. Fear and anger and snarling hatred and
despair and the nearness of deadly peril and the desire to do something
to protect something else, emotions which Yark had never encountered in
the entire span of his existence, all swirled through his mind at once
in sickening profusion.

Erg, pure, beautiful, perfect, non-atavistic Erg, thinking such black
and unenlightened emotion-thoughts!

Yark was outraged, nonplussed and confounded by Erg's incontrovertible
symptoms of atavistic schizophrenia. Once more his mind registered a
mental titter, this time from more than one member of the audience....

       *       *       *       *       *

... Gunnar reached out to quiet the growling dog, but Frankie was gone.
Instead his hand encountered Martha's and he gave it a reassuring
squeeze. He listened, hardly breathing.

From just outside the cave came the peculiar faint sound made only by
split-toed Japanese shoes.

"This is it," he whispered as he pressed Martha's pistol into her hand.
"They've found us. Better save one shot for yourself."

Flashlights glimmered around the bend of the cave and the clothing
hanging from the rocks shuddered and fell as a burst of Nambu fire
roared. A Jap ran toward the huddled garments, chattering wildly.

Gunnar knew they could hope only to take as many Nips as possible with
them. Even as he opened fire he could hear Martha's pistol start up
beside him. The first Japs went down.

Then his pistol clicked empty.

"Just one more," Gunnar prayed as he threw the useless weapon into the
nearest yellow face and drew his knife for a final charge.

       *       *       *       *       *

He expected to be met by a burst of fire as he stepped out, but the
bullets did not come. Instead a Jap tripped and kicked at something
near his feet, then tumbled violently backward with his hands coming up
as though to protect his face. The Jap started to scream but stopped
abruptly as blood spurted from a throat suddenly raw and mangled. A
snarling growl echoed through the cave.

[Illustration: _A snarling growl echoed through the cave._]

Another Nip went down, struggling with something invisible.

Panic gripped the Jap patrol. Two surviving soldiers broke and ran,
but the lieutenant in charge snatched up a gun. Bullets whined off the
rocks as he fired wildly, without a target.

All at once Frankie lay in the middle of the floor, his spine shattered
by a chance bullet but his fangs still bared in a snarl of defiance.
The Jap kicked at the dog, then jumped aside and stared unbelievingly
as his outlines blurred momentarily. He kicked again with deliberate
brutality, and the dog gave one convulsive shudder and lay still.

Without conscious volition Gunnar raised his arm. Twenty feet away
bones crunched under the brass handle-studs of the trench knife. Gunnar
felt the impact up his arm, and then the snick as the double-edged
blade plunged between two ribs.

Then he and Martha were alone with several dead Japanese and the body
of a dog.

Gunnar felt a pulling sensation in his shoulder. The bloody knife
surged toward him through the air. He looked down.

And he wasn't there at all!

"M--Martha!" he called unsteadily.

"Yes, Gunnar," her voice answered from nearby.

"Where are you?"

"Here."

"Where?"

He glanced wildly around. Her pistol was floating in the air beside
him, and then by the light of a flash the Japs had dropped he could
just discern the tenuous, transparent outlines of her figure. He stared.

She must have seen him too, for instantly she was completely invisible
again.

"What the hell--?" he asked.

"I--I don't know." Her voice was shaky now. Her coveralls lifted
themselves from the floor and fastened themselves.

"Get them off," he begged after one look. "I can see you that way, sort
of."

Bullets had ripped through the garments and the rents disclosed large
patches of _nothingness_ inside. The result was both indecent and
terrifying. Hurriedly she slipped them off.

"I can't see myself and I don't feel cold at all," she mused. "Are we
dead?"

Gunnar had a practical mind.

"I don't think so," he decided. "I don't know what's happened to us,
but if we can't see ourselves or each other they sure as hell can't see
us either. And we're going to damn well take advantage of it. Their
radar station, first."

They floundered out into a snowstorm, keeping together by the sound of
their voices and an occasional touch of hands.

"I wish we had feet like snowshoes," he remarked, trying to break the
spell of spookiness with conversation.

He felt a tug, a spreading, and found himself stepping lightly over the
drifts.

"Judas!" he said in awe. "If we're dead, which place is this?"

       *       *       *       *       *

The confidential agent from Imperial Headquarters confronted the
garrison's commandant. "You are a disgrace to the Imperial Army," he
snorted. "You have the mentality of an Ainu."

"But Excellency--"

"Radar station destroyed. Coastal guns useless. Ammunition set afire.
Supplies stolen. Sentries killed. But, instead of taking proper
measures against these Yankee saboteurs who have very evidently sneaked
ashore--due to more of your incompetence--you send us fables to cover
your own deficiencies. Ghost hands. Ghost Yankees. All fables. Bah!

"That is as absurd as the idea of my own pistol rising from its holster
by itself and turning upon me."

"Excellency," shrieked the overwrought officer. "Don't say such things
on this island!"

The agent stared in horror-struck rigidity as his gun jerked itself
clear, rose, and pointed. The gun spat twice, then floated rapidly
across the room and placed itself gently in the commandant's trembling
hand.

The headquarters bodyguard rushed in and jumped at conclusions as
they saw their superior's body. Their crossfire cut the unfortunate
commandant almost in half.

The major who was second in command stuck his head in the doorway for
one horrified look. But when something unseen in that room of death
laughed harshly in triumph he dashed hastily out again, screaming
frantic orders....

       *       *       *       *       *

... Yark was unhappy. The majority reaction was profound shock at the
realization that the great Yark was not infallible.

"What shall we do?" a mental voice asked.

"Destroy him!" The response was overwhelming.

Yark recoiled. Erg was his masterpiece, and to destroy him would be to
acknowledge utter failure. But his very status as a Great Brain was now
in jeopardy.

"It will be difficult to reach the real, the actual Erg, submerged as
he is beneath his false schizophrenic personalities, but through me it
can be accomplished...."

       *       *       *       *       *

"... We'd better get some clothes on," Martha said bashfully. She could
feel her outlines showing again. For the past couple of days it had
become increasingly difficult to maintain complete invisibility. She
and Gunnar were both beginning to _flicker_, to appear dimly and then
vanish again.

"That's right. I'm beginning to feel the cold again, too." Gunnar was a
gentleman and spared her modesty. "Whatever it is, it's wearing off."

The island lay several hours behind them when Martha glanced around
once more at Gunnar's apparently empty clothing and the dent the
weight of his body made in the rubber boat. She gave a little squeal
of surprise this time, for the dent and the clothes were occupied--by
Gunnar, solid and in the flesh.

He looked, and saw her, too. For a minute, neither said a word....

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ATAVISM ***

***** This file should be named 64157-0.txt or 64157-0.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
    https://www.gutenberg.org/6/4/1/5/64157/

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will
be renamed.

Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United
States without permission and without paying copyright
royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm
concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive
specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this
eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook
for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports,
performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given
away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks
not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the
trademark license, especially commercial redistribution.

START: FULL LICENSE

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at
www.gutenberg.org/license.

Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works

1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your
possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the
person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph
1.E.8.

1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this
agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the
Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual
works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting
free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm
works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily
comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when
you share it without charge with others.

1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no
representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
country outside the United States.

1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear
prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work
on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed,
performed, viewed, copied or distributed:

  This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
  most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
  restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
  under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
  eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
  United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
  you are located before using this eBook.

1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is
derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm
trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works
posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
beginning of this work.

1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.

1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg-tm License.

1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format
other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official
version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site
(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain
Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the
full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
provided that

* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
  the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
  you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
  to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has
  agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
  Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
  within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
  legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
  payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
  Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
  Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
  Literary Archive Foundation."

* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
  you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
  does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
  License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
  copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
  all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm
  works.

* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
  any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
  electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
  receipt of the work.

* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
  distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.

1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than
are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The
Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm
trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
cannot be read by your equipment.

1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.

1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
without further opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO
OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
remaining provisions.

1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in
accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or
additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any
Defect you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm

Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
from people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future
generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at
www.gutenberg.org

Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.

The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the
mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its
volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous
locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt
Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to
date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and
official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

For additional contact information:

    Dr. Gregory B. Newby
    Chief Executive and Director
    gbnewby@pglaf.org

Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular
state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate

Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works

Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be
freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of
volunteer support.

Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
edition.

Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search
facility: www.gutenberg.org

This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
