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The Valley
The Valley
The Valley
Ebook48 pages31 minutes

The Valley

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The Valley

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    Book preview

    The Valley - Ed Emshwiller

    The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Valley, by Richard Stockham

    This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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

    Title: The Valley

    Author: Richard Stockham

    Illustrator: Ed Emsh

    Release Date: June 8, 2010 [EBook #32744]

    Language: English

    *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE VALLEY ***

    Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Greg Weeks, and the Online

    Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

    Transcriber's Note:

    This etext was produced from IF Worlds of Science Fiction June 1954. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.

    THE VALLEY

    By Richard Stockham

    Illustrated by Ed Emsh

    If you can't find it countless millions of miles in space, come back to Earth. You might find it just on the other side of the fence—where the grass is always greener.


    he Ship dove into Earth's sea of atmosphere like a great, silver fish.

    Inside the ship, a man and woman stood looking down at the expanse of land that curved away to a growing horizon. They saw the yellow ground cracked like a dried skin; and the polished stone of the mountains and the seas that were shrunken away in the dust. And they saw how the city circled the sea, as a circle of men surround a water hole in a desert under a blazing sun.

    The ship's radio cried out. You've made it! Thank God! You've made it!

    Another voice, shaking, said, President—Davis is—overwhelmed. He can't go on. On his behalf and on behalf of all the people—with our hope that was almost dead, we greet you. A pause. Please come in!

    The voice was silent. The air screamed against the hull of the ship.

    I can't tell them, said the man.

    Please come in! said the radio. Do you hear me?

    The woman looked up at the man. You've got to Michael!

    Two thousand years. From one end of the galaxy to the other. Not one grain of dust we can live on. Just Earth. And it's burned to a cinder.

    A note of hysteria stabbed into the radio voice. Are you all right? Stand by! We're sending a rescue ship.

    They've got a right to know what we've found, said the woman. They sent us out. They've waited so long—.

    He stared into space. "It's hopeless. If we'd found another planet they could live on, they'd do

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