held a bow and arrow, and had the eyes of a fox, the cars of a cat, and trod softer and faster than any creature alive. He held his primitive weapon poised in constant readiness. The boy spoke. He asked his father what the world was like years ago; what were these ' rail-tracks ' and why was it forbidden to touch the stuff called ' metals The man, his father, explained. " Many years ago I was one of a stupendous race, Mankind. I was a Doctor, a Doctor of Science. My job was to make new and wondrous things. I worked in a big building with other men. There were good people and bad people. There were the rich and the poor. There were many different types of people, white, black and yellow people-people by the billions." " Billions? " asked the boy. " Billions ", continued the man, " is a number. For instance, take this rock, call it one. This stick, call it 10 rocks; this arrow, call it 10 sticks; this bone, call it 10 arrows, and on and on until you reach a billion. Then start over again, and then again, and one day you might reach the number of people there were. " The world lived as one, all was happy, till one day a plague broke out. It killed hundreds and thousands. People taken by it rotted within hours of getting it. It struck without warning; one day you were as fit as the next man, the next you were dead! " It was found, after a while, that it was attracted to all metals. If you touched a piece of metal, it was the last thing you ever touched. People spread far and wide, over hills, across rivers, all over the world; but all the same no-one could escape the dreadful plague. That is no-one but me, it seemed. You see, while I had been experimenting, finding new things that is, I had been exposed to something called ' Ultra Atomic Waves'. I got a sickness, nearly died, but by a miracle, recovered. These freak rays must have made me immune to the Plague. " Soon I found myself alone, very much alone, the only man left alive in the world, for all I knew. For days I kept calm. Weeks went by, and then I noticed I was doing strange things. Things like talking and having an interesting conversation with myself, breaking sticks and hitting my knees till the flesh tore and the blood flowed like honey. I was hungry, tired and on the verge of suicide when it happened. I found I was not alone. I could not believe it, but there, ahead, a definite trail of smoke drifted into the hot, dry air. " I laughed, shouted and cried, all at once. Running and stumbling, I made my way towards the smoke. My feet were cut and tom by the hot sharp stones; my eyes were red and stinging; every muscle tired and weak, but still I kept on going. Page 8 Previous Page Next Page Back to Main Page