Prescription for Chaos Read Online Free Page A

Prescription for Chaos
Book: Prescription for Chaos Read Online Free
Author: Christopher Anvil
Tags: Science-Fiction
Pages:
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study'?"
    "I doubt it," said Don.
    Fred shook his head reluctantly.
    "All right," said Howard, "then it's a down-to-earth, plain-spoken novel about the stuff life's made of. We'll say it's a first novel, a masterpiece by . . . ah . . . by the new Boccaccio!" He looked up in triumph. "That's exactly the note to strike. Boccaccio's respectable. We'll say this is the work of a modern Boccaccio, that's all."
    Don eyed the machine sourly and said nothing.
    "Well," said Howard, "we'll rush it through the presses and publish it in the fall. Can you have that cover ready, Fred?"
    "You bet," said Fred, grinning and raising his thumb and forefinger.
    "I thought we got this thing to write stories for Varlet ," said Don.
    "Precisely," said Howard, "but we have to have enough breadth of vision to fit it into the big picture, too."
    "A stroke of genius, chief," said Fred on cue.
    "Thank you, Fred." Howard looked at Don hopefully.
    "There's bound to be a catch in a thing like this," said Don.
    Howard looked hurt. "Did any of your writers ever produce a book like that . . . or any kind of a book, for that matter . . . right on order in an afternoon?"
    "No," said Don.
    "All right. Now don't worry about Varlet . We'll set it up for Varlet next."
    Fred sneaked a glance at this watch. "That book gave me an appetite," he said. "Why not let Don go out for some food?"
    "I'm not leaving this room," said Don. "If anyone isn't needed here, it's the art editor."
    Howard said mildly, "You can both go. It'll take two of you to bring it back." He pulled over a pad and scribbled his order. "Here, and don't lose the paper."
    After they had left, Howard made careful adjustments on the Writivac. He fed in several exceptionally good issues of Varlet , three of Playboy , two copies of The New Yorker , and an old issue of Esquire . He replenished the paper supply, checked the level of the ink, and set the length for two thousand words. Then there was a commotion at the door, and he looked up to see Don and Fred come in with covered trays.
    "Well, we eat in style," he said. "You were fast enough."
    "We naturally wanted to get back in time to see our next issue," said Don.
    "You set it up yet?" asked Fred.
    "Just finished." Howard pressed the button.
    They had hardly uncovered the tray when the Writivac-112 rang its bell. Fred started eagerly across the room.
    "Wait a minute, will you?" said Don. "Once we start reading that stuff we'll never get to eat."
    Howard started buttering a roll. "Come on back, Fred. It can wait a minute."
    Fred came back reluctantly. The minute they finished the food and piled the trays to one side, Fred was across the room again. The three of them crowded over the printed sheets. On the title page appeared the words:
    THE PARK IN SPRINGTIME
    "Could be anything," said Don.
    "It sounds promising to me," said Howard.
    They leafed through the sheets with intense interest, three pairs of eyes moving as one.
    When they were through, Howard looked up exultantly. "We're in!"
    Fred looked dazed. "Boy," he said at last. "Boy!"
    Don nodded reluctantly. "It's good," he said.
    They clapped each other on the back, Fred and Howard happily, and Don resignedly. Mentally, Don was filling out a correspondence school coupon for a course in welding. Finally they all went home and fell into an exhausted sleep.
    The next six months, for Howard, were a triumphal march. Varlet was coming out twice a month, and arrangements were being completed to bring it out as a weekly. The magazine had so much advertising that it was as thick as a phone book, and desperate TV executives were petitioning Congress to pass a law against it. Just in case, Howard was planning a home-type magazine. He and Fred were making final arrangements on the format of The Saturday Reader's Companion .
    "We won't get many ads at first, of course," Howard was saying, "but after the first couple of issues—" He was interrupted by someone rapping the outside of the door with his foot.
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