Sci Fiction Classics Volume 4 Read Online Free Page A

luncheonette is called The Luncheonette, the hotel is The Hotel,
     and so on in understated simplicity. Where the buildings, all of them,
     rise genteelly from well-kept lawns on full-acre lots, painted sunrise-new
     and no two the same shape or shade—a half-moon-fashioned community
     that prides itself on its seclusion and its ability to sponge out the
     world from transients like me. It's a place that not many can stand for
     too long, but it's a breather from every law that anyone ever thought of.
    At least that's what I thought when I came down last May.
    It was a bit warm for the season, but not at all uncomfortable. Wednesday,
     and I was sitting on the grey sand beach that ribboned the virtually
     waveless bay they had christened Nova. The sun was pleasantly hot, the
     water cool, and the barest sign of a breeze drifted down from the misted
     mountains that enclosed the town. I had just dried myself off and was
     about to roll over onto my stomach to burn a little when a thin and
     angular boy about fifteen or so dashed in front of me, kicking up crests
     of sand and inadvertently coating me and my blanket as he pursued some
     invisible, swift quarry. I was going to protest when there was a sudden
     shout and he stumbled to a halt, turning around immediately, his arms
     dejectedly limp at his sides. Curious, I followed his gaze past me to a
     middle-aged couple huddled and bundled under a drab beach umbrella. The
     woman, hidden by bonnet, dark glasses, and a black, long-sleeved sweater,
     beckoned sharply. The boy waved in return and retraced his steps at a
     decidedly slower pace. As he passed me, looking neither left nor right, I
     only just happened to notice the tiny and blurred sequence of digits
     tattooed on the inside of his left forearm.
    I'm sure my mouth must have opened in the classic gesture of surprise, but
     though I've seen them often enough in the city, for some reason I didn't
     expect to see an android in Starburst.
    I continued to stare rather rudely until the boy reached the couple and
     flopped facedown on the sand beside them, his lightly tanned skin pale
     against the grey. The beach was quietly deserted, and the woman's voice
     carried quite easily. Though her words were indistinct, her tone was not:
     boy or android, the lad was in trouble. I supposed he was being told to
     stay close, paying for his minor act of rebellion.
    I smiled to myself and lay back with my cupped hands serving as a pillow.
     Poor kid, I thought, all he wanted was a little fun. And then I had to
     smile at myself for thinking the boy human. It was a common mistake,
     though one I usually don't make, and I forgot about it soon enough as I
     dozed. And probably would never have thought of it again if I hadn't
     decided to indulge myself in a little fancy dining that evening.
    Though my stays are irregular, they have been frequent enough to educate
     the hotel staff to my unexciting habits, and I had little difficulty in
     reserving my favorite table: a single affair by the dining room window
     overlooking the park, overlooking, in point of fact, most of the town,
     since the hotel was the only structure in Starburst taller than two
     stories, and it was only six. The unadorned walls of the circular room
     were midnight green starred with white, a most relaxing, even seductive
     combination, and its patrons were always suitably subdued. I was just
     getting into my dessert when I noticed the boy from the beach enter with
     the couple I had assumed were his parents. They huddled with the maitre d'
     and were escorted to a table adjacent to my own. The boy was exceptionally
     polite, holding the chair for mother, shaking hands with father before
     sitting down himself. When he happened to glance my way, I smiled and
     nodded, but the gesture quickly turned to a frown when I heard someone
     mutter, "Goddamned humie."
    The threesome were apparently ignoring the remark, but I was annoyed
     enough to scan the neighboring