The Elroom
BY JERRY SOHL
Timmy was getting too much 3-dimension
television, and he was mistaking it for
Mother Nature. So his parents took him out
to see the natural wonders, which he
unhappily mistook for 3-D television....
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Worlds of If Science Fiction, March 1955.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
She had never seen violinists work so hard. They were running theirbows back and forth so fast their hands were blurred. The musicians'faces were studies in concentration and the concertmaster—he wasn'ttwo feet from her—had worked himself into such a frenzy veins werestanding out on his red face.
Mrs. Briggs almost laughed, the way the conductor was sweeping hisbaton to within inches of her head. Several times she had an impulse toreach up and catch it.
So this was Virilio! Disjointed, cacophonic, sometimes sweet but moreoften deafening. She had never caught him before. But it was justas advertised, all right. Exciting. And moving. She didn't know ifthere was supposed to be a love theme in Virilio's new Plenitude on aThursday Afternoon, but it definitely stirred her.
Just then the door opened and Timmy came walking through the musicians,eating an apple. Once he stopped to stare at the tympani and a secondfiddler's bow kept running through his head. It was rather ghostly,Mrs. Briggs thought.
"Timmy!" she yelled above the music. "I didn't see you go. Where haveyou been?" As if she didn't know.
"Had to get a glass of water. The music made me thirsty," he saidloudly, taking his seat beside her. "This is a lousy program, Mom.What's next?"
"Drama in History," she said absently, her eyes on a flutist'smustache, wondering how he managed to play.
Timmy chomped on his apple, but in the face of his gustatory enjoymentshe couldn't find the heart to tell him to be quiet.
At intermission, she left the Elroom to let Timmy take in thecommercial and returned in time for the beginning of Drama in History.
There was a salt spray in the air and a cool wind whipped around themas the lights went out completely. The roar of waves grew loud and thedeck creaked beneath their feet.
The ship moved through the dim light. Sailors stood like statues aboutthe deck.
"We're even with the inshore ships, sir!" a voice called hoarsely.
"We've got the French between us, then." Though he was a small man,there was a ring of authority in the voice of the man on the bridge.
"There's the Orient, sir!"
"One of ours has gone aground!"
"She'll mark the shoal for the rest of the fleet," the little manreplied calmly. "Ready, Mr. Creston!"
"What's he think he's doing?" the captain's boy whispered.
"Quiet, lad," a peg-legged sailor said softly. "Admiral Nelson will seeus through. You'll have your share of action afore mornin', mate!"
The darkness was split by faraway flashes of light. Instantly, therewas returning cannon fire that caused the ship to shudder and groan.The Battle of Aboukir Bay had begun....
The red flashers above the door winked their message.
"Damn!" Mrs. Briggs said, switching off.
"Ma!"
"There's someone at the door, Timmy. If it'