Charley de Milo Read online

Chicago _American_, anyhow. Mymother sends it to me. She likes the columns."

  "Why," Professor Lightning went on, as if he hadn't been listening atall, "right here in Wrout's Carnival Shows, we have things that justdidn't exist ten or fifteen years ago. The electronic band. The Foreverbulb."

  "That's right," Charley put in. "And look at Joe Wicks. Why, he can dotricks with all those new things they got on cars, tricks nobody everdid before or even thought about in the old days."

  "And more fundamental discoveries," the professor said. "Chadwick's Lawof Dimensionality, Dvedkin and the Ontological Mean ... oh, I keep upwith the literature. No matter what's happened to me, I keep up with theliterature."

  Charley sighed, very softly so as not to injure the professor'sfeelings. But he did hope the old man wasn't going to start on all thosestories about his lost career again. Charley knew--everybody in theWrout show did--that Professor Lightning had been a real professor once,at some college or other. Biology, or Biological Physics, or somethingelse--he'd taught classes about it, and done research. And then therehad been something about a girl, a student the professor had got himselfinvolved with. Though it was pretty hard to imagine the professor,white-haired and thin the way he was now, chasing after a girl.

  He'd been fired, or something, and he'd drifted for a while and then gothimself an act and come with a Carnival. Charley knew the whole story.He didn't want to hear it again.

  But the professor said: "I'm as good as I ever was--better than I everwas, my boy. I've been keeping up, doing experiments. I've been quietabout it."

  Everybody, Charley thought, knew about Professor Lightning and hisexperiments. If they kept the old man happy, kept him contented anddoing shows, why not? After all, the old guy didn't drink or anythingreally serious; if he wanted to play around with test tubes and evenBunsen burners, people figured, why, let him.

  But Professor Lightning thought nobody knew. Well, he had been a realprofessor once, which is to say a square. Some people never reallyadjusted to carny life--where everybody knows everything.

  Charley figured maybe it was better to act surprised. "Really?" he said."Experiments?"

  Professor Lightning looked pleased, which satisfied Charley. "I've beenon the track of something big," he said. He seemed to be talking more tohimself than to Charley. "Something new," he said. "And at last ... atlast, my boy, I've found it. I'll be famous, Charley, famous--and sowill you!"

  "That's nice," Charley said politely. Then he blinked. "But what do youmean," he added, "me?"

  "I want you to help me," the professor said. He leaned forward, and inthe dim light of the tent's single lamp, his eyes glittered. "I want youto come with me."

  "Come with you?" Charley said, and swallowed hard. He'd never thought,the way some did, that the old man was crazy. But it did look as if he'dslipped a couple of cogs for sure and for real. "Where?" Charley said.

  "Washington," the professor said instantly. "New York. London, Paris.Rome. The world, Charley. The world that's going to do us homage."

  Charley shifted a little in the bed. "Look, professor," he said, "I'vegot a job, right here in the carny. I couldn't leave here. So suppose wejust--"

  "Your job?" the professor said. "Your job's gone, my boy. Wait. Let metell you what I've discovered. Let me tell you what hashappened--happened to you, my boy. To you, and to me."

  Charley sat upright, slowly. "Well," he said, "all right, professor."

  Professor Lightning beamed, and his eyes glittered brighter andbrighter. "Limb regeneration," he said, and his voice was as soft andquiet as if he'd been talking about the most beautiful woman in theworld. "Limb regeneration."

  * * * * *

  Charley waited a long minute before he admitted to himself that hedidn't have the faintest idea what the professor was talking about."What?" he said at last.

  Professor Lightning shook his head slightly. "Charley," he said softly,"you're an Armless Wonder. That's right, isn't it?"

  "Sure it is, professor," Charley said. "You know that. I was born thatway. Made a pretty good thing out of it, too."

  "Well," Professor Lightning said, "you don't have to be one. Can yourealize that?"

  Charley nodded slowly. "Sure I don't," he said. "Only it's pretty goodmoney, you know? And there's no sense in sitting around back home andfeeling sorry for myself, is there? I mean, this way I can make moneyand have a job and--"

  "No," Professor Lightning said emphatically.

  Charley blinked. "No?" he said.

  Professor Lightning shook his head, meaningfully. "Charley, my boy," hesaid, "I don't mean that you should go home and mope. But think aboutthis: suppose you had your arms? Suppose you had two arms, just likeeverybody else."

  "Why think about anything like that?" Charley said. "I mean, I am what Iam. That's the way things are. Right?"

  "Wrong," Professor Lightning said. "I can give you arms, Charley. I canmake you normal. Just like everybody else."

  "Well," Charley said. After a few seconds he said: "Gee." Then he said:"You're kidding me, professor."

  "I'm perfectly serious," Professor Lightning said.

  "But--"

  "Let me show you," Professor Lightning said. He stood up and went to theflap of the tent. "Come with me," he said, and Charley got up, dumbly,and followed him out into the cool darkness outside.

  Later, Charley couldn't remember all that Professor Lightning had showedhim or told him. There were some strange-looking animals calledsalamanders; Professor Lightning had cut their tails off and they'dgrown new tails. That, he said, happened in nature. But he had gone astep farther. He had isolated the particular factor that made suchregrowth possible.

  Charley remembered something about a molecular lattice, but it didn'tmake any sense to him, and was only a puzzle. But the professor told himall about the technique, in a very earnest and scientific voice that wasconvincing to listen to, and showed him mice that he'd cut the tails offof, and the mice had brand-new tails, and even feet in one or two cases.There were a whole lot of small animals in cages, all together in backof the professor's tent, and Charley looked at all of them. Theprofessor had a flashlight, and everything was very clear and bright.

  When the demonstration was over, Charley had no doubts at all. It wasobvious to him that the professor could do just what he said he coulddo: grow limbs on things. Charley scratched his head with his left foot,nervously.

  "That's why I came to you," the professor said. "I need a humanbeing--just to show the scientific world that my technique works onhuman beings. And I've worked with you for a number of years now,Charley."

  "Five," Charley said. "Five since you came with Wrout."

  "I like you," the professor said. "I want to make you the first, thevery first, person to be helped by my technique."

  Charley shifted his feet. "You mean you want to give me arms," he said.

  "That's right," the professor said.

  "No," Charley said.

  * * * * *

  Professor Lightning nodded. "Now, then," he said. "We'll get right towork on ... Charley, my boy, what did you say?"

  Charley licked his lips. "I said no," he said.

  Professor Lightning waited a long minute. "You mean you don't believeme," he said at last. "You think I'm some sort of a crackpot."

  "Not at all," Charley said politely. "I guess if you say you can do this... well, I see all the animals, and everything, and I guess you can doit. That's O.K."

  "But you're doubtful," Professor Lightning said.

  Charley shook his head. "No," he said. "You can do it, all right. Iguess I'm sure of that, professor."

  "Then," the professor said, in a tenser voice, "you think it might bedangerous. You think you might be hurt, or that things might not workout right, or--"

  "Gee," Charley said, "I never thought of anything like that, professor.I know you wouldn't want to hurt me."

  "I certainly wouldn't," Professor Lightning said. "I
want to help you. Iwant to make you normal. Like everybody else."

  "Sure," Charley said uncomfortably.

  "Then you'll do it," Professor Lightning said. "I knew you