THE WRONG END OF TIME BY JOHN BRUNNER

Sheklov recalled what she had said about her parents not taking an interest in their children.

At some point during all this-Sheklov did not notice exactly when-Danty regained consciousness, but apparently figured out what was going on and went on lying quite still. His first word, when Magda had done with him, was, “Thanks)”

“You’re all right, Danty?” Lora exploded, and almost let the bowl of pink water she was carying to the kitchen fall to the floor. Barely in time she recovered, parked it on the table, and fell on her knees at his side.

“Me? Sure, baby, I’m okay. I’m tough)” Danty said, ruffling her hair. “Let me sit up, hm? That’s the idea!”as she twisted around to support him behind his shoulders. Touching his arm, he winced, and added, “I guess this may need a sling for a day or two, Magdal”

“Lora, go look behind that curtain, by my bed. There’s a bag full of rags,” Magda said, and Lora departed at a run. She added to Danty, “Who did it-Josh?”

“I’m not sure whether Josh beat Shark to it, or the other way around ” Danty sighed. “They took me completely by surprise. Jumped me near the hoverhalt as I was coming off the beach.”

“You know who did this to you?” Sheklov said, astonished. “.Shouldn’t you-uh-report it, then? Or something?” he added lamely.

“To the pigs?” Danty said with a cynical grin. “Man, I should die laughing the day the pigs do anything for mel More like -hey’d give Josh a medal.”

“Is this long enough?” Lora called, waving a piece of blue cloth around the corner of the curtain that hid Magda’s sleeping alcove. Magda held out her hand for it, and after tugging hard on its ends folded and tied it to make a sling.

“Great, baby,” Danty said, having tried it out. “Say, I guess I should thank you all, shouldn’t I? Don-Lora. . . Lora, honey! Shit, what you crying for?”

She was struggling not to, but tears were pouring down her cheeks and she was clamping her hands together to stop their ;baking.

“Give her a trankl” Danty said, and interrupted himself. “No. got a better idea. Any of that vodka left that Punchy gave us?”

“Sure is!” Magda said, snapping her fingers, and headed for the kitchen. She was back in a moment with mismatched glasses and a bottle half-full. According to its label, Sheklov noted, the contents.vere made in Scheneotady, New York. This wasn’t like the Vyborova he drank at home, but it helped, and he set his empty glass aside gratefully. It was only when he found Danty offering the bottle for a refill that he realized he had drunk it Russianstyle, in a gulp, instead of sipping it like the rest of them.

That, though, apparently wasn’t unexpected in .the present context. At least, none of them commented.

After a pause to wipe her eyes, Lora said suddenly, “I-uh-I’d like to say something.”

“So shoot,” invited Danty.

“I . . .” She took the plunge. “I like youl Both of youl You feel real.”

“That’s a change from this morning,” Danty chuckled. “I thought you’d set the stairs afire. the speed you left at.”

“I know,” Lora said, almost inaudibly. “All the time I do stupid things, the exact opposite of what I want . . . .

I wish 1 could figure out how to explore inside myself, too. I’m sure there’s something in there I ought to know about, something that would be worth having. After all. I’m not an idiot. I’m just”-a furious grimace “kind of crazy!”

“Aren’t we all?” Magda said. and drained her glass. At the same moment there was a shrill ring from behind the curtain. and she jumped up.

“That might be about Molly,” she said, answering an unspoken query from Danty. “I left the number at the hospital so they could tell us the news.” And vanished.

“Friend of ours,” Danty explained. “Pregnant.”

“Oh. Is she in the maternity ward?” Sheklov hazarded.

He gave his usual crooked grin. “No. Emergency. They have three kids already and their neighbours aren’t talking to them. So her husband threw her downstairs to try and abort her. Broke her pelvis.”

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