"Kubilius, Walter - The Unusual Case" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kubilius Walter)

WHEN HE finished his talk a minute of silence fell upon the judges.
"The usual story," one of the judges yawned.
"Slight variation though," another remarked, "Have you noticed that he places
his departure at 1941-- whatever that is?"
"Quite true, quite true," Veril admitted, "I've noticed that. But all other
symptoms are the same."
"Symptoms?" the time-traveler asked. "What do you mean symptoms? Do you think I
am mad?"
"But what beautiful use of mythology and folk lore!" Veril said
enthusiastically, "What splendid development of the legend that a country called
the United States actually existed! It is even embellished with talk; of other
countries that existed on the other side of the sea. Although I can't say that I
recall such names as Germany, Great Britain and France being used in the folk
lore and fairy tales I've read."
Stimson looked bewilderedly from one judge to another.
"Do you mean to say that you don't believe me !" he demanded.
"Have you noticed the fact," Veril said to the visiting judge, ignoring
Stimson's panic-stricken face, "that all those who have been seized by this
Time-Madness claim to have come from a past more than 1500 years ago? Why not
from yesterday? The day before yesterday? Last month? Simply because each
madman, however mad, has sense enough to realize that his tale can be disproved
by records if he claimed to have come from times of recorded history. Therefore,
they make claims to have come in pre-historic times before, and not after, the
Great Volcanic Days."
Stimson was amazed and tried to piece together the mystery before him. Was this
actually 3941? Perhaps there was a mistake of calculation. Perhaps this was a
different Earth. But try as he might he could not hide the knowledge that was
growing within him. That the civilization he had known had been destroyed by
nature, and that a new one had arisen upon its ashes, ignorant of the history
that lay under its feet.
"What is the verdict?" Veril asked.
"Very obvious," one of the judges said.
"All agreed?"
"Agreed."
"Prisoner," Veril said to Stimson, "no society can long endure when its members
are insane and unable to become an essential part of that society. You have
become obsessed with delusions of scientific grandeur. You are an outcast among
us. The verdict is death."
Stimson never knew what struck him. All he felt was the quick clean blade of the
guard as it entered his back and pierced his heart. Darkness overcame him as it
did when be entered the Time Machine in 1941.
"Will the guards please dispose of the body?" Veril asked.
Two men came and carried the body of Stimson away as the members of the court
watched.
"Poor fellow," the visiting judge from Korina mused, "What a terrible
hallucination."
"Yes," Veril said, "there have been many cases like this recently. All along the
same line. A mad-man suddenly appears and claims that he has come from some
ancient time. What can we do ? Allow them to stir up the people with insane
ideas? We can only do the merciful thing and remove them."