James Gunn - The Immortals

Weaver, by some titanic effort, had turned over. He had his hands around the cord now. He rose onto soft, flowing knees and pulled at the cord, dragging Harry forward toward the mattress. Weaver’s eyes were beginning to bulge out of his pudding-face.

Harry dug his heels into the floor. Weaver came up, like a whale leaping its vast bulk incredibly out of the water, and stood, shapeless and monstrous, his face purpling. Then, deep inside, the heart gave up, and the body sagged. It flowed like a melting wax image back to the mattress on which it had spent almost three-quarters of a century.

Harry dazedly unwrapped the cord from his hand and waist. It had cut deep into the skin; blood welled out. He didn’t feel anything as he dropped the cord. He shut his eyes and shuddered.

After a period of time that he never remembered, he heard someone calling him. “Harry!” It was Marna’s voice. “Are you all right? Harry, please!”

He took a deep breath. “Yes. Yes, I’m all right.”

“Go to the console,” said the young man who had been Pearce. “You’ll have to find the right controls, but they should be marked. And then we’ve got to get out of here ourselves. Marshall Cartwright is outside, and I think he’s getting impatient.”

Harry nodded, but still he waited. It would take a strong man to go out into a world where immortality was a fact rather than a dream. He would have to live with it and its problems. And they would be greater than anything he had imagined.

He moved forward to begin the search.

Copyright © 2004 by James Gunn

“New Blood” was published originally in Astounding Science Fiction, October 1955, copyright 1955 by Street & Smith, Inc., copyright renewed by James E. Gunn, 1983.

“Donor” was published originally in Fantastic Stories of Imagination, November 1960, copyright 1960 by Ziff-Davis Publishing Co., copyright renewed by James E. Gunn, 1988.

“Elixir” was published by Analog, May 2004, copyright 2004 by James Gunn.

“Medic” was published originally under the title “Not So Great an Enemy” in Venture, July 1957, copyright 1957 by Mercury Press, Inc., copyright renewed by James E. Gunn, 1985.

“Immortal” was published originally in Star Science Fiction #4, copyright 1958 by Ballantine Books, Inc.

The Immortal was published originally by Bantam Books, copyright 1962 by James Gunn, copyright renewed 1990 by James Gunn.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.