I wonder where I can get the materials, he said to himself. And where it should be placed. But evidently the placing was not a problem; he had found it, and that was what mattered. Can I do the work myself? he wondered. He had never done anything with stone before. Of course, the inscription itself was cut directly into the metal. Probably, after practice, he could manage it; he would not have to hire the job out.
If I can, he decided, I want to do it myself. To be sure there is no slip-up. After all, my life depends on it.
It would be interesting to see the plaque come into existence, here in his own time. Contrast to the eroded, damaged monument that had greeted him in the future, countless centuries hence . . .
But a job well done. And it had outlasted all his other acts in this world.
Maybe it should be buried, he decided. Sunk deep into the earth, out of sight. After all, it won't be needed for a long, long time.
FIRST VINTAGE BOOKS EDITION, AUGUST 2005
Copyright (c) 1960 by Ace Books, Inc.
Copyright renewed 1988 by Laura Coelho,
Christopher Dick, and Isa Dick
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Vintage
Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York,
and in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited,
Toronto. Originally published in the United States by
Ace Books, New York, in 1960.
Vintage and colophon are registered trademarks
of Random House, Inc.
The Cataloging-in-Publication Data for
Dr. Futurity
is on file
at the Library of Congress.
eISBN : 978-0-307-42564-5
v1.0