【英文读物】Time PaymentChapter 1Slick Tennant had a hunch. The sixth sense that had made him king of the local rackets, that hadwarned him in time when three of his men fell to the machine guns of a rival gang, now told himthat the Feds were after him, that they had evidence to send him up for a long stretch. But hewas going where even the Feds couldnt extradite him.Slick Tennant was going to hide in the future.They didnt call him Slick for nothing. For months, a private dick in his pay had shadowed Dr.Richard Porter, inventor of a device called by reporters a time-travel machine, by comedians acrystal ball, and by Dr. Porters fellow-psychiatrists a Metachronoscope. Slick knew the doctor wasa widower, knew where he lived, knew pressure could be put upon him through Dickie Porter,aged seven. In Slicks pocket was a house-key Dr. Porter thought he had lost two weeks ago.But Slick hadnt disclosed his intentions to anyone. The chauffeur of his bullet-proof car let himout several miles from the Porter residence. Strolling along the street, Slick might have been anycitizen on his way home. A hat shadowed his features as he passed under the street lights, and hecarried a briefcase. He hailed a cruising cab and proceeded to a spot two blocks from the Porterhome, being careful not to tip too much or too little to attract the drivers attention.Dr. Porter propped an elbow on his pillow, trying to orient himself in the fuzziness that follows amidnight awakening. He stifled a gasp, and sat up suddenly, as he saw that the man silhouettedagainst the living room lamp had pajama-clad Dickie by the arm. The child was rubbing his eyes,but there wasnt a whimper out of him.I got a gun on the kid, the man said. I like kids and I wont hurt him if you do what I say.The doctor struggled to keep his voice soothing and professional. Of course you wouldnt, hesaid. You dont want to go back to the hospital.The man laughed. I aint one of your nuts, Doc. And I dont want your money. I got plenty. All Iwant from you is a little trip in your time machine.Metachronoscope/ corrected the doctor. Its very misleading to call it a time-travel machine.Letting go of the boy, Slick dealt Dr. Porter a vicious slap. Thatll learn you not to pull none ofyour high-brow stuff. Is it my fault I had to quit school to keep the family from starvin when myold man got sent up? If Slick Tennant says its a time-travel machine, thats what you call it, see?Yes, I see, Dr. Porter said faintly. The mention of ganglands most dreaded name had moreeffect on him than the blow.Now lets get something else straight. Once, on TV, they said a couple of guys came back.Another time, the news program said they couldnt come back and give tips on the ponies. Whichis right? Can you bring me back any time you want to?Absolutely not. The decision is irrevocable. The publics impression that the future can bealtered or predicted is incorrect.Fine. I dont want to come back. And I dont need to change the future, neither. Things may bedifferent, but a smart cookie can always get along. Now, according to the news, you only sentthese guys ahead a year. That aint enough. Whats the most you could send me ahead?Theoretically, we could send a subject ahead as much as twenty years, if we could find anyonewho would consent to that, and undoubtedly we could learn a great deal more by so doing.But you did find out that the boys come through okay?Yes. We sent these two men ahead in 1961. When they returned to awareness, it was 1962.Physically and mentally they were as fit as before.Did they know what happened to them?Well, the year had no apparent duration for them, but they had normal speed memories of theintervening year when they returned to awareness. Evidently their fore-memories for the entireyear must have been condensed into the brief period they were in the field. From thisphenomenon, we derive the term sending the subjects ahead which has so often beenmisinterpreted. But its important to note that these condensed fore-memories were notavailable until twenty-four to forty-eight hours after the events, which means the future cannotbe effectively predicted by present techniques.That sounded like plain English; it sounded as if it meant something, but Slick wasnt quite surewhat. He seized on the last remark, which he understood.What did you build this gadget for, if you cant tell fortunes with it? he asked.The layman thinks in terms of immediate practical application. But our primary objective wasknowledge of the human mind. We confirmed the existence of mental capacities that have beensuspected for centuries. We formulated the axiom that awareness is a function of subconsciousfore-memories becoming currently available. We experimentally suspended awareness withoutinducing unconsciousness, by causing the fore-memories