GRAVY TRAIN
By DANIEL F. GALOUYE
Ever hear of evil fairies who
grant three wishes? McWorther's
was more efficient. One wish
was plenty to bring catastrophe!
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Worlds of If Science Fiction, March 1960.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
I
At one hundred and thirty, life was indeed gratifying for Titus McWorther. But for one missing detail, it would have been perfect.
With his wife, Edna, he had planned well for retirement. His idyllic estate consisted of a second-hand planetoid, thirty miles in circumference, which was the only habitable piece of matter in its system. Complete with supplementary gravity generator, a compact atmosphere, a mantle of lush topsoil and a carefully selected biota, McWorther's World was both his delight and his pride.
Its principal asset was, of course, its isolation.