Abbr.
BY FRANK RILEY
Brevity was the new watchword.
Vrythg dgstd stht lsrcdb njyd.
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Worlds of If Science Fiction, February 1957.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Walther Von Koenigsburg woke up a few moments after the earth shuttle had passed Venus. As he gazed back at the lonely, shrouded planet, abandoned long ago when Man won freedom to colonize more habitable worlds in deep space, Walther realized that in just a matter of minutes his long pilgrimage would be over. Soon he would walk down the ramp and set foot on Earth—the almost mythical homeland of his people. Walther was young enough, and old enough, not to be ashamed of the sudden choking in his throat, the moisture in his eyes.
A light touch on his shoulder brought him back to the shuttle ship. The pert stewardess smiled at his start.
"Wyslgsr," she asked pleasantly.
Or at least that's what it sounded like to Walther, whose ears were still ringing from the take off at the Cyngus III shuttleport.