THE ALMOST-MEN
BY IRVING E. COX, JR.
All learning must begin with a need. And
when the tried old ideas won't work for a
people—won't conquer defeat and despair—a
new way of thinking must be found....
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Worlds of If Science Fiction, October 1955.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Hands shook at his shoulder, dragging him awake. Lanny's foster father was bent over him, whispering urgently, "Get up, boy. We have to leave."
Groggily Lanny pushed himself into a sitting position. He had been sleeping in his earth burrow beside Gill, outside Juan's cottage. Hazily Lanny remembered being carried home from the canyon after the explosion, but he could recall nothing else.
It was an hour before dawn. Gill was dressing; his shoulder was wrapped in a homespun bandage. Lanny got up, staggering a little, and helped his brother put on his leather jacket and his weapon belt.
"Thanks, Lan," his brother said.