The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Light Machine This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: The Light Machine Author: Ray Cummings Release date: January 21, 2022 [eBook #67208] Language: English Original publication: United States: The Frank A. Munsey Company, 1920 Credits: Roger Frank and Sue Clark *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIGHT MACHINE *** THE LIGHT MACHINE by Ray Cummings Tubby took his feet off the fender of the little stove in the back room of O’Connor’s Grocery and glared at his two friends aggressively. “That ain’t so,” he declared. “That ain’t so, nohow.” “Well _he_ said,” the first man repeated, “as how that’s just the way it is—that light travels one hundred and eighty-six thousand miles in a second.” “’Taint so,” said Tubby. “That’s too fast for anything to go.” “That’s what he said,” the first man reiterated imperturbably. “One hundred and eighty-six thousand miles in a second— that’s what he said.” “Well ’taint so,” Tubby repeated; he rose to his feet suddenly. “You can see light, can’t you?” he demanded. “’Course I can see light. I ain’t blind.” “Can you see a automobile when it’s going past a hundred miles a hour?” Tubby pointed a fat little forefinger directly into the first man’s face. “Why, why, yes,” said the first man, surprised into confusion. “And can you see the _spokes_ of a automobile wheel when it’s going past a hundred miles a hour?” The first man thought a moment. “Why, why, no,” he said finally. Tubby lowered his forefinger. “Then that proves it ain’t so,” he declared triumphantly. “Nor you couldn’t see a bullet if I shot it past your nose, could you?” “You couldn’t, Jake,” the second man put in. “No, you couldn’t,” said Tubby. “Nor you couldn’t see light if it went that fast neither. Ain’t I right? Could you?” “He’s right, Jake,” said the second man. Tubby sat down. “Well, _he_ said,” the first man resumed unabashed—“he said as how light travels one hundred and eighty-six thousand miles in a second. And furthermore, and in addition, he said as how some of the stars were so far away that it takes the light hundreds and hundreds of years just getting here from them.” “It was all in the movie,” said the second man wearily. “‘The Wonders of Light’—I remember it.” “Well, _I_ don’t believe it,” said Tubby. “Because I know it ain’t so—not none of it.” He stood up again; then with sudden thought he waddled across the room to the open window. “Come here,” he said, commandingly; the two other men joined him. “Ain’t them stars up there?” he asked. He pointed through the open casement to a brilliant, cloudless summer evening sky. “Yes—them’s stars all right,” the first man agreed. “If that’s what you mean.” “That _ain’t_ what I mean,” said Tubby. “I said, ‘Ain’t them stars up there?’ Are they up there, or ain’t they? That’s what I want to know.” “They’re up there all right, Jake,” said the second man. “If you can see them, mustn’t they be there?” Tubby persisted. “Yes,” said the first man. “When you can see them they must be there.” “Then,” said Tubby—he paused impressively—“then the light of them must be here and there at the same time. Am I right?” “He’s right, Jake,” said the second man. “’Cause if it took the light a hundred years to get here we couldn’t see them for a hundred years yet. Am I right?” The first man went back to the stove. Tubby and the second man joined him after a moment. “I ain’t telling you what _I_ think,” the first man remarked. “I’m telling you what _he_ said—” “It ain’t got no sense,” said Tubby. “_I’m_ going to the movies,” said the second man abruptly. “Come on.” “Not me,” said Tubby. “I ate too much. I’m going to sleep.” “It’s ‘The Burning of Rome,’” said the first man. “Nero playing the piano while the city burns. Come on. It’s good—I seen the pictures.” And reluctantly Tubby allowed himself to be led away. The little Moving Picture Theater was hot and stuffy; Tubby found an aisle seat with his friends, near the back. For a quarter of an hour or more he sat blinking at the flickering screen. The Topical Review interested him not at all; he yawned and squeezed his fat little body lower into the hard narrow seat. Then the picture changed. It was not “The Burning of Rome” yet, but a short picture, evidently science. Tubby frowned at it in silence. The first man nudged him. “Wake up,” he said. “Here’s a astronomical picture about the stars. Wake up. It’ll be good. ‘The Burning of Rome’s’ next.” “I ain’t asleep.” Tubby whispered back. “I’m thinking.” The wonders of celestial space were unfolding before Tubby’s eyes. But he hardly saw them. He was thinking of what Jake had said—those tremendous figures Jake had reeled off to him. What was it he had said? One hundred and eighty-six thousand miles in a second. There were sixty seconds in a minute, and sixty minutes in an hour! That would be— “’Taint so,” he muttered to himself doggedly. He felt a light touch on his arm and looked up to see a little man standing beside him in the aisle. In the dim light Tubby could not see the little man very well; but he _could_ see that he did not know him. The little man bent down toward Tubby’s ear. “I want to talk to you,” he whispered. “What about?” said Tubby. The little man shook his head. “I can’t talk in here. Come outside for a moment.” Tubby hesitated. “It’s very important,” the little man added. “You must come—just for a moment. I’ve wanted to see you for a very long time.” Tubby clambered to his feet; his two friends, absorbed in the picture before them, did not notice him leave. In silence he followed the stranger back up the aisle to the lighted theater lobby. “I’ve wanted to see you for a long time,” the little man repeated. Tubby could see now he was a very little man, with a thin, frail body and a very big head set upon a long spindly neck. His hair was snow-white and long about his ears. His yellow face was seamed with lines, but most of it was hidden by flowing side-whiskers and by a pair of huge iron-rimmed spectacles. He wore a long black frock coat that hung from his thin shoulders like a shroud. “I’m a professor,” said the stranger. He held out a shriveled, taloned hand. “A Professor of Light,” he added impressively. “Oh,” said Tubby. “My name is Obadiah Oats.” Tubby shook hands. “Mine’s Tubby,” he said. “Pleased to meet you.” The professor put on his high hat, which made him nearly as tall as Tubby. “I want to consult you on a matter of very great importance to both of us,” he said slowly. Tubby waited. “About light,” the professor added. He linked his arm in Tubby’s confidentially. “I need your help. They tell me you’re the smartest man in town. I wanted to find you. With a brain like yours and mine—” “Yes,” said Tubby breathlessly, when the professor paused. “My laboratory’s right across the street,” said the little man. “I’ll show you.” Tubby followed the professor out of the theater, through a little doorway across the street and up several flights of rickety stairs into a room on the top floor of the house. “This is where I work,” said the professor. “Sit down.” It was a large room with endless row of bottles upon tiers of shelves lining its walls. Several long tables stood about, and Tubby saw they were crowded with curious apparatus—little tubes in racks, microscopes, triangular pieces of glass with candles behind them, and several contrivances of wheels and weights that looked like clock works. In the exact center of the room was one larger apparatus of a sort Tubby had never seen before; it seemed very complicated and he stared at it with awe. He could make nothing out of it except that part of it was a huge telescope, extending up through the skylight of the room. He glanced upward, and there, through a narrow, open slit in the glass, he could see the stars shining. “That’s a Light Machine,” said the professor, following his glance. “There’s only one in the world, and there it is.” “Yes,” said Tubby. “It’s the most wonderful machine that was ever built,” the professor went on softly. “I built it; and now _you_ are going to help me make money out of it.” “Yes,” said Tubby. “How?” “That’s what _you_ are going to tell _me_. Don’t you see? I am a man of science—you are a business man. That’s the difference between us.” “Yes,” said Tubby. “First I’ll have to explain. You have a head for figures, of course?” “No—yes,” said Tubby. “Of course.” “But you don’t know much about light?” “Yes—no,” said Tubby. “Naturally. How could you. Nobody does—but me. And I know all about it—_all_.” He emphasized the last word impressively. “And now I’m going to tell it to you.” “Thank you very much,” said Tubby, and waited. “All my life,” began the professor—he spoke softly; his eyes, fixed on Tubby seemed staring at dim, distant spaces—“all my life—since I was a little boy—I have been studying the properties of light. It is a very wonderful thing—you realize that, do you not—the most wonderful thing in the whole of science?” “Oh, yes,” said Tubby. The professor drew in a deep breath, like a long sigh reversed. “Light,” he began again, “is a vibratory wave in the Ether. You know what the Ether is?” “No,” said Tubby. “It is like air. But you cannot breathe it. It exists everywhere—even in the outermost realms of Space. Now do you understand?” “Yes,” said Tubby. “Light is vibration of the Ether,” the professor went on in his droning voice. “Its vibrations travel through the Ether at the rate of one hundred and eighty-six thousand three hundred and twenty-four miles a second.” “I know _that_,” said Tubby. “You are a learned man,” the professor said admiringly. “You have a wonderful mind. I knew you had—they said so.” “Yes,” said Tubby. “Go on.” The professor jerked his little body upright in his chair suddenly, so suddenly that Tubby started violently with fright. “How long is a second?” the professor asked aggressively. “Why—tick-tick. That’s it,” said Tubby. The professor relaxed in his chair. “You _are_ a clever man. You will have your little joke. “But we must be serious. I will tell you how long a second is. It is exactly one-thirty-one millionth, five hundred and fifty-eight thousandth, one hundred and forty-ninth part of a year.” “Oh,” said Tubby. “Do you know what a year is?” “Three hundred and sixty-five days,” said Tubby promptly. The professor smiled again. “A year is the time it takes the Earth to revolve once around the Sun. Thus you see there are 31,558,149 seconds in a year—which is a little more than 365¼ days.” “Yes,” said Tubby. “I see.” “Now to find out how far light travels in a year we simply take its speed per second and multiply it by sixty. That is its speed per minute. Multiply that by sixty gives it speed per hour and so on up to a day or a year. Do you understand?” “Yes,” said Tubby. “How—how far does it go in a year?” The professor raised his hand. “_That_ is a very simple problem—only mental arithmetic for me. Wait. Let us go further.” “Yes,” said Tubby. “Go on.” “The distance Light travels in one year is called a Light-year. Now, some of the stars are so far away that it takes light many centuries to come from them, traveling at that speed I have just mentioned. Thus we measure their distance from us as so many hundred Light-years. Do you see?” “Yes,” said Tubby. “How—how many miles away from us is the farthest star—the very farthest?” The professor leaped to his feet. “Ah, I was expecting you to ask that.” His face was beaming. “You _are_ a clever man. But I’m ready for you. I figured it all out this afternoon and wrote it down. I’ll show you.” He led Tubby to a corner of the room. Tubby saw a perfectly enormous roll of narrow paper tape, like the tape that comes from a stock ticker, or is rolled up around baby ribbon. Only this roll was bigger than he was. It was hung vertically on a spindle, which had a handle to rotate it so that the tape could be unwound and wound again easily. A few feet away there was a similar spindle, but empty. “I wrote it down for you,” the professor repeated—“the distance in miles of the furthest star from the Earth. I wrote it down—on this.” He took the loose end of the tape and reeling off a few feet hooked the end onto the empty spindle. “Watch closely,” he said. “I’m going to show you the number.” He started to wind up the tape on the empty spindle. Tubby stood close beside the strip of tape stretching the space between the two spindles; it passed directly under his face. “Watch closely,” said the professor again. “There comes the first of it.” Tubby saw a row of little digits start on the tape. The first three were 154. Then after the comma began a string of ciphers; after each three ciphers was another comma. The moving tape carried this endless row of little ciphers swiftly under Tubby’s nose. He stared at them fascinated. Faster and faster they flew by as the roll of tape wound up on the spindle the professor was turning. For half an hour he turned briskly. Then the row of ciphers stopped just as the other end of the tape fluttered off the unwinding spindle. The professor leaned against the wall, breathing hard. “That—was—the—number,” he gasped. Tubby blinked. “What—what number was it?” he asked finally. The professor recovered his breath and sat down again in his chair wearily. “It was one hundred and fifty-four zin-tillions,” he answered. “The largest number that has ever been written down. Wrote it down this afternoon.” “Yes,” said Tubby. “It _was_ a big number.” The professor pulled at his side-whiskers thoughtfully. “We must get on,” he said. “Now you understand how far the stars are away. And how fast light travels. That brings us to my Light Machine.” Tubby sat up with interest. “To the Light Machine. Yes, go on.” “As you can see,” the professor continued. “I know all about Light—I am its master. No one in the world knows as much about Light as I do. And only one man in the world thinks he does.” The professor’s eyes gleamed vindictively. “Ah, how I hate him, that man!” “Who?” Tubby asked with interest. “What is his name?” “His name is Einstein,” answered the professor. “I hate him—I loathe him—I despise him.” “Oh,” said Tubby. “I’m sorry.” “But he cannot harm _me_. I’m too clever for him. And _you_ will help me. We still have time—he cannot prove anything yet.” “No—yes,” said Tubby. The professor stood up. “Let us get on with my invention. _Then_ you’ll see what a wonderful man I am. I will be brief.” Tubby joined him beside the telescope in the center of the room. “What you must understand first,” said the professor, “is _my_ theory of Light.” Tubby waited. “No light is ever destroyed,” the professor continued. “It passes beyond our vision, that is all. But it always exists somewhere, in the outer realms of Space.” “That’s where it goes when it goes out,” Tubby put in. “Ain’t I right?” “Yes,” said the professor. “That’s where it goes—out into the realms of Space. “Now what you must understand is that light can be reflected, refracted, polarized, but never destroyed.” He pointed to his instruments on one of the tables. “_I_ can do all those things to it—and a thousand more—but I cannot destroy it.” “Right,” said Tubby. “But if you put it out you can’t never get it back, can you now?” The professor beamed on him genially. “Your brain works too keenly,” he said. “You anticipate me. No, _I_ cannot get it back. But it comes back. That’s just the point—it comes back. That’s what nobody in the world knows except me—me and you. “The sun,” he went on, “gives us most of our light—it gets here to the earth from the sun in a few minutes. The moon gives us reflected sunlight. It is the same light, only it comes to us from the sun by way of the moon. It takes a little longer that way.” “How much?” Tubby asked. “Not much—just a few seconds—the moon is not far away. Now all this light that strikes the earth is reflected back into space. In a hundred years—less or more according to the distance—it strikes the different stars. There it mingles with other light. And then, mark me well, and then”—the professor paused impressively—“then in another hundred years it comes back to us again—the same light—mixed with other light of course—but some of the same light we had two hundred years before. Do you understand?” “No—yes,” said Tubby. “That,” said the professor, “is the _Oats Theory of the Rationality of Light_. I call it that because it _is_ rational—it is in accordance with all known physical laws. “Some others I could name”—the professor’s voice shook with suppressed passion; his eyes gleamed again wickedly—“some others are not so scrupulous. _Their_ theories do _not_ coincide with recognized physical laws—they transgress them all. Mere astronomical outcasts—mathematical lepers—scientific pariahs—” “Oh—you mean that other guy?” said Tubby. The professor calmed himself with an effort. He pulled a huge black silk handkerchief from his pocket and mopped his dripping forehead. “We won’t talk of him,” he said after a moment. “No, we better leave him out of it,” Tubby agreed. “Ain’t I right?” The professor nodded. “Now we come to _my_ great discovery. I’ll tell you about that now. “When this sunlight is reflected from the moon to us, it brings with it an image of the moon, which was not in the light when it left the sun. Do you understand?” “No—yes,” said Tubby. “That’s why we can see the moon—the light brings us the image. All light carries an image of something—that’s why we can see things. “Now when light leaves the earth and goes out into space it takes with it an image of the earth and everything that is happening on the earth.” “Right,” said Tubby. “Go on.” “Now some of this light may have to travel a hundred years before it reaches a star. When it does it mixes with other light and is reflected back in another hundred years to us. But—mark you this—but it still carries the image of the earth and what happened on the earth when it was here.” “But you don’t see _that_,” said Tubby. “We see the star. Ain’t I right?” “Yes,” said the professor. “Of course you’re right. And the reason we see the star is because that image is the last one the light got. That is predominate. All the others are there—but they are hidden away beneath the star image.” “Oh,” said Tubby. “Nobody ever knew they were there, and so of course nobody ever tried to get them out. But _I_ knew they were there— that’s the _Oats Theory of the Rationality of Light_. And I have got them out!” His voice rose in triumph. “That’s the Light Machine—the greatest invention in the history of the world!” “Oh, the Light Machine,” said Tubby, when the professor paused. “The Oats Light Machine—here it is—the only one in the world. I’ll show you at once.” He switched off the lights. The room was quite dark except for a little beam of white light that seemed to thread its way through the intricate system of mirrors and prisms of the Light Machine. Tubby could not see where this light came from or where it went to. But he saw distinctly that it turned several corners and was alternately broad and narrow. It was white throughout most of its course; but in one short span it was a dark, angry red, and in another a deep, beautiful purple. “The Light Machine,” the Professor began; his fingers caressed one of its little reflectors lovingly, “is able to extract from light all the images it holds, no matter how long they have been there.” “That’s wonderful, ain’t it?” said Tubby with admiration. “Yes. Let me show you. Here is the telescope. I train it on a star—a star, mark you, that is not a sun, but that shines by reflected light. This beam of starlight, contains moonlight, earthlight, sunlight (_our_ sunlight, you know)—and the light from millions of other suns. The starlight comes out from here”—he touched the lower end of the telescope. “Now you see this ray of my own created light passes directly in front of where the starlight comes out—that’s where they mix.” Tubby saw the little beam of white light crossed at right angles to the telescope eyepiece and passed very close to it. “This light of my own is created by burning zonogen—a gas I discovered myself. “From this point, where the starlight joins it, my ray goes to the spectroscope”—he touched another portion of the Light Machine—“and it is polarized here. These”—he indicated a long row of tiny black compartments; Tubby could see the beam of light entering at one end and emerging at the other—“these are my image extractors. Each takes from the light some of its images—leaving finally only the earthlight and the images that belong to it. “There are many other processes—_some_ day you will understand them all. But for now—let me show you the result. “The pure earthlight passes last of all into my projector. See it here?” He laid his hand on what looked to Tubby something like a magic lantern. “My operating power is electricity.” He turned a switch. Tubby first heard a low hum and then a whirring, clicking sound. “This projector magnifies the image—throws it up on a screen.” He pointed to the wall; Tubby saw a small square of canvas hung on the wall. “Now then,” the professor continued, his voice trembling with emotion, “that star my telescope is pointing at is now exactly nine hundred and twenty-seven and one half Light-years away. That means that eighteen hundred and fifty-five years ago to-night the light we are getting back now from that star left the earth. Do you know what was happening eighteen hundred and fifty-five years ago to-night?” “No,” said Tubby. “Yes. Lots of things.” “I can pick anything I want from the light,” the professor answered. “I merely tune my instruments differently. Like wireless, you know—it’s all a matter of vibration. I have picked the most important thing that was happening—the ‘Burning of Rome’!” He turned another switch; the clicking sound grew louder. On the sheet, Tubby saw a great city in flames. He seemed to be standing on a hill, looking down at it. In the foreground he saw the young Roman Emperor, with his mistress, his friends and his music, as they reclined at ease, watching the destruction. Tubby stared for a long time, fascinated. “You are looking into the past,” he heard the professor’s droning voice saying. “All that has been stored up in the light all these years. It is light itself—the work of God, not of man. “That is Nero sitting there. No one living to-day on this earth has ever seen him before. But there he is—Nero the Cruel, Emperor of Rome. _We_ see him, you and I, for we are looking into the past—looking into the past.” The professor’s voice trailed off into silence. Tubby stared breathlessly. His heart was beating fast; he was trembling all over. He felt suddenly a little faint. He was in a cold sweat, and he sat down abruptly in a little wooden chair beside the Light Machine. The scene before him was very vivid; he could almost hear the Emperor’s music. Why, he _did_ hear music! Funny! The professor had not mentioned that. The clicking noise grew louder; the scene before him was so bright he could see nothing else around. It was very dark, and very close and stuffy. Where was the professor? Why didn’t he say something about the music? Tubby grew a little frightened. He shifted his feet uneasily. The little chair in which he was sitting was very uncomfortable. It cramped him; his back hurt. After a little while the scene before him slowly faded. The lights in the room flashed on; a rustling, and a shuffling of many feet sounded in his ears. Tubby sat up abruptly, blinking in the sudden light. “Some kid, that Nero—eh, Jake?” said a voice beside him. “You said it. Some picture. Come on, Tubby, let’s go home,” said the first man. [Transcriber’s Note: This story appeared in the June 19, 1920 issue of All-Story Weekly magazine.] *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIGHT MACHINE *** Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renamed. Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. START: FULL LICENSE THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license. Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works 1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. 1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. 1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when you share it without charge with others. 1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country other than the United States. 1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: 1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed: This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. 1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. 1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. 1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™. 1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg™ License. 1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. 1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. 1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works provided that: • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.” • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ works. • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work. • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works. 1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. 1.F. 1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. 1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. 1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem. 1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. 1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. 1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any Defect you cause. Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™ Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life. Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org. Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws. The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS. The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate. While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate. International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate. Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. Most people start at our website which has the main PG search facility: www.gutenberg.org. This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.