The Project Gutenberg eBook of Last night of summer 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: Last night of summer Author: Alfed Coppel Illustrator: Jack Faragasso Ed Valigursky Release date: November 3, 2026 [eBook #79916] Language: English Original publication: New York: Hanro Corp., 1954 Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/79916 Credits: Tom Trussel - Stories of Futures Past (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LAST NIGHT OF SUMMER *** Last Night of Summer by Alfred Coppel =When The End comes, it will be different from anything man has imagined—and it will also be different for each of us who must face it alone.= [Illustration] There were fires burning in the city. With the house dark—the power station was deserted by this time—Tom Henderson could see the fires clearly. They reflected like bonfires against the pall of smoke. He sat in the dark, smoking and listening to the reedy voice of the announcer that came out of the battery-powered portable radio. “—mean temperatures are rising to abnormal heights all over the world. Paris reports a high yesterday of 110 degrees ... Naples was 115 ... astronomers predict ... the government requests that the civil population remain calm. Martial law has been declared in Los Angeles—” The voice was faint. The batteries were low. Not that it mattered. _With all our bickering_, Henderson thought, _this is the finish. And we haven’t got what it takes to face it._ It was so simple, really. No war of the worlds, no collision with another planet. A slight rise in temperature. Just that. The astronomers had discovered it first, of course. And there had been reassuring statements to the press. The rise in temperature would be small. Ten percent, give or take a few million degrees. They spoke of surface-tensions, internal stresses and used all the astrophysical terms not one man in two million had ever taken the trouble to understand. And what they said to the world was that on the last night of summer it would die. It would be gradual at first. Temperatures had been high all summer. Then on September 22nd, there would be a sudden surge of heat from that familiar red ball in the sky. The surface temperature of the earth would be raised to 200° centigrade for seventeen hours. Then everything would be back to normal. Henderson grinned vacuously at the empty air. _Back to normal_. The seas, which would have boiled away, would condense and fall as hot rain for a month or so, flooding the land, washing away all traces of man’s occupation—those that hadn’t burned. And in two months, the temperature would be down to where a man could walk on the surface without protective clothing. Only there would not be very many men left. There would only be the lucky ones with the talismans of survivals, the metal disks that gave access to the Burrows. Out of a population of two billions, less than a million would survive. The announcer sounded bone-weary. _He should_, Henderson thought. _He’s been on the air for ten hours or more without relief. We all do what we can. But it isn’t much._ “—no more applicants are being taken for the Burrows—” _I should hope not_, Henderson thought. There had been so little time. Three months. That they had been able to build the ten Burrows was tribute enough. But then money hadn’t mattered, had it? He had to keep reminding himself that the old values didn’t apply. Not money, or materials, or even labor—that standby of commerce. Only time. And there hadn’t been any of that. “—population of Las Vegas has been evacuated into several mines in the area—” _Nice try, but it wouldn’t work_, Henderson thought languidly. If the heat didn’t kill, the overcrowding would. And if that failed, then the floods would succeed. And of course there would be earthquakes. _We can’t accept catastrophe on this scale_, he told himself. _We aren’t equipped mentally for it any better than we are physically_. The only thing a man could understand were his own problems. And this last night of summer made them seem petty, small, as though they were being viewed through the wrong end of a telescope. _I’m sorry for the girls_, he thought. Lorrie and Pam. They should have had a chance to grow up. He felt a tightness in his throat as he thought of his daughters. Eight and ten are sad ages to die. But he hadn’t thought of them before, why should the end of the world make it any different? He had left them and Laura, too. For what? For Kay and money and a kind of life that would go out in a bright flash with the coming of dawn. They all danced their minuscule ballet on the rim of the world while he sat, drained of purpose or feeling, watching them through that reversed telescope. He wondered where Kay was now. All over the city there were Star Parties going on. The sky the limit tonight! Anything you want. Tomorrow—_bang!_ Nothing denied, nothing forbidden. This is the last night of the world, kiddo! Kay had dressed—if that was the word—and gone out at seven. “I’m not going to sit here and just wait!” He remembered the hysteria in her voice, the drugged stupor in her eyes. And then Trina and those others coming in, some drunk, others merely giddy with terror. Trina wrapped in her mink coat, and dancing around the room singing in a shrill, cracked voice. And the other girl—Henderson never could remember her name, but he’d remember her now for all the time there was left—naked except for her jewels. Diamonds, rubies, emeralds—all glittering and sparkling in the last rays on the swollen sun. And the tears streamed down her cheeks as she begged him to make love to her— It was a nightmare. But it was real. The red sun that slipped into the Pacific was real. The fires and looting in the city were not dreams. This was the way the world was ending. Star Parties and murder in the streets, and women dressed in gems, and tears—a million gallons of tears. Outside there was the squeal of tires and a crash, then the tinkling of broken glass and silence. A shot came from down the street. There was a cry that was part laughter and part scream. _I’m without purpose_, Henderson thought. _I sit and watch and wait for nothing_. And the radio’s voice grew fainter still. “—those in the Burrows will survive ... in mines and caves ... geologists promise a forty percent survival ... behind the iron curtain—” Behind the iron curtain, surely nothing. Or perhaps it would be instantaneous, not sweeping across the world with dawn. Of course, it would be instantaneous. The sun would swell—oh, so slightly—and eight minutes later, rivers, lakes, streams, the oceans—everything wet—would boil up into the sky.... * * * * * From the street came a rasping repetitive cry. Not a woman. A man. He was burning. A street gang had soaked him with gasoline and touched him with a match. They followed him shrieking: _preview, preview!_ Henderson watched him through the window as he ran with that _uuuh uuuh uuuh_ noise seemingly ripped from his throat. He vanished around the corner of the next house, closely pursued by his tormentors. _I hope the girls and Laura are safe_, Henderson thought. And then he almost laughed aloud. Safe. What was safety now? _Maybe_, he thought, _I should have gone with Kay._ Was there anything left he wanted to do that he had never done? Kill? Rape? Any sensation left untasted? The night before, at the Gilmans’, there had been a ludicrous Black Mass full of horror and asininity: pretty Louise Gilman taking the guests one after another amid the broken china and sterling silver on the dining table while her husband lay half-dead of self-administered morphine. _Our set_, Henderson thought. _Brokers, bankers, people who matter._ God, it was bad enough to die. But to die without dignity was worse yet. And to die without purpose was abysmal. Someone was banging at the door, scratching at it, shrieking. He sat still. “Tom—Tom—it’s Kay! Let me in, for God’s sake!” Maybe it was Kay. Maybe it was and he should let her stay outside. _I should keep what shreds of dignity I have_, he thought, _and die alone, at least_. How would it have been to face this thing with Laura? Any different? Or was there anything to choose? _I married Laura_, he thought. _And I married Kay, too_. It was easy. If a man could get a divorce every two years, say, and he lived to be sixty-five, say—then how many women could he marry? And if you assumed there were a billion women in the world, what percentage would it be? “_Let me in, Tom, damn you! I know you’re there!_” _Eight and ten isn’t very old_, he thought. _Not very old, really._ They might have been wonderful women ... to lay amid the crockery and cohabit like animals while the sun got ready to blow up? “Tom...!” He shook his head sharply and snapped off the radio. The fires in the city were brighter and bigger. Not sunfires, those. Someone had set them. He got up and went to the door. He opened it. Kay stumbled in, sobbing. “Shut the door, oh, God, shut it!” He stood looking at her torn clothes—what there was of them—and her hands. They were sticky red with blood. He felt no horror, no curiosity. He experienced nothing but a dead feeling of loss. _I never loved her_, he thought suddenly. _That’s why._ She reeked of liquor and her lipstick was smeared all over her face. “I gave him what he wanted,” she said shrilly. “The filthy swine coming to mix with the dead ones and then run back to the Burrow—” Suddenly she laughed. “Look, Tom—look!” She held out one bloody hand. Two disks gleamed dully in her palm. “We’re safe, safe—” She said it again and again, bending over the disks and crooning to them. Henderson stood in the dim hallway, slowly letting his mind understand what he was seeing. Kay had killed a man for those tickets into the Burrow. “Give them to me,” he said. She snatched them away. “No.” “I want them, Kay.” “No, nononono—” She thrust them into the torn bosom of her dress. “I came back. I came back for you. That’s true, isn’t it?” “Yes,” Henderson said. And it was also true that she couldn’t have hoped to reach a Burrow alone. She would need a car and a man with a gun. “I understand, Kay,” he said softly, hating her. “If I gave them to you, you’d take Laura,” she said. “Wouldn’t you? _Wouldn’t you?_ Oh, I know you, Tom, I know you so well. You’d never gotten free of her or those two sniveling brats of yours—” He struck her sharply across the face, surprised at the rage that shook him. “Don’t do that again,” she said, glaring hatred at him. “I need you right now, but you need me more. You don’t know where the Burrow is. I do.” It was true, of course. The entrances to the Burrows would have to be secret, known only to those chosen to survive. Mobs would storm them otherwise. And Kay had found out from the man—that man who had paid with his life for forgetting that there were only potential survivors now and animals. “All right, Kay,” Henderson said. “I’ll make a bargain with you.” “What?” she asked suspiciously. “I’ll tell you in the car. Get ready. Take light things.” He went into the bedroom and took his Luger from the bedside table drawer. Kay was busy stuffing her jewelry into a handbag. “Come on,” he said. “That’s enough. Plenty. There isn’t much time.” They went down into the garage and got into the car. “Roll up the windows,” he said. “And lock the doors.” “All right.” He started the engine and backed onto the street. “What’s the bargain?” Kay asked. “Later,” he said. He put the car in gear and started down out of the residential district, going through the winding, wooded drives. There were dark shapes running in the shadows. A man appeared in the headlights’ beam and Henderson swerved swiftly by him. He heard shots behind. “Keep down,” he said. “Where are we going? This isn’t the way.” “I’m taking the girls with me,” he said. “With us.” “They won’t let them in.” “We can try.” “You fool, Tom! They won’t let them in, I say!” He stopped the car and twisted around to look at her. “Would you rather try to make it on foot?” Her face grew ugly with a renaissance of fear. She could see her escape misting away. “All right. But I tell you they won’t let them in. No one gets into a Burrow without a disk.” “We can try.” He started the car again, driving fast along the littered streets toward Laura’s apartment. * * * * * At several points the street was blocked with burning debris, and once a gang of men and women almost surrounded them, throwing rocks and bits of wreckage at the car as he backed it around. “You’ll get us both killed for nothing,” Kay said wildly. Tom Henderson looked at his wife and felt sick for the wasted years. “We’ll be all right,” he said. He stopped the car in front of Laura’s. There were two overturned cars on the sidewalk. He unlocked the door and got out, taking the keys with him. “I won’t be long,” he said. “Say good-by to Laura for me,” Kay said, her eyes glittering. “Yes,” he said. “I will.” A shadow moved menacingly out of the dark doorway. Without hesitation, Tom Henderson lifted the Luger and fired. The man fell and did not move. _I’ve just killed a man_, Henderson thought. And then: _But what does it matter on the last night of summer?_ He shot away the lock and walked swiftly up the dark hallway, up the two flights of stairs he remembered so well. At Laura’s door he knocked. There was movement within. The door opened slowly. “I’ve come for the girls,” he said. Laura stepped back. “Come in,” she said. The scent she wore began to prod memories. His eyes felt unaccountably hot and wet. “There’s very little time,” he said. Laura’s hand was on his in the dark. “You can get them into a Burrow?” she asked. And then faintly. “I put them to bed. I didn’t know what else to do.” He couldn’t see her, but he knew how she would look: the close-cropped sandy hair; the eyes the color of rich chocolates; her so familiar body supple and warm under the wrapper; the smell and taste of her. It didn’t matter now, nothing mattered on this last crazy night of the world. “Get them,” he said. “Quickly.” She did as she was told. Pam and Lorrie—he could hear them complaining softly about being awakened in the middle of the night—soft little bodies, with the musty-childish odor of sleep and safety. Then Laura was kneeling, holding them against her, each in turn. And he knew the tears must be wet on her cheeks. He thought: _say good-by and make it quick. Kiss your children good-by and watch them go out while you remain alone in the dark that isn’t ever going to end. Ah, Laura, Laura—_ “Take them quickly, Tom,” Laura said. And then she pressed herself against him just for an instant. “I love you, Tom. I never stopped.” He lifted Pam into his arms and took Lorrie’s hand. He didn’t trust himself to speak. “Good-by, Tom,” Laura said, and closed the door behind him. “Isn’t Mommy coming?” Pam asked sleepily. “Another time, baby,” Tom said softly. He took them out to the waiting car and Kay. “They won’t take them,” she said. “You’ll see.” “Where is it, Kay?” She remained sullenly silent and Henderson felt his nerves cracking. “Kay—” “All right.” She gave him directions grudgingly, as though she hated to share her survival with him. She wouldn’t look at the girls, already asleep in the back of the car. They drove through the city, the looted, tortured city that burned and echoed to the shrill gaiety of Star Parties and already stank of death. Twice, they were almost struck by careening cars, filled with drunken, naked, insane people, all with the desperate desire to make this last night more vivid than all the others back to the very beginning of time. The headlights illuminated tableaus from some wild inferno as the car swung around through the concrete cemetery the city had become: A woman hung by the ankles, her skirt shrouding her face and upper body, her legs and buttocks flayed.... Psalm singers kneeling in the street, not moving as a truck cut a swath through their midst. And the hymn, thin and weak, heard over the moans of the dying: _Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me bide myself in thee...._ Sudden sun-worshippers and troglodytes dancing round a fire of burning books.... _The death throes of a world_, Henderson thought. _What survives the fire and flood will have to be better._ And then they had reached the silent hill that was the entrance to the Burrow, the miles-deep warren clothed in refrigerator pipes and cooling earth. “There,” Kay said. “Where you see the light. There’ll be a guard.” Behind them, the fires burned in the city. The night was growing lighter, lit by a rising moon, a moon too red, too large. _Four hours left_, perhaps, Tom thought. _Or less._ “You can’t take them,” Kay was whispering harshly. “If you try they might not let us in. It’s kinder to let them stay here—asleep. They’ll never know.” “That’s right,” Tom said. Kay got out of the car and started up the grassy slope. “Then come on!” Halfway up the hill, Henderson could make out the pacing figure of the guard: death watch on a world. “Wait a minute,” he said. “What is it?” “Are you sure we can get in?” “Of course.” “No questions asked?” “All we need are the disks. They can’t know everybody who belongs.” “No,” Tom said quietly. “Of course not.” He stood looking at Kay under the light of the red moon. “Tom—” He took Kay’s hand. “We weren’t worth much, were we, Kay.” Her eyes were bright, wide, staring. “You didn’t really expect anything else, did you?” “Tom—Tom—!” The pistol felt light in his hand. “I’m your wife—” she said hoarsely. “Let’s pretend you’re not. Let’s pretend it’s a Star Party.” “My God—please—nonono—” The Luger bucked in his hand. Kay sank to the grass awkwardly and lay there, eyes glazed and open in horrified surprise. Henderson opened her dress and took the two disks from between her breasts. Then he covered her carefully and shut her eyes with his forefinger. “You didn’t miss much, Kay,” he said looking down at her. “Just more of the same.” He went back to the car and woke up the girls. “Where are we going now, Daddy?” Pam asked. “Up there on the hill, dear. Where the light is.” “Carry me?” “Both of you,” he said, and dropped the Luger into the grass. He picked them up and carried them up the hill to within a hundred feet of the bunker entrance. Then he put them down and gave them each a disk. “Go to the light and give the man there these,” he said, and kissed them both. “You’re not coming?” “No, babies.” Lorrie looked as though she might start crying. “I’m afraid.” “There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Tom said. “Nothing at all,” Pam said. Tom watched them go. He saw the guard kneel and hug them both. _There is some kindness in this stripping of inhibitions_, Henderson thought, _something is left after all._ They disappeared into the Burrow and the guard stood up saluting the darkness with a wave. Henderson turned and walked back down the hill, skirting the place where Kay lay face to the sky. A warm dry wind touched his face. _Time running out quickly now_, he thought. He got into the car and started back toward the city. There were still a few hours left of this last night of summer, and Laura and he could watch the red dawn together. Transcriber’s note: This etext was produced from Orbit, September-October 1954 (Vol. 1, No. 4). Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. Obvious errors have been silently corrected, but minor inconsistencies have been retained as printed. New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the public domain. *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LAST NIGHT OF SUMMER *** 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 41 Watchung Plaza #516, Montclair NJ 07042, USA, +1 (862) 621-9288. 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.