The Impossibles

The Impossibles

by Gordon Randall Garrett and Laurence Mark Janifer. This eBook is
for the use of anyone anywhere 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.net
Title: The Impossibles
Author: Gordon Randall Garrett Laurence Mark Janifer
Release Date: August 16, 2007 [EBook #22338]
Date Last Updated: October 2, 2007
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE
IMPOSSIBLES ***

Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from the 1963 book publication of the story.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the copyright on
this publication was renewed.
Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without
note.

* * * * *
Since the publication of BRAIN TWISTER (Pyramid Book F-783),
Mark (Laurence M. Janifer) Phillips (Randall Philip Garrett) has, or
have, undergone several changes. In order to keep the reader posted on
the latest developments regarding this author, or these authors, he, or
they, has, or have, passed on the following details:
GARRETT is still engaged. He and his charming fiancee plan to run
out of excuses during the early Fall of 1994, but this date may be
changed at any time by mutual agreement, or the end of the world. He
has given up an interest in river pollution in favor of a new hobby,
grading type-cleaner. Garrett, who spends an hour each day expanding
his repertoire, now claims the ability to distinguish year and vineyard
for over one thousand type-cleaners.
JANIFER is still on the other hand. He has had his eyeglasses cleaned,
and is happy to report that he has recently met a woman. The woman,
however, seems to have been looking for a man. Janifer's hobbies,
humming and blinking, remain constant, but in an effort to add more
healthful activity to his life he has begun training in leaping to
conclusions. He states that he can now clear a conclusion of better than
seven feet, eight and one-half inches from a running start.
THE IMPOSSIBLES was written in six days. On the seventh day,
nothing of any interest whatsoever occurred.
The Impossibles
Mark Phillips
To John J.,
without whose accident in 1945 this series would not have been
possible.
1

The sidewalk was as soft as a good bed. Malone lay curled on it,
thinking about nothing at all. He was drifting off into a wonderful
dream, and he didn't want to interrupt it. There was this girl, a beautiful
girl, more wonderful than anything he had ever imagined, with big blue
eyes and long blonde hair and a figure that made the average pin-up girl
look like a man. And she had her soft white hand on his arm, and she
was looking, up at him with trust and devotion and even adoration in
her eyes, and her voice was the softest possible whisper of innocence
and promise.
"I'd love to go up to your apartment with you, Mr. Malone," she said.
Malone smiled back at her, gently but with complete confidence. "Call
me Ken," he said, noticing that he was seven feet tall and superbly
muscled. He put his free hand on the girl's warm, soft shoulder and she
wriggled with delight.
"All right--Ken," she said. "You know, I've never met anyone like you
before. I mean, you're so wonderful and everything."
Malone chuckled modestly, realizing, in passing, how full and rich his
voice had become. He felt a weight pressing over his heart, and knew
that it was his wallet, stuffed to bursting with thousand-dollar bills.
But was this a time to think of money?
No, Malone told himself. This was the time for adventure, for romance,
for love. He looked down at the girl and put his arm around her waist.
She snuggled closer.
He led her easily down the long wide street to his car at the end of the
block. It stood in godlike solitude, a beautiful red Cadillac capable of
going a hundred and ten miles an hour in any gear, equipped with fully
automatic steering and braking, and with a stereophonic radio, a hi-fi
and a 3-D set installed in both front and back seats. It was a 1972 job,
but he meant to trade it in on something even better when the 1973
models came out. In the meantime, he decided, it would do.

He handed the girl in, went round to the other side and slid in under the
wheel. There was soft music playing somewhere, and a magnificent
sunset appeared ahead of them as Malone pushed a button on the
dashboard and the red Cadillac started off down the wide, empty,
wonderfully paved street into the sunset, while he... The