Flight 18
Date: 2023-02-10T00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Science fiction; Short stories; Businessmen -- Fiction; Air travel -- Fiction

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Flight 18

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: Flight 18

Author: Paul A. Torak

Release date: February 10, 2023 [eBook #70003]

Language: English

Original publication: United States: Standard Magazines, Inc, 1953

Credits: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FLIGHT 18 ***

FLIGHT 18

By PAUL A. TORAK

[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Thrilling Wonder Stories August 1953.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]

Mr. Bradbury was angry. Fog or no fog, the airlines should stay on schedule. Lack of planning, foresight, sense of responsibility—that was the trouble. He felt like cursing.

"Damn!" said Mr. Bradbury.

But a voice on the public address system announced that Flight Eighteen for Chicago was ready to leave. He raised his considerable bulk from the chair in the dimly lit waiting room of the airfield and checked his watch. No way to run a business. He shook his head and snorted indignantly.

Such a snort is worthy of note. It was an utterance that could be made only by a corporation lawyer in the prime of life. It was a nasal explosion connoting wealth, confidence, and a singular lack of imagination. It was a snort fed on T-bone steaks, good Scotch whisky, and bicarbonate of soda.

Mr. Bradbury peered myopically around the waiting room. A few minutes ago, while washing his face in the men's room, he had broken his glasses in the wash bowl. Although he hated to admit it to anyone, he could see next to nothing without those thick lenses. The room was an unpleasant blur, but he was able to determine that he was the only would-be passenger in the waiting room. The others were drinking coffee in the airfield's restaurant.

"Flight Eighteen," said the voice on the speaker. "Flight Eighteen."

Mr. Bradbury shrugged his heavy shoulders, picked up his bag and briefcase, and stepped out the door into the fog.

The mist hung thick and low over the airfield, cloaking the damp night air in a morbid blanket of gloom. Mr. Bradbury blinked sullenly into the shroud-like vapor.

"What the hell!" he swore. Can't even see the plane, and, he thought, floundering unhappily into a wire gate where in blazes are the rest of the passengers? Are they going to fly through this stuff?

"This way, sir," said a feminine voice, and he saw a dim, uniformed figure in front of him.

The hostess. Glad someone knows where he's going, he thought, and then he followed the girl toward the now visible lights of the plane.

"Watch your step, sir!" she said as he walked up the runway.

He grunted. Making these things steeper all the time, he thought.

The hostess was a pretty dark-eyed young thing, plump in the right sort of way. Mr. Bradbury leaned back in the soft, cushioned seat. It felt good.

"Fasten your safety belt, sir." She helped him with it.

"And I do hope you'll be comfortable," she said in a soft, low voice. He caught the glint of black eyes, jet and sparkling.

He smiled at her appreciatively. "I'm sure I will," he grinned resisting a sudden impulse to pinch her cheek. The girl walked down the aisle toward the door again, hips swaying provocatively.

A young blossom ready for the plucking, thought Mr. Bradbury. A succulent young partridge ready for the—Mr. Bradbury chuckled to himself happily on thinking of the many women he had known in his fifty years.

He looked around the plane. No passengers, except for a pleasant looking young man sitting across the aisle from him, a young man thoroughly engrossed in a small, paper-bound book, the title of which Mr. Bradbury could not discern.

He wished he had his glasses, for he was getting a slight headache. The lawyer leaned back in the soft seat and closed his eyes. Well, headache or no headache, life was good, and he was glad he was alive. Then Mr. Bradbury fell asleep.

When he awoke the plane was in flight, and looking out the window, he could see nothing but darkness broken only by an occasional cloud formation. The man across the aisle was staring into the blackness outside, the book he had been reading discarded and left lying on the floor.

Mr. Bradbury stretched himself and looked around him. The plane had been darkened and apparently only he and the young man were awake. He yawned. A great conversationalist, Mr. Bradbury craved discourse. But where was the opening wedge necessary to break the bond of silence between himself and the other passenger? Then his eyes fell on the book lying on the floor. He picked it up and held it close so that he could see.

The title had something to do with "flying saucers" and the cover illustration, a lurid affair, showed a green-skinned, globe-headed, tentacled creature equipped with a tiny rocket motor on its back, an expression of what was supposed to pass for lust in its face. The thing was carrying away a beautiful, thinly clad earthgirl, her face contorted with fear. In the background hung a disc-shaped spaceship hovering over a burning earth city.

"Rubbish!" said Mr. Bradbury in a loud voice so that the young man across the aisle could hear him.

"I beg your pardon?" asked the other passenger, turning away from the window, eyebrows raised in question.

"The book you're reading," answered the corporation lawyer. "Rubbish!"

The smooth-faced young man blushed and smiled apologetically. "Well, I suppose you're right, but it's sort of fun, you know, reading this sort of thing."

The lawyer chuckled condescendingly and shook his head. He turned the book over in his hands almost fondly. He wished he had his glasses so that he could read it.

"It's sort of refreshing, if you know what I mean," continued the man as if feeling some further defense of his choice in literature were necessary.

"Rubbish!" chuckled Mr. Bradbury for the third time.

A shadow of annoyance registered on the young man's face.

The lawyer put down the book and extended his hand across the aisle. "Bradbury is the name," he said. "Represent the Hotchkiss Oil Industries. Oil is my business!" he added impressively.

The young man hesitated for a moment and then accepted Mr. Bradbury's hand. The lawyer reflected momentarily that for a frail-looking young fellow the chap showed an amazing strength in his handshake.

"Tarkas is my name," said Mr. Bradbury's new acquaintance. "Oswald Tarkas."

"In business, Mr. Tarkas?"

"Well no," laughed Mr. Tarkas nervously, "not exactly. I suppose you might say that I just sort of putter around. I work for a museum."

Mr. Bradbury frowned. He had never known anyone who just sort of "puttered around" in museums. He wasn't quite sure that he approved. Such an occupation seemed vaguely un-American, subversive, although he couldn't quite say why.

"A museum? What museum?"

Oswald Tarkas hesitated, looked at the floor, and then answered almost timidly as if he expected some reprimand.

"Well, it's probably not too well known—the Canal City Museum."

"Ummm!" muttered the lawyer. "No, can't say that I've heard of it. Where is it? New York? San Francisco?"

Oswald Tarkas had turned away for a moment and was staring out the window. The motors of the plane hummed pleasantly giving a sense of comforting power. The plane's cabin was dark except for the lights over Mr. Tarkas' and Mr. Bradbury's seats.

"Oh no!" replied Mr. Tarkas. "We do have our branches in those cities, but it's a bit difficult to pin us down. We're more or less a research outfit. Sort of an international organization, if you know what I mean."

Mr. Bradbury didn't, but he nodded his head agreeably. "And what do you do for the museum, Tarkas?" he asked.

"Well, I'm what you might call a collector—of sorts," he added. "Yes, I sort of collect things in a way—you might say."

The lawyer, a great student of human character noted that his new acquaintance wore a crew cut. His face was thin and looked clean-cut except for a slight weakness around the chin.

"Well now, Oswald," he said, "you don't mind my calling you Oswald, do you? I like to be friendly."

"Not at all," flushed Mr. Tarkas happily. "I like to be friendly too. When my work permits," he added.

"I have a lot of respect for museums," ventured Mr. Bradbury. He had never been in a museum. "Cultural institutions, that sort of thing," he went on waving his hand. "My company often makes contributions to worthy institutions. Maybe I can do something for your outfit."

Oswald Tarkas seemed appreciative. "Now that's awfully kind, and, you know, we accept all contributions gratefully. We take what we can get."

There was an embarrassed pause in the conversation. Then Mr. Bradbury remembered the book he held in his hand.

"This book!" he said holding it up in his hand. "Nonsense!" he scoffed shaking his head. "Know what the flying saucers really were?"

"Well—" started Oswald.

"Balloons!"

"Balloons?"

"Weather balloons!" assured Mr. Bradbury emphatically. "Weather balloons! That's all they were!"

Oswald looked as if he were about to say something, but didn't.

Mr. Bradbury, obviously enjoying himself, drew two expensive cigars from his coat pocket.

"Have one?" he offered.

Oswald hesitated and then accepted. He put the cigar in his breast pocket.

"But," stammered Oswald. "What about the witnesses? The National Guard pilot, the airliner pilots, the army anti-aircraft observers?"

The lawyer drew in the rich tobacco fumes, and tilted his large, handsome head.

"Hallucinations!" he said. "Mass hysteria!" A smile of amused indulgence lit his large, florid face. "Oh, oh, what a world of fantastic notions was begun by that first atomic explosion. Now, for example, the notion that these so-called "flying saucers" are extra-terrestrial." Mr. Bradbury waved the very idea away with a gesture of dismissal. "If there are intelligent beings from another planet in control of these hypothetical spaceships, why haven't they contacted us by this time?"

"Well," suggested Mr. Tarkas thoughtfully, "maybe they have their reasons. Maybe you can't judge the actions of extra-terrestrial beings by terrestrial standards of conduct."

"And the meteors," continued Mr. Bradbury ignoring Oswald's last remark. "The meteors make space travel impossible. Do you realize that every day our atmosphere is burning up thousands of those meteors? Do you know that just one of those meteors the size of a pea could smash right through the thickest armored plate and wreck any rocket?"

Something small and glowing smashed into the outside of Mr. Bradbury's window and ricocheted off into space.

"What was that?" asked Mr. Bradbury half rising from his seat.

"I don't know," answered Oswald. And then he added jokingly, "Maybe it was a meteor."

The lawyer stared out the window, but still he could see nothing but blackness. He settled back into his seat again, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well now," he resumed, "as I said. The meteors. Can't escape them."

"But," suggested Mr. Tarkas defensively. "Couldn't the rocket sort of 'scoot' around them?" He simpered as if embarrassed by such a ridiculous notion and made a half-hearted gesture with his right hand that Mr. Bradbury assumed was a "scooting motion."

Mr. Bradbury dismissed this contention with a wave of his cigar.

Just then the airliner gave a sickening lurch to the right and something big and luminous roared past the plane. Mr. Bradbury bellowed. "Roughest damned trip I've ever had."

"It makes me nervous, too," said Oswald.

"Now another thing," said the lawyer. "This business about men from Mars."

He looked uneasily out his window.

Oswald smiled. "No truth in it?"

"None! Anyone with even a token knowledge of science knows that the Earth is the only planet that can support human life."

"But," answered Oswald, "suppose that planets could be inhabited by something other than human life. Like that thing on the cover there." He motioned toward the book Mr. Bradbury held.

Mr. Bradbury laughed, about to explode this fallacy with another barrage of devastating logic. He was interrupted.

"Say, Brad. You don't mind my calling you Brad, do you?"

"Of course not," smiled the lawyer affably.

"You say there's no such thing as flying saucers?"

Mr. Bradbury inhaled from his cigar and shook his head. "Hallucinations," he said positively.

"You're sure of that?"

"Stake my life on it!"

"Well I'm sure glad of that because for a long time now the damndest hallucination I've ever seen has been flying alongside of us."

Mr. Bradbury rose from his seat, stepped across the aisle, and looked out Mr. Tarkas' window. He squinted out into the darkness. It was there all right. No wings, disc shaped, rows of lighted windows, luminous vapor emanating from the rear.

He could see the flying disc outside the window.

"Damn!" exclaimed Mr. Bradbury and pressed the button for the stewardess.

She came quickly down the darkened aisle.

"Flight Eighteen!" she said blankly. "Flight Eighteen!"

Mr. Bradbury stared.

"Did you ring, sir?" she asked.

"Good Lord yes!" said the lawyer. "Look!" He pointed to the window.

The stewardess, plump and pretty as ever, didn't look, but with amazing strength pushed him down into his seat.

"This way sir," she said smiling pleasantly.

"What's going on?" roared Mr. Bradbury starting to rise again from his seat.

"Watch your step, sir," answered the stewardess giving him another shove. "Fasten your safety belt, sir," she said, and before the lawyer could protest again, he found himself fastened down in his seat.

"And I do hope you'll be comfortable, sir," she said in a soft, low voice. He caught the glint of black eyes, jet and sparkling. She turned, took one step up the aisle and stopped.

"And I do hope you'll be comfortable, sir," she repeated. She stood there motionless, as if paralyzed in the middle of the aisle.

"And I do hope you'll be comfortable, sir," she said again. "And I do hope you'll be—"

Mr. Tarkas stifled a yawn, rose from his seat, and stepped over to the girl. He reached out and twisted her ear. Her voice stopped and her back slid open like a secret panel, revealing a maze of whirring, clicking machinery.

"What—what—" stuttered Mr. Bradbury. "She's a—"

"A robot," smiled Oswald Tarkas happily. He turned from his examination of the defective machinery. "She's not a very good robot. Her vocal mechanism jams now and then, but she serves the purpose. You'd be surprised how many of you we catch this way."

Then Oswald touched a wall switch. The darkened plane blazed into light. There were no passengers on the plane other than Oswald, Mr. Bradbury, and the robot stewardess that stood silently in the aisle.

Mr. Bradbury could still see the flying disc outside the window. Oswald saw the direction of his glance.

"Friend of mine," he grinned.

The lawyer looked wildly around the empty plane. "Where—where are the passengers?" he croaked, a numbing suspicion growing in his mind.

"No other passengers," answered Oswald standing there, still smiling. "You just got in the wrong boat, Brad, old fellow."

The cabin of the airliner was changing. It was beginning to look like something very unlike an airliner cabin. The seats dissolved into walls which seemed to expand in the shape of a circular room, a large disc-shaped compartment lined with machinery, tanks and dials, glass cages of sleeping terrestrial animals. One large cage was empty. Mr. Bradbury stared at this unoccupied glass cylinder.

"Yes," grinned Oswald, "for you! But don't worry. Just pass it all off as a hallucination. Want to see where we are, Sport?"

A panel opened in the floor, and Mr. Bradbury looked out into the black void of outer space. And there in the center of that panel of darkness was the planet Earth, a tiny silver ball rapidly diminishing in size.

"What are you?" screamed Mr. Bradbury struggling against the belt that held him in his seat. "What are you?"

"A collector," said Oswald Tarkas tearing off his head and revealing underneath the disguise a small globe of bone and flesh, two glowing eyes, a mouth filled with many white, sharp teeth. "A collector," it repeated as the false arms and legs and torso were ripped away revealing a shapeless green body equipped with spindly tentacles that waved obscenely at Mr. Bradbury. "Of sorts," it added as it moved toward the frightened lawyer.

Mr. Bradbury screamed.

"Rubbish," it giggled. "Weather balloons, hallucinations," it chirped gaily, and writhing, snakelike appendages reached out for the twisting, screaming hysterical figure of Mr. Bradbury.

And through the empty reaches of the cosmos two tiny discs hurtled toward Sol's fourth planet.

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FLIGHT 18 ***

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.

Table of Contents

- FLIGHT 18

- THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE