The Project Gutenberg eBook of Nothing But the Best
    
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: Nothing But the Best

Author: Alan Cogan

Illustrator: Cal

Release date: February 6, 2016 [eBook #51136]

Language: English

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


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NOTHING BUT THE BEST ***




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









                         Nothing But the Best

                             By ALAN COGAN

                          Illustrated by CAL

           [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
                Galaxy Science Fiction September 1956.
         Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
         the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]




              If he took the high road--and also the low
            road--he'd be in the same place afore himself!


Charles Mead stood on top of Hobson's Hill and stared at the
town below, as though trying to imprint a permanent impression
of the view on his memory. He paid particular attention to a
wood-and-corrugated-iron construction at the bottom of the hill by the
railroad tracks, which bore the sign, FINLAY'S LUMBER CO.

Well concealed in the bushes behind him and humming mutely were four
black metal boxes forming a small square. Antennae sprouted from
each box, curving inward to form an arch in which the light seemed to
vibrate and shimmer. Charles Mead made an adjustment on one of the
boxes and then stepped quickly into the shimmering arch.

Darkness smothered him immediately. There was a sudden terrifying
sensation of weightlessness, of falling. He kept pushing and pushing,
although there seemed to be nothing to push against except swirling,
spinning blackness.

Then, suddenly, he was standing on another Hobson's Hill.

The four black boxes had gone, but the blurred arch of light was
still there. He fell to his knees, clutching in terror at the grass,
trembling and breathless: the switch from one world to another was
always unnerving. Immediately between worlds, the sensation of being in
_no_ world, of stepping into a bottomless abyss, always left him ragged
with panic. He had not made the trip many times before, but he doubted
if he would ever get used to it.

       *       *       *       *       *

The town looked substantially the same as the one he had just left,
though he was pleased to note that Finlay's Lumber Co. was no longer in
sight. It was proof that he had made the switch successfully. For some
reason, Finlay never seemed to have established his business anywhere
but in Charles Mead's world. There were similar changes in every
world--some large changes, some small--but at least Hobson's Hill was
always there, which was why he chose it as his jumping-off point.

Charles Mead set off down the hill and along the highway into town. In
a telephone booth, he searched the directory and then began walking
again with a new eagerness in his step.

Ten minutes later, he turned onto the front porch of a small, neat
brick bungalow. He was about to press the bell button when he paused,
listening. From inside the house, he heard voices yelling--a man and a
woman--strident with anger.

Charles Mead smiled faintly and rather smugly and put his finger to the
button. The voices stopped yelling as the bell jangled somewhere in the
house. A moment later, the front door opened and, at the same time, he
heard a woman's high heels stamping through to the back of the house.
Then a door slammed.

The man in the doorway wore moccasins, jeans and a red plaid shirt.
Except for the general sloppiness of his dress compared with the
unwrinkled neatness of Charles Mead's expensive gray slacks and
sports jacket, the pair could have been twins. Both were slim and tall
with the slightly stooped appearance of tall men. Their short, sandy
hair and wide blue eyes gave them both a boyish look.

"Chuck Mead?" Charles Mead asked. This one was sure to be called Chuck,
he thought.

The man nodded, frowning slightly.

"Good," said Charles. "That's my name, too. May I come in?"

He pushed his way past the bewildered Chuck Mead, went into the living
room and sat down.

       *       *       *       *       *

He began the speech he had prepared. It was the first time he had said
it aloud to anyone and, as he talked, he became painfully aware of how
foolish it sounded. He knew that Chuck Mead was smiling behind the hand
he so casually cupped over his chin and mouth. In the tiny living room
with its fading furnishings, its old mahogany piano and the new TV,
its old wedding pictures on the newly redecorated walls, talk of other
worlds than this was hopelessly out of place.

"Look, I'm wasting my time trying to explain," Charles Mead said. "I
want you to come with me. Don't ask questions. What I have to show you
will save hours of explanation."

"What are you going to show me?" Chuck asked.

"Just come with me," Charles persisted. He knew it was only a matter of
time. The bewildering similarity between them had definitely aroused
the other's curiosity. He noticed that although Chuck Mead still
smiled, it was an uneasy smile.

"Okay," Chuck said. "Anything for a laugh. Where do we go?"

"Hobson's Hill. I suppose you call it that in this world, too?"

"That's what we call it," Chuck said, suppressing another grin. "In
this world."

"Let's go, then," Charles urged, relieved that the toughest part was
over. "There's nothing to worry about--you'll be completely safe."

"Who's worrying?" challenged his counterpart pugnaciously.

       *       *       *       *       *

Charles pulled Chuck Mead, fighting and struggling all the way, into
his own world and together they stood on Hobson's Hill, overlooking
the town. "Scares me silly every time I make that crossing," Charles
confessed breathlessly.

Chuck's fingers still clutched his arm, digging painfully into the
flesh as though he expected the ground to crumble away at any moment.

"You're okay now," Charles reassured him. He pressed the switches
on the square of black boxes and the humming noise ceased. The arch
collapsed. "Just look around you and see if this isn't a different
world. You'll notice we have a Finlay's Lumber Company here, which you
don't have in your world. That's only one minor difference. Come on
home with me and I'll give you all the proof you could want."

Charles Mead's home was a spacious villa set well back from the road
in pleasant handsomely kept grounds. They went inside and Charles led
the way upstairs to the den, a bright, paneled room at the back of the
house.

"Nice place," Chuck said, awed.

"I suppose it is," Charles agreed. "Sit down. We've got a lot to talk
about."

He poured drinks from a well-stocked cabinet and settled in an easy
chair. "Now, then, I want to know if you're really convinced of this
business of other worlds."

"Sure," Chuck said, "unless you've got me doped or hypnotized or I'm
dreaming or something. It all _seems_ real enough."

"It _is_ real." Ice cubes clicked as Charles tilted his glass and
drank. "Now let's get down to business. Just listen to what I have to
say and don't interrupt. I want you to think for a moment about those
times in your life when you've had to make a decision or choose between
two alternative courses of action which would affect your whole life.
Have you ever wondered, when you've made your choice, what would have
happened if you had chosen the other alternative? For instance, if you
arrived at a situation where two jobs were available and you chose one,
wouldn't you sometimes wonder how things would have been if you had
chosen the other job?

"I think I can show you," he continued, "that when we reach such
situations and finally select a course of action, _we also take the
other course at the same time_. I'm going to try to prove to you that
an alternative world somehow comes into existence in which you live
your other life. As a matter of fact, you and I sprang from one of
these decisive moments. I'm pretty sure I know which one, too."

       *       *       *       *       *

He cut short his guest's protests with a quick wave of his hand.
"You really can't argue with me about it. You've seen _two_ worlds
already--surely you don't think it ends there? After all, we live in an
infinite universe; why shouldn't we be infinite creatures living out
the infinite possibilities of our lives? Still, to return to you and
me--your wife's name is Kathy, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Is yours?"

"My wife is called Estelle. Does that mean anything to you?"

Chuck put down his drink and straightened suddenly. "You mean Estelle
Defoe?"

"That's right. If you want to make sure we're talking about the same
girl, go look out the window."

Chuck stood up and leaned over the sill. Outside, surrounded by the
close-trimmed green lawn, was a swimming pool. Beside the pool, a
shapely blonde was stretched out face down on a red towel like some
bright, beautiful calendar girl. She wore the bottom half of a green
striped bikini; the top half lay on the grass beside her.

"My God! That's Estelle, all right!" Chuck exclaimed. "I'd know her
anywhere. Still got that terrific figure, too!"

"I suppose she is hard to forget after--how long? Just over seven
years, isn't it? Isn't that how long you've been married?"

"How did you know?"

"Can't you guess? Remember, seven or eight years ago, how you tortured
yourself choosing between two girls--Estelle or Kathy? Remember how
hard it was arriving at a decision?"

"It wasn't too difficult. I chose Kathy."

"I know," Charles said, smiling. "I was left with Estelle. Or perhaps
it was the other way round. Don't you see: _I am you and you are me!_
If there's any difference between us, it's only what the last seven
years have done to us. It was one of those decisions I spoke of, when
one of us followed one path, leaving the other to explore the other
path."

"That's crazy! I happen to know Estelle married a major in the Army
years ago and went out West to live."

"In your world, maybe," Charles said, "but the one in this world
married me."

       *       *       *       *       *

Chuck looked enviously out of the window. "Lucky you." He made a
gesture that took in the room, the girl, the magnificent house, the
beautiful garden. "Did Estelle make you rich, too?"

"Not the way you seem to be figuring. Her father gave me a job in his
electronics business and I did some profitable research for him. Now
I'm a partner in the firm. We have a big plant on the other side of
town. As a matter of fact, it was while I was in the lab out there that
I stumbled on these alternate worlds. By sheer accident, I crossed into
another world and almost scared myself to death.

"By the way," he went on, "what happened to you after you married
Kathy? I often wondered what it would have been like being married to
her."

"It's all right, I guess," Chuck said. "We got married and bought a
house. A couple of years ago, I went into business on my own--Hi-Fi and
TV repairs. Business isn't too bad." He flashed another look at the
golden girl sunning herself by the pool. "Estelle hasn't changed much
in all these years," he said nostalgically. "She's still as beautiful
as ever."

Then he banged his glass down hard on the window sill. "You must be
trying to put something over on me! What's the gag?"

"There's no gag," Charles assured him. "Besides, there's more to come."

"Like what?"

"I mentioned earlier about this being an infinite universe. There
_must_ be more than just the world you live in and the world I live in.
Think it over--millions of everybody making decisions all the time,
following one path and discarding another--there must be millions of
worlds! An infinite number of them!"

Chuck drained his glass and went back to the cabinet to help himself.

"It's not just a theory," Charles insisted. "I _know_ there's more than
just our two worlds. I've seen a couple of them. I could even take you
to them. And every time anyone makes a decision, new ones spring into
existence. Do you follow me?"

"I guess so," Chuck said. "As much as anyone can follow a thing like
that."

"I'm still not finished--"

"Hold it," Chuck cut in abruptly. "Before we get tangled up any
further, what am _I_ doing here?"

       *       *       *       *       *

"I had to tell someone," Charles said. "I couldn't keep a thing like
this to myself, yet who could I tell? I thought it over and said
nothing to anyone in this world, because it suddenly occurred to me
that the best person to confide in was one of my hundreds of selves."

"Quit it," Chuck begged. "You'll drive me nuts--you and your hundreds
of selves!"

"You're one of them," Charles reminded him. "The others all exist
somewhere. I just happened to reach _you_ by accident. When I started
down Hobson's Hill, I didn't know which Charles Mead would be in the
town. After all, I've made dozens of big decisions in the past few
years. There must be plenty of other Charles Meads in existence."

"That still doesn't explain why you brought _me_ here. Don't tell me
you intend to round up all the different versions of yourself. If so,
count me out!"

"You're getting warm," Charles said. "If you'll bear with me a little
longer, I'll stretch your imagination again."

Chuck groaned and settled down resignedly in the armchair.

"If there really are all these worlds," Charles began, "and I can't see
why there shouldn't be, then a world must exist where there's a Charles
Mead who never made a wrong decision! A Charles Mead who did everything
right, who never made a wrong move in his life! Of course there must
also be one of us who never made a _right_ decision--to say nothing
of all the endless varieties between the two extreme cases. But, of
course, I'm not concerned with them."

Chuck stood watching the sleeping girl by the ornamental pool, looking
back, thinking back over seven years. Then he went over to the cabinet
and poured himself another drink--a strong one. "So what if there is a
perfect Charles Mead somewhere? What about him?"

"I'd like to see him," Charles said. "I'd like to see such a world.
Wouldn't you?"

"In your place? Not a chance! What's wrong with the world you're in
now? It looks good to me. A lot better than mine--beautiful wife, big
house, big shot in the company...."

"It's a matter of what you're used to," Charles said dryly. "I hope
you don't mind me saying this--we are brothers, more rather than
less--when I called on you, I'm sure I heard you fighting with Kathy.
Do you fight often?"

"I guess we do," Chuck said, "from time to time."

"Estelle and I fight all the time. I still regret marrying her, even
though I got rich because of it. Anyway, we don't get along. We don't
even try to manage. There were plenty of times when I regretted not
marrying Kathy. She seemed to me to be a nice homy, comfortable sort of
kid."

"I hope you're not going to suggest we trade places," Chuck said.

"Of course not. I told you--I'm searching for the _perfect_ world.
Charles Mead's Utopia!" He raised his glass in a mock toast. "Want to
come along?"

       *       *       *       *       *

Chuck Mead was silent, looking out of the window on to the lawn. The
girl by the pool stirred briefly in her sunny slumber. "Weren't you
ever happy with Estelle?" he asked.

Charles shrugged. "I suppose I was at first. But we soon grew tired of
each other. I was tied up with the business and Estelle wanted a good
time."

"It's funny," Chuck said wistfully, "but when Kathy and I started to
drift apart, I began to have Estelle on my mind all the time. I used
to imagine how much better things would have been if I'd married her
instead."

"I guess we both made a poor choice. Probably the perfect Charles Mead
didn't choose either girl."

"If _I_ failed with Kathy and _you_ failed with Estelle, I wouldn't be
surprised if the Charles Mead who--ah--got away didn't fail in some
other world. Kathy and Estelle were a couple of nice kids. Maybe it
wasn't their fault entirely. Maybe it was the fault of Charles and
Chuck Mead."

"Possibly," said Charles a little wearily. "But that sort of argument
gets us nowhere. You still can't disprove that there isn't a perfect
Charles Mead somewhere."

"I doubt if he's perfect," Chuck said. "Making the correct decisions
all the time doesn't necessarily make him perfect. Besides, even if you
did meet him, it wouldn't alter _you_ in any way. You'd be the same
person you are now."

"I'd still like to find him."

"I'll bet you wouldn't know him if you saw him. And you might waste a
whole lifetime looking. Then, if you did find him, what makes you think
he'd want _you_ hanging around?"

"At least, if he did kick me out, I'd know he'd made the absolutely
correct decision," Charles said, smiling.

"Well, don't count me in on your search. If you take my advice, you'll
smash your invention or whatever it is and stay in your own world.
There's nothing to be gained by exploring the paths you _might_ have
followed."

"What's to be gained by not going?"

"That's up to you. You can stay and make the best of your own world."

"You're a fine one to talk. Are you going back to your own life--to
Kathy? Even though you don't get along with her?"

       *       *       *       *       *

Nodding emphatically, Chuck said, "Of course. Your Utopia is as remote
to me as Heaven or Hell. The important thing is not the hundreds of
lives you could have led or all the possibilities that occur in your
lifetime. The thing that counts is what you do with the one lifetime
that's given to you. You're not happy with Estelle so you blame
Estelle, thinking you'd be happier with Kathy or someone else. I felt
the same way about Kathy and thought I'd be happier with Estelle. Now
that you've given us both the opportunity to see ourselves ruining
_both_ lives, we can see that it's probably us at fault. If you
want to find the perfect Charles Mead, you have to find him inside
yourself--not in some untouchable otherworld."

"You should have been a minister," Charles told him. "You preach a good
sermon."

Chuck's boyish face reddened suddenly. "It still goes, anyway. Perhaps
I've spent more time than you lately wondering why my marriage was
breaking up. Maybe I have the answer now."

"So you're going back to the little woman, filled with love and kisses
and a heart full of hope!"

"Forget it," Chuck said. "Forget I said anything at all."

"Don't worry about it. No hard feelings. You're perfectly free to do or
say what you like." He suddenly smiled and then began to laugh aloud.

"What's funny?" Chuck asked.

"Plenty," said Charles. "I just realized we both made decisions a few
minutes ago. We both chose between two alternatives. You decided to
go home to Kathy instead of going with me. I decided to go on with my
quest instead of going back to Estelle."

"What about it?"

"Remember what I told you? Every time you choose one of two alternative
courses of action, _another world comes into existence in which you
follow the other course of action_! Don't you see what that means?"

       *       *       *       *       *

Charles Mead said good-by to Chuck as they stood on top of Hobson's
Hill. Then, when Chuck had vanished, he switched off his equipment and
set about camouflaging the black boxes in the bushes. It was too late
in the day to make a second attempt at crossing into another world and
he decided to wait until tomorrow. When a man was seeking perfection,
he told himself, it paid to be patient and cautious and not to rush
headlong into things.

Presently, when he was satisfied with his work of concealing the
apparatus, he set off down the hill.

       *       *       *       *       *

Chuck Mead came through the harrowing experience of crossing worlds
and stood once more on the top of Hobson's Hill in his own world. He
glanced all around him, nervously reassuring himself that he _was_ in
his own world again. Then he took a crumpled cigarette from his shirt
pocket and inhaled hungrily while he waited for his heart to stop its
frantic hammering.

Had he really been in another world, he wondered, and had he really
seen Estelle? Presently, as he recalled events, his train of thought
brought him around to Kathy and his decision. She would still be mad at
him after the fight they had had when Charles arrived. Funny, now he
couldn't even remember what they had been quarreling about! It seemed
that any little thing could start them off these days.

But it wasn't too late--he was sure of that now. The situation could
still be repaired. There was still time.

With a quick, determined gesture, he flung the cigarette away from him,
and with a new spring in his stride, he set off down the hill.

       *       *       *       *       *

Somewhere in the infinite universe, among the myriad worlds and
possibilities, was a world born of a decision. In this world, Charles
Mead stood on top of Hobson's Hill dismantling his apparatus. He was
finished with it and was going to destroy it as soon as he got home.
Chuck had been right; he was a fool to think of leaving Estelle for a
mad dream.

Strange, he thought, the way he had neglected her all these years.
A girl like Estelle needed warmth and gayety and affection, not the
boorish neglect of an idiot who wished he was in another world. He was
lucky, he realized, that she was still there to go home to.

With the act of making his decision, he felt a new peace of mind he had
not experienced in years. At least he was about to tackle a problem
within his grasp, not some ridiculous and impossible hunt through an
infinity of alien worlds.

He shook his head, genuinely puzzled. How on Earth could he have ever
considered such an absurd notion, he wondered as he shouldered his
equipment and set off down the hill.

       *       *       *       *       *

In yet another world, also born of a decision, Charles and Chuck Mead
emerged on top of Hobson's Hill. They looked about them eagerly,
pointing out the landmarks in the town below.

"This one's _really_ different!" Charles said excitedly. "Look, there's
no lumberyard and not even any railroad tracks. And that tall gray
building downtown is new, too!"

"Let's go," Chuck urged. "Let's take a look."

"Take it easy," Charles cautioned, his hand on Chuck's arm. "We'll have
to be careful about this. Remember, we're looking for the best--the
perfect--world!"

"Okay," Chuck said. "Even if it takes a lifetime, we settle for nothing
but the best."

And together, like two wise men off to seek Truth itself and, at the
same time, like two schoolboys on some youthful adventure, they set off
down the hill.







*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NOTHING BUT THE BEST ***


    

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.