The Project Gutenberg EBook of Inside John Barth, by William W. Stuart

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Title: Inside John Barth

Author: William W. Stuart

Illustrator: Dillon

Release Date: April 25, 2009 [EBook #28608]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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Transcriber's Note: This e-text was produced from Galaxy Magazine,
June, 1960. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the
U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.

INSIDE JOHN BARTH

By WILLIAM W. STUART

Every man wants to see a Garden of Eden. John Barth
agreed with his whole heart--he knew that he'd rather
see than be one!

Illustrated by DILLON

I

Take a fellow, reasonably young, personable enough, health perfect.
Suppose he has all the money he can reasonably, or even unreasonably,
use. He is successful in a number of different fields of work in which
he is interested. Certainly he has security. Women? Well, maybe not any
woman in the world he might want. But still, a very nice, choice
selection of a number of the very finest physical specimens. The
finest--and no acute case of puritanism to inhibit his enjoyment.

Take all that. Then add to it the positive assurance of continuing
youth and vigor, with a solid life expectancy of from 175 to 200 more
years. Impossible? Well--just suppose it were all true of someone. A
man like that, a man with all those things going for him, you'd figure
he would be the happiest man in the world.

Wouldn't you?

Sure. A man with all that would have to be the happiest--unless he was
crazy. Right? But me, Johnny Barth, I had it.

I had all of it, just like that. I sure wasn't the happiest man in the
world though. And I know I wasn't crazy either. The thing about me was,
I wasn't a man. Not exactly.

I was a colony.

Really. A colony. A settlement. A new but flourishing culture, you
might say. Oh, I had the look of a man, and the mind and the nerves and
the feel of a man too. All the normal parts and equipment. But all of
it existed--and was beautifully kept