The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Other Likeness, by James H. Schmitz

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Title: The Other Likeness

Author: James H. Schmitz

Illustrator: Schelling

Release Date: November 3, 2009 [EBook #30398]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE OTHER LIKENESS

_There is a limit to how perfect a counterfeit can be--a limit that
cannot be passed without an odd phenomenon setting in...._

BY JAMES H. SCHMITZ

ILLUSTRATED BY SCHELLING

When he felt the sudden sharp tingling on his skin which came from the
alarm device under his wrist watch, Dr. Halder Leorm turned unhurriedly
from the culture tray he was studying, walked past the laboratory
technician to the radiation room, entered it and closed the door behind
him. He slipped the instrument from his wrist, removed its back plate,
and held it up to his eye.

He was looking into the living room of his home, fifty miles away in
another section of Orado's great city of Draise. A few steps from the
entry, a man lay on his back on the carpeting, eyes shut, face deeply
flushed, apparently unconscious. Halder Leorm's mouth tightened. The man
on the carpet was Dr. Atteo, his new assistant, assigned to the
laboratory earlier in the week. Beyond Atteo, the entry from the
residence's delivery area and car port stood open.

Fingering the rim of the tiny scanner with practiced quickness, Halder
Leorm shifted the view to other sections of the house, finally to the
car port. An empty aircar stood in the port; there was no one in sight.

Halder sighed, replaced the instrument on his wrist, and glanced over at
a wall mirror. His face was pale but looked sufficiently composed.
Leaving the radiation room, he picked up his hat, said to the
technician, "Forgot to mention it, Reef, but I'll have to head over to
central laboratories again."

[Illustration]

Reef, a large, red-headed young man, glanced around in mild surprise.
"They've got a nerve, calling you across town every two days!" he
observed. "Whose prob