The Project Gutenberg EBook of Probability, by Louis Trimble
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.org
Title: Probability
Author: Louis Trimble
Release Date: June 8, 2010 [EBook #32739]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PROBABILITY ***
Produced by Greg Weeks and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from If Worlds of Science Fiction April 1954.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed.
_If you ever get to drinking beer in your favorite saloon and meet
a scared little guy who wants to buy you the joint, supply you with
fur coats and dolls and run you for Congress--listen well! That is,
if you really want the joint, the fur coats, the dolls and a seat in
Congress. Just ask Mike Murphy...._
Probability
By Louis Trimble
Illustration by Ed Emsh
The first time this little guy comes in I'm new on the job. He looks
around as if he's scared a prohibition agent will pop out of the walls
and bite him. Then he gets up his nerve and sidles to the bar. His
voice is as thin as the rest of him.
"Glass of beer."
I draw. He drinks and pays and goes out.
That keeps on, Monday through Friday at five-ten p.m., year in and
year out. He slips in, peers around, has his beer, and pops out. Even
in '33, when we become legitimate, he acts the same way--scared of his
shadow. Except he isn't big enough to have a shadow.
During the war, when we're rationed, I save him his daily glass. He
never fails to come in except for two weeks every summer when he's on
vacation. From 1922 to 1953 he drinks one daily beer.
In thirty-one years, he and I grow older together, and after the first
ten he talks a little so that over a period of time I manage to learn
something about him. That first day he'd come in, he was on his first
job out of college. Well, so was I, only I went to bartending school
to learn how to mix prohibition liquor. But even so, it gave us
something in common, and when he learned we had started life
together--as he put it--he talked a little more.
His name is Pettis. Six months after I learn that, I get his first
name. It's Rabelais, and I could see why he doesn't like it. But when
he breaks down and tells me, he gets real bold and says:
"And what's yours, my male Hebe?"
"Mike Murphy."
"Naturally," he said. He laughs. It is the only time I hear him laugh
in thirty-one years. I can't see anything funny.
He is a draftsman for those old skinflints Cartner and Dillson. When
they die, their sons take over and are even worse. In the depression,
Pettis gets a little shabby but he always has the price of a glass of
beer. In '53 he's at the same desk and doing the same job he started
on in '22.
In '35 he gets married. He tells me so. Tasting his beer, he says,
"I'll be married this time tomorrow." I often wonder what his wife
looks like but I never see her. Not even when it gets decent for
ladies to come in, she never shows. Marriage doesn't seem to change
him; he never looks happier or less shabby or less browbeat.
In '42 I heard his first complaint. By then we're both getting into
our forties and, what with his lack of size and caved-in chest and my
insides all busted up from pre-World War I football, the army doesn't
want us. So he never misses a day except on his vacation.
He says, "I can't get raw materials." About three months later, I
understand what he means when he says, "My hobby is inventing."
In '45 I ask him, "What do you invent?"
It takes him two years to decide to tell me. By now we are pretty good
pals. He never tells anyone else that I know of. He says, "I invent
machines. Super machines."
In '48 he says, "But they don't work. Someday...."
* * * * *
And in '53, on the day of our thirty-first anniversary, you might say,
he comes in and things are different. All different. I can feel it
when he opens the door and comes in at five-o-nine instead of
five-ten. There is plenty more different, too. He walks up to the bar
like it's his and roars:
"Two beers, Mike!"
I drop a glass I'm so surprised, but I give him two beers like he
wants. He gulps them both down, puts a foot on the rail and looks me
straight in the eye. His eyes are a sort of washed blue. I've never
noticed them before.
"Beer for the house!" he yells at me.
"Take it easy, Mr. Pettis," I says.
"Easy, hell!" he shouts and slaps a roll as big as his hand on the
bar. "And call me Rabelais, Mike. We're pals, aren't we?"
"You bet," I assures him. And I mean it. Not because of the dough.
That makes me sweat. I can't figure where this little guy gets such a
wad. And good money, too.
He sets them up three times. By now he's feeling fine. I suggest he
get going before he misses the last train home.
"I already missed it," he says proudly. "And I'm not going home. Let
the old battle-axe really have something to complain about. Beer,
Mike!"
[Illustration]
In a way I hate to see it, but then I figure a man has a right to let
off a little steam once every thirty-one years. Even so, I get a
little worried when he asks for the phone and calls up his wife.
He says, "Myrtle, this Rabelais. Rabelais, your husband, you old sow."
He takes a breath and says, "You're damned right I'm drunk. And I'm
staying that way. Go home to your mother.... Oh yes, you are. You're
leaving on the 12:05 tomorrow and you'll eat chicken a la king on the
train and fall asleep at Holt's Corner and snore all the way home. And
your mother will be mad because her left fender will get dented on the
way to the station." Bang! He hangs up.
"Beer, Mike."
"Now look, Mr.--Rabelais--"
He ignores me. "Mike, who owns this place?"
I don't, but I'd like to. I tell him who my boss is and he hunts him
up in the phone book and calls him. He says, "This is Rabelais Pettis.
I want to buy your Fifth Avenue Tavern. How much?... Sold!"
And so help me, the boss comes down and Rabelais hauls bills from
every pocket and lays it on the bar in a great big pile. Then he has
the boss sign the place over to me. Me, Mike Murphy. I figure tomorrow
when he wakes up broke I'll have to give it back. But tonight I own
it. I'm real proud.
But I don't get to enjoy it. He says, "Mike, let's do the town." Can
you refuse a guy who just gives you a thirty thousand dollar property?
We do the town. We do the girl shows, and he yells at all the dames
and tries to date the usherettes until we finally get pitched out. We
get pitched out of five before I steer him to a hash house.
"Phooey," he says. "We'll go to the Buster for a steak." That's our
fanciest place where the food starts at ten dollars. We have two of
the biggest steaks I ever saw with champagne and stuff, and so help
me, when Rabelais tries to date the floor show girls, instead of
getting pitched out, we walk out with two of the cutest kids I ever
hope to see. Only they're young enough to be our daughters or maybe
grand-daughters even.
Rabelais is big hearted if not big in any other way. He says to his
kid, a redhead a foot taller than he, "Do you have a fur coat?"
"No, Rabelais." She learns fast that he likes the name now.
"Ha," he says. "Then we'll get some."
"In the summer?" I asks.
"We'll make it winter," Rabelais says. "I'm tired of summer. Besides
in '56 there's a new bar in town and it's a pip."
Now the three of us are halfway sober and we just look at each other
and shrug. But Rabelais acts and talks normal enough. He calls a cab
and has us hauled to an old cottage in the suburbs. He waves the cabby
off with a twenty dollar bill. When we go inside, he points across the
way. "I live there. This is my secret laboratory."
We think he is kidding us some more because there isn't anything but
dust and cobwebs in the place. But he takes us to the basement and
there is a whole mess of junk lying around. There are bars and gears
and wires and some stuff that doesn't make any sense at all. It has
cobwebs and dust on it too.
"My super machines," he says. "They don't work."
The redhead looks a little as if she thinks he's nuts. But what can
she do? Already he's given her a hundred dollar bill just for fun.
"But," he says, leading us into another room, "this one does work."
There isn't anything in the room but a big metal plate on the floor
with a wooden bench on it and levers and rods in front of the bench.
"Climb on," Rabelais says.
We sit on the bench to humor him and he pulls one lever as far left as
he can, then another a little ways, then another, and a fourth. Then
he twists a rod to the right. The lights go out and a cold draft of
air comes in through a window. When the lights come on the air is
still cold. The girls are shivering.
"Three p.m., January 12, 1956," says Rabelais. "Let's go get fur
coats."
So we go out the way we came in and it's daylight. And there's snow on
the ground. The cottage is the same but the street is a highway now.
Rabalais hails the fanciest looking cab I ever see and we get driven
to town where he buys all of us fur coats in a store I never heard of.
Then we go to a dinner club that makes the Buster look like a greasy
spoon. None of us can say a word.
After he pays the check, Rabelais says, "I'm short of cash. Let's go
to the bank."
"Banks ain't open," I remind him.
"Mine is," he says and makes a phone call. Pretty soon a big fancy
limousine with a chauffeur drives up and we all pile in. I manage to
balk long enough to buy a newspaper. Sure enough, the date is January
12, 1956.
We go to the financial section and right past my tavern. It's all
lighted up and fancy looking and there's a big sign saying, "MIKE'S"
outside.
Rabelais says, "You're making a mint, Mike."
"I see," I agrees, dazed. Rabelais flicks the paper with a silly grin
and tells me to look on page four. I do and there's an editorial
beside a cartoon of me, pot belly and all, and it says, "Mayor Mike
Murphy agrees to run for Congress...."
"Me?"
"You," says Rabelais. "You make it, too, Mike."
Before I can answer, we stop at a building lighted up. Over the door
it says, "Pettis." That's all. It's his, the whole building. And it's
full of offices. He shows me one where his former bosses are slaving
over drafting boards. The bank part is closed but some slavies are
working late as people in banks always do and we go in and Rabelais
gets a wad of money and we leave.
It goes on like that. I'm ashamed to say we get sort of looped and the
next thing we know we're in Paris and having a fine time. Then we take
another flier on his machine and it's summer. We enjoy that for a
while and then try another season. It goes on that way for a couple
weeks. Once we accept the fact that we're traveling in time, it's
easy.
But Rabelais, even when he's looped, won't take us into the past or
far into the future. He just says, "We have to watch probability,
Mike."
I don't get the idea but it doesn't seem to matter much. We're having
too good a time kicking around in the near future. Finally when we all
feel ready for a Keeley cure, Rabelais takes us home. We land in the
basement at the very moment we left it but with our fur coats and
fancy luggage and souvenirs. Rabelais looks over all the gadgets we
have and those that are too much ahead of our time, he throws away.
In a taxi heading for town, I smoke my dollar cigar. I'm happy. The
girls are quiet, a little sad.
"It was fun," the redhead sighs. "Kicking won't seem the same."
"Quit that kind of work," Rabelais says. "Go to college or something."
And he hands each of them a big wad of money.
Downtown we split up, each of us going off somewhere to get the rest
we need. I sleep around the clock and a little more. When I wake up
I'm the owner of a tavern still, so I figure I'm to be mayor in '54
and congressman in '56. It's a wonderful life for a while. The only
thing is that I miss Rabelais coming in at five-ten for his beer.
In '54 I get elected Mayor like he said. My business gets remodelled
and all is swell.
* * * * *
Then one night I go to sleep in my new house and I wake up in the
middle of the night feeling a cold draft. When I turn over I roll onto
a lump in the mattress and I know it was all a dream and I'm Mike
Murphy, bartender, again.
The next a.m. I pick up the paper and it's the summer of '53, the day
of Rabelais and my thirty-first anniversary and I'm back at the old
stand. It was a fine dream, I says, and go to work.
At five-o-nine, though, I can't help looking at the clock. And sure
enough, Rabelais comes in, walks up to the bar like he owns it and
roars at me, "Two beers, Mike!"
I can't help saying, "Look, haven't we done this before?"
He grins at me. "And we may have to do it again a few times," he says.
By now I know him pretty well, I think--or maybe I dreamed I know him;
I'm not sure. Anyway, I give him the two beers and wait for him to get
around to telling me whatever is on his mind.
He goes through the same act as before--only I can't be sure he did go
through the act or I dreamed he did. "Beer for the house," he yells.
"Take it easy," I cautions. "Take it easy, Rabelais."
"You never called me by my first name before, did you, Mike?"
I open my mouth to remind him that he told me to back in 1953 and then
I remember it is 1953. That confuses me because I remember, too, that
in 1954 I was--or maybe it's that I'm going to be--mayor. I just close
my mouth and wait.
Rabelais takes his time. When the early rush clears out, he gets me
off to one end of the bar and says, "Sorry to keep you waiting, Mike,
but we have to do it all over again."
"Then it wasn't a dream?"
"No dream," he says.
"But everything was going fine."
"Up to a point," he says. "Up to the sixties."
Then he explains the way his machine works. But all I get out of what
he says is that there's a law of probability so he can't go back and
shoot his grandfather when the old man is a boy or juggle stocks in
'47 to pay off and make him rich in '53 and things like that. That is
why he wouldn't let us go back into the past. He was afraid we would
do something to change history and--bingo.
And he wouldn't let us go into the future very far because up a way
the atom bomb gets loose and it is awfully sad to see and dangerous
besides.
"That was in the sixties," he says. "Or will be in the sixties. Only I
got it figured out so it won't be, Mike."
It's over my head; I just keep on waiting.
He explains that he made a pile of dough in the near future by betting
on horse races and cleaning out a few bookies and investing his
winnings in stocks he knew were going up (and in fact they wouldn't
have gone up if he hadn't looked into the future and known they would
so he could go back and buy them) and anyway, he figured the exact day
it would be safe to start and so he did.
"Only," he says, "we made a mistake by making you mayor and then
congressman. I have it figured out for you to be congressman right
from the start--in fifty-four. That gives you two extra years of
seniority on Congress and so when the chips are down you have a little
more pull."
"Fine," I says and start to take off my apron.
"The thing is," he explains, "there are a couple of lunkheads in
Congress that get super-patriotic and they're the ones who cause the
trouble with the bomb getting loose." He leans over the bar and looks
real serious at me. "And you," he goes on, "are the one who stops them
before they get started."
"Me? Me, Mike Murphy?"
"You," he says. "We just go on a different time track from the one we
tried before. And this one ought to work." He gives me his grin. "You
should see the history books about the year 2000. You're a real
national hero, Mike."
I throw my apron into a corner and roll down my sleeves. I'm ready.
And it goes just like Rabelais says. I pass up the mayor's job and go
straight to Congress. In my third term I get a chance to cool those
two excitable characters--cool them politically, that is, and I do.
The only thing wrong is that Rabelais never lets me go into the future
to read the history books that tell what a great guy I was and the
things I did. So I'm never sure I'm doing the right thing. Like I tell
him, how can I be sure what to do if he won't let me read about what I
did?
... THE END
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Probability, by Louis Trimble
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PROBABILITY ***
***** This file should be named 32739.txt or 32739.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
https://www.gutenberg.org/3/2/7/3/32739/
Produced by Greg Weeks and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.
Creating the works from public domain print editions 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-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you
do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. 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-tm 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-tm License (available with this file or online at
https://gutenberg.org/license).
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
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-tm electronic works in your possession.
If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
Gutenberg-tm 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-tm 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-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the
collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an
individual work is in the public domain 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-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm 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-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning
the copyright status of any work in any country outside 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-tm License must appear prominently
whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm 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 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
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
from the public domain (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-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm 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-tm
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
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-tm 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-tm work in a format other than
"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (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-tm
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-tm 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-tm electronic works provided
that
- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is
owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm
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-tm 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-tm works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm 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
public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg-tm 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 F3. 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 MERCHANTIBILITY 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-tm electronic works in accordance
with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm
work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm's
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm 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-tm 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 web page at https://www.pglaf.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. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
https://pglaf.org/fundraising. 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 principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at
809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
[email protected]. Email contact links and up to date contact
information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
page at https://pglaf.org
For additional contact information:
Dr. Gregory B. Newby
Chief Executive and Director
[email protected]
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
spread 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 https://pglaf.org
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 including checks, online payments and credit card
donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.
Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain 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 Web site which has the main PG search facility:
https://www.gutenberg.org
This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
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.
