The Project Gutenberg EBook of Time Enough at Last, by Lyn Venable
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: Time Enough at Last
Author: Lyn Venable
Release Date: June 1, 2010 [EBook #32633]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TIME ENOUGH AT LAST ***
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 January 1953.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright
on this publication was renewed.
_The atomic bomb meant, to most people, the end. To Henry Bemis it
meant something far different--a thing to appreciate and enjoy._
Time Enough At Last
By Lynn Venable
For a long time, Henry Bemis had had an ambition. To read a book. Not
just the title or the preface, or a page somewhere in the middle. He
wanted to read the whole thing, all the way through from beginning to
end. A simple ambition perhaps, but in the cluttered life of Henry
Bemis, an impossibility.
Henry had no time of his own. There was his wife, Agnes who owned that
part of it that his employer, Mr. Carsville, did not buy. Henry was
allowed enough to get to and from work--that in itself being quite a
concession on Agnes' part.
Also, nature had conspired against Henry by handing him with a pair of
hopelessly myopic eyes. Poor Henry literally couldn't see his hand in
front of his face. For a while, when he was very young, his parents
had thought him an idiot. When they realized it was his eyes, they got
glasses for him. He was never quite able to catch up. There was never
enough time. It looked as though Henry's ambition would never be
realized. Then something happened which changed all that.
Henry was down in the vault of the Eastside Bank & Trust when it
happened. He had stolen a few moments from the duties of his teller's
cage to try to read a few pages of the magazine he had bought that
morning. He'd made an excuse to Mr. Carsville about needing bills in
large denominations for a certain customer, and then, safe inside the
dim recesses of the vault he had pulled from inside his coat the
pocket size magazine.
He had just started a picture article cheerfully entitled "The New
Weapons and What They'll Do To YOU", when all the noise in the world
crashed in upon his ear-drums. It seemed to be inside of him and
outside of him all at once. Then the concrete floor was rising up at
him and the ceiling came slanting down toward him, and for a fleeting
second Henry thought of a story he had started to read once called
"The Pit and The Pendulum". He regretted in that insane moment that he
had never had time to finish that story to see how it came out. Then
all was darkness and quiet and unconsciousness.
* * * * *
When Henry came to, he knew that something was desperately wrong with
the Eastside Bank & Trust. The heavy steel door of the vault was
buckled and twisted and the floor tilted up at a dizzy angle, while
the ceiling dipped crazily toward it. Henry gingerly got to his feet,
moving arms and legs experimentally. Assured that nothing was broken,
he tenderly raised a hand to his eyes. His precious glasses were
intact, thank God! He would never have been able to find his way out
of the shattered vault without them.
He made a mental note to write Dr. Torrance to have a spare pair made
and mailed to him. Blasted nuisance not having his prescription on
file locally, but Henry trusted no-one but Dr. Torrance to grind those
thick lenses into his own complicated prescription. Henry removed the
heavy glasses from his face. Instantly the room dissolved into a
neutral blur. Henry saw a pink splash that he knew was his hand, and a
white blob come up to meet the pink as he withdrew his pocket
handkerchief and carefully dusted the lenses. As he replaced the
glasses, they slipped down on the bridge of his nose a little. He had
been meaning to have them tightened for some time.
He suddenly realized, without the realization actually entering his
conscious thoughts, that something momentous had happened, something
worse than the boiler blowing up, something worse than a gas main
exploding, something worse than anything that had ever happened
before. He felt that way because it was so quiet. There was no whine
of sirens, no shouting, no running, just an ominous and all pervading
silence.
* * * * *
Henry walked across the slanting floor. Slipping and stumbling on the
uneven surface, he made his way to the elevator. The car lay crumpled
at the foot of the shaft like a discarded accordian. There was
something inside of it that Henry could not look at, something that
had once been a person, or perhaps several people, it was impossible
to tell now.
Feeling sick, Henry staggered toward the stairway. The steps were
still there, but so jumbled and piled back upon one another that it
was more like climbing the side of a mountain than mounting a
stairway. It was quiet in the huge chamber that had been the lobby of
the bank. It looked strangely cheerful with the sunlight shining
through the girders where the ceiling had fallen. The dappled sunlight
glinted across the silent lobby, and everywhere there were huddled
lumps of unpleasantness that made Henry sick as he tried not to look
at them.
"Mr. Carsville," he called. It was very quiet. Something had to be
done, of course. This was terrible, right in the middle of a Monday,
too. Mr. Carsville would know what to do. He called again, more
loudly, and his voice cracked hoarsely, "Mr. Carrrrsville!" And then
he saw an arm and shoulder extending out from under a huge fallen
block of marble ceiling. In the buttonhole was the white carnation Mr.
Carsville had worn to work that morning, and on the third finger of
that hand was a massive signet ring, also belonging to Mr. Carsville.
Numbly, Henry realized that the rest of Mr. Carsville was under that
block of marble.
Henry felt a pang of real sorrow. Mr. Carsville was gone, and so was
the rest of the staff--Mr. Wilkinson and Mr. Emory and Mr. Prithard,
and the same with Pete and Ralph and Jenkins and Hunter and Pat the
guard and Willie the doorman. There was no one to say what was to be
done about the Eastside Bank & Trust except Henry Bemis, and Henry
wasn't worried about the bank, there was something he wanted to do.
He climbed carefully over piles of fallen masonry. Once he stepped
down into something that crunched and squashed beneath his feet and he
set his teeth on edge to keep from retching. The street was not much
different from the inside, bright sunlight and so much concrete to
crawl over, but the unpleasantness was much, much worse. Everywhere
there were strange, motionless lumps that Henry could not look at.
Suddenly, he remembered Agnes. He should be trying to get to Agnes,
shouldn't he? He remembered a poster he had seen that said, "In event
of emergency do not use the telephone, your loved ones are as safe as
you." He wondered about Agnes. He looked at the smashed automobiles,
some with their four wheels pointing skyward like the stiffened legs
of dead animals. He couldn't get to Agnes now anyway, if she was safe,
then, she was safe, otherwise ... of course, Henry knew Agnes wasn't
safe. He had a feeling that there wasn't anyone safe for a long, long
way, maybe not in the whole state or the whole country, or the whole
world. No, that was a thought Henry didn't want to think, he forced it
from his mind and turned his thoughts back to Agnes.
* * * * *
She had been a pretty good wife, now that it was all said and done. It
wasn't exactly her fault if people didn't have time to read nowadays.
It was just that there was the house, and the bank, and the yard.
There were the Jones' for bridge and the Graysons' for canasta and
charades with the Bryants. And the television, the television Agnes
loved to watch, but would never watch alone. He never had time to read
even a newspaper. He started thinking about last night, that business
about the newspaper.
Henry had settled into his chair, quietly, afraid that a creaking
spring might call to Agnes' attention the fact that he was momentarily
unoccupied. He had unfolded the newspaper slowly and carefully, the
sharp crackle of the paper would have been a clarion call to Agnes. He
had glanced at the headlines of the first page. "Collapse Of
Conference Imminent." He didn't have time to read the article. He
turned to the second page. "Solon Predicts War Only Days Away." He
flipped through the pages faster, reading brief snatches here and
there, afraid to spend too much time on any one item. On a back page
was a brief article entitled, "Prehistoric Artifacts Unearthed In
Yucatan". Henry smiled to himself and carefully folded the sheet of
paper into fourths. That would be interesting, he would read all of
it. Then it came, Agnes' voice. "Henrrreee!" And then she was upon
him. She lightly flicked the paper out of his hands and into the
fireplace. He saw the flames lick up and curl possessively around the
unread article. Agnes continued, "Henry, tonight is the Jones' bridge
night. They'll be here in thirty minutes and I'm not dressed yet, and
here you are ... _reading_." She had emphasized the last word as
though it were an unclean act. "Hurry and shave, you know how smooth
Jasper Jones' chin always looks, and then straighten up this room."
She glanced regretfully toward the fireplace. "Oh dear, that paper,
the television schedule ... oh well, after the Jones leave there won't
be time for anything but the late-late movie and.... Don't just sit
there, Henry, hurrreeee!"
Henry was hurrying now, but hurrying too much. He cut his leg on a
twisted piece of metal that had once been an automobile fender. He
thought about things like lock-jaw and gangrene and his hand trembled
as he tied his pocket-handkerchief around the wound. In his mind, he
saw the fire again, licking across the face of last night's newspaper.
He thought that now he would have time to read all the newspapers he
wanted to, only now there wouldn't be any more. That heap of rubble
across the street had been the Gazette Building. It was terrible to
think there would never be another up to date newspaper. Agnes would
have been very upset, no television schedule. But then, of course, no
television. He wanted to laugh but he didn't. That wouldn't have been
fitting, not at all.
He could see the building he was looking for now, but the silhouette
was strangely changed. The great circular dome was now a ragged
semi-circle, half of it gone, and one of the great wings of the
building had fallen in upon itself. A sudden panic gripped Henry
Bemis. What if they were all ruined, destroyed, every one of them?
What if there wasn't a single one left? Tears of helplessness welled
in his eyes as he painfully fought his way over and through the
twisted fragments of the city.
* * * * *
He thought of the building when it had been whole. He remembered the
many nights he had paused outside its wide and welcoming doors. He
thought of the warm nights when the doors had been thrown open and he
could see the people inside, see them sitting at the plain wooden
tables with the stacks of books beside them. He used to think then,
what a wonderful thing a public library was, a place where anybody,
anybody at all could go in and read.
He had been tempted to enter many times. He had watched the people
through the open doors, the man in greasy work clothes who sat near
the door, night after night, laboriously studying, a technical journal
perhaps, difficult for him, but promising a brighter future. There had
been an aged, scholarly gentleman who sat on the other side of the
door, leisurely paging, moving his lips a little as he did so, a man
having little time left, but rich in time because he could do with it
as he chose.
Henry had never gone in. He had started up the steps once, got almost
to the door, but then he remembered Agnes, her questions and shouting,
and he had turned away.
He was going in now though, almost crawling, his breath coming in
stabbing gasps, his hands torn and bleeding. His trouser leg was
sticky red where the wound in his leg had soaked through the
handkerchief. It was throbbing badly but Henry didn't care. He had
reached his destination.
Part of the inscription was still there, over the now doorless
entrance. P-U-B--C L-I-B-R---. The rest had been torn away. The place
was in shambles. The shelves were overturned, broken, smashed, tilted,
their precious contents spilled in disorder upon the floor. A lot of
the books, Henry noted gleefully, were still intact, still whole,
still readable. He was literally knee deep in them, he wallowed in
books. He picked one up. The title was "Collected Works of William
Shakespeare." Yes, he must read that, sometime. He laid it aside
carefully. He picked up another. Spinoza. He tossed it away, seized
another, and another, and still another. Which to read first ... there
were so many.
He had been conducting himself a little like a starving man in a
delicatessen--grabbing a little of this and a little of that in a
frenzy of enjoyment.
But now he steadied away. From the pile about him, he selected one
volume, sat comfortably down on an overturned shelf, and opened the
book.
Henry Bemis smiled.
There was the rumble of complaining stone. Minute in comparison which
the epic complaints following the fall of the bomb. This one occurred
under one corner of the shelf upon which Henry sat. The shelf moved;
threw him off balance. The glasses slipped from his nose and fell with
a tinkle.
He bent down, clawing blindly and found, finally, their smashed
remains. A minor, indirect destruction stemming from the sudden,
wholesale smashing of a city. But the only one that greatly interested
Henry Bemis.
He stared down at the blurred page before him.
He began to cry.
THE END
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Time Enough at Last, by Lyn Venable
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TIME ENOUGH AT LAST ***
***** This file should be named 32633.txt or 32633.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
https://www.gutenberg.org/3/2/6/3/32633/
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.
