The Project Gutenberg EBook of Chain of Command, by Stephen Arr
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: Chain of Command
Author: Stephen Arr
Translator: Ashman
Release Date: April 28, 2010 [EBook #32160]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAIN OF COMMAND ***
Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Greg Weeks, and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from Galaxy Science Fiction May 1954.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed.
CHAIN OF COMMAND
[Illustration]
By STEPHEN ARR
By going through channels, George worked up from the
woodwork to the top brass!
Illustrated by ASHMAN
* * * * *
"George," Clara said with restrained fury, "the least you could do is
ask him. Are you a mouse or a worm?"
"Well, I have gone out there and moved it every night," George
protested, trying to reason with her without success.
"Yes, and every morning he puts it back. George, so long as that trap
is outside of our front door, I can never have a moment's peace,
worrying about the children. I won't go on like this! You must go out
and talk some sense into him about removing it at once."
"I don't know," George said weakly. "They might not be happy to find
out about us."
"Well, our being here is their own fault, remember that," Clara
snorted. "They deliverately exposed your great-great grandfather
Michael to hard radiations. George," she continued fervidly, "all you
have to do is to go out and ask him. I'm sure he'll agree, and then
we'll have this menace removed from our lives. I simply can _not_ go
on like this another minute!"
That, George knew, was a misstatement. She could go on like this for
hours. He stared at her unhappily.
"Yes, dear," he mumbled finally. "Well, maybe tomorrow."
"No, George," she said firmly. "Now! This morning. The very moment he
comes in."
He looked at her silently, feeling harried and unsure of himself.
After living here so long, they'd observed and learned human customs
and speech--they'd even adopted human names.
"George," she pleaded, "just ask him. Reason with him. Point out to
him that he's just wasting his time." She paused, added, "You're
intelligent--you can think of the right things to say."
"Oh, all right," he said wearily. But once he had said it, he felt
better. At least, he would get it over with, one way or another.
* * * * *
As soon as he heard the swish-swish of the broom outside his home, he
got up and walked out of the front door. He saw that the trap was
still off to one side, where he had pushed it the night before.
"Hello," he shouted.
Swish-swish-swish went the broom, busily moving dust from one part of
the room to another, swish-swish-swish. The man looked tremendous from
so close a view, yet George knew that he was just a little, bent, old
man, a small specimen of the species.
George took a deep breath. "_Hello!_" he bellowed with all his
strength.
The janitor stopped swish-swishing and looked around the room
suspiciously.
"_Hello!_" George shrieked. His throat felt raw.
The janitor looked down and saw the mouse. "Hello yourself," he said.
He was an ignorant old man and, when he saw the mouse shouting hello
at him, he assumed right away that it was a mouse shouting hello to
him.
"_The trap!_" the mouse bellowed.
"Stop _shouting_!" the janitor cried, annoyed. He liked to think as he
worked, and he hated loud noises. "What about the trap?"
"My wife doesn't want you to put it by the front door any more,"
George said, still speaking loudly, so that the janitor could hear,
but at least not bellowing so that it tore his throat. "She's afraid
it might hurt the children."
"_Will_ it hurt the children?" the janitor demanded.
"No," George replied. "They know all about traps--but my wife still
wants it removed."
"Sorry," the janitor said, "but my orders are to put a trap by every
mousehole. This is an atomic plant, and they don't want mice."
"They do, too!" George said defiantly. "They brought my
great-great-grandfather Michael here themselves and exposed him to
hard radiations. Otherwise _I_ wouldn't be here."
"I can't help it," the janitor snapped. "I have to obey orders."
"What will I tell my wife?" George shouted.
That stopped the janitor. He had a wife of his own.
"I guess I can take it up with the supervisor," he finally said.
"All right," George shouted. "_Thanks!_"
* * * * *
The janitor picked up the trap and moved it over to the front door. He
watched, interested, as George promptly pushed it several inches along
the wall. Then he turned and busily swish-swished more dust around the
room.
"Well, what did he say?" Clara asked George as soon as he came back
into the house.
"Said he'd take it up with the supervisor," George said, settling down
in an armchair.
"George," she ordered, "you get up this instant and make sure that he
really does!"
"Look," George pleaded, "he said he would."
"He may have been lying," Clara said promptly. "You go right up to the
supervisor's room and see."
So, George reluctantly heaved himself out of the chair and ran through
the mouseways in the wall until he came to the mousehole in the
supervisor's room.
At that moment, the janitor came in and the supervisor looked up,
annoyed. He was a fat man, with stubble on his cheek, and he walked
with a waddle.
"There's a mouse in room 112 who doesn't want a trap by his front
door," the janitor said simply.
"You're crazy," the supervisor said.
The janitor shrugged. "What should I tell him?" he asked.
"Tell him to come up here and speak to me himself," the supervisor
said, feeling very clever.
"I'm right here," George cried, stepping out of the mousehole and
neatly side-stepping the mousetrap beside it.
"There he is now," the janitor said, pointing.
"My God!" whispered the supervisor, who'd had some education. "A
hallucination."
"No, a mouse," the old janitor corrected.
"My wife wants the trap removed," George patiently explained. "She's
worried the children might blunder into it."
"Do _you_ see him, too?" the supervisor asked the janitor
incredulously, still whispering.
"Sure," the janitor replied. "He's the one I was telling you about,
from room 112."
The supervisor stood up unsteadily. "I don't feel very well," he said
in a weak voice. "I think that I'd better talk this over with the
Administrative Officer. It's a policy matter."
"You come along, too," he said hastily to the janitor, who had turned
to leave. "I'll need all the support I can get." He waddled out,
followed by the janitor.
"_What should I tell my wife?_" George shouted, but they didn't
answer, so he went down and told his wife that they were discussing it
with the Administrative Officer. And, as anyone could have guessed, a
short time later he pushed his head out of the mousehole in the
Administrative Office.
* * * * *
He was a bit late, just in time to see the door close on the
supervisor and the janitor.
So he shouted, "_Hello!_" as loud as he could.
The Administrative Officer looked down and saw him right away. He was
a thin pale man with tired eyes.
"Go away," he said spiritlessly, "I've just told two people that you
don't exist."
"But my wife wants that trap removed--it's dangerous for the
children," George complained.
The Administrative Officer almost shouted to hell with George's
children, but basically he was a decent man, even if an overworked
one, and he caught himself in time.
"I'm sorry," he said sincerely, picking up some letters that he had
already read, "but we've got to leave the traps."
"Then what will I tell my wife?" George demanded.
That stopped the Administrative Officer, too. He buried his head in
his hands and thought for a long moment. "Are you sure you _really_
exist?" he asked, finally raising his head from his hands.
"Sure," George said. "Do you want me to bite you to prove it?"
"No, you needn't bother," the Administrative Officer said. And then
he buried his head in his hands again.
"Technically," he said, speaking through his fingers, "it's a security
problem."
With an air of relief, he picked up the phone and called the Security
Officer. There was a bit of spirited conversation and then he hung up.
"He'll be right down," the Administrative Officer told George.
Shortly thereafter, the door violently swung open, and a tall man with
piercing eyes entered. "Hello Bill," he said quickly. "How are you
feeling?"
"Hello, Mike," the Administrative Officer replied. "I feel like hell.
This is George. I just called you about him."
"Hello!" George shouted.
"Hello!" the Security Officer shouted back. "I couldn't find any
record of you in the files. Have you been cleared?" he added with a
note of urgency in his voice. "Fingerprints, A.E.C., C.C.C., C.A.I.,
F.B.I.?"
"No!" George shouted back. "My wife wants the trap by our front door
removed. She thinks it's dangerous for the children."
"Has _she_ been cleared?" the Security Office countered in a loud
voice.
"Why is everybody shouting?" the Administrative Officer asked
peevishly. "I've got a headache."
"No," George answered.
* * * * *
The Security Officer's mouth tightened into a thin, grim line. "A
major lapse of security," he snapped. "I'll check into this very
thoroughly."
"Will you remove the trap?" George asked.
"I can't, until you're cleared," the Security Officer said, shaking
his head. "I certainly won't authorize any action that could be later
construed as aiding the entrance of spies or subversives into the
plant."
"How old are you?" the Administrative Officer asked George.
"Fifty-six days," George replied without hesitation.
"Under twelve years," the Administrative Officer pointed out to the
Security Officer. "No clearance required."
"I don't know," the Security Officer said, shaking his head. "There's
no precedent for a case like this. I'll be damned if I'll stick my
neck out and have that trap removed. I know, I'll send a request for
an advisory opinion." He turned and walked toward the door.
"What should I tell my wife?" George called after him.
"Tell her that I'm asking the A.E.C. for an opinion, with carbon
copies to the Defense Dept. and the F.B.I."
"Don't forget Immigration & Naturalization," the Administrative
Officer said. "There might be a question of citizenship."
"The hell there is," George said. "_Lex locis_--I was born here."
"Well," the Security Officer said as he walked out, "one can't be too
careful."
So, George went and told his wife and, the next morning, he was on the
train for Washington. Being telepathic, as all this generation of mice
were, he already had contacted some mice who had an 'in' in the
government buildings.
All the way down on the train, he worried about chasing all those
carbons in the bureaucratic maze of Washington, but he needn't have.
As soon as the Security Officer's report was received, the A.E.C. sent
a battery of psychiatrists to the plant. After the psychiatrists
reported, they, in turn, were sent to another battery of
psychiatrists. After that, the A.E.C. called a top-level conference of
the Defense Dept., F.B.I. (Dept. Just.), Fish & Wildlife (Dept. Int.),
Public Health (Dept. Welf.), Immigration & Naturalization and Alaskan
Affairs. The latter turned out to be a mistake.
* * * * *
This had taken two weeks, and George had lingered in the walls,
impatiently waiting for his chance to testify. Of course, he was in
telepathic communication with Clara. He knew that his family were all
well, that Clara had made friends with the janitor, also that the trap
was still there.
The janitor no longer put cheese in it, and he didn't set the spring
any more, but he still followed his orders and so, every morning,
moved it back by the door of the little mousehouse.
A fat Washington mouse guided George to the mousehole in the
conference room. George looked inside and sniffed the smoky air
distastefully.
There were seven men seated at a long table, with a glass of water in
front of each. This was a liquid that even George knew was hardly
designed to lubricate the way to a quick agreement.
"_Bomb_ them, I say," the General cried, smashing his fist down on the
table. "Hit them hard with atomic weapons. Hit them _now_, before
_they_ have a chance to strike first."
"But that's one of our best plants," a civilian from the A.E.C.
protested. "We don't want to blow it up, not for a few paltry mice."
"Couldn't we send them to Alaska?" the man from Alaskan Affairs asked
timidly, wondering what he was doing there.
"How about traps?" the man from Fish and Wildlife said. "We have some
honeys."
"But _that's just it_!" George said in a loud voice, and they all
turned to look at him. "My wife would like that trap by our front door
removed. She's afraid that it might hurt the children."
"_Who_ are _you_?" the man from Immigration & Naturalization demanded
sharply.
"I'm George," George said. "It's my house that has the trap in front
of it."
"What are you doing _here_?" the man from the F.B.I. demanded. "Spying
on a closed meeting!"
"I'm _not_ spying!" George exclaimed. "I just came to ask you to
please remove the trap."
* * * * *
The man from the F.B.I. looked at him with something close to pity.
"It's not that simple any more," he said. "Don't you realize what a
threat you comprise?"
"No," George said, scampering up the leg of the table and walking to
its center. "We're not a threat to anybody. We're just mice. It's not
our nature to be a threat to anybody."
Then, as he looked around the table at the seven huge faces that
surrounded him, he immediately saw that they were all scared half to
death because he was a mouse, and he had a sudden premonition that he
would not come out of the meeting alive. So he opened his mind to let
his family and all the other telepathic mice hear everything that was
happening.
"Don't tell me you don't fully realize," the Fish and Wildlife man
demanded sarcastically, trying to hide his terror beneath a blustering
tone, "that from one mouse, your great-great-grandfather Michael,
there must be now at least twelve billion descendants--or six times
the human population of Earth!"
"No, I didn't know," George said, interested despite himself.
"Don't tell me it never occurred to you," the man from the F.B.I.
said, shaking a finger at him, while George could see that he kept the
other hand on the revolver in his pocket, "that you mice have access
to and could destroy every secret file we have!"
"No, it didn't," George said, shrinking from that huge, shaking
finger. "We mice would never destroy anything uselessly."
"Or that you could cut the wires on any plane, tank, vehicle, train or
ship, rendering it completely inoperable!" the General broke in,
slamming a meaty palm down on the table so hard that George was thrown
over on his back.
"Of course it never occurred to me!" George said, climbing rockily
back on his feet. "We mice wouldn't think of such a thing. Don't be
afraid," he pleaded, but it was no use. He could feel the panic in
their breasts.
"Didn't you ever consider that you could cut every cable, telephone
line, power line, and telegraph line from the States to Alaska?" the
man from Alaskan Affairs said, just for the sake of saying something.
Then, to show his bravery and defiance, he took his glass of water and
emptied it on George. It was ice water, and poor George, dripping wet,
began to tremble uncontrollably.
"I suppose you never considered that you could sabotage and blow up
every atomic plant we have," the man from the A.E.C. said, before
George even had a chance to answer Alaskan Affairs. And, working
himself into a rage to overcome his fear, he emptied _his_ glass of
ice water on the trembling mouse.
* * * * *
George began to weep. "It _never_ occurred to me," he sobbed. "We mice
aren't like that."
"Nonsense!" the General said. "It's the unchanging law of nature. We
must kill you or you will kill us. And we'll start by killing you!"
The General roared louder than all the rest because he was the most
frightened.
His hand, huge and terrible, swept swiftly down on poor, wet, weeping
George. But the General really didn't know mouse tactics very well,
because George was down the leg of the table and halfway to the
mousehole before the huge hand struck the table with a noisy bang.
And poor George, frightened half out of his wits, scooted into the
mousehole and ran and ran without stopping, through the mouseways as
fast as he could, until he reached the train. But, of course, the
train was no longer moving. All the telepathic mice had cut every
cable, telephone line, power line and telegraph line, had also cut the
wires on every plane, tank, vehicle, train and ship. They also had
destroyed every file in the world.
So George had no alternative but to walk back to the plant, which had
been preserved as a memorial to great-great-grandfather Michael.
* * * * *
It took him three weary weeks to make it, and the first thing he
noticed when he got there was the trap in front of the door.
Naturally, there was no bait in it and the spring wasn't set, but the
trap was still there.
"George," Clara said to him the moment after she kissed him, "you must
speak to the janitor about the trap."
So George went outside right away, since he could hear the janitor
swish-swashing the dust around.
"_Hello!_" he shouted.
"Hello yourself," the janitor said. "So you're home again."
"My wife wants the trap moved," George said. "She's afraid the
children might get hurt."
"Sorry," the janitor replied. "My orders were to put a mousetrap by
each mousehole."
"How come you didn't go away with all the other people?" George
shouted up at him.
"Stop shouting," the janitor said. Then, "I'm too old to change," he
added. "Besides, I have a farm down the road."
"But haven't they stopped paying you?" George demanded.
"What's the difference," the janitor countered, "money can't buy
anything any more."
"Well, what will I tell my wife about the trap?" George asked.
The janitor scratched his head. "You might tell her that I'll take it
up with the supervisor, if he ever comes back."
So George went inside and told Clara.
"George," she said, stamping her foot, "I can't go on with that trap
out there! You know that supervisor won't come back, so you've got to
go out and find him."
George, who knew that there weren't many people around anywhere any
more, walked over to his favorite easy chair and sat down. "Clara," he
said, as he picked up a book, "you can leave or stay as you wish, but
there is nothing more that I can do. I've wasted a full month over
that trap without accomplishing a single thing, and I'm not going to
start that business all over again."
--STEPHEN ARR
* * * * *
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Chain of Command, by Stephen Arr
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAIN OF COMMAND ***
***** This file should be named 32160.txt or 32160.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
https://www.gutenberg.org/3/2/1/6/32160/
Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, 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.
