Year of the Jackpot 27

THEM: SEND THEM BY A KINGDOM MESSENGER OR BY SOME
PILGRIM JOURNEYING THIS WAY. AND NOW THE TABERNACLE
CHOIR FOLLOWED BY THE VOICE OF THE VICAB ON EARTH"
"THE FIRST SYMPTOM IS LITTLE RED SPOTS IN THE ARMPITS.
THEY ITCH. PUT 'EM TO BED AT ONCE AND KEEP 'EM COVERED
UP WARM. THEN GO SCRUB YOUBSELF AND WEAR A MASK: WE
DON'T KNOW YET HOW YOU CATCH IT. PASS IT ALONG, ED."
"NO NEW LANDINGS REPORTED ANYWHERE ON THIS CON-
TINENT. THE PARATROOPERS WHO ESCAPED THE ORIGINAL
SLAUGHTER ARE THOUGHT TO BE HIDING OUT IN THE POCONOS.
SHOOTBUT BE CAREFUL; IT MIGHT BE AUNT TESSIE. OFF AND
CLEAR, UNTIL NOON TOMORROW"
The curves were turning up again. There was no longer
doubt in Breen's mind about that. It might not even be
necessary to stay up here in the Sierra Madres through the
winterthough he rather thought they would. He had
picked their spot to keep them west of the fallout; it would
be silly to be mowed down by the tail of a dying epidemic,
or be shot by a nervous vigilante, when a few months' wait
would take care of everything.
Besides, lie had chopped all that firewood. He looked
at his calloused handshe had done all that work and, by
George, he was going to enjoy the benefits!
He was headed out to the hogback to wait for sunset and
do an hour's reading; he glanced at his car as he passed it,
thinking that he would like to try the radio. He suppressed
the yen; two thirds of his reserve gasoline was gone already
just from keeping the battery charged for the radioand
here it was only December. He really ought to cut it down
to twice a week. But it meant a lot to catch the noon bulletin
of Free America and then twiddle the dial a few minutes to
see what else he could pick up.
But for the past three days Free America had not been on
the airsolar static maybe, or perhaps just a power failure.
But that rumor that President Brandley had been assassi-
natedwhile it hadn't come from the Free radio . . . and it
hadn't been denied by them, either, which was a good sign.
Still, it worried him.
And that other story that lost Atlantis had pushed up dur-
ing the quake period and that the Azores were now a little
continentalmost certainly a hang-over of the "silly season"
but it would be nice to hear a follow-up.
Rather sheepishly he let his feet carry him to the car.
It wasn't fair to listen when Meade wasn't around. He
warmed it up, slowly spun the dial, once around and back.
Not a peep at full gain, nothing but a terrible amount of