“Time of troubles,” Jesse said. “Very dangerous time. Know what I’m worried about? What happens if they get parity in the ICBM? What happens if they won’t disarm?”
She said, “I’m not going to worry now. I’m glad I live in this time. Time of troubles, yes. But also a time of decision. What we do, counts. Just think, Jess, all the generations to come are going to look back at us and say, ‘That was some generation!’ We’re only beginning to learn about nuclear energy. Wait until we harness the meson, and learn all there is to know about cosmic rays. Do you know what we’re doing, Jess? We’re groping our way out of a dark age. And I want to be part of it. I want to reach for the sun.”
His hand tightened on her shoulder. “You don’t want to go back to the AEC, do you, Katy? You know, I’ll be on duty here for at least two years. Maybe I can get Washington duty after that. But who knows?”
“It really is a time of decision, isn’t it?” she said.
“I guess it is,” said Jesse. “Housewife on Hibiscus Base or scientist for the AEC.”
She ruffled his hair and pushed his head. “Don’t be silly!” she said. “I’m staying here. We’ll get married in the base chapel. Jess—”
“Yes?”
“A full colonel rates a pretty big house, doesn’t he?”
“Four bedrooms, two baths, and study.”
“Big enough so I could have a little workroom, a little lab?”
“Sure,” he said. “Anything you want, so long as it doesn’t interfere with the next generation.”
About the Author
PAT FRANK (1908–1964) is the author of the classic postapocalyptic novel Alas, Babylon, as well as the nuclear satire Mr. Adam. Before becoming an author, Frank worked as a journalist and also as a propagandist for the government. He is one of the first science fiction writers to deal with the consequences of atomic warfare.
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Also by Pat Frank
Alas, Babylon
Mr. Adam
Hold Back the Night
An Affair of State
The Long Way Round
Seven Days to Never
How to Survive the H-Bomb and Why
Credits
Cover design by Gregg Kulick
Cover images © Dover Pictura
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Copyright
A serial version of this novel was published under the title Seven Days to Never.
Originally published in the United States in 1956 by J. B. Lippincott Company
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
FORBIDDEN AREA. Copyright © 1956 by Pat Frank. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST HARPER PERENNIAL EDITION PUBLISHED 2016.
EPub Edition December 2016 ISBN 9780062421852
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