C. M. Kornbluth first made his literary debut under a variety of pen names, among which were Cecil Corwin, S. D. Gottesman, and Kenneth Falconer. It was under the last cognomen that this story originally appeared in the pages of a magazine called "Stirring Science Stories," a short-lived venture of the immediate pre-war period. The story is a striding example of the young writer at his most forceful. The tight-lipped, hard-boiled style of presentation carries the tale along relentlessly to a jolting conclusion that may leave you gasping.
The Words of Guru
by C. M. Kornbluth
YESTERDAY, when I was going to meet Guru in the woods a man stopped me and said: "Child, what are you doing out at one in the morning? Docs your mother know where you are? How old are you, walking around this late?"
I looked at him, and saw that he was white-haired, so I laughed. Old men never see; in fact men hardly see at all. Sometimes young women see part, but men rarely ever see at all. "I'm twelve on my next birthday," I said. And then, because I would not let him live to tell people, I said, "and I'm out this late to see Guru."
"Guru?" he asked. "Who is Guru? Some foreigner, I suppose? Bad business mixing with foreigners, young fellow. Who is Guru?"
So I told him who Guru was, and just as he began talking about cheap magazines and fairy-tales I said one of the words that Guru taught me and he stopped talking. Because he was an old man and his joints were stiff he didn't crumple up but fell in one piece, hitting his head on the stone. Then I went on.
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