A MAN OBSESSED
By ALAN E. NOURSE
ACE BOOKS, INC.
23 West 47th Street, New York 36, N. Y.
A Man Obsessed
Copyright, 1955, by Ace Books, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Printed in U.S.A.
HE HUNTED HORROR THROUGH A MANIAC WORLD!
Jeffrey Meyer had a killing on his mind. It meant nothing to him thathis towering Twenty-first Century world was going mad. He shoulderedaside the rising tide of narcotics-mania, the gambling fever, theinsatiable lust for the irrational. Jeff had his own all-consumingobsession—Paul Conroe must die!
After a five-year frenzied chase, Jeff had his victim cornered; he'ddriven him into the last hideaway of the world's most desperatemen—the sealed vaults of the human-vivisectionists. And Jeff knewthat to reach his final horrible objective, he must offer himself alsoas a guinea pig for the secret experiments of the world's most fearedphysicians!
Alan E. Nourse's new novel A MAN OBSESSED has the impact of Orwell's1984 and the imaginative vigor of Huxley's Brave New World.
About the author:
Born in Des Moines, Iowa, and currently studying for his doctorate inmedicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Alan E. Nourse has managedin between to make himself a high rating as a science-fiction author.His stories have appeared in every leading fantasy magazine and manyanthologies. A MAN OBSESSED, his latest work, will be his third novelto see book publication. Concerning it, he says;
"The idea was drawn from my experience in minor grade medicalguinea-pigging which I as a medical student have done from time totime. The Hoffman Medical Center, originally conceived as a likelydevelopment in the future of medical treatment and research, is notmodeled on any existing organization. Medical mercenary work does,however, exist at the present time for testing new drugs, studyingphysiological effects, and in some cases testing rather dangerousprocedures. Cash is paid for participation, and certain groups ofexperiments have become very popular among medical students as asource of very easy, if slightly risky, income."
CHAPTER ONE
Jeffrey Meyer sat back in his chair and waited. He could hardly breathein the stifling air of the place. His hand clenched his glass untilthe knuckles were white, and his lip curled slightly as he watched thecrowd around him. His whole body was tense. His legs, knotted tightlyunder the seat, were ready to move in an instant, and his eyes rovedfrom the front to the back of the place. They were pale gray eyes thatwere never still—moving, watching, waiting. He had waited for so long,waited and hunted with bitter patience. But now he knew the long waitwas drawing to a close. He knew that Conroe was coming and the trap wasset.
For the thousandth time that evening, a shiver of chilly pleasurepassed through him at the thought. He squirmed in eagerness, hardlydaring to breathe. With his free hand he caressed the cool plastichandle of the gun that was close to his side, and a tight smileappeared on his thin lips. Conroe was coming ... at last ... atlast.... And tonight he would kill Conroe.
The place was a madhouse around him. In the front of the room, bythe street door, was a long horseshoe bar. It was already crowdedby the early revelers. A screechie in the corner blatted out thetinny, nervous music that had recently become so popular, and a loud,hysterical burst of feminine laughter echoed to the back of