Free Atlantis: Three Tales by Samuel R. Delany

creaking wagon, back through the evening trees, to the campus—
    â€œWe were picketing,” Corey said. “That’s all. With the others, across the street from the theater.”
    â€œWell, that wasn’t
quite
all,” Elsie said.
    â€œThen what else
did
we do?” Dr. Corey asked, indignantly.
    But Elsie had some devilment in her eye.
    And there was a grin back of Dr. Corey’s indignation. “We certainly didn’t do very
much
else—that anyone with a grain of sense wouldn’t have done. There’s no forgiving a movie like that—stirring people up to violence against their fellow man!”
    â€œWhat did she do, Miss Elsie?” Mr. Carter asked.
    â€œWell, we were picketing, there across the street. The policemen were keeping us back. And you could see that it wasn’t doing anything to keep people from going into the movie—”
    â€œThe thing we wanted to do,” Corey said, “was to stop them from going to see it, you see. That’s what we were trying to do.”
    â€œSo finally,” Elsie said, “Corey says to me, ‘Come on.’ Well, I didn’t know where she was going.”
    â€œYou did too!” Corey said. “I
told
you—”
    â€œAfter we got in line,” Elsie said, “you told me. We left the pickets, went down to the end of the block, crossed over, came back, and got on the ticket line to the movie. That’s when I asked you, what we were going to do. And you told me, ‘We’re going to go inside and see that movie!’ Well, I was afraid to leave her, because I knew she was probably going to do something foolish—and I didn’t want her to get in trouble.”
    â€œYou went
into
the movie?” Clarice asked. From her tone, Sam realized this was new to her as well.
    Corey nodded.
    â€œWe went into the movie,” Elsie said, “took our seats, and waited for the lights to go down and the man at the organ to start his playing—and I asked: ‘Corey, what are we going to do now?’ And she whispered, ‘Hush!’ and just to sit there and to do what she did. Well, I thought, dear Lord, give me strength! What has this crazy girl, my own little sister, got it into her head to do?”
    â€œThen what happened?” Sam asked.
    â€œThe lights went off, the man started to play the organ, and the movie began—and Corey jumps up, scoots out into the aisle, with thoselong dresses we used to wear back then, catching on everybody’s knees, saying real loud, ‘Excuse me—excuse me, please!’ and I’m coming right after her. I think people thought she was sick—and had to use the facilities. So they were making room.
    â€œBut then, when she got into the aisle, she ran right down toward the front of the theater—and I’m running to keep up. And she climbed onto the stage—”
    â€œI
jumped
onto the stage,” Corey said. “I got hold of the edge, and I went up like a boy over a fence—though I don’t know whether I could do it today—”
    â€œAnd she grabbed hold of the edge of the screen, with the light from the projector all over us, and people starting to stand up and call out to ask if something was wrong, and she
ripped
it—”
    Corey laughed. “I certainly did. I remember, you stood there, on the stage, in front of all those people, and you said, ‘Oh, Corey—!’ ”
    â€œThen
I
grabbed hold,” Elsie said, “and started ripping too!”
    â€œOnce we began,
she
ripped more than I did,” Corey said. “I really think Elsie was having fun.”
    â€œI was scared to death,” Elsie said. “But, by then, I figured it didn’t make much difference. I knew we were going to end up in jail, no matter—so I decided it’d be better at least to do what we’d come for. Yes, I got hold of it—and I ripped it too. In about a New