Stephen Marlowe

“ But pain from disease seemed unknown to her. Of course, Jason Wall knew, any disease was compounded of two things: a disease agent, bacteria or virus, and a susceptibility. Apparently First Man and First Woman had utterly no susceptibility. They were disease-free.
Some time later in the course of human development—how much later he did not yet know—susceptibility to disease had evolved.
The woman's belly grew round and Jason Wall knew she was going to have a baby. His baby.
He sighed. His time was short. The baby would never be born, because he would kill its mother first. ”

“ Our time is limited. We have a year. One year to make it possible for one man to travel back in time.
After three months, they were shaking their heads.
After six months—when the first terrible twinges of pain had begun—they began to work feverishly.
Jason Wall went regularly to his physician at this time for the drugs that could ease his terrible suffering. They spoke, the doctor with no greater objectivity than Jason Wall himself, of his disease. It was absolutely incurable. Even a crash program to find a cure wouldn't help Jason Wall. The damage done to his body was irreversible. ”

“ In theory, such a crash program, with Jason Wall's money and industrial know-how behind it, was a possibility. But for another reason, for a very simple reason, it was quite obviously impossible.
The scientists wouldn't do it.
Suicide? Never. He decided that firmly, two months after the prognosis. World-destruction? Impossible. Then what?
It was Eve who, trying to flaunt an intellectual prowess she really did not have, told him about time travel. There was this article she had read in the newspaper Sunday supplement, about the possibility of moving backwards through time. ”

“ With the rest of humanity, not in any sudden catastrophe, but quickly and without pain, at the instant First Man is killed....
A week later, he got the crash program underway. Since the world's scientists, like most of the world's intellectuals, were underpaid, it was comparatively simple hiring them, especially since this was a time of international calm. At first the physicists were dubious. Yes, the theoreticians said, time travel was a possibility. ”

“ No, the engineers said, it couldn't be executed.
Execute it, he said. Here's money. Here are facilities. Here is everything you will need. If what you need doesn't exist, make it, buy it, steal it—but get it. ”