Alarm Clock by Everett B. Cole Illustrated by Van Dongen This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it give it away or re-use it under the termsof the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.orgTitle: Alarm Clock Author: Everett B. Cole Release Date: January 6 2008 eBook 24180 Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ALARM CLOCK E-text prepared by Sankar Viswanathan Greg Weeks Bruce Albrecht and the Project GutenbergOnline Distributed Proofreading Team http://www.pgdp.net Transcribers note: This etext was produced from Astounding Science Fiction September 1960.Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication wasrenewed. ALARM CLOCK By EVERETT B. COLE Illustrated by Van Dongen Most useful high explosives like ammonium nitrate are enormously violent ... once theyre triggered. But they will remain seemingly inert when beaten burned variously punished--untilthe particular shock required comes along.... M any years had passed since the original country rock had been broken cut and set to formsolid pavement for the courtyard at Opertal Prison. And over those years the stones hadsuffered change as countless feet scuffing and pressing against once rough edges had smoothedthe bits of rock burnishing their surfaces until the light of the setting sun now reflectedfrom them as from polished mosaic. As Stan Graham crossed the wide expanse from library to cellblock his shoe soles added their small bit to the perfection of the age-old polish. He looked up at the building ahead of him noting the coarse weathered stone of the walls. Thesevere vertical lines of the mass reminded him