Two Timer in the February 1954 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction. Here is a brace of vignettes by the Old Vignette Master. short and sharp. like a hypodermic! - Experiment - Sentry
Tom's extraordinary machine glowed--and the years were banished from Old Crompton's body. But there still remained, deep-seated in his century-old mind, the memory of his crime.
That he was a phony Swami was beyond doubt. That he was a genuine prophet, though, seemed. but then, what's the difference between a dictator and a true prophet? So was he....
Zeckler was a con-man, a human con-man. But he had no idea what he was up against when he decided to try to outwit the Altairians, an alien race that believes telling the truth is a weakness. Really he never had a chance.
The trouble with prophets is that if they're accurate, the news won't do you any good, and if they aren't accurate, they're no good. Unless, of course, they're more than just prophets....
In the title tale, narrator James 14 returns home with Mama to 1898 village when his father Les, time-traveller Ambassador to aliens, vanishes from 1975 jet-pack city. When the "mothaship" takes the anointed few into the brave new world, those left behind are angry. "0wnz0red" asks - what happens when hackers hack the human body?
There are times when a broken tool is better than a sound one, or a twisted personality more useful than a whole one. For instance, a whole beer bottle isn't half the weapon that half a beer bottle is.