"Later."
Anne tapped her fork thoughtfully against the edge of her plate. "I
think we better have a nice long talk tonight, Terry," she said.
"Is there anything to talk about?" He pushed the plate away. "I'm not
hungry."
* * * * *
He left the table and went to sit in darkness by the parlor window,
while his wife did the dishes and Peony played with a handful of
walnuts on the kitchen floor.
He watched the scattered lights of the suburbs and tried to think of
nothing. The lights were peaceful, glimmering through the trees.
Once there had been no lights, only the flickering campfires of hunters
shivering in the forest, when the world was young and sparsely planted
with the seed of Man. Now the world was infected with his lights, and
with the sound of his engines and the roar of his rockets. He had
inherited the Earth and had filled it--too full.
There was no escape. His rockets had touched two of the planets, but
even the new worlds offered no sanctuary for the unborn. Man could have
babies--if allowed--faster than he could build ships to haul them away.
He could only choose between a higher death rate and a lower birth rate.
And unborn children were not eligible to vote when Man made his choice.
His choice had robbed his wife of a biological need, and so he made a
disposable baby with which to pacify her. He gave it a tail and only
half a mind, so that it could not be confused with his own occasional
children.
But Peony had only the tail. Still she was not born of the seed of Man.
Strange seed, out of the jungle, warped toward the human pole, but
still not human.
* * * * *
Norris heard a car approaching in the street. Its headlights swung
along the curb, and it slowed to a halt in front of the house. A tall,
slender man in a dark suit climbed out and stood for a moment, staring
toward the house. He was only a shadow in the faint street light.
Norris could not place him. Suddenly the man snapped on a flashlight
and played it over the porch. Norris caught his breath and darted
toward the kitchen. Anne stared at him questioningly, while Peony
peered up from her play.
He stooped beside her. "Listen, child!" he said quickly. "Do you know
what a neutroid is?"