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forms. A second showed the ruins of a civilization baking in a planet-wide desert, like broken pottery in a
runaway kiln. They were on their way to yet another star.
As the flights repeated, Big Boy had refined the mechanics of the time stress fields and gravity
generators to significantly decrease the duration of hops from star to star, increasing the likelihood of
finding a compatible planet, though by no means was that guaranteed, and Jamie doubted that he would
be allowed off the ship again until they returned, at least not until a landing party certified a planet as safe.
Fuzzy Britches worked his claws in the fabric of his coveralls, purring in rhythm to the kneading.
Were the enhanced pets to be the ultimate inheritors of earth? Some of the scientists seemed to think so.
Well, one thing was certain: the genie couldn t be put back in the bottle. And speaking of-or rather
thinking of--
"Ouch! That hurts, Fuzz," Jamie exclaimed as the cat s claws inadvertently touched his skin.
"Sorry," Fuzzy Britches said, retracting his claws. "You should grow fur. Or strong skin."
"Sure. And strong muscles and good looks, too. How about some claws as well?" Jamie scratched
behind Fuzzy Britches' ears.
"Okay. Grow me muscles, too. Then I beat up Woggly."
It was possible. His own disease resistant body and longevity were the results of tinkering with
human germ plasm. There were really no limits to what could be done, but by law and custom, and fear
of altering the basic humanness of the species, all improvements in the human form had come from
recombination of original genes, unlike the pets, who were the result of endowing them with many of the
human genes for intelligence. Earlier in the century, before the formation of the Enclaves, there had been
many clandestine experiments on humans, but during the madness which swept earth after the pets got
loose, the altered humans had been either killed by mobs or taken refuge in the wilds, living on the
sufferance of those animals who would protect them. Feral humans especially altered feral humans were
the bugbears of present human culture.
Across the room, the life-like bobcat crouched, in plain view, now. It's stubby tail twitched. A tinkle
of laughter came from the woman, still playing with the kittens. Maybe that was the answer. Muscles
for..."
The bobcat sprang, landing in the middle of the pool with a huge splash. Jamie flinched involuntarily
as globs of water arced toward him. He looked around guiltily as the water disappeared when it reached
the limits of the holo projection to see if Jeannie had noticed his reaction. She was still asleep. Fuzzy
Britches had scurried away, then turned back. He sat at the edge of the bed, using a paw to wipe
imaginary water from his ears. The bobcat bared its fangs in feline laughter. It climbed from the pool and
shook itself vigorously, then picked up a kitten and bounded into the brush.
"Where are the dogs?" Jamie asked Fuzzy Britches.
"Playing with Bandit and rats. These Rats nice. Not for dinner."
"Of course not."
"Pandy have kittens soon," Fuzzy Britches announced.
"Pups," Jamie corrected.
"Whatever." The cat stretched and padded off of Jamie s chest onto Jeannie s, settling his head
between her breasts. Jeannie murmured in her sleep and curled an arm around him.
I m going for a walk," Jamie announced. "If Jeannie wakes up before I get back, tell her I ll be back
shortly."
"Okay," Fuzzy Britches said.
***
Jamie wasn't sure whom he wanted to see or what he wanted to do. His walk through the corridors
of the huge ship eventually brought him past the entrance to the gymnasium. He hesitated, then decided
that maybe a little exercise might help alleviate the boredom. At least it might keep the autodoc from
chastising him about an increase in the fat content of his body. He couldn t see any difference, but the
medically intelligent machine was never fooled.
Troy masters and Kristi looked up as he entered. They were both wrapped in the coils of exercise
machines, sweating profusely as it worked their muscles in a program designed by the ship s autodoc. He
waved for them to continue and let another machine get him started on his own program. He groaned as
it started, then gradually narrowed his concentration as the machine instructed him. He was soon totally
involved, and the instructions faded as he responded automatically to the manipulations of the tentacles.
Later, sitting nude in the steamy sauna, he was struck by the lean musculature of the ranger captain
sitting across from him. Only his hands and face reflected his age; the rest of his body compared
favorably with a much younger man. Jamie thought that he must have to spend long hours on the
machines to maintain such a youthful appearance, but politely, he didn't comment on it. Instead, he
winked at Kristi sitting cattycornered between the two. He always enjoyed the sight of her body. It was
sleek and firm, without an ounce of excess tissue. He knew that, like himself, her 1A genome was partly
responsible, but she took nothing for granted.
Kristi winked back at him and briefly cupped her breasts, a private signal that she wouldn't mind
some attention as soon as they were alone. Jamie was entirely willing, but he was still thoughtful.
"When is our next stop?" He asked, directing the question at Masters.
"Tomorrow, I think. Two days there, then onward and inward."
"Inward?"
"In towards the thicker part of the spiral arm," Masters explained. "Hawkins has us scheduled for
ten more stops, then back to earth."
"Why ten?"
"Just a matter of logistics, love," Kristi explained. "The ship isn't really self-supporting, yet. Maybe
the next time out it
will be but there just wasn't time to include all the necessities this trip."
Another trip? "I don t want to go out again," Jamie said.
Surprisingly, Masters agreed. "I don't either."
Jamie was startled. He would have thought that exploring strange planets would suit the ranger.
"Why not?"
Masters considered before he answered. "You forget that I m an old man, Jamie. Old men get set
in their ways.
Besides I'm more interested in the happenings on earth. There's so much change going on there that we
need to try to keep
ahead of it. Then there is the old story about going to the well once too often."
"What's a well? And why go to it?"
Masters smiled gently. "Just an old saying. What it means is don t push your luck. I m glad I came
on this trip, and I
hope we can finish it without too much trouble, but that's it."
Kristi spoke up. "What he means is that if we keep on exploring strange places, sooner or later
something is going to
bite us, and badly. "
"Right. Back when the rangers were first formed, we had horrendous casualties right on earth until
we learned how to cope. This is like tackling a new earth every few days." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]