hasn’t quite learned yet how to deal with its animal instincts. We’re supposed to be working on the side of life, not death. Life is precious. Human life is the most precious of all.”
“Oh, for Christ’s sake, Keith, if there’s one thing we’ve got too much of on this planet, it’s human beings. And most of them aren’t worth the effort it would take to blow them to hell.”
In a near-whisper Stoner replied, “If you only knew how rare life is, truly rare among all those stars.”
But Jo refused to be drawn in that direction. “What happens if Hsen kills you? What do you expect me to do?”
“Jo, we’re in a race against time. You knew that when we started down this road, fifteen years ago.”
“But the closer we get to the end the more dangerous it becomes.”
He nodded abstractedly, as if his mind were really elsewhere. “The biochips are the next step. If the human race can absorb that technology, then we’re almost finished.”
“I’ve got our lab people working as hard as they can go,” Jo said. “Biochips will be an important product for Vanguard.”
“It’s more than that, Jo. Much more,” Stoner said. “Biochips can help us get around the limits on brain size set by the female’s birth channel, the first chance to expand the capacity of the human brain in hundreds of thousands of years, Jo!”
“You’re blaming women for the limits on brain size?”
He laughed. “All the great religions of the world blame women for humankind’s troubles. Didn’t you know that?”
“All the great religions of the world are schemes by men to keep women down!”
“But they’re right, in a way.”
“Really?” Jo’s voice dripped acid.
“Goes back millions of years,” Stoner said lightly. “Most ape females are in estrus only a couple of days a month. Our ancestors’ females were sexually receptive all the time. That’s how we outpopulated the other apes. It led to our dominance of the planet. But now it’s a problem.”
“Well, I know how to solve that problem.” Jo pushed away from him slightly.
Stoner reached toward her and she let him put his arms around her easily enough.
“Some solutions are worse than the problems,” he said softly.
“That’s better,” she murmured.
“But the biochips are important, Jo. Implanting protein chips in people’s brains will allow them to link themselves directly with any library, any data bank on the planet. And they’ll be able to communicate with each other directly, like…”
Jo interrupted, “I don’t care about that! You’re the only one I’m worried about.”
“And the rest of the human race?”
“Let them all go to hell, what do I care? As long as you and the children are safe.”
Very softly, Stoner said, “None of us will be safe, Jo, unless all of us are.”
“You keep saying that. Is it really true?”
He closed his eyes and saw a different world, a planet that circled a bloated red star that hung in the sky like a huge menacing omen of doom. A world that teemed with delicate birdlike people, human in form except for feathery crests that ran along the tops of their otherwise bald skulls. A world that was dying beneath the weight of its own numbers.
Cities covered almost the entire face of the planet, their soaring towers crammed with people. Harbors were black with boats and rafts where people lived packed literally shoulder to shoulder. What little countryside remained was bare, denuded, while immense factories struggled to produce enough artificial food to feed the ever-growing masses of people. Murder and madness were as commonplace as breathing, and the only parts of the planet that were not covered with people were the waterless deserts that were slowly, inexorably growing larger, and the oceans that were all too quickly becoming polluted.
Despite famine and war and agonizing plagues the highest ethic of this race was the sanctity of life. There was no allowable way for the species to deliberately
“Oh, for Christ’s sake, Keith, if there’s one thing we’ve got too much of on this planet, it’s human beings. And most of them aren’t worth the effort it would take to blow them to hell.”
In a near-whisper Stoner replied, “If you only knew how rare life is, truly rare among all those stars.”
But Jo refused to be drawn in that direction. “What happens if Hsen kills you? What do you expect me to do?”
“Jo, we’re in a race against time. You knew that when we started down this road, fifteen years ago.”
“But the closer we get to the end the more dangerous it becomes.”
He nodded abstractedly, as if his mind were really elsewhere. “The biochips are the next step. If the human race can absorb that technology, then we’re almost finished.”
“I’ve got our lab people working as hard as they can go,” Jo said. “Biochips will be an important product for Vanguard.”
“It’s more than that, Jo. Much more,” Stoner said. “Biochips can help us get around the limits on brain size set by the female’s birth channel, the first chance to expand the capacity of the human brain in hundreds of thousands of years, Jo!”
“You’re blaming women for the limits on brain size?”
He laughed. “All the great religions of the world blame women for humankind’s troubles. Didn’t you know that?”
“All the great religions of the world are schemes by men to keep women down!”
“But they’re right, in a way.”
“Really?” Jo’s voice dripped acid.
“Goes back millions of years,” Stoner said lightly. “Most ape females are in estrus only a couple of days a month. Our ancestors’ females were sexually receptive all the time. That’s how we outpopulated the other apes. It led to our dominance of the planet. But now it’s a problem.”
“Well, I know how to solve that problem.” Jo pushed away from him slightly.
Stoner reached toward her and she let him put his arms around her easily enough.
“Some solutions are worse than the problems,” he said softly.
“That’s better,” she murmured.
“But the biochips are important, Jo. Implanting protein chips in people’s brains will allow them to link themselves directly with any library, any data bank on the planet. And they’ll be able to communicate with each other directly, like…”
Jo interrupted, “I don’t care about that! You’re the only one I’m worried about.”
“And the rest of the human race?”
“Let them all go to hell, what do I care? As long as you and the children are safe.”
Very softly, Stoner said, “None of us will be safe, Jo, unless all of us are.”
“You keep saying that. Is it really true?”
He closed his eyes and saw a different world, a planet that circled a bloated red star that hung in the sky like a huge menacing omen of doom. A world that teemed with delicate birdlike people, human in form except for feathery crests that ran along the tops of their otherwise bald skulls. A world that was dying beneath the weight of its own numbers.
Cities covered almost the entire face of the planet, their soaring towers crammed with people. Harbors were black with boats and rafts where people lived packed literally shoulder to shoulder. What little countryside remained was bare, denuded, while immense factories struggled to produce enough artificial food to feed the ever-growing masses of people. Murder and madness were as commonplace as breathing, and the only parts of the planet that were not covered with people were the waterless deserts that were slowly, inexorably growing larger, and the oceans that were all too quickly becoming polluted.
Despite famine and war and agonizing plagues the highest ethic of this race was the sanctity of life. There was no allowable way for the species to deliberately
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