Cloned Lives Pamela Sargent

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"That's what I thought at first, but then Zuñi described him to me. I know this sounds weird, but I could
swear he was a man I saw in the biological sciences building the day Zuñi and I went to meet Dr.
Takamura and Dr. Jabbar. I wouldn't have remembered him except that I could swear I saw him driving
around this neighborhood the same damn day."
"Couldn't Zuñi tell you if it was the same man?"
"No. She didn't see him the day we went to the lab. Dr. Takamura's coffee machine wasn't working and I
went to the lounge to get some. I saw the guy lurking at the end of the hall."
"What did he look like?" Paul asked, suspecting he already knew the answer.
"A tall blond man, good-looking, with a lot of hair and a thick beard."
"I've seen him," Paul said, "intermittently. I thought maybe he was seeing one of the women students or
something. I always had the feeling he was nosing around."
"Maybe he is, but if he knew anything, you probably would have heard about it by now. It could just be
chance."
"Maybe."
"How are the clones coming along?"
"Great. Eli says they should be very healthy kids."
"Good." Bill was silent for a few seconds, then went on. "Maybe I shouldn't tell you this, but I think I can
be frank with you. I've been thinking a lot about cloning lately, and suddenly I realized that if it works, if
the kids turn out to be normal, it means I could have my own kids."
"You're assuming," Paul said, "that there won't be any restrictions, that anybody would be allowed to
clone and that facilities would be available."
"That's not the point. Let me see if I can explain it. I've known I was sterile ever since my teens. Frankly,
it didn't really bother me much. If didn't affect my virility, I knew that, and I grew up in a family where my
brother and sister were adopted. I adjusted to the fact that I would never have a child that was physically
mine, whether we had artificial insemination or adopted or did both. But now..." Bill paused for a moment
and brushed back his thinning brown hair from his high forehead. "Now I know that theoretically at least I
could have my own child. I don't know how to explain it, but it started to matter to me. I honestly never
thought it would. I know logically that it's extremely doubtful I would ever be cloned, but emotionally..."
Bill stopped.
"Do you think it's going to bother you then, being in this house with clones?"
"If I thought it would, I wouldn't be here now, it wouldn't be fair to you. But I did go to see Dr. Valois
about it. She told me pretty much the same thing you did, said she thought new restrictions would
probably be put in effect by somebody. She told me that eventually I would accept the fact and realize it
wasn't really possible for me to have a child, I had lived with it before and would again. It might just take
a little while." Bill finished the beer and placed his bottle next to his chair. "She may be right. But I think I
just might live long enough to see such limits lifted. The birthrate's falling and besides, people won't
always be afraid of these techniques, at least I have a small hope now and that may be better than none
at all. I don't resent you or anything, if that's what you're thinking. She asked me if I wanted to stay, I told
her I did, and she said I should."
"I think you should too. And I'm glad you felt free enough to..."
The phone was buzzing inside. Paul got up and hurried into the house. He picked up the receiver in the
living room and saw Hidey's face on the small screen.
"We've got trouble," Hidey said before Paul could open his mouth. "I have a visitor here with me."
Paul's mind was racing ahead of him.I know , he thought wildly,I know . His mind was starting to add
things up.
"'Who is it, Hidey?"
"His name is Mort Jason and he's a big blond bruiser who works for the International Newsfax Service
as a reporter and feature writer. He knows. I hope you can get here fast."
The tall blond man was the first person Paul noticed as he walked into Hidey's office. He had driven over
as quickly as he could, not bothering to change. Now he felt suddenly ill at ease in his stained work
slacks and denim shirt. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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