Beowulf's Children

He paused for a dramatic moment. "Did not men's fear of women keep her a second-class citizen? Deprive her of education, of legal recourse, of the vote, of knowledge of the methods of self-defense, that she might remain chattel?"

Cadma

In comparison...

He stole a sidewise glance at Mary A

So Mary A

Aaron Tragon was exceptional. Good at almost everything he did. For Cadma

The Bottle Babies were seventeen embryos raised totally in vitro, activated after the Grendel Wars and decanted nine months later. By then it had become clear that the fertility rate among the surviving women was quite adequate to replenish the colony, thank you, and the In Vitro project was suspended. Hundreds of embryos remained aboard Geographic. Aaron Tragon had been one of the first. Derik, the big redhead, and Trish the gorgeous black bodybuilder, and Little Chaka, who might be the strongest man on the planet, were also clustered up there in the first ten. They were Aaron's constant companions, and only Little Chaka seemed more than a follower.

The three of them seemed to be sharing a joke on the rest of the colony, one which they declined to share.

They were children of the colony, unrelated to anyone on the expedition, raised by everyone. With the notable exception of Little Chaka, few had bonded to anyone in particular. Mary A

Seems to have worked out all right. They seem like decent kids. Work hard. Come to that, Aaron did live with Joe Sikes for a few years, when he was what, ten or twelve, up until Edgar had the accident...

"-being a man, I stand to gain little by making these claims. Being a man of the twenty-second century, in which we might have hoped that women would be loosed from their biological bondage, perhaps I could have another intent. For is not the drive to ‘free' woman from her biological 'enslavement' also an attempt to lessen her importance? To steal her fire? Are we not then a breed of Prometheans? What happens to us, when this difference is reduced to a mere whim, or a matter of legal designation? I ca

Aaron Tragon bowed massively to Stevens, his challenger. Stevens was slight, scholarly, managed the mining operation east of the colony where Cadma

The food service staff came around, took their orders, and brought sustenance. Cadma

Carlos shook his head. "What do you think, Cadma

"Frankenstein as a crypto-feminist tract? Not on purpose. Nobody writes a tract that good... that close to immortal. How did Stevens do?"

"His Exordium was pathetic. The Narratio was barely adequate, and his Refutatio was booed off the stage. Aside from that, just fine."

Around them, Cadma

They make a good pair, Cadma

In any tribe, there is an alpha. There had been a time when Cadma

Aaron and Linda were paired for a while. A good combination, but then something happened and Linda attached herself to Joe Sikes. An unlikely arrangement, and one that Cadma

Ruth Moskowitz moved toward Aaron, then back away. She had the faintly shell-shocked grin he'd expected. Good sport. Hey, if he likes Jessica, all right. The fingers of her right hand were twisting painfully tight ringlets in her hair. Probably pulling out a few strands. Rachael put an arm around her, and held her daughter close. And that's another situation I don't understand, but I don't think I have to.

Surf's Up provided dessert. A deliciously spiced crushed ice, its taste and aroma resurrected long-buried memories of childhood.

The audience decided, quite vociferously, that Aaron Tragon had triumphed in the week's debate. After a thunderous round of applause, Linda Weyland took the podium. Cadzie was bundled in a sling across her chest, and nursed contentedly as she spoke.

"Unfortunately," she began, "that concludes the evening's entertainment. What I have to say now is more sobering-and far more educational. Cassandra, bang."

A glowing anthill filled the hall; it brightened as the hall lights dimmed.

Neon vermilion tu

In the tip of a tu

The crowd's whispered reaction was immediate, and ugly.

Linda raised her voice above, the sound of that evil wind. "Something exploded. Not high explosive, something more like gunpowder. How it got down there... well. All we know is that the refinery has shut down, and we can't correct the damage from here."

Toshiro raised a hand. "Couldn't this be any sort of normal equipment failure?"

Linda said, "Toshiro, these bore collectors are just drills and a bucket for the ore. They run on solar cells and fuel cells, the fuel cells are just high-tech batteries, they can't explode, and there aren't any fuel cells where we're having the problem anyway."

"Of course you thought about this before. Sorry."

"It's okay. But people, it really was an explosion, and it really did come roaring up from the tip of a bore tube. Cassandra, show us the interference waves."