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other clones had the same reactions to their own machines. Kira ran evolutionary projections on her
computer and soon started to experiment with seeds and tadpoles at home. Jim spent his time on a
reading machine, occasionally moving to one which taught history. Al and Mike began to set up
experiments with pendulums and planed surfaces, and Al was soon spending afternoons struggling to
read Paul's elementary texts on astrophysics.
Ed often wondered if that little prank was the beginning of their differing interests. They had chosen their
machines for the trick completely by chance. At any rate, their teacher had discovered their prank when
each of them began to fail tests on skills they had not learned. She had humiliated them in front of their
classmates with a lecture, then called Paul on the phone, telling him the whole story. She told him that he
would have to send the clones to school with name tags so she could tell them apart.
Ed recalled how Paul had struggled to restraint a chuckle when he conveyed the teacher's message to
them. Yet he had complied with the request by sewing their names on their overalls; perhaps he
suspected that they would switch their pinned-on tags.
Ed and the others had been embarrassed. Their classmates had resurrected old clone jokes for the
occasion. Being a clone no longer seemed very funny. Their teacher had not been sympathetic to them
either. Ed realized now that she had felt threatened by the computers. The machines, with their
programmed tests and attractive components, seemed to be stealing her job, reducing her to a
supervisor. Parents had the right to allow their children to learn on computers at home, as long as the
children spent some time with others their own age in child care centers or at hostels. Most were in
schools only because of custom or because their parents did not care to supervise them at home. Their
own teacher had taken out her resentment on the clones because of their trick. But at the time, Ed had
thought her an old crank who insulted and belittled the machines as she lectured them on their behavior.
"Paul's going to the moon," Jim said. A shock ran through Ed's body. He straightened involuntarily in his
chair.
"What are you talking about?"
"Dr. Aschenbach called before and asked if he had decided about going. I guess some people there
asked him to come. I know he'll go, maybe he'll ask us first if he should but…"Jim did not finish the
sentence.He's always wanted to go , his eyes told Ed.Don't tell him to stay .
Ed felt stranded and alone.He can't .
He will anyway. Jim leaned back in his chair, balancing it precariously on two legs. "I'm going to the city
this weekend with Joey and Olive. Olive's uncle runs a hotel and we can stay there for nothing. She said
he'd let us have a suite."
"What are you going to do?"
"I don't know. Throw a party. Get drunk. Joey has some stuff from his older brother's plants he's bringing
along with him, and some mood-changers."
"Paul won't want you to go," Ed said.
"He can't stop me. I'm sixteen now, I have the right to do anything I want that doesn't hurt others or isn't
physically, psychologically, or socially harmful or illegal."
"Getting drunk's illegal for you, taking moods is illegal for anybody without a doctor's supervision, and
hanging around with Joey and Olive is what I'd call psychologically harmful."
Jim sighed. "You never miss a chance to insult my friends."
"I don't like them," Ed said, "and I don't know why you spend any time with them. I don't know anybody
who likes them, they're so damn sophisticated, always acting as though they know more than anybody.
All Olive cares about is parties and spending half the night with old guys in her car. I don't know how her
parents can afford the rent on that car. And Joey's still on probation." Joey, technically gifted, had
jammed the transmission in Olive's car, causing all the cars in his lane on the automated highway to come
to a stop and nearly bringing about a serious accident. He had been saved from serious punishment only
because of his age. "You don't like them any better than anyone else, Jim," Ed went on. "I know it." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]