The Great Escape Chapter 14, Part 4 of 11

The Great Escape
Chapter 14, Part 4 of 11

"Yes, but I know why. That is, I think I know how cloning kits work. We'll find out later if I'm right or wrong. But even so, it's not such an important secret that they must protect it."

He sat down again and no longer fumed, though his mood was not yet tranquil. The chiefs conferred for a minute; then Calliope returned the councilors.

The councilors returned carrying three large leather books they had set on the table. Gloria took her place, and soon, everyone was seated at the table. The chiefs smiled at each other when they saw how tall even the diminutive Madam Scientist seemed.

"Well, Ezra," Gloria said. "It's time for questions. Yours and ours. Would you like to go first?"

"Yes, I would. Thanks. Why do you call me 'Ezra Goldrick of the Three Tribes'?"

"That's down to Calliope and me," Solange answered. "The Cloners asked your matronymic, but no one knew it, so I suggested calling you 'Ezra Goldrick, Earthman.' No one else liked that, so Calliope suggested 'Ezra Goldrick of the Three Tribes,' which we all liked."

"What's a 'matronymic'?" he asked.

"It's your mother's name. We use it with your tribe to identify you. I'm Solange Malka daughter Herder."

"Oh, then I'm Ezra Mariottason. But why do you use matronymics instead of surnames? You all have surnames, I presume, or your ancestors did."

"It's the Founders' wisdom to keep the peace," Madam Lawspeaker explained. "The Founders knew that when small, close-knit communities on Earth failed, it was always due to conflict caused by social status, sex, or property. So, the Founders decided we should start with a clean slate and be judged on our talents. We shouldn't use our surnames or anything that reminds us of our family status on Earth."

"We also have strict marriage laws and share land within the tribes. Madam Recorder remembers our surnames and what property each woman is heir to - for when such information will be relevant again."

"I see," he said. "It makes sense. So, here's my second question: Why are there no pigs in Samothea?"

A whisper came from beside Gloria: "He knows." "Shush!" said another voice.

"Good question, Ezra," Gloria replied. "Also, no goats, dogs, cats or donkeys; only one type of sheep or horse; and only two kinds of cattle. Can you guess why?"

"Well, at first, I thought it might be a dietary reason, but that seems unlikely. Then I guessed it might be cultural, but I know no religion in Samothea.

So, I guess you're using the pig cloning kits for people."

"Go on," Gloria said.

"Kalyndra told me women have only one go at conceiving a clone because you've got a limited number of cloning kits. Hence the rumor that they're running out, but I don't believe it. It's not the kits you're running out of; it's some vital component. After all, the kit is just a few swabs, a hypodermic, and an applicator. There must be some active ingredient in explaining why you've consistently paid the price of cloned children for the last fifteen years."

"True," Gloria admitted. "Tell us more. Tell us how the cloning kits work."

"Gloria?" the Lawspeaker warned.

"As you said, Madam, we have no secrets," Gloria said firmly.

"All right," Ezra said. "The cloning kits work by molecular nanotechnology."

"Nanotech!" was the whisper on the other side of the table.

"I think the kits have two or three kinds of nanotechnology," he continued, "maybe in the form
of a serum or crystals you can add to a fluid. You start by taking some cells from the woman.

Kalyndra said you cut some skin from one of her nipples; I suppose because it's easy to get living skin from the teat of a pig."

"That sample is treated with one kind of nanotechnology which, I guess, separates a cell and reverts it from its adult stage to an embryonic stage."

"Another process uses blood samples to test where a woman is in her monthly cycle. The third process uses the applicator to implant the cloned cell in the wall of the uterus. Am I right?"

"Madam Medic?" Gloria said.

"Mostly right, Ezra Goldrick," she said in a strong, clear voice that belied her physical frailty.

"We use four types of nanotech, er, 'nanotechnology.' The first kind we call the red nanotech. It reverts the cells from their differentiated states to an embryonic stage. The second type of nanotech - the purple nanotech - separates and isolates one cell so we can collect and implant it. It makes a dark spot in the serum which you can see through a microscope and suck up in a pipette."

"The white nanotech is mixed with the blood and changes color to indicate the best time to implant, and the green nanotech is placed in the applicator ahead of the cloned cell to prepare the uterus for the cell."

"Why do you call the kinds of nanotech by colors?" he asked.

"Because they are the colors they're labeled in the kit."

"And am I right in guessing you're running out of nanotech?"

"No. Not exactly," Sally (Madam Scientist) said. "We're running out of the red and the green nanotech, but that's not the real problem."

"All right," Ezra said, "then I can guess the real problem. Most nanotech on Earth can reproduce itself, so it's either designed to be sterile or kept under sterile conditions. That's why you couldn't let me into the cloning lab: not because I might contaminate your nanotech, but because the nanotech may get loose and contaminate everyone else."

What little opposition there had been to telling Ezra about how the cloning kits worked now dissolved. He seemed to understand the process just as well as Madam Medic or Madam Scientist. Gloria nodded to Sally, who continued her explanation.

"Quite right, Ezra Goldrick," she said. "We know we must keep the nanotech away from the raw material it uses to replicate itself. One problem is that, although we know the raw material, we don't understand what's happening at the chemical level. There may be lots of raw materials all around us. If so, the nanotech would spread like a plague, so we replicate in a sealed room and use only the store of raw materials the Founders left us."

"And it's the original store that's running down?" Ezra suggested.

"Yes. We know the minerals' names but don't know how to identify them. We have enough of each kind of raw material to make enough nanotech for hundreds more kits, but after that, cloning stops - for horses, sheep, cows, and women."

"I can help," Ezra said confidently.

"You can?" Gloria asked.

"I'm a geologist. If you show me the chemical formula for the raw material, I can probably find a source of the elements you need in minerals or other natural things."

Gloria signaled Madam Medic, who opened the large leather volume in front of her and flicked through the pages until she found what she wanted, saying to Ezra and the chiefs:

"This is our medical science book. It contains the instructions for the cloning lab and the details of the nanotech."

He looked over her shoulder as she turned the pages of the hand-written text until he'd read the whole section.

"I know all these elements," Ezra said. "Besides the commoner ones, like carbon, nitrogen, calcium, and iron, we need iodine, magnesium, bismuth, and strontium. We can get some from seaweed or animal blood and bones. The others will come from minerals we can find in the White Mountains because they are products of volcanic activity. I'm certain I can help you make new cloning kits."

He sat down feeling happier than he'd been since the discussion began. He even began to plan a trip to the White Mountains.

The three chiefs had sat silently all through this exchange. This was unusual for Mirselene, who at last had something to add, saying to Ezra:

"It's very noble of you to help the Cloners," she said, "but do you need to? After all, we know you're potent. We won't need cloning again when you've had enough sons and daughters to sustain our numbers."

"I'm sorry to contradict you, Mirselene," he said, "but we will need cloning for quite some time.

My children can never mate with each other."

"It would be incest!" pointed out Madam Lawspeaker.

"You're right, Madam Lawspeaker," he said, "but I was also thinking of biology. My sons should mate only with clones unrelated to them. Maybe distant cousins can mate long in the future, but there will be no stepsiblings. The danger's too great."

"Genetic bottleneck," Solange said, remembering her conversation with Ezra.

"That's right, Solange," Ezra confirmed. "My children must mate with strangers, not with close relatives, or further generations may have health problems and even deformities."

"You're assuming you will sire sons," Madam Medic said.

"Is there any reason to think I cannot?"

"One good reason: none of the Founders' attempts to clone men or male animals succeeded."

"Do you know why?" he wondered.

"No one knows why. We have theories but no explanation."

Ezra nodded. He didn't ask what the theories were. He had plenty to think about as it was. The table went quiet as the chiefs, and Ezra digested what they'd learned. Then, Calliope asked to see the medical textbook.

"Go ahead, Madam," Gloria said. "There's a copy for each of the tribes - with our apologies for being so tardy in giving them to you."

The three chiefs looked astounded. Even Solange was taken aback. Where was the Cloners' arrogance? Where was their superiority? These were different women from more recently; they were kinder and more conciliatory. Had Gloria achieved this change in just six months?

"We have other books in preparation as well," Gloria continued. "We're working on the Book of Scientific Knowledge, Memories of Earth, the Story of Samothea, the Laws and Constitution of Samothea, and the Family Name Book."

There was a stirring to Gloria's right as she pronounced the name of this last volume.

"Which Madam Lawspeaker advises should not be made public ..."

The Lawspeaker sat even more upright in her chair and prepared to comment.
"For reasons she has already given us," Gloria added firmly, cutting off the interruption before it began.

"Ladies," she concluded, "I invite your opinions at the chieftains' meeting. The question is: will it disrupt the harmony of our society to publish the records of our ancestry?"

The three chiefs shared a glance but made no answer for now.

"Meanwhile, I would like to know from Ezra Goldrick of the Three Tribes precisely what problem brought him to visit us here in the Cloner City to examine our medical equipment?"

The chiefs had already approved Ezra's story of the salvage operation and Yumi's discovery.

He took another cup of water and described how he crash-landed in the sea.

Megan joins the Juniors.

While the councilors and chiefs talked, Hazel, the pretty blonde Junior, showed Megan upstairs into the Junior dormitory, where two other Juniors sat chatting comfortably on a bed.

"Girls," Hazel said, "this is Megan Herder. She's sleeping here tonight."

The Juniors got up to greet their guest.

"Hello, I'm Preeda," said a petite girl of Thai ancestry. She had a small round face and long, tightly braided, shiny black hair.

"I'm Jenna," said the other, a skinny black girl with a decadent smile and strong white teeth.

Her dark eyes shone with a bright, friendly welcome.

The first thing Megan noticed in the Junior dormitory was how much stuff the girls had. There were six beds. The one nearest the door was empty, but the others, even the one the girls had been sitting on, were covered with piles of clothes of every shape and style. Books and assorted Knick knacks essential to a young woman's happiness hogged every spare surface, and boxes with who knows what contents were ever-present obstacles on the floor. There was lots of furniture: chairs, dressers, a large wardrobe, and a long mirror.

The girls had been trying on clothes. Megan marveled at the Juniors' wealth, though, as a woman whose tribe kept minimal possessions so they could move quickly, she disapproved of both the luxury and the clutter.

"Megan, this will be your bed," Hazel said, indicating the empty one by the door. "Would you like to rest while we do our chores?"

"I'd like to help," Megan said. "What can I do?"

"You can help me make up a room for Ezra. Jenna, you make Megan's bed, and Preeda, will you go to the Fair to order dinner for thirteen in two hours, please?"

Preeda was a sweet and submissive girl who usually obeyed immediately, but now she was delayed and reluctant to leave.

"What is it, Preeda?" Hazel asked.

"Promise me you won't say anything interesting while I'm gone?"

"Of course not, away with you."

Now, the girl rushed off to her task, hoping she would be back before she missed anything important.

Megan noticed, therefore, that Hazel was the senior Junior who gave the orders.

With armfuls of bedclothes, Hazel led Megan to a spare room, where they placed Ezra's pack and made him up a bed.

Back in the Junior dormitory, Jenna made Megan's bed and began to put away some of the mounds of clothes in the wardrobe. Ten minutes later, Preeda returned, breathing heavily after sprinting up the stairs. That reminded Megan.

"What did you mean about not saying anything interesting?" she asked the panting girl.

"Sex, of course," Hazel answered on Preeda's behalf, "especially sex with Ezra Goldrick of the

Three Tribes."

"What do you girls know about sex?" Megan asked.

"Not much yet, but we're learning," Jenna replied.

"From each other," Preeda added.

Megan smiled, thinking how lucky the girls were. Suddenly, she thought of herself as a matron with experience and knowledge to share. It was an odd idea - she was only a few years older than the Juniors - but it gave her a pleasing sense of power.

"I'll tell you what I know," she said.

The girls finished their tasks and sat down. The three Juniors sat on the bed that Jenna had just cleared, and Megan sat facing them on her bed.

She unstrapped her sandals and sat cross-legged, her arms and shoulders relaxed, preparing to tell the girls what most women at the Cloner Fair also wanted to know.

"Sex with Ezra is beautiful and exciting," she explained. "He's passionate and eager and makes me respond in ways I don't expect or didn't previously know I could."

"Is sex better with a man?" Hazel enquired.

"No."


To be continued