Angels Among Us

by C. E. Barrett

  Reznik laughed inwardly. “What I mean is: have you ever wondered anything like, ‘what if things were different?', or ‘what if there's more than I'm being told?', or even, ‘what if grown-ups don't know everything?'” She saw a flicker of something in Devany's eye. Good! Something to work with.

  She leaned down and whispered conspiratorially, “Which one could you fool the easiest?”

  “The Sports Supervisor,” blurted Devany, and clapped a hand over her mouth. Reznik smiled at her reassuringly.

  “Don't worry, Punkin. It'll be our secret.” She winked. “Now, you could only play ‘imagine’ around your sport supervisor, right?”

  “Yes. It was fun to pretend things on the obstacle course, or when we were swimming or running. I used to think about being grown up and doing my job in dangerous places. Sometimes, I would even pretend I did a different job than translating. Sometimes, I would think about being a Nanny, or a Supervisor.” She almost whispered these last sentences. It wasn't quite the wild imagination Reznik had been hoping for, but at least the child was capable of conceiving of things as different from what was right in front of her.

  “That's good, Devany. It's good to let your mind stretch. It makes it stronger. Now, you asked me why there are no outside windows on the ground floor. Here's another question for you to answer. If you had been able to look out at all those fields of vegetables and things, and you could see the workers planting and harvesting, what do you suppose you would have thought?”

  Devany sat and considered this. She looked out the window, at the branches of the trees against the sky. She remembered sitting in class, learning Japanese, her attention wandering and her battle to keep it focused on the task. She thought about having a window to gaze out of while her mind was trying to escape and how easily her imagination would have taken flight into the fields. She stared at Reznik with growing certainty.

  “So we wouldn't know, wouldn't think about anything new! Am I right?”

  “Absolutely. Knowledge is power, honey. If you can keep people ignorant, you can train them any way you like. By the time you got old enough to go upstairs, you would be so used to following orders, you wouldn't think of daydreaming. You understand?”

  “I don't know the word ‘daydreaming', but I think I understand. You mean: we wouldn't think about going out in the fields, or being one of the workers.”

  “You're bang on, again, Devany. You're pretty sharp for such a little girl.” Reznik grinned at her.

  “Thank you.” She considered the painting again. “ProtoLeader, what will happen to me when I go home? Will they believe me when I tell them what happened? Will they erase my mind?”

  “I can't answer that for you, baby. Do they erase memories a lot?” Reznik began to feel serious concern for the little girl.

  “I don't know. The only one I saw was Piotr. He was different after. I think they erased too much. He couldn't do any of the work; he couldn't even remember how to dress himself right any more. It was scary.” She looked deeply unhappy. “He was my friend before, but I was glad when they moved him somewhere else. He only looked like Piotr, but he wasn't him inside. I don't want to be like that.”

  Reznik patted her shoulder. “Don't worry, Devany. We'll find a way to keep you safe. Maybe we can find a better place for you. Would you like that?”

  Devany looked doubtful. “I don't know.” Her troubled eyes moved from Reznik's to the painting and back again. “I don't want to be erased,” she said slowly. “But I know it there. Even if I'm not me inside anymore, they would still take care of me. Maybe I wouldn't be a Translator when I grow up, but things would mostly be like they were before.” Her delicate features were twisted in a horror no one that young should know. Reznik's heart ached for the child. “I don't want to be like Piotr.” She looked deeply unhappy. “Where else could I go?”

  Reznik chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment. Should I blab Daffyd's idea or not? It might give her hope. Go for it.

  “Seren or Daffyd might be able to take you home with them,” she offered the idea.

  “I like Daffyd. I like Seren, too, but I like Daffyd more.” Her brow furrowed as she considered this possibility. “I could go with one of them. They would take care of me, wouldn't they?”

  “Yes, I bet you they would! Either one of them, or maybe both together. Maybe you could all go back to Seren's world.” There! That planted that idea in another mind. “I'm from there, too. Did you know that? I could come to visit sometimes.”

  Devany smiled shyly. She had never had such an open conversation with an adult in her life. She rather liked the experience, and decided she liked Reznik, too. “I'd like that.” Then her expression turned serious. “Do you think we'll ever get out of this place?”

  “If I know Rapsim, and I do, he'll find a way to get us all home. He's very resourceful.” She stood suddenly. “Come on. Let's go make lunch for everybody. I'm hungry.”

  She held her hand down to Devany and helped her to her feet. Together, they went downstairs. Behind them, the curtains in the painting fluttered slightly, and the figure in the window withdrew farther into the shadows.

  Elsewhere, Rapsim's multi chittered a moment or two and then the reading was gone. He cursed under his breath. Where were the surges coming from?

  Daffyd had finished milking Dammit, and had brought the milk can to the cool root cellar. He had sat on it to think.

  He couldn't imagine how Reznik had guessed his secret, but he was concerned. Her reaction hadn't surprised him. She had struck him as being a young woman who took people as she found them and left judgment to the Almighty. Her suggestion that he tell Seren of his attraction had stunned him. How could Reznik be so casual about his sexuality, that she wouldn't understand the problems inherent in such an admission. He spoke quietly to whoever might be listening, “I don't suppose you have an answer for me, but what should I do?” He smiled at his foolishness. Whoever was watching and providing for them certainly wasn't concerned about his feelings for Seren.

  * * * *

  Has there been any more interference? Dommi approached Mykal. The latter diverted part of his attention from the people below.

  Not from the Destructive Ones. But the male is aware that someone is watching ... even of some of the changes, sent Mykal. He is even now asking for advice on how to proceed. I can only nudge him along so far, however. His nature is very resistant. Perhaps I should focus on the adult female. I think she will be easier to persuade to reveal her growing attachment. They are both very strongly attracted, which is promising. They're becoming quite protective of each other, and of the juvenile.

  Dommi radiated approval. Then he asked, You had a minor project with this one. I have been forgetting to ask about it. It progresses?

  Mykal glowed. Oh yes, the young adult female has risen to the challenge. She is discovering abilities she did not know she possessed. The fear she had of being inadequate is fading rapidly, and she is more confident every day. It is hard on the younger ones that the mother is gone, but it will only be a few more weeks in their time.

  And how much longer for the main group?

  I think another week will suffice at most.

  Dommi again showed approval before moving on to the next one under his guidance.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  * * *

  CHAPTER 29

  Llewellyn ap Owen stared at the pictures on the front page of that trashy paper.

  “I thought maybe you should see this,” said Boyd Carver, who lived next door. “My girl, Sue, brought it by to show me. I tell you, Llewellyn, it doesn't look good for your boy.”

  “Those pictures are easily faked, Boyd, and you know it,” said Llewellyn in a no-nonsense tone. He was surprised he sounded so normal. He had often wondered about Daffyd, ever since his son was a young boy, but he had never wanted to question him. Whoever Daffyd used for sex was none of Llewellyn's business, and it didn't make him love Daffyd any less. He admitted to a certain disappointm
ent, but mostly he was afraid for Daffyd's life. The hate groups would surely descend on him and rend him limb from bleeding limb. He felt sick with fear.

  “You might want to get out of town for a while, yourself,” said Boyd, almost as if he had read the other man's mind. “I can't say I approve of Daffyd being the way he is, if this is true, but he's a good and decent person, no matter what that paper says. Why, I've known him his whole life. In fact, I remember when you had him.”

  “You remember that far back?”

  “Sure, I do. I was, what ... about nine or ten years old at the time. It was a big deal. Everybody was talking about it. It caused quite a fuss in town! Or had you forgotten?”

  Llewellyn smiled at that. It certainly had created a stir! Up until that point, if a man wanted to raise his own child, he had to find a surrogate mother, who would be artificially inseminated, and hand the child over when it was born. The cost was prohibitive, but there were many agencies that helped defray some of the expense. And then had come the breakthrough from the procreative research scientists. The technique of in vitro fertilization, and implantation of the resulting embryo into the abdominal cavity of a male was perfected on animals.

  This meant that any man, at any time, could choose to bear his own child. Suddenly, women were expected to be donors at the Procreation Bank, as the old sperm banks were now called. New laws, new rules were drawn up worldwide, and society had changed forever.

  Llewellyn had read the news with growing excitement. He and Evelyn Jones had been together for five years, and their relationship was strong and stable. They had been discussing children for the past year, but couldn't afford the going rates for a surrogate.

  “Listen to this, Ev,” Llewellyn had said. “It says here that the research center is looking for human volunteers. They'll even pay the first five hundred men to do this!”

  “Lew, it's too risky,” Ev had replied.

  “But they're offering to pay ten thousand dollars! I won't have to work for the whole nine months. Their doctors will be watching me like a hawk. Come on, Ev.” He grinned. “We'll make history.”

  “I thought we made history last night,” Evelyn grinned back.

  Llewellyn laughed. “This time it'll go in the history books. Our child will learn about us in school. Let's do it. Let me do it.” His eyes pleaded and Evelyn had relented. They called the toll-free number in the magazine.

  At 28, Llewellyn was at the high end of the acceptable age range, but he was so physically fit from his years in the military, that he was considered a good candidate. At first, he had wanted to use Evelyn's sperm to fertilize the donor egg, but Ev had a low count. The scientists wanted Llewellyn's. So it was that Llewellyn ap Owen became one of the human guinea pigs for the fledgling worldwide Procreation Center.

  The in vitro process had resulted in several microscopic embryos. When told that the ones not used could be frozen for future use, Lew and Ev had opted for that, with only one being implanted in Llewellyn's abdominal cavity. The implantation was accomplished with a local anesthetic and a very long needle. Ev had held Lew's hand through the entire process.

  When he was ready to go home, the doctor handed him an appointment card.

  “February 12, Mr. ap Owen,” said the doctor. “That's your baby's birth date. Be back here at the Center on the eleventh for prep. And I want to see you in a month to see how you're doing. If anything feels strange, call us any time, night or day. The number is on the card.” He smiled pleasantly, and left the bemused couple.

  Llewellyn and Evelyn studied the card and then looked at each other, as the dawning realization sank in. They were going to have a baby! Evelyn grinned suddenly and put his arms around Llewellyn. “I can't believe this is happening.” He kissed him tenderly. “This is wonderful. You are wonderful.” They went home to wait out the nine months, coming in for regular check-ups, as would any expectant parent.

  Llewellyn had been one of the lucky ones. His pregnancy had progressed as normally as it could, considering. His body had adjusted to the interloper. The first time he had felt the baby kick, he had been so excited he could hardly contain himself. People in town got used to seeing him wearing looser and looser clothing. Opinion was divided between ‘work of the devil’ and ‘inspired by God'. Fortunately, the ‘work of the devil’ faction was not terribly vocal and not at all violent.

  February eleventh arrived and Evelyn drove Llewellyn to the Center. He was treated with utmost gentleness by the staff. They had already delivered over thirty babies, most of whom had been healthy, normal children. But two had been stillborn, dead before they were taken out of their grieving fathers, and one had had such grotesque genetic deformities it had not survived the first day. Llewellyn and Evelyn were nervous.

  Evelyn demanded to be present at Llewellyn's side, even though Lew would be under a general anesthetic. Because he had been an ambulance driver for several years, the doctors allowed his request. They considered him a low risk for fainting. It had been difficult watching them make the incision in Lew's abdomen, but when they pulled out a healthy eight-pound, seven-ounce, howling baby boy, Evelyn had been struck by the awe of seeing a new life enter the world. The doctors quickly checked the baby, declared him healthy and whole, and handed him, wrapped in a blanket, into the waiting arms of the man he would call his ‘other father'. His birth father was still sleeping off the drugs.

  They had already chosen names, and Evelyn looked down into the slate colored eyes of his new son. “Hey there, Daffyd,” he crooned. “Welcome to the world.” Llewellyn was moved into a private room, where Evelyn sat with the baby in his arms waiting for the new father to wake up. When Lew's eyes fluttered open and he was fully conscious, Evelyn brought Daffyd over.

  “Who did we have?” asked Lew sleepily.

  “It's Daffyd,” said Ev softly, and tucked their son into Lew's waiting arms. They gazed at him, and at each other. “You did it, Lew. You gave us a baby.” Evelyn stroked Llewellyn's cheek. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?”

  Lew nodded. “Just before I went in for the surgery, in fact,” he smiled. “I love you, too, Ev.” He looked down at the infant who was squalling to be fed. “And I love you too, little Daffyd.”

  Their pictures had made headlines as one of the first fifty babies to be born to men.

  Now the headlines were not as flattering. Llewellyn forced himself to look at the pictures that were splashed all over the front page. Daffyd's face was all too recognizable, although the woman's was always in shadow, or turned away. However, there was no doubt that it was a woman with him. Her robe was open, breasts clearly visible. He hoped against hope that the images had been created on someone's computer, but he was terribly afraid that Daffyd had simply been caught by a scheming woman who didn't care whose lives she destroyed. He considered Boyd's suggestion to get out of town.

  “What will people say if I cut and run, Boyd?” he asked, tearing his eyes from the paper, and flipping it over onto its face.

  “I'd be more afraid of what they'll do if you don't, Lew,” the other replied, his pleasant face seamed with worry.

  “What are you talking about? I haven't done anything,” Llewellyn was confused by the turn this conversation was taking.

  Boyd looked deeply unhappy. “I don't want to be the one to bring this to you, but someone has to warn you.”

  “Warn me about what? Boyd, I just don't understand what you're driving at.” Llewellyn's blue eyes, so like his son's, pleaded with Boyd to say what he meant.

  “You remember back before Daffyd was born, when you were ... expecting, how some folk said it was the work of the devil?” Boyd's mouth turned grim at what he had to say next. Llewellyn nodded slowly. “Well, back then, they mostly just ranted on street corners, or wrote letters to the paper. I remember asking my mother what it was all about, and she wouldn't explain it. It wasn't until years later I figured it out on my own. Anyway, now they, or ones just like them, are saying that's the reason Daffyd's turned ou
t wrong. That you were too much of a mother, so he's out looking for a woman.” He looked down at his hands, unable to meet Llewellyn's eyes. “They're blaming you, Lew.”

  Llewellyn was speechless. Surely Boyd was joking; it was in pretty poor taste, but it must be a joke!

  Boyd looked up at last. “Don't be afraid to run, Lew. Maybe if Daffyd hadn't disappeared, he could defend himself, and this would all blow over. Everyone knows those damn papers lie all the time. But, that article says he took off the morning after them pictures were taken. That don't look good, you have to admit.” He looked away again, unable to bear the sick fear that appeared on Llewellyn's handsome features.

  Is this why you vanished, Daffyd? Lew thought. Why didn't you call your sister or me? Don't you know I would have done anything to help you out? Oh, my poor boy! His heart ached for his son.

  “You're a good neighbor and a good friend, Lew,” said Boyd quietly. “I'd hate to see anything happen to you. Go someplace they don't know you until this thing is done. Maybe Daffyd will turn up and set things to rights, or people will just forget after a while. But right now, you're not safe here.”

  They sat in silence for a while. Llewellyn was already thinking which of his personal possessions he could not bear to leave behind for vandals and arsonists. He had seen the increasing violence of the anti-hetero groups, and he had no illusions about how ugly and dangerous things could get. He realized he might be in very serious danger. He rose suddenly to his feet.

  “Thank you, Boyd,” he said. “I appreciate your honesty. Maybe you saved this old fool's life.”

  Boyd stood up. “You're no fool, Lew. You never were.” He hesitated, then hugged his friend. “I never told you this when Ev was alive; I didn't want to cause trouble, but I always thought he was awful lucky to have you as a partner.” He kissed Llewellyn's cheek. “I hope this foolishness is just a flash in the pan, and that folks will get over it. But don't take any chances.”

  “I won't, Boyd. Listen, I hate to ask this of you, but would you keep an eye on this place for me?” He didn't want the other man to risk himself, but knowing someone who cared was watching over his home would make it easier to go away.