E. G. Von Wald

“ Marriage was an agreement between just two people. And that much I might believe. Hundreds is too much."
"It was hundreds," Mark insisted.
"It was not. It was just two. And what's more, it was between a man and a woman. They lived together with their protobodies and agreed to cooperate together, and they made children and took care of them until they grew up."
"Why that's thirty or forty years," Mark exclaimed. "Even the wars didn't last that long. That's really nonsense. Besides, you can only make children in the Decanting Centers. And it's all done by machines." ”

“ Jennette seemed oddly different from other people. He liked her much too much.
Guiltily he brushed the thoughts aside. Anyway, it didn't matter, he told himself. Due to his carelessness in that last fight, he probably wouldn't even see her tonight, since he had nothing to wear.
He stalked out of the shower and gazed again at the bodies in the store room. The only halfway decent one there was that six foot black fellow with the little ears. It used to be his favorite, until he got it smashed one night during a party at his nearest neighbor's. ”

“ Pretty soon the factories couldn't turn out hypnobodies fast enough and people had to fight in their protobodies sometimes. But after a few centuries, the leaders began to get civilized, and decided to put an end to all this cooperative killing. I guess they all got together and agreed not to cooperate with each other in anything in the future."
"It stands to reason," Mark concluded, "people had to learn to be civilized. They weren't just born that way. It's—it's culture."
"Pouf," said Jennette critically. ”

“ Jennette whispered.
"This is just the same, only a lot more so," Mark went on thoughtfully. "And it's wrong. You know it's wrong. Suppose a lot of people started it. First thing you know, whole groups of people would be cooperating with each other again. And when they got into trouble outside, or planned an innocent little raid on somebody's shelter, they would all work together on it. And pretty soon, there would be other groups cooperating in fighting back again. They'd have to. ”

“ Somebody is always blowing it up."
"Well, don't worry. In another hundred years or so, people will start dying off again. These protobodies aren't as serviceable as the manufactured kind."
"Yes, but if they keep producing new people in the Decanting Centers, what good is that going to do?"
"I dunno. Blow up the Decanting Centers, maybe."
"Maybe," Jennette said, glancing impishly at the man beside her, "we ought to just stop wearing these silly old manufactured bodies entirely."
"Yes?" Mark tasted a pomegranate, made a face, and tried another. "Just what do you suggest people wear?" ”

“ Besides, there just aren't enough people around to have all those mythical wars."
Patiently, Mark continued. "I'm telling you, Jennette, this is more than theory. There are still some records left from those days."
"Prove it."
"All right. That's not hard. Somebody had to build the factories, didn't they? And the Decanting Centers?"
"Robots."
"Who built the first robot factory?"
Jennette considered. Then she shrugged petulantly. "Oh all right. Maybe a few people did cooperate. But not hundreds of them. People just don't act like that." ”

“ Checking reports from the factory, making sure there is plenty of ammunition all the time, pestering the body manufacturers so you'll always have something decent to wear. Always watching or somebody will sneak in and blow up part of your shelter."
"Yeah. Well, guess that's life."
Jennette sighed and picked up another fruit. "It gets so tiresome, always having to keep on the look-out and fighting people. ”

“ Jennette did not reply when he stopped. She turned her head away, but Mark could hear her uneven breathing.
"We have a responsibility toward society at large. We know it. We've been well educated and we aren't savages. Neither one of us can get away from it. ”

“ You can kill an awful lot of people awful fast, if a gang gets together on it like that. If they didn't have the artificial bodies and the psi transfer transmitters to make them come alive, there wouldn't have been anybody left after a while. ”

“ We kept it all on a perfectly moral and honest plane—never saw each other except at authorized government sex parties, like this, and all. Fought whenever we ran across each other outside. But I remember thinking at the time that some sort of agreement would be nice. We got along awfully well. ”

“ Cooperation was all right back in the dark ages but this was an era of super culture and hi-psi intelligence. And love was no laughing matter. People who cooperated, even biologically, were unlawful and.... ”