what’s the bad news?”
“HEW. They just passed a ruling that discriminates against people living in your uncle’s tree houses. Not through Congress. A departmental ruling. Not a thing that I could do about it.”
“Just what did they do?” Copernick asked.
“Cut in half the welfare benefits of anybody living in one. Think we should fight it? In court, I mean.”
“Sounds pretty expensive. Let’s let this one pass. A guy with a tree house can still live well on five hundred dollars a month.”
“You’re probably right, sir. Anyway, odds are the welfare types will do the suing for us.”
“And doing it with the government’s lawyers. Anything else?”
“Oh, the army is talking about using them for barracks. The National Real Estate Board wants to make them illegal. And the State Department is thinking about donating a few million seeds to the Africans. But I don’t think that anything will come of any of it.”
“A government purchase? Sounds nice. We’ll get a good price out of them,” Copernick said.
“Like I said, don’t hold your breath. Say, when are you going to get the video on your phone fixed?”
“You know the phone company. Hey, how’s your old friend Beinheimer?”
“Wonderful! When you guys replace a fellow’s glands, you don’t screw around!”
“No, but our clients do.”
“I’ll say. Moe’s been making up for twenty lost years! I know his heart won’t go, but I worry about his backbone and pelvis!”
“Enjoy. Keep me posted, Lou.”
“I’ll do that, Mr. Copernick. Take care.”
His calcium status was back in the green. Copernick started to type in the day’s modification. The straightening and rebuilding of his legs had been fairly straightforward, little more than an adjunct to the rejuvenation process. But he was getting into major genetic modifications, alien ground where he had met with more defeats than victories.
“Every day in every way, I’m getting better and better.” He chuckled, getting his nerve up.
He was adding a virus to his own bloodstream, one that had been tailored to penetrate the blood-brain barrier. It was supposed to cause the cells in his cerebral cortex to reproduce, expanding his memory and intelligence. It had worked on experimental animals. The computer said that it should work on him. But a computer analog is only a model of reality, and models are never perfect.
An hour later he leaned back, stretched, and disconnected himself from his machine.
“So much for the joys of do-it-yourself brain surgery.”
Copernick ate a lonely supper, looking often at his watch. She was late. He considered calling the airport, but changed his mind. If she was to grow up, she had to be allowed to make her own mistakes. He felt like a worrying parent. In a way, he was.
An incredibly beautiful woman rang the doorbell.
A big woman, she was six feet tall and full bodied. She was dressed in a precise, finishing school manner that accented her glorious red hair and freckles. Her clear green eyes held a curious combination of intelligence and vacancy. She looked to be about twenty.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I thought that this was the Copernick residence.”
“It is. Welcome home, Mona. I’m Heinrich.”
“Oh. You look so different.” Her smile wasn’t artificial. But it was somehow empty.
“I know. I’ve spent this last year mostly working on myself. Please come in.”
“You look very nice, Heinrich.”
“I’m glad you approve. I only wish Uncle Martin did.”
“Will you let me meet him now?” Mona said.
“In a few months. He still doesn’t know that you exist.”
“I wish you were more proud of me, Heinrich.”
“It isn’t that, Mona. I’m very proud of you. It’s just that my uncle has some old-fashioned concepts of what morality is.”
“And your other friends?”
“I don’t have many friends. Those that are left haven’t seen me in six months. Mona, please try to understand that we must not let the world know about what we are doing. If the authorities found out about us, they would shut me down tomorrow.”
Mona was silent.
“Come on, darling. Let me show you around our new home.”
“Is this one of those tree houses? The girls at the finishing school talked about them, but none of us had ever seen one.”
“It is. And Uncle Martin designed it especially for us.”
“You mean especially for you,” Mona said.
“Now don’t start on that again. Homecomings should be pleasant occasions.”
“Yes, Heinrich.”
“The kitchen is this way. Have you eaten?”
“They fed us on the plane.”
“Oh. Well, there really isn’t much to taking care of the kitchen. The end cabinet is a dishwasher. It works continuously, so you can just leave the tableware in it. Most of the other cabinets grow food. I’ve labeled things so you can find your way around.”
“Everything is so huge.”
“Bigger than you think. The house and all the gardens around it are one single plant. It’s five stories high.”
“But why so big, Heinrich?”
“Why not? It doesn’t cost any more to have a thing grow large. Anyway, my work has been taking up more and more room lately. I don’t want to have to go through the bother of moving again for some time.”
“Oh. Is this the bathroom?”
“Yes. You cut the membrane on one of the shower nozzles to make them work. The five nozzles on the left vent a soapy water; the five on the right are fresh. In each set the one to the left is the hottest; the others get progressively cooler. Once you cut a membrane, you drain a fifty-gallon tank. Whether you want that much or not.”
“Fifty gallons! At school the water was rationed.”
“It’s rationed in most places these days. But a tree house recycles everything, so you can afford to splurge.”
“Can I use it now? Please?”
“Of course, darling.”
Mona eagerly stripped off her clothes, folded them neatly, and set them on a bench. No one had ever told her that people should be ashamed of their bodies. Hers was something to be proud of. The only flaw was that her navel was twice the usual diameter. Heinrich made a note to correct that as soon as possible.
Soon she was splashing and playing like a child in the warm sudsy water. Copemick was tempted to join her, but she seemed to be having so much fun that he was afraid of dampening it. He sat on a recliner chair, lit a cigar, and enjoyed. Having Mona around was going to be wonderful.
“Where are the towels?” Mona said after she had drained all ten nozzles.
“You use that white blanket thing over there.”
“Okay—oh! It’s stuck to the wall.”
“It’s part of the house. Cleans itself. Come on. I want show you the rest of the place.”
“Just a minute.” Mona ran over to her clothes.
“Leave them.”
“But I bought them especially for you! I’d hoped you would like them.”
“I do. But I like the outfit you’re wearing better.”
Mona thought a moment, then smiled. “Thank you.”
