Earth 2788 Read Free Page A

through the security
checks. A man clutching a plant was arguing with the guards. I shook my head in
disbelief. Did he seriously expect to stroll through an interstellar portal
carrying that? The dimmest of nardles should know that introducing random
plants or animals to an alien world could cause havoc with the eco system. Even
some of the most carefully planned introductions of Earth species to colony
worlds had caused unexpected problems.
    Apparently this
dim nardle truly didn’t know that, because he was shouting at the security
guards so loudly now that everyone in the waiting area could hear him. “You’re
a bunch of officious nuking idiots!”
    Issette turned
to me and pulled a buggy-eyed, shocked face, which could either have been at
the man’s stupidity or at him using the nuke word in public. I covered my mouth
with both hands to stop myself laughing. If I was one of the security guards,
I’d be strongly tempted to let the man try to take his precious plant through
an interstellar portal. The bio-filters would instantly shut the portal down,
and he’d be fined a fortune for attempting to breach interstellar quarantine.
    The security guards
had a lot more patience than I did, because they just made soothing noises,
took the offending plant into custody, and let the aggrieved traveller stalk
off through portal 1 to Adonis.
    I was still
exchanging grins with Issette when portal 7 came to life again. We both turned
to see if this was another scantily-clad man from Beta sector, but this time it
was a couple in the unremarkable clothes of Gamma sector. The woman was openly
crying, uncaring of who might see her, and the man appeared to be torn between
comforting her and keeping his distance. I’d worked out what was happening here
even before an older woman in the formal grey and white uniform of a Hospital
Earth Child Advocate hurried up to meet them.
    The man spoke
before she could. “There’s no throwback genes in my family. This must be a
ridiculous mistake, unless …”
    He turned to
give a suspicious look at the crying woman, and she seemed to forget her tears
as she glared at him in outrage. “There’s never been any apes in my family. It
must be you!”
    The advocate
hastily intervened. “Please remember that on Earth we prefer to use the
official term, Handicapped, rather than derogatory slurs. I’m sorry, but
there’s no mistake. Your son was born with a flawed immune system, so he can’t
survive on any world other than Earth.”
    She paused for a
moment. “There’s a random one in a thousand risk even with two normal parents,
so this can happen to absolutely anyone, but you’ll be happy to hear your son
was portalled here in time to save his life. He’s currently in a Hospital Earth
Infant Crash Unit, but his condition should soon be stable enough for you to
visit him. Before then, I’d like to give you information on all the options
available to help parents move to Earth to be with their Handicapped babies.”
    The three of
them headed off to the exit, with the advocate still talking in bracingly
cheerful tones, but I could tell she was wasting her time. The man had a rigid,
cold expression on his face, and the woman had the distant look of someone
already rehearsing the speech she’d make to explain how she couldn’t possibly
give up everything and move to Earth to take care of her son. She’d use the
same excuses they all did, claiming it was nothing to do with the embarrassment
or the damage to her lifestyle, but because she felt it was best to let the child
grow up with his own kind.
    This couple were
going to do what 92 per cent of the parents of Handicapped babies did. They
were going to hand their son over to be raised as a ward of Hospital Earth,
turn their backs on the reject, and walk away. That was what my parents had
done when I was born. That was what Issette’s parents had done. That was what
the parents of all my friends at Next Step had done.
    I turned to look
at portals