Father to the Stars by Philip José Farmer

Author:Philip José Farmer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sci-Fi, Science Fiction
Publisher: Tor Books

"I made a promise to Tutu," Carmody said, "and I don't want to break that. Then she would lose faith."

"Do you think they regard you as God?"

"Heaven forbid! But I must admit that I have worried about that happening. So far, there has been no indication on their part that they do so regard me."

"But what about after you leave them?" said Holmyard.

Carmody could not forget the zoologist's parting reply. He had no difficulty getting to sleep that night. For the first time since he had joined the group, he was allowed to sleep late. The sun had climbed halfway towards its zenith before he woke. And he found the partially constructed village in an uproar.

Not that of chaos but of purposeful action. The adults were standing around looking bewildered, but the young were very busy. Mounted on their horses, they were herding ahead of them, at the point of their spears, a group of strange horowitzes. There were some adults among these, but most were youngsters between the ages of seven and twelve.

"What mean what you do?" said Carmody indignantly to Tutu.

The smile-muscles around her beak wrinkled, and she laughed.

"You no here last night, so us no able to tell you what us planned to do. Anyway, nice surprise, heh? Us decide to raid them wild horowitzes that live near here. Us catch them sleeping; drive away adults, forced to kill some, too bad."

"And why you do this?" said Carmody, aware that he was about to lose his temper.

"You no understand? Me thinked you understand everything."

"Me no God," said Carmody. "Me telled you that often enough."

"Me forget sometimes," said Tutu, who had lost her smile. "You angry?"

"Me no angry until you tell me why you did this."

"Why? So us able to make us tribe bigger. Us teach the little ones how to talk. If them no learn, them grow up to become adults. And adults no learn how to talk. So them become like the beasts. You no want that, surely?"

"No. But you killed!"

Tutu shrugged. "What else to do? Them adults tried to kill us; us killed them, instead. Not many. Most runned off. Besides, you say O.K. to kill animals. And adults same as animals because them no able to talk. Us no kill childs because them able to learn to talk. Us—what you say? adopt—yes, us adopt them. Them become us brothers and sisters. You telled me that every horowitz me brother and sister, even if me never see them."

She_ regained her smile and, bending eagerly towards him, she said, "Me haved a good thought while on raid. Instead of eating eggs that mothers hatch when no enough adults to attach eggs to, why not attach eggs to childs and to horses, and other animals, too? That way, us increase us tribe much faster. Become big fastly."

And so it was. Within a month's time, every horowitz large enough to carry the weight, and every horse, bore an egg on his/her chest.

Carmody reported this to Holmyard. "I see now the advantage of extra-uterine development of the embryo.

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