Worlds of IF (March 1964) (Modified) by Galaxy Publishing Corporation

Author:Galaxy Publishing Corporation
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: retief, garfield, johnston, matthew, pym, yum, hera, pird, christopoulos, senior biologist, matt north, young matt, retief looked, single issue, issue nearest, science fiction, public entry, matthew north, keith laumer
Published: 1964-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

settled down with a contented squish.

44 And keep off our good meat,” said the cook, shaking an admonitory fist. With frequent and paternal backward looks the two men disappeared inside.

“See?” said Garfield.

“I thought you told me that there was only one carnivore,” Johnston said severely.

“Oh, come now,” Garfield objected. 44 You can’t call an Amoeban a nasty word like that — can we, Titus?” He walked over to the creature and poked a doting finger into its protoplasm. It squiggled.

44 ‘Amoeban* is not a bad title,” Johnston observed. “It’s very amoeboid.”

“A much higher level of intelligence, of course,” Garfield said.

The Senior Biologist grinned. “Enough to inspire extreme and unwarranted affection from otherwise rational men.”

H e bent over the creature, studying it. It appeared to be typically amoeboid, if gigantic, distinguished only by its peculiar diet.

The bones and offal were being rapidly absorbed. As Johnston watched they were completely surrounded by the jelly of the creature’s body. Then he began to stroke his beard with a puzzled gesture. Vacuoles were forming round the food, widening and expanding as digestive juices were secreted, becoming large bubbles of fluid — and the food, even the bone-matter, was dissolving. In five minutes all trace of the food was gone, and

all that was left were the bubbles of yellowish fluid.

“Fast,” said Johnston thoughtfully-

“Titus? Why, he’s as slow as a Service man after a night on Mars. Oh,” said Garfield, “the digestion. I see what you mean. He’ll eat as much as you’ll give him, too — and he gets plenty. I’ve, seen him at night twice his usual size with the big vacuole full of digested food inside him, but by morning it’s all gone.”

“All?” said Johnston thoughtfully.

“All.”

From then on Johnston showed an unnatural interest in Titus, being found most times sitting on the ground beside the creature, even in the dark of the evening — an unnatural interest, because there was so much else to occupy him. Why, he didn’t even bother to study the women, although they were the cause of his second argument with Garfield.

“Garfield!” he shouted one day, bursting into the laboratory. “Garfield!”

“Yes?” Garfield inquired mildly, looking up from a microscope. “Has Titus run amuck?”

“Garfield! Did you know your men are — are cohabiting with those women?”

Garfield flushed. “Yes,” he said quietly.

“And what is the meaning of allowing them to do such a thing?”

“It seemed harmless,” Garfield murmured.

Johnston’s shout set the microscope swinging on its mounting.

ALMOST EDEN

41

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