‘Surely you appreciate that there are others whose interests must be taken into account.’
‘What I see is that commercial considerations are posing an obstacle to spiritual awakening. The error was mine in expecting anything different.’
‘You are hardly being fair,’ protested Stratton.
‘Fair?’ Roth made a visible effort to restrain his anger. ‘You “nomenclators” steal techniques meant to honor God and use them to aggrandize yourselves. Your entire industry prostitutes the techniques of yezirah. You are in no position to speak of fairness.’
‘Now see here—’
‘Thank you for speaking with me.’ With that, Roth took his leave.
Stratton sighed.
Peering through the eyepiece of the microscope, Stratton turned the manipulator’s adjustment wheel until the needle pressed against the side of the ovum. There was a sudden enfolding, like the retraction of a mollusc’s foot when prodded, transforming the sphere into a tiny foetus. Stratton withdrew the needle from the slide, unclamped it from the framework, and inserted a new one. Next he transferred the slide into the warmth of the incubator and placed another slide, bearing an untouched human ovum, beneath the microscope. Once again he leaned toward the microscope to repeat the process of impression.
Recently, the nomenclators had developed a name capable of inducing a form indistinguishable from a human foetus. The forms did not quicken, however: they remained immobile and unresponsive to stimuli. The consensus was that the name did not accurately describe the non-physical traits of a human being. Accordingly, Stratton and his colleagues had been diligently compiling descriptions of human uniqueness, trying to distill a set of epithets both expressive enough to denote these qualities, and succinct enough to be integrated with the physical epithets into a seventy-two-letter name.
Stratton transferred the final slide to the incubator and made the appropriate notations in the logbook. At the moment he had no more names drawn in needle form, and it would be a day before the new foetuses were mature enough to test for quickening. He decided to pass the rest of the evening in the drawing room upstairs.
Upon entering the walnut-paneled room, he found Fieldhurst and Ashbourne seated in its leather chairs, smoking cigars and sipping brandy. ‘Ah, Stratton,’ said Ashbourne. ‘Do join us.’
‘I believe I will,’ said Stratton, heading for the liquor cabinet. He poured himself some brandy from a crystal decanter and seated himself with the others.
‘Just up from the laboratory, Stratton?’ inquired Fieldhurst.
Stratton nodded. ‘A few minutes ago I made impressions with my most recent set of names. I feel that my latest permutations are leading in the right direction.’
‘You are not alone in feeling optimistic; Dr. Ashbourne and I were just discussing how much the outlook has improved since this endeavor began. It now appears that we will have a euonym comfortably in advance of the final generation.’ Fieldhurst puffed on his cigar and leaned back in his chair until his head rested against the antimacassar. ‘This disaster may ultimately turn out to be a boon.’
‘A boon? How so?’
‘Why, once we have human reproduction under our control, we will have a means of preventing the poor from having such large families as so many of them persist in having right now.’
Stratton was startled, but tried not to show it. ‘I had not considered that,’ he said carefully.
Ashbourne also seemed mildly surprised. ‘I wasn’t aware that you intended such a policy.’
‘I considered it premature to mention it earlier,’ said Fieldhurst. ‘Counting one’s chickens before they’re hatched, as they say.’
‘Of course.’
‘You must agree that the potential is enormous. By exercising some judgment when choosing who may bear children or not, our government could preserve the nation’s racial stock.’
‘Is our racial stock under some threat?’ asked Stratton.
‘Perhaps you have not noticed that the lower classes are reproducing at a rate exceeding that of the nobility and gentry. While commoners are not without virtues, they are lacking in refinement and intellect. These forms of mental impoverishment beget the same: a woman born into low circumstances cannot help but gestate a child destined for the same. Consequent to the great fecundity of the lower classes, our nation would eventually drown in coarse dullards.’
‘So name impressing will be withheld from the lower classes?’
‘Not entirely, and certainly not initially: when the truth about declining fertility is known, it would be an invitation to riot if the lower classes were denied access to name impressing. And of course, the lower classes do have their role to play in our society, as long as their numbers are kept in check. I envision that the policy will go in effect only after some years have passed, by which time people will have grown accustomed to name impression as the method of fertilization. At that point, perhaps in conjunction with the census process, we can impose limits on the number of children a given couple would be permitted to have. The government would regulate the growth and composition of the population thereafter.’
‘Is this the most appropriate use of such a name?’ asked Ashbourne. ‘Our goal was the survival of the species, not the implementation of partisan politics.’
‘On the contrary, this is purely scientific. Just as it’s our duty to ensure the species survives, it’s also our duty to guarantee its health by keeping a proper balance in its population. Politics doesn’t enter into it; were the situation reversed and there existed a paucity of laborers, the opposite policy would be called for.’
Stratton ventured a suggestion. ‘I wonder if improvement in conditions for the poor might eventually cause them to gestate more refined children?’
‘You are thinking about changes brought about by your cheap engines, aren’t you?’ asked Fieldhurst with a smile, and Stratton nodded. ‘Your intended reforms and mine may reinforce each other. Moderating the numbers of the lower classes should make it easier for them to raise their living conditions. However, do not expect that a mere increase in economic comfort will improve the mentality of the lower classes.’
‘But why not?’
‘You forget the self-perpetuating nature of culture,’ said Fieldhurst. ‘We have seen that all megafoetuses are identical, yet no one can deny the differences between the populaces of nations, in both physical appearance and temperament. This can only be the result of the maternal influence: the mother’s womb is a vessel in which the social environment is incarnated. For example, a woman who has lived her life among Prussians naturally gives birth to a child with Prussian traits; in this manner the national character of that populace has sustained itself for centuries, despite many changes in fortune. It would be unrealistic to think the poor are any different.’
‘As a zoologist, you are undoubtedly wiser in these matters than we,’ said Ashbourne, silencing Stratton with a glance. ‘We will defer to your judgment.’
For the remainder of the evening the conversation turned to other topics, and Stratton did his best to conceal his discomfort and maintain a facade of bonhomie. Finally, after Fieldhurst had retired for the evening, Stratton and Ashbourne descended to the laboratory to confer.
‘What manner of man have we agreed to help?’ exclaimed Stratton as soon as the door was closed. ‘One who would breed people like livestock?’
‘Perhaps we should not be so shocked,’ said Ashbourne with a sigh. He seated himself upon one of the laboratory stools. ‘Our group’s goal has been to duplicate for humans a procedure that was intended only for animals.’
‘But not at the expense of individual liberty! I cannot be a party to this.’