Thirty-three
In a future world, one in which an individual can
learn from a mistake without fear of permanent consequence, the
consciousness that had been Rick Kaiser was born into the cold and the
light. He took his first breath on his own, and he did not cry.
Feeble thoughts lingered from the person he had not
as yet become. Was this himself experiencing birth, or the child he and
Becky would someday have for themselves? Without the support of virtual
reality and memory webs, his unformed brain could not hold to a question
so sophisticated. Nor could a computer-simulated personality hope to
answer it.
He was placed in his mother's arms and such thoughts
faded. Instinct took over in his new world of pure physical sensation.
Years would pass before he would think another rational thought. He had a
world to explore first and a language to learn. He would not know that
many mistakes had been anticipated and corrected until he had carved out
a place in the world for himself and found it to be the best possible of
all worlds.
Nearby, three other newborns appeared in the world at
about the same time, two girls and a boy. Birth certificates were
issued. A last minute change was rendered in one of them.
Mortimer was crossed out.
"He'll like David better," a gruff voice said.
"David was his other grandfather's name."
