Chapter 6 Islak Polenta (5)

She nodded. "Yes. In fact, all the labs were blown up. Believers in biotech were sent to the desert to be reeducated through labor. All the godfathers of the Son of God went to prison. I guess most of the godmothers too. Gene All the scientists were shot. All the unfinished experiments were destroyed. As for the products, they would be destroyed if they—" She shrugged—"'It's too different from normal people.' Normal people!" She was furious Burning, although her handsome face could not properly express her anger. "We don't have normal people at all. We don't have any species anymore. We're a hodgepodge of genes. We grow corn and we grow alfalfa that smells like chlorine and kills weevils. We grow What falls is an oak tree, but what grows is poison oak fifty feet high and ten feet thick. Also, when we make love, we don't know what we're going to produce, maybe a baby, maybe a foal, Cygnets, saplings. My daughter—" She stopped.Her face trembled with excitement, and she had to press her lips together before she could speak again. "My daughter lives in the North Sea. She lives on raw fish. She is beautiful. She is black and smooth, very beautiful. But - when she was two years old, I had to take her to the coast. I had to Don't put her in the cold water and the turbulent tide. I have to let her swim, let her face everything alone. But she is also human! She, she is also human!"

She was already crying, and so was I. After a while, Ai Li A Lei continued to tell me their history.The genetic collapse caused a major economic crisis, which was compounded by the genetic purity clause of the ban, which stipulated that only those with 99.44% of human genes can hold professional jobs or hold positions in government departments-but Healthy, just, and other GAPA (genetically improved products approved by the government in extraordinary times).That's why she's working as a waitress now.Four percent of her genes are corn. "In my place, many people used to worship corn as a sacred plant," and even I didn't know what I was talking about. “It’s really a beautiful plant. I love everything made with corn – polenta, tortillas, cornbread, canned corn, buttered popcorn, polenta, cornmeal, corn stuffed whiskey, corn Chowder, tamales—all corn is good. All good, all divine. I hope you don't mind me talking about how to eat it!"

"My God, of course not," said Ai Li A Lei with a smile. "What do you think Claddive is made of?" After a while, I asked her if she knew about the teddy bear.Apparently she didn't understand what the phrase meant, but after I described the creature in the bookcase to her, she nodded—"Oh, yes! Bookworm bear. Before, genetic designers tried to improve everything. When they shrunk down bears, they kept them as pets for children. It was like stuffed toys, except they were alive. They were programmed to be submissive and cute. But part of the genes they used to shrink the bears came from insects - springtails and other dermatoptera. So the bears started eating the children's books. At night they were supposed to get under the covers and sleep with the children, but instead they kept eating the books. They liked Paper and glue. By the time they reproduce, their offspring have long, stiff tails like wires and insect-like mandibles, so they're no longer good pets for children. But by then, they've escaped into eavesdropping on woodwork, or hiding in walls...some people call them eavesdropping bears."

After that and until now, I have returned to Islak several times to visit Ai Rea Rei.It's not a happy or reassuring plane, but in other planes I've visited, I've never seen such a gracious smile, such a beautiful braid of yellow hair, much less a drink Sipping polenta while talking to the woman who is corn.