Leo Frankowski - Copernick's Rebellion

“Because of the emergency, these trees were planted hurriedly and without regard to property rights. While we normally respect property rights, racial survival comes first.

“Those of you who are living in cities and heavily populated areas must leave them at once. Staying where you are, you are in serious danger of dying from disease, fire, or starvation. Take what food and clothing you can, join others for self-protection, and head for the most isolated area you can find. Odds are a food tree will be there. If you go far enough, you will find food.

“Besides developing new forms of plants, we have also developed several new forms of animals. One of these is called a Labor and Defense Unit. They resemble a walking kitchen table and I am afraid that they are rather ugly to look at, but they are honest policemen and good doctors. They are intelligent, fast, and deadly.

“There are now one million LDUs. This is a very small force compared with the world’s population, but it seems to be the only one capable of acting on a worldwide basis. Because of this we are declaring martial law.

“Murder, slavery, and the wanton destruction of food supplies, including tree houses and food trees, are hereby declared capital offenses. LDUs have been ordered to kill immediately anyone found committing these offenses.

“It is not our intention to infringe the rights of any organized group. We will support any group capable of maintaining order within its local area, and we urge everyone to form such groups for mutual aid and self-protection, provided that obvious standards of conduct are maintained.

“To summarize, there is more than enough food for everyone, but you must leave the cities to find it.

“And a force of intelligent, strange-looking animals will be helping to maintain law and order. Please give them your complete cooperation.

“I am Heinrich Copernick. I have a message that is vital to your welfare. Be patient, and it will be repeated in your own language. The next English-language broadcast will begin in twelve hours.”

Guibedo, Copernick, Mona, Patricia, Liebchen, and Dirk listened to the broadcast in the living room at Oakwood, Guibedo’s home.

“Heiny, you make me out for such a hero, I get embarrassed,” Guibedo said, switching off the radio.

“You deserve it, Uncle Martin. It’s about time you got some recognition for your accomplishments. But when times are rough—and they’ve never been worse—people need to know that there is someone, someplace, who can and will help them. They need a hero to keep their spirits up, and you’re handy.”

“Well, I still get embarrassed.”

“At least now there will be fewer people trying to kill you,” Copernick said.

“Kill Martin!” Patricia was horrified, and Mona was startled. Liebchen was immediately in tears.

“Nobody did it,” Guibedo said with his arms around Patricia and Liebchen. “Thanks mostly to Dirk and his buddies. We didn’t tell you about it because there wasn’t any point to making you worry.”

“Thank you, Dirk,” Patricia said, gently stroking the LDU’s feathery back. Gently, because he had been badly burned in the fire a month before. LDUs with their four-stranded DNA healed almost as slowly as humans did. By comparison, the fauns, Ohura and Colleen, far more seriously injured, were almost completely well, although Ohura’s hair was still short and Colleen’s new leg was still three inches shorter than her old one.

Liebchen was considerably more demonstrative than Patricia, jumping up and hugging Dirk as best she could. She kissed both of his eye stalks and then began working her way around his oval body, kissing all eight of his fixed eyes. Dirk caressed her back, and if her actions caused him any pain, he didn’t show it.

“You know,” Guibedo said, “I think they’re in love.”

“As you know, my lord, we’re both incapable of the romantic love of bisexual beings,” Dirk said. “Though I must confess that I rather enjoy having her around. Still, I wish I could join my brothers who are leaving tomorrow. There is so much work to do and so few to do it.”

“Somebody has got to mind the store,” Guibedo said. “Only twenty of you will be left in the valley, and all of you are injured. You’ll have your share of work.”

“The Aerial Defense Units will be ready in six months to back up your brothers,” Copernick added.

“I wish there was something I could do,” Patricia said.

“I think there is, Patty,” Mona said. “Let’s you and me load Winnie up with food and tree-house seeds and head out to the coast. A lot of people must be in trouble out there.”

“Not a bad idea,” Copernick said. “But not to the coast. You can have no idea how savage it’s gotten in the cities. I wouldn’t object to your going east.”

“But the cities are where we could do the most amount of good,” Mona protested.

“No. You’ll be able to save a given number of lives in whatever direction you go. I will not permit the mother of my children to risk her life unnecessarily.”

“Oh, all right.” Mona thought that bringing the kids into the argument was remarkably poor form.

“Well, it’s not all right with me. Just you two girls out there alone?” Guibedo said, ignoring the fact that Mona was stronger than most men, including himself.

“Oh, Martin,” Patricia said. “We’ll have Winnie, and you know how strong he is.”

“That walking house trailer is strong, but dumb. Dirk, could you fight in an emergency?”

“I’m a bit in pain, my lord, but it doesn’t degrade my efficiency.”

“So you can ride inside and keep an eye on things. And we can keep in touch through you, too.”

“Oh, I want to go, too!” Liebchen got five cold stares. “Oh, please. Ohura and Colleen can take care of the children now, and Ishtar can watch my babies. Oh, please, please, I won’t get in the way. I promise.”

Saying no to Liebchen was usually too much trouble to be worth it, and this was no exception. The five of them would leave in the morning.

The suspension bridges were all down, and steel trusses were getting shaky. Skyscrapers had already started to collapse, their steel frames riddled with larvae holes. It would be a month or so before the larvae would get hard enough up to eat the nails out of houses, but the day would come.

Long lines of refugees streamed out of the cities. They were pitiful to look at, though most of them were well dressed. Many were hurt, more were sick, and most were hungry. They pushed homemade wooden carts and dragged plastic sleds.

Behind them and around them the cities were crumbling and burning.

Claymore was climbing a sheer sandstone cliff. He moved swiftly, deftly finding footholds, his four camel—like legs moving with insect swiftness. His rigid body was a light tan color, to match his background.

While his forward ganglia controlled his ascent, his central ganglia took command of his eye tentacles—the fixed eyes were sufficient for navigation—and spread them wide for a good view of the human city at his back.

Even from this height and distance, the city was a shambles. The suspension bridge had already fallen, its center span deep underwater. One of its steel towers was down and the other was leaning drunkenly. A nearby truss bridge still held—and might hold for days yet—but in the end it, too, would be rubble and rust. There was no motor traffic on the bridge. There was none anywhere. The cars and trains and planes were falling apart on their driveways and sidings and runways. On schedule.

The bridge was dotted with humans. Claymore adjusted his tentacle eyes for telescopic vision, to study them more closely. Well dressed, most of them, but they trudged slowly under heavy burdens. They were dirty and probably thirsty. The water mains had gone out four days before. Getting enough water to live wouldn’t be a serious problem, but the food situation was serious. Trucks had stopped arriving from the countryside a week ago. This troubled him, for ten thousand of these humans were his personal responsibility.