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A. Lafferty - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: McGonigal's Worm - -Author: R. A. Lafferty - -Release Date: December 16, 2019 [EBook #60940] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MCGONIGAL'S WORM *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="360" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>McGonigal's Worm</h1> - -<h2>By R. A. LAFFERTY</h2> - -<p class="ph1"><i>It had happened—no question of it.<br /> -Now how could it be made to unhappen?</i></p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Worlds of If Science Fiction, November 1960.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>When it happened, it happened unnoticed. Though it affected all -chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), -nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself. -How could he have known of it so soon?</p> - -<p>Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline -and death would still be far off. So it was not suspected for nearly -twenty-four hours, nor accepted even as a working theory for nearly -three days, and not realized in its full implications for a week.</p> - -<p>Now, what had occurred was a sudden and worldwide adynatogenesis of all -chordata, not, however, adynatotokos; this distinction for many years -offered students of the phenomenon some hope.</p> - -<p>And another hope was in the fact that one small but genuine member of -chordate was not affected: an enteropneustron, a balanoglossida of the -oddest sort, a creature known as McGonigal's Worm. Yet what hope this -creature could offer was necessarily a small one.</p> - -<p>The catastrophe was first sensed by a hobbyist about a day after -it occurred. It was just that certain experiments did not act right -and the proper results were not forthcoming. And on the second day -(Monday) there were probably a hundred notations of quite unusual and -unstatistical behavior, but as yet the pattern was not at all suspected.</p> - -<p>On the third day a cranky and suspicious laboratory worker went to a -supply house with the angry charge that he had been sold sterile mice. -This was something that could not be ignored, and it is what brought -the pattern of the whole thing into the open, with corroboration -developing with explosive rapidity. Not completely in the open, of -course, for fear of panic if it reached the public. But throughout the -learned fraternity the news went like a seismic shock.</p> - -<p>When it did reach the public a week later, though, it was greeted with -hoots of laughter. The people did not believe it.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"The cataloguing of evidence becomes tiresome," said Director Concord -of the newly originated Palingenesia Institute. "The facts are -incontrovertible. There has been a loss of the power to conceive in -sea squirt, lancelet, hag fish, skate, sea cat, fish, frog, alligator, -snake, turtle, seal, porpoise, mouse, bat, bird, hog, horse, monkey, -and man. It happened suddenly, perhaps instantaneously. We cannot find -the cure. Yet it is almost certain that those children already in the -womb will be the last ever born on Earth. We do not know whether it -is from a natural cause or an enemy has done this to us. We have, for -ten months, tested nearly everything in the world and we have found no -answer. Yet, oddly enough, there is no panic."</p> - -<p>"Except among ourselves," said Appleby, his assistant, "whose province -is its study. But the people have accepted it so completely that their -main interest now is in the world sweepstakes, with the total sums -wagered now in the billions."</p> - -<p>"Yes, the betting on the last child to be born in the world. It will -prove one point, at least. The old legal limit on posthumous paternity -was a year and a day. Will it be surpassed? The Algerian claimant on -all evidence has nearly three months to go. And the betters on the -Afghan have not yet given up. The Spanish Pretender is being delayed, -according to rumor, medically, and there are some pretty angry -protests about this. It is not at all fair; we know that. But then a -comprehensive set of rules was never drawn up to cover all nations; -Spain simply chose not to join the pact. But there may be trouble if -the Spanish backers try to collect."</p> - -<p>"And there is also a newly heard of Mexican claimant."</p> - -<p>"I give little credit to this Juanita-Come-Lately. If she was to be a -serious contestant, why was she not known of before?"</p> - -<p>The Algerian claimant, however, was the winner. And the time was an -unbelievable three hundred and eighty-eight days. So the last child on -Earth, in all likelihood, had been born.</p> - -<p>There were now about thirty institutes working on the problem, most of -them on an international basis. Thirteen years had gone by, and one -hope had died. This was that those already in the womb at the time of -catastrophe might themselves prove to be fertile. It was now seen that -this would not prove so, unless for some reason it was to be quite a -delayed fertility.</p> - -<p>The Cosmic Causes Council had by no means come to a dead end. It had -come to so many live ends as to be even more bewildering.</p> - -<p>"The point," said Hegner in one of his yearly summaries, "is not -whether sterility could have been caused by cosmic forces. Of course it -could have been. It could have been caused in twenty ways. The miracle -is that fertility had ever been possible. There must have been a shield -built in for every danger. We know but scantily what some of them are. -We do not know which has failed or why."</p> - -<p>"And could the failure have been caused by an enemy?" asked an -interlocutor.</p> - -<p>"It could have been, certainly. Almost by definition we must call an -enemy anything that can harm us. But that it was a conscious enemy is -something else again. Who can say what cosmic forces are conscious? Or -even what it means to be conscious?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>However, the Possibility Searcher Institute had some spotted success. -It had worked out a test, a valid test, of determining whether an -individual yet remaining had the spark of possible fertility. And in -only a few million tests it had found one male shrew, one male gannet, -no less than three males of the yellow perch, one female alligator, and -one female mud puppy, all of whom still possessed the potential. This -was encouraging, but it did not solve the problem. No issue could be -obtained from any possible pairing of these; not that it wasn't tried.</p> - -<p>And when the possibility test was run on all the humans of the Earth, -then it was that incredible and unsuspected success crowned the efforts -of the institute. For, of a bare three billion persons tested, there -were two who tested positive; and (good fortune beyond all hoping), -one was male and one was female.</p> - -<p>So then the problem was solved. A few years had been lost, it is true, -and several generations would be required to get the thing on a sound -footing again. But life had been saved. Civilization could yet be -transmitted. All was not lost.</p> - -<p>Musha ibn Scmuel was an Arabian black, an unthrifty man of tenuous -income. His occupation on the cardex was given as thief, but this -may have been a euphemism. He was middle-aged and of full vigor, a -plain man innocent of shoes or subtlety. He was guilty neither of the -wine-hatred of the Musselman nor the garrulousness of the Greek. He -possessed his soul in quietude and Port Said whisky and seldom stole -more than he needed. And he had a special competence shared by no other -man in the world.</p> - -<p>Cecilia Clutt was an attractive and snooty spinster of thirty-five. -She was a person of inherited as well as acquired wealth, and was an -astute business woman and amateur of the arts. She did have a streak of -stubbornness in her, but seldom revealed it unless she was crossed.</p> - -<p>So, the first time she said no, it was hardly noticed. And the second -time she said it, it was felt that she did not quite understand the -situation. So it was Carmody Overlark, the silky diplomat, who came to -reason with her.</p> - -<p>"You are the sole hope of the human race," he said to her. "In a way, -you are the new Eve."</p> - -<p>"I have heard the first one spoken badly of," said Cecilia. "Yet her -only fault was that she could be talked into something. I cannot."</p> - -<p>"But this is important."</p> - -<p>"Not really. If it is our time to disappear, then let us disappear with -dignity. What you suggest is without it. It would leave us a little -less than human."</p> - -<p>"Miss Clutt, this is a world problem. You are only an individual."</p> - -<p>"I am not <i>only</i> an individual. There is no such thing as <i>only</i> an -individual. If ever a person can be spoken of as <i>only</i> an individual, -then humanity has already failed."</p> - -<p>"We have tried reason. Now, by special emergency legislation, we are -empowered to employ compulsion."</p> - -<p>"We will see. I always did enjoy a good fight."</p> - -<p>Those who read the State Histories of the period will know that it did -not come off. But the reasons given there are garbled. "Unforeseen -circumstances" cover a multitude of failures. But what really happened -was this.</p> - -<p>Musha ibn S. had been tractable enough. Though refusing to fly, he had -come on shipboard readily. And it was not till they were out of the -Inland Sea and on the Atlantic that he showed a certain unease. Finally -he asked, reasonably enough, to be shown a picture of his bride. But -his reaction on seeing it was not reasonable.</p> - -<p>He screamed like a dying camel. And he jumped overboard. He was a -determined swimmer and he was heading for home. A boat was put out and -it gained on him. But, as it came up to him, he sounded. How deep he -dived is not known, but he was never seen again.</p> - -<p>On hearing of this, Cecilia Clutt was a little uncertain for the only -time in her life. Just to be sure, she asked for a copy of the picture.</p> - -<p>"Oh, that one," said Cecilia. "It is quite a nice picture, really. -It flatters me a little. But what an odd reaction. What a truly odd -reaction."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>There were repercussions on the economy. The primary schools were -now all closed, except for a few turned over to retarded children. -In a year or two the high schools would close also. The colleges -would perhaps always be maintained, for adult education and for their -expanding graduate schools. Yet the zest for the future had diminished, -even though the personal future of nobody had been abridged. New -construction had almost ceased and multi-bedroom homes became a drug -on the market. In a very few years there would be no additions at all -to the labor force. Soon there would be no more young soldiers for the -armies. And soon the last eyes ever would see the world with the sudden -poetic clearness that often comes with adolescence.</p> - -<p>There had been a definite let-down in morals. Morals have declined in -every generation since the first one, which itself left something to -be desired. But this new generation was different. It was a tree that -could not bear fruit, a hard-barked, selfish tree. Yet what good to -look at it and shudder for the future? The future had already been -disposed of.</p> - -<p>Now there as a new hobby, a mania that swept the world, the Last Man -Clubs, millions of them. Who would be the last person alive on Earth?</p> - -<p>But still the institutes labored. The Capsule Institute in particular -labored for the codification and preservation of all knowledge. For -whom? For those who might come after. Who? Of what species? But still -they worked at it.</p> - -<p>And the oddest of the institutes was the Bare Chance Transmission -Society. In spite of all derision and mockery, it persevered in its -peculiar aim: to find some viable creature that could be educated or -adapted or mutated to absorb human knowledge and carry on once more the -human tradition.</p> - -<p>What creature? What possible strain could it be from? What creature on -Earth was unaffected?</p> - -<p>Well, the largest of them was the giant squid. But it was not -promising. It had shown no development in many millions of years; it -did not seem capable of development or of education. And, moreover, -there are difficulties of rapport with a creature that only can live in -the deep sea.</p> - -<p>There were the insects. Bees and ants were capable of organization, -though intelligence has been denied them. Spiders showed certain rugged -abilities, and fruit flies. Special committees were appointed to study -each. And then there were the fleas. Old flea-circus grifters were -brought out of retirement and given positions of responsibility and -power. If fleas could really be taught, then these men could teach -them. But though fleas can be taught to wear microscopic spectacles, -they cannot be taught to read. It all seemed pretty futile.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>And there were the crayfish, the snails the starfish, the sea cucumber. -There were the fresh-water flat worm and the liver fluke. There were -the polyp, the sponge, the cephalopod. But, after all, none of them -was of the main line. They were of the ancestry that had failed. And -what of the noble genealogy that had succeeded, that which had risen -above all and given civilization, the chordata? Of that noble line, was -there nothing left? What was the highest form still reproducing?</p> - -<p>McGonigal's Worm.</p> - -<p>It was discouraging.</p> - -<p>But for the careful study of M.W., as it was now known, a great new -institute was now created. And to the M.W. Institute was channeled all -the talent that seemed expedient.</p> - -<p>And one of the first to go to work for the Institute in a common -capacity was a young lady of thirty-odd named Georgina Hickle. Young -lady? Yes. Georgina was within months of being the youngest woman in -the world. She was a scatterbrained wife and disliked worms. But one -must work and there were at that time no other jobs open.</p> - -<p>But she was not impressed by the indoctrination given in this new -laboratory.</p> - -<p>"You must change your whole way of thinking," said the doctor who -briefed them. "We are seeking new departures. We are looking for any -possible breakthrough. You must learn to think of M.W. as the hope of -the world."</p> - -<p>"Oog," said Georgina.</p> - -<p>"You must think of M.W. as your very kindred, as your cousin."</p> - -<p>"Oog," said Georgina.</p> - -<p>"You must think of him as your little brother that you have to teach, -as your very child, as your cherished son."</p> - -<p>"Oog, oog," said Georgina, for she disliked worms.</p> - -<p>Nor was she happy on the job. She was not good at teaching worms. She -believed them both stupid and stubborn. They did not have her sympathy, -and after a few weeks they seemed to make her sick.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>But her ailment was a mysterious one. None of the young doctors had -ever seen anything like it. And it was contagious. Other women in the -bright new laboratory began to show similar symptoms. Yet contagion -there was impossible, such extreme precautions had been taken for the -protection of the worms.</p> - -<p>But Georgina did not respond to treatment. And Hickle's Disease was -definitely spreading. Sharper young doctors fresh from the greatest -medical schools were called in. They knew all that was to be known of -all the new diseases. But they did not know this.</p> - -<p>Georgina felt queer now and odd things began to happen to her. Like -that very morning on her way to work, that old lady had stared at her.</p> - -<p>"Glory be," said the old lady, "a miracle." And she crossed herself.</p> - -<p>And Georgina heard other comments.</p> - -<p>"I don't believe it. It isn't possible," a man said.</p> - -<p>"Well, it sure does look like it," said a woman.</p> - -<p>So Georgina took off at noon to visit a psychiatrist and tell him that -she imagined that people were staring at her and talking about her, and -what should she do. It made her uneasy, she said.</p> - -<p>"That's not what is making you uneasy," said the psychiatrist. Then he -went with her to the laboratory to have a look at some of the other -women suffering from this Hickle's Disease that he had been hearing -about. After that, he called the young doctors at the laboratory aside -for a consultation.</p> - -<p>"I don't know by what authority you mean to instruct us," said one. -"You haven't been upgraded for thirty years."</p> - -<p>"I know it."</p> - -<p>"You are completely out of touch with the latest techniques."</p> - -<p>"I know it."</p> - -<p>"You have been described—accurately I believe—as an old fogy."</p> - -<p>"I know that too."</p> - -<p>"Then what could you tell us about a new appearance like Hickle's -Disease?"</p> - -<p>"Only that it is not really new. And not, properly speaking, a -disease."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>That is why, even today, there are superstitious persons who keep -McGonigal's Worms in small mesh cages in the belief that they insure -fertility. It is rank nonsense and rose only because it was in the M.W. -laboratory that the return of pregnancy was first noticed and was named -for one of the women working there. It is a belief that dates back to -that ancient generation, which very nearly became the last generation.</p> - -<p>The official explanation, is that the Earth and its solar system, for -a period of thirty-five years, was in an area of mysterious cosmic -radiation. And afterward it drifted out of that area.</p> - -<p>But there are many who still believe in the influence of McGonigal's -Worm.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of McGonigal's Worm, by R. A. 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Lafferty - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: McGonigal's Worm - -Author: R. A. Lafferty - -Release Date: December 16, 2019 [EBook #60940] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MCGONIGAL'S WORM *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - McGonigal's Worm - - By R. A. LAFFERTY - - _It had happened--no question of it. - Now how could it be made to unhappen?_ - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Worlds of If Science Fiction, November 1960. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -When it happened, it happened unnoticed. Though it affected all -chordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment), -nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself. -How could he have known of it so soon? - -Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifeline -and death would still be far off. So it was not suspected for nearly -twenty-four hours, nor accepted even as a working theory for nearly -three days, and not realized in its full implications for a week. - -Now, what had occurred was a sudden and worldwide adynatogenesis of all -chordata, not, however, adynatotokos; this distinction for many years -offered students of the phenomenon some hope. - -And another hope was in the fact that one small but genuine member of -chordate was not affected: an enteropneustron, a balanoglossida of the -oddest sort, a creature known as McGonigal's Worm. Yet what hope this -creature could offer was necessarily a small one. - -The catastrophe was first sensed by a hobbyist about a day after -it occurred. It was just that certain experiments did not act right -and the proper results were not forthcoming. And on the second day -(Monday) there were probably a hundred notations of quite unusual and -unstatistical behavior, but as yet the pattern was not at all suspected. - -On the third day a cranky and suspicious laboratory worker went to a -supply house with the angry charge that he had been sold sterile mice. -This was something that could not be ignored, and it is what brought -the pattern of the whole thing into the open, with corroboration -developing with explosive rapidity. Not completely in the open, of -course, for fear of panic if it reached the public. But throughout the -learned fraternity the news went like a seismic shock. - -When it did reach the public a week later, though, it was greeted with -hoots of laughter. The people did not believe it. - - * * * * * - -"The cataloguing of evidence becomes tiresome," said Director Concord -of the newly originated Palingenesia Institute. "The facts are -incontrovertible. There has been a loss of the power to conceive in -sea squirt, lancelet, hag fish, skate, sea cat, fish, frog, alligator, -snake, turtle, seal, porpoise, mouse, bat, bird, hog, horse, monkey, -and man. It happened suddenly, perhaps instantaneously. We cannot find -the cure. Yet it is almost certain that those children already in the -womb will be the last ever born on Earth. We do not know whether it -is from a natural cause or an enemy has done this to us. We have, for -ten months, tested nearly everything in the world and we have found no -answer. Yet, oddly enough, there is no panic." - -"Except among ourselves," said Appleby, his assistant, "whose province -is its study. But the people have accepted it so completely that their -main interest now is in the world sweepstakes, with the total sums -wagered now in the billions." - -"Yes, the betting on the last child to be born in the world. It will -prove one point, at least. The old legal limit on posthumous paternity -was a year and a day. Will it be surpassed? The Algerian claimant on -all evidence has nearly three months to go. And the betters on the -Afghan have not yet given up. The Spanish Pretender is being delayed, -according to rumor, medically, and there are some pretty angry -protests about this. It is not at all fair; we know that. But then a -comprehensive set of rules was never drawn up to cover all nations; -Spain simply chose not to join the pact. But there may be trouble if -the Spanish backers try to collect." - -"And there is also a newly heard of Mexican claimant." - -"I give little credit to this Juanita-Come-Lately. If she was to be a -serious contestant, why was she not known of before?" - -The Algerian claimant, however, was the winner. And the time was an -unbelievable three hundred and eighty-eight days. So the last child on -Earth, in all likelihood, had been born. - -There were now about thirty institutes working on the problem, most of -them on an international basis. Thirteen years had gone by, and one -hope had died. This was that those already in the womb at the time of -catastrophe might themselves prove to be fertile. It was now seen that -this would not prove so, unless for some reason it was to be quite a -delayed fertility. - -The Cosmic Causes Council had by no means come to a dead end. It had -come to so many live ends as to be even more bewildering. - -"The point," said Hegner in one of his yearly summaries, "is not -whether sterility could have been caused by cosmic forces. Of course it -could have been. It could have been caused in twenty ways. The miracle -is that fertility had ever been possible. There must have been a shield -built in for every danger. We know but scantily what some of them are. -We do not know which has failed or why." - -"And could the failure have been caused by an enemy?" asked an -interlocutor. - -"It could have been, certainly. Almost by definition we must call an -enemy anything that can harm us. But that it was a conscious enemy is -something else again. Who can say what cosmic forces are conscious? Or -even what it means to be conscious?" - - * * * * * - -However, the Possibility Searcher Institute had some spotted success. -It had worked out a test, a valid test, of determining whether an -individual yet remaining had the spark of possible fertility. And in -only a few million tests it had found one male shrew, one male gannet, -no less than three males of the yellow perch, one female alligator, and -one female mud puppy, all of whom still possessed the potential. This -was encouraging, but it did not solve the problem. No issue could be -obtained from any possible pairing of these; not that it wasn't tried. - -And when the possibility test was run on all the humans of the Earth, -then it was that incredible and unsuspected success crowned the efforts -of the institute. For, of a bare three billion persons tested, there -were two who tested positive; and (good fortune beyond all hoping), -one was male and one was female. - -So then the problem was solved. A few years had been lost, it is true, -and several generations would be required to get the thing on a sound -footing again. But life had been saved. Civilization could yet be -transmitted. All was not lost. - -Musha ibn Scmuel was an Arabian black, an unthrifty man of tenuous -income. His occupation on the cardex was given as thief, but this -may have been a euphemism. He was middle-aged and of full vigor, a -plain man innocent of shoes or subtlety. He was guilty neither of the -wine-hatred of the Musselman nor the garrulousness of the Greek. He -possessed his soul in quietude and Port Said whisky and seldom stole -more than he needed. And he had a special competence shared by no other -man in the world. - -Cecilia Clutt was an attractive and snooty spinster of thirty-five. -She was a person of inherited as well as acquired wealth, and was an -astute business woman and amateur of the arts. She did have a streak of -stubbornness in her, but seldom revealed it unless she was crossed. - -So, the first time she said no, it was hardly noticed. And the second -time she said it, it was felt that she did not quite understand the -situation. So it was Carmody Overlark, the silky diplomat, who came to -reason with her. - -"You are the sole hope of the human race," he said to her. "In a way, -you are the new Eve." - -"I have heard the first one spoken badly of," said Cecilia. "Yet her -only fault was that she could be talked into something. I cannot." - -"But this is important." - -"Not really. If it is our time to disappear, then let us disappear with -dignity. What you suggest is without it. It would leave us a little -less than human." - -"Miss Clutt, this is a world problem. You are only an individual." - -"I am not _only_ an individual. There is no such thing as _only_ an -individual. If ever a person can be spoken of as _only_ an individual, -then humanity has already failed." - -"We have tried reason. Now, by special emergency legislation, we are -empowered to employ compulsion." - -"We will see. I always did enjoy a good fight." - -Those who read the State Histories of the period will know that it did -not come off. But the reasons given there are garbled. "Unforeseen -circumstances" cover a multitude of failures. But what really happened -was this. - -Musha ibn S. had been tractable enough. Though refusing to fly, he had -come on shipboard readily. And it was not till they were out of the -Inland Sea and on the Atlantic that he showed a certain unease. Finally -he asked, reasonably enough, to be shown a picture of his bride. But -his reaction on seeing it was not reasonable. - -He screamed like a dying camel. And he jumped overboard. He was a -determined swimmer and he was heading for home. A boat was put out and -it gained on him. But, as it came up to him, he sounded. How deep he -dived is not known, but he was never seen again. - -On hearing of this, Cecilia Clutt was a little uncertain for the only -time in her life. Just to be sure, she asked for a copy of the picture. - -"Oh, that one," said Cecilia. "It is quite a nice picture, really. -It flatters me a little. But what an odd reaction. What a truly odd -reaction." - - * * * * * - -There were repercussions on the economy. The primary schools were -now all closed, except for a few turned over to retarded children. -In a year or two the high schools would close also. The colleges -would perhaps always be maintained, for adult education and for their -expanding graduate schools. Yet the zest for the future had diminished, -even though the personal future of nobody had been abridged. New -construction had almost ceased and multi-bedroom homes became a drug -on the market. In a very few years there would be no additions at all -to the labor force. Soon there would be no more young soldiers for the -armies. And soon the last eyes ever would see the world with the sudden -poetic clearness that often comes with adolescence. - -There had been a definite let-down in morals. Morals have declined in -every generation since the first one, which itself left something to -be desired. But this new generation was different. It was a tree that -could not bear fruit, a hard-barked, selfish tree. Yet what good to -look at it and shudder for the future? The future had already been -disposed of. - -Now there as a new hobby, a mania that swept the world, the Last Man -Clubs, millions of them. Who would be the last person alive on Earth? - -But still the institutes labored. The Capsule Institute in particular -labored for the codification and preservation of all knowledge. For -whom? For those who might come after. Who? Of what species? But still -they worked at it. - -And the oddest of the institutes was the Bare Chance Transmission -Society. In spite of all derision and mockery, it persevered in its -peculiar aim: to find some viable creature that could be educated or -adapted or mutated to absorb human knowledge and carry on once more the -human tradition. - -What creature? What possible strain could it be from? What creature on -Earth was unaffected? - -Well, the largest of them was the giant squid. But it was not -promising. It had shown no development in many millions of years; it -did not seem capable of development or of education. And, moreover, -there are difficulties of rapport with a creature that only can live in -the deep sea. - -There were the insects. Bees and ants were capable of organization, -though intelligence has been denied them. Spiders showed certain rugged -abilities, and fruit flies. Special committees were appointed to study -each. And then there were the fleas. Old flea-circus grifters were -brought out of retirement and given positions of responsibility and -power. If fleas could really be taught, then these men could teach -them. But though fleas can be taught to wear microscopic spectacles, -they cannot be taught to read. It all seemed pretty futile. - - * * * * * - -And there were the crayfish, the snails the starfish, the sea cucumber. -There were the fresh-water flat worm and the liver fluke. There were -the polyp, the sponge, the cephalopod. But, after all, none of them -was of the main line. They were of the ancestry that had failed. And -what of the noble genealogy that had succeeded, that which had risen -above all and given civilization, the chordata? Of that noble line, was -there nothing left? What was the highest form still reproducing? - -McGonigal's Worm. - -It was discouraging. - -But for the careful study of M.W., as it was now known, a great new -institute was now created. And to the M.W. Institute was channeled all -the talent that seemed expedient. - -And one of the first to go to work for the Institute in a common -capacity was a young lady of thirty-odd named Georgina Hickle. Young -lady? Yes. Georgina was within months of being the youngest woman in -the world. She was a scatterbrained wife and disliked worms. But one -must work and there were at that time no other jobs open. - -But she was not impressed by the indoctrination given in this new -laboratory. - -"You must change your whole way of thinking," said the doctor who -briefed them. "We are seeking new departures. We are looking for any -possible breakthrough. You must learn to think of M.W. as the hope of -the world." - -"Oog," said Georgina. - -"You must think of M.W. as your very kindred, as your cousin." - -"Oog," said Georgina. - -"You must think of him as your little brother that you have to teach, -as your very child, as your cherished son." - -"Oog, oog," said Georgina, for she disliked worms. - -Nor was she happy on the job. She was not good at teaching worms. She -believed them both stupid and stubborn. They did not have her sympathy, -and after a few weeks they seemed to make her sick. - - * * * * * - -But her ailment was a mysterious one. None of the young doctors had -ever seen anything like it. And it was contagious. Other women in the -bright new laboratory began to show similar symptoms. Yet contagion -there was impossible, such extreme precautions had been taken for the -protection of the worms. - -But Georgina did not respond to treatment. And Hickle's Disease was -definitely spreading. Sharper young doctors fresh from the greatest -medical schools were called in. They knew all that was to be known of -all the new diseases. But they did not know this. - -Georgina felt queer now and odd things began to happen to her. Like -that very morning on her way to work, that old lady had stared at her. - -"Glory be," said the old lady, "a miracle." And she crossed herself. - -And Georgina heard other comments. - -"I don't believe it. It isn't possible," a man said. - -"Well, it sure does look like it," said a woman. - -So Georgina took off at noon to visit a psychiatrist and tell him that -she imagined that people were staring at her and talking about her, and -what should she do. It made her uneasy, she said. - -"That's not what is making you uneasy," said the psychiatrist. Then he -went with her to the laboratory to have a look at some of the other -women suffering from this Hickle's Disease that he had been hearing -about. After that, he called the young doctors at the laboratory aside -for a consultation. - -"I don't know by what authority you mean to instruct us," said one. -"You haven't been upgraded for thirty years." - -"I know it." - -"You are completely out of touch with the latest techniques." - -"I know it." - -"You have been described--accurately I believe--as an old fogy." - -"I know that too." - -"Then what could you tell us about a new appearance like Hickle's -Disease?" - -"Only that it is not really new. And not, properly speaking, a -disease." - - * * * * * - -That is why, even today, there are superstitious persons who keep -McGonigal's Worms in small mesh cages in the belief that they insure -fertility. It is rank nonsense and rose only because it was in the M.W. -laboratory that the return of pregnancy was first noticed and was named -for one of the women working there. It is a belief that dates back to -that ancient generation, which very nearly became the last generation. - -The official explanation, is that the Earth and its solar system, for -a period of thirty-five years, was in an area of mysterious cosmic -radiation. And afterward it drifted out of that area. - -But there are many who still believe in the influence of McGonigal's -Worm. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of McGonigal's Worm, by R. A. 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