Part 38 (1/2)

”You're going to take some school before you are fit to walk among normal people, Steve,” said Gloria with amused interest.

”You're informing me?” I asked with some dismay, eyeing the wreckage left in my wake. Compared to the New Steve Cornell, the famous bull in the china shop was Gentle Ferdinand. I picked up the cigarette package again; it squoze down even though I tried to treat it gentle; I felt like Lenny, pinching the head off of the mouse. I also felt about as much of a b.u.mbling idiot as Lenny, too.

My re-education went on before, through, and after breakfast. I manhandled old books from the attic. I shredded newspapers. I ruined some more lead pencils and finally broke the pencil sharpener to boot. I put an elbow through the middle panel of the kitchen door without even feeling it and then managed to twist off the door k.n.o.b. Generally operating like a one-man army of vandals, I laid waste to the Farrow home.

Having thus ruined a nice house, Gloria decided to try my strength on her car. I was much too fast and too hard on the brakes, which of course was not too bad because my foot was also too insensitive on the go-pedal. We took off like a rocket being launched and then I tromped on the brakes (Bending the pedal) which brought us down sharp like hitting a haystack. This allowed our heads to catch up with the rest of us; I'm sure that if we'd been normal-bodied human beings we'd have had our spines snapped. Eventually I learned that everything had to be handled as if it were tissue paper, and gradually re-adjusted my reflexes to take proper cognizance of the feedback data according to my new body.

We returned home after a hectic twenty miles of roadwork and I broke the gla.s.s as I slammed the car door.

”It's going to take time,” I admitted with some reluctance.

”It always does,” smiled Farrow as cheerfully as if I hadn't ruined their possessions.

”I don't know how I'm going to face your folks.”

Farrow's smile became cryptic. ”Maybe they won't notice.”

”Now look, Farrow----”

”Steve, don't forget for the moment that you're the only known Mekstrom Carrier.”

”In other words your parents are due for the treatment next?”

”Oh, I was most thorough. Both of them are in the final stages right now. I'm sure that anything you did to the joint will only be added to by the time they get to the walking stage. And also anything you did they'll feel well repaid.”

”I didn't do anything for them.”

”You provided them with Mekstrom bodies,” she said simply.

”They took to it willingly?”

”Yes. As soon as they were convinced by watching me and my strength.

They knew what it would be like, but they were all for it.”

”You've been a very busy girl,” I told her.

She just nodded. Then she looked up at me with troubled eyes and asked, ”What are you going to do now, Steve?”

”I'm going to haul the whole shebang down like Samson in the Temple.”

”A lot of innocent people are going to get hurt if you do that.”

”I can't very well find a cave in Antarctica and hide,” I replied glumly.

”Think a bit, Steve. Could either side afford to let you walk into New Was.h.i.+ngton with the living proof of your Mekstrom Body?”

#Didn't stop 'em before,# I thought angrily. #And it seems to me that both sides were sort of urging me to go and do something that would uncover the other side.#

”Not deep enough,” said Farrow. ”That was only during the early phases.

Go back to the day when you didn't know what was going on.”