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〃I said； 'Llita； write down these rules。 Black cards are recessives； red cards are dominants； Jewels and Spades e from the mother； Hearts and Swords e from the father。 A black ace is a lethal gene； reinforced the baby is stillborn。 A black empress reinforced gives us a 'blue baby'…needs surgery to stay alive…' And so on； Minerva； except that I set the rules for a 'hit'…a bad reinforcement…so that they were four times as probable for brother and sister as for strangers； and explained why…and then made them keep records for twenty games played by each set of rules for shuffling and matching； reduction and rebination。
〃Minerva； it was not as good a structural analogy as the 'Make…a…Healthy…Baby' kindergarten games； but using two decks with different back patterns did enable me to set up degrees of consanguinity。 Llita was simply intent at first…then started looking grim the first time the turn of the cards caused a black to reinforce a black。
〃But when we played by brother…and…sister rules； and she dealt the cards and twice in a row got the Ace of Spades matched with the Ace of Swords for a dead baby； she stopped。 She turned pale and looked at them。 Then said slowly； with horror in her voice： 'Aaron 。 。 does this mean that we must lock Libby into a virgin's basket？ Oh； no！
〃I told her gently that it wasn't that bad。 Little Libby would never be locked up that way or any way…we'd work it out so that the children would not marry and so that J。A。 would not give his sister a baby even by accident。 'Quit worrying； dear！'
The puter said； 〃Lazarus； what method did you use to cheat in those card games？ May I ask？〃
〃Why； Minerva； how could you think such a thing？'
〃I withdraw the question； Lazarus。〃
〃Of course I cheated！ All sorts of ways。 I said those two had never had time to play cards 。 。 whereas I had played with every sort of a deck and by endless rules。 Minerva； I won my first oil well from a boy who made the mistake of putting readers into a game。 Dear； I had Llita deal…but from a deck so cold it almost froze solid。 I used all sorts of things…false cut； whorehouse cut； tops and bottoms； stacking the deck in front of their eyes。 There wasn't any money on the game； I simply had to convince them that inbreeding was for stock； not for their beloved children…and I did。〃
（Omitted）
〃'…your bedroom here； Llita； yours and Joe's； I mean。 Libby's room adjoins yours； while J。A。 winds up down the hall。 How you reshuffle later depends on the sex of the baby you are going to have and on how many more you choose to have and when…but putting a crib in with Libby must be considered temporary； you can't figure on using it indefinitely as an excuse to keep an eye on her。
〃'But this is merely a stopgap； like not leaving the cat alone with the roast。 Kids are slick at beating such arrangements； and nobody has ever been able to keep a girl off her back when she decides it's time。 When she decides…that's the key to the matter。 So our pressing problem is to get these children into separate beds…then to see to it that Libby； does not make a bad de？ision。 Any reason Libby can't go with me to Skyhaven and visit Pattycake？ And how about J。A。； Joe； can you get along without him a while？ Lots of room； dears。 Libby can room with Pattycake； and J。A。 can bunk with George and Woodrow and maybe teach 'em manners。'
〃Llita said something about imposing on Laura； Minerva； which I answered with a rude negative。 'Laura likes kids； dear； she is one ahead of you； yet she started a year later。 She doesn't keep house； she simply bosses her staff； she's never had to work harder than suited her。 Furthermore； she wants all of you to pay us a visit…an invitation I heartily second； but I don't think you two can get away until we find a buyer for this place。 But I want Libby and J。A。 now…so that I can give them blunt and practical instruction in geics； using stock I've been inbreeding to show what I mean。'
〃Minerva； this particular breeding schedule I had started to teach my own offspring the bald truth about geics； with careful records and grisly photographs of bad culls。 Since you manage a pla which has over niy percent Howards and the remaining mixed fraction mostly following Howard customs； you may not know that non…Howard cultures don't necessarily teach such things to their kids even in cultures open about sex。
〃Landfall was then mostly short…lifers； only a few thousand Howards…and to avoid friction we did not advertise our presence even though it wasn't a secret…couldn't be； the pla had a Howard Clinic。 But with Skyhaven a Daniel…Boone distance from the nearest big town； if Laura and I wanted our children to have a Howard…style education； we had to teach them ourselves。 So we did。
〃When I was a kid； the grownups of my home country tried to pretend to kids that sex did not exist…believe it if you can！ Not true of the little hellions Laura and I raised。 They had not seen human copulation…I don't think they had…because it puts me off stride to have spectators。 But they had seen it in other animals and had bred pets and kept records。 The older two； Pattycake and George； had seen the birth of our youngest of the time because Laura had invited them to watch。 This I strongly approve of； Minerva； but I have never urged one of my wives to permit it because I figure that a woman in labor should be indulged in every possible way。 However； Laura had a streak of exhibitionism in her makeup。
〃Anyhow； our kids could discuss chromosome reduction and the merits and demerits of linebreeding as knowledgeably as my own contemporaries when I was a kid could discuss the World Series…〃
〃Excuse me； Lazarus…that last term's referent？〃
〃Oh。 Nothing important。 One of the mercially induced surrogate interests of my childhood。 Forget it dear； it is not worth cluttering your memories。 I was about to say I asked Joe and Uita what J。A。 and Libby knew about sexual matters
…since Landfall had so diversified a background that it could be anything and I wanted to know where to start…especially as my oldest； Pattycake； had turned twelve and reached menarche at the same time and was smug about it； likely to boast。
〃Turned out that Libby and J。A。 were sophisticated in an ignorant； unscientific fashion about matching their parents。 They were one up on my kids in one respect： copulation they had seen from birth； at least to the time Estelle's Kitchen had moved uptown…which I should have figured out from recalling the still more cramped living quarters of the original Estelle's Kitchen。〃
第28节
（7；200 words omitted）
〃Laura was sharp with me and insisted that I not see them until I calmed down。 She pointed out that Pattycake was almost as old as J。A。； that it was nothing but play as Pattycake had had her four…year sterilization after menarche； and that； in any event； Pattycake had been on top。
〃Minerva； I would not have spanked the kids no matter who had been on top。 Intellectually I knew that Laura was right； and I had to agree that fathers tend to be possessive