Holidays' Letter from Robert Snowe

Ready for a heart-warming tale o' the Holidays?

From the interweb abode of Teh L4m3, I link for you:

Dispatches From The Castle of Doctor Castellofabrizio

A HOLIDAY STORY

* * *
"A present?" asked Doctor Abel Gomez in his aw-shucksiest, little-boy voice. He's very good at that, even though he's in his 40s, because he will always have the body and face of a nine year-old.

At once, his face crinkled and transformed with malicious glee. "A present? From you? I'll bet it doesn't come in a box!" He screamed and cackled his best junior-mad scientist cackle.

"Abel, please."

I let him have his fun. Minutes later, (the toddling baby) was clean and framed in a formidable, four-pillared neckbrace.

"What's that?" I asked, referring to the suspicious needle he brandished.

"It'll help her heal faster." He didn't bother explaining the scientific details. He knows I'm no brainiac. "Don't worry, babies bounce back!" He held her over the flagstone floor, cruelty splashed across his childish little face. "Wanna see?"

I take her from him. "I'll pass." However, I was hard-pressed to disagree. After seeing what some of my girlfriends have subjected their babies to, I'm almost inclined to think the little buggers fireproof.

Once again, Abel was the sweet little boy. "What are you gonna call her?"

"Hmm..."

"Oh, crap, never mind. It's the holidays. You faggots are as emotional as women. You'll think of something terribly appropriate and clever. Forget I asked."

"I think I'll call her 'Mary.'"

"Great, and when she gives birth to Christ the Lord, she can use those chompers to sever her own umbilical..."

* * *
[The rest of teh story . . ]

That's probably my favorite guilty pleasure genre of fiction. A copacetic personality for a lead character in a Believeably told near future tek fantasy.

William Gibson's probably my favorite, though I can't remember the names of some of the great authors I've read from the Library. Niven and Pournelle's Oath of Fealty nailed the social angle for me in the early '80s. The one where the author asks themself, "How are things right now? How might they change with this twist..?"

More recently, I just read someone discussing another biotech novel I'd read. In this one (which freakin' name I can't recall,) folks live a long time because Med Care now covers nanomolecular reconstruction techniques for changing a human body's size, sex, bone structure and even our apparent age. The brain feels the pains of change, but it's worth it for lots of people for both cosmetic and superficial reasons, but especially if it helps your line of work.

Here's hopin' yer Holidays got kicked off right with a wonderful Thanksgiving, or which ever the Holidays bein' celebrated in your parts. Beautiful Solstice! Be it North or South.