Leo Frankowski

forms will exist three years from now.
    “In the absence
of any active role on our part, the probability of total nuclear war in the next fifty years is point seven two, due primarily to proliferation
of atomic weapons among the smaller
nations. Due to increased mobility between population centers, increased popula tion
in the underdeveloped nations, and a general lower ing of living standards, the probability of devastating plague by 2050 is point eight eight. Extrapolating
present demographic trends, by 2050 the population of the underdeveloped
nations will outnumber that of the developed nations twenty-seven to one. The
probability of the increased population’s resulting in famine and causing a
conventional war which will mutate to an unsurvivable thermonuclear war is point nine three. Famine could be delayed by increased
industrialization, but the resultant pollutants
would render the world uninhabitable by 2090. The net probability of
civilization surviving on Earth is point zero two at 2050, approaching point
zero zero by 2100.”
     
    There were no formal laws or rules in Life
Valley, so there was no formal prohibition of mechanical transpor tation. However, the general layout of houses,
parks, fields, and shops was such
that anything larger than a bicycle would have a hard time getting
through, and, in fact, most people walked.
    Very few people considered it a hardship.
Since the necessities were produced in each
home, the only commerce was in luxury items, and such things are easily carried.
    “It’s incredibly
beautiful here,” Patricia said. What was once a horrid jungle to her now seemed a fairyland, yet she
did not notice her own change in attitude. “It’s as though every path was
asking me to walk down it.”
    “Heinrich and Uncle Martin spent a
lot of time on the design,” Mona said.
“Notice that no matter what time of day it is, the trees and shrubs are
arranged so that on any path you can
walk in either the sun or the shade.”
    “And the way
everything curves, Mona. With every step, the view changes, something else
shows up.”
    “That was part
of the plan, too.”
    Clothing styles in
the valley were varied and occasionally bizarre. A fair number of people
followed Gui bedo’s lead, wearing ethnic costumes, while others ranged from blue
jeans to complete nudity. Mona wore a sarong around her hips and a smile.
    Patty, still in
businesslike microshorts and transparent top, felt a little out of place, and said
so.
    “No problem for
now, Patty. Just take off your top if you’re hot. But you should have something
formal for tonight. Perhaps a
chiton, since they’re doing Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex at the bandshell tonight
and Heinrich promised to take me. You can
work on Uncle Martin at dinner.
    “Anyway, next
stop’s at Nancy Spencer’s. She’s the best seamstress in the valley.”
     
    “Ach!”
Guibedo’s face was white. “We knew it was going to be bad. That’s why we
started the biological revolution. But I never thought it would be this bad. Heiny,
have you double-checked all this? Is it really true?”
    “I funded a
research group with the Rand people six months ago. I got their report this morning.
Their figures are substantially the same as the CCU’s.”
    “Then we got no
choice. We got to fight. You have a strategy worked out for it yet?”
    “The CCU and I
have been working on it for weeks. While the LDUs can hold their own against
conventional troops, they are only marginally effective against armor. They are totally
ineffective against air power. When I designed them, I was thinking in terms of a
police force and a medical corps. I didn’t realize then that we would be facing a real war.
No bird I could possibly come up with could stand a chance against aircraft,
let alone orbital beam weapons.
    “Our only
possible strategy is dispersion, using basic guerrilla tactics over a wide area.
Logistics must be handled locally, since we must presume that all of our
strong points, including Life Valley, will be obliterated.
    “What we need,
Uncle Martin, is a tree that doesn’t require someone living in it. That merely
provides food for people and the LDUs. Something that is more vigorous than natural
plants, so it will supplant them. Something that reproduces with spores rather than
seeds, so our
opponents can’t stop their proliferation.”
    “Sure, Heiny, I
could do that. But maybe I better give the species a finite lifespan, so we get rid
of them after the