Shadow of the giant

Muslims—Turks in particular, of course—have been
slaughtering Armenian Christians from time immemorial. How they can never be
trusted. And guess what? When I look for evidence, ancient and contemporary, I
don't have to get out of my chair.
     
    So I will continue to write the Martel essays and continue
to laugh while they accuse Peter of writing them. Of course!
     
    AM doing it at his request, which is what I understand
Valentine did for him when she wrote Demosthenes's essays back when we were all
in school. But you know that nobody will listen to his Lincoln stuff unless
they're also terrified. Either terrified of Muslims taking over the world (id
est, more particularly, their neighborhood) or terrified of the hideous
bloodshed that would ensue if nations with Muslim minorities actually started
restricting them or expelling them.
     
    Besides, Bean, I think that what I'm saying is true. Alai
means well but he clearly is not in control of his fanatical supporters. They
really are murdering people and calling it "executions." They really
are trying to rule over India. They really are agitating and rioting and
committing the odd atrocity in Europe right now, pushing to have European
nations declare for the Caliph and cease trading with China, which really is
supplying Virlomi.
     
    And now this essay will end because the stomach aches I've
been having are clearly not stomach aches. This baby thinks it's coming, two
months prematurely. Please get back here right away.
     
     
    Peter waited outside the delivery room with Anton and
Ferreira.

"Does this premature birth mean anything?" he
asked Anton.
    "They wouldn't let the doctors amnio the baby,"
said Anton, "so I didn't have any reliable genetic material to work with.
But we know that in the early stages, maturity is highly accelerated. It seems
possible to me that premature birth is consistent with the key being
turned."
    "My thought," said Peter, "is that this might
be the break we need to find the other babies and unravel Volescu's
network."
    "Because the others might be premature too?" asked
Ferreira.
    "I think Volescu had a deadman switch and sometime
after he was arrested, a warning went out and all the surrogate mothers bolted.
That wouldn't help us before, because we didn't know when the signal went out,
and pregnant women may be one of the more stable demographic groups, but they
do move around by the hundreds of thousands."
    Ferreira nodded. "But now we can try to correlate
premature births with abrupt moves at the same time as other women with
similarly premature births."
    "And then check funding. They'll have the best possible
hospital care, and somebody's paying for it."
    "Unless," said Anton, "this baby is premature
because Petra herself has some kind of problem."
    "There's no history of premature births in her
family," said Peter. "And the baby has been developing quickly. Not
in size, mind you—but the parts were all in place before schedule. I think this
baby is like Bean. I think the key is turned. So let's use it as a key to
finding where Volescu went and where those viruses might be waiting to be
released."
    "Not to mention finding Bean's and Petra's
babies," said Anton.
    "Of course," said Peter. "That's the main
purpose." He turned to the managing nurse. "Have someone call me when
we know anything about the condition of the mother and baby."
     
     
    Bean sat down beside Petra's bed. "How do you
feel?"
    "Not as bad as I expected," she said.
    "That's one good thing about premature delivery,"
he said. "Smaller baby, easier birth. He's doing fine. They're only
keeping him in neonate intensive care because of his size. All his other organs
are working."
    "He's got... he's like you."
    "Anton is supervising the analysis right now. But
that's my guess." He held her hand. "The thing we wanted to
avoid."
    "If he's like you," she said, "then I'm not
sorry."
    "If he's like me," said Bean, "then it means
Volescu really didn't have any kind of test. Or he had one, and discarded the
babies that were normal. Or maybe they're all like me."
    "The thing you wanted to avoid," she whispered.
    "Our little miracles," said Bean.
    "I hope you're not too disappointed. I hope you....
Think of it as a chance to see what your life might have been like if you had
grown up with parents, in a home. Not barely escaping with your life and then
scrabbling to survive on the streets of Rotterdam."
    "At the age of one."
    "Think what it will be like to raise this baby
surrounded