Kate Wilhelm (1928–2018)

Although a bit dated, this short novel covers a lot of ground. What hope does humanity have after pandemics and other calamities? Cloning seems to be the answer, until it isn't. Because, as flawed as human individuality can be, it is only in the diversity of our genes and minds that the species can survive. A thoughtful read, for sure.

Edit: just learned that the title is from a Shakespearean sonnet, LXXIII.

That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which hake against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou see'st the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou seest the glowing of such fire
That the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire
Consumed with that which it was nourish'd by.
This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.… (mer)

“The clone was a creature of growth, and all the nutrients it needed were at hand in the pool.”

from the back cover: "One night, beneath the streets of the city, four ingredients found their way into the same collector box in the underground sewer system. There these ingredients - muriatic acid; trisodium phosphate; a bit of meat; and a fleck of silica gel - combined in a warm, seething liquid and gave birth to a hideous, destructive force: the clone..." "Then seeking more food, the deadly green tissue reached upward and entered the unsuspecting city..."

"Nothing could stop it...". And when it comes up from the sewers into a sink in the kitchen of Al’s Restaurant (on Michigan at Eighteenth), Mark Kenniston “…saw a creature or an organism of some sort there capable of dissolving human tissue…”! Then it flows back down the drain…. Leaving “…only a puddle of water and some clothes.”

The clone doesn’t like iodine solution, however. Or Harry’s, meat cleaver, which is in his hand throughout! It even starts absorbing the nutrients from building materials, and slowly starts to destroy the whole city! It's a pretty fun read, even though it is also a warning from the authors (from 1965!) about the dangers of the chemicals poisoning our environment! And, in this story, the danger eats people!!!

Moral of the story: Be careful what you pour down the drain!!!

Or you may find yourself at the wrong end of “…this pusillanimous fleck of gelatinous matter…”!… (mer)

La familia Sumner lo tiene todo: varias granjas en un fértil valle, miembros en todas las profesiones técnicas y liberales que mantienen el contacto en las reuniones familiares, y una enorme fortuna a su disposición. Por ello, cuando estalla la crisis ecológica y comienzan las hambrunas y las epidemias, los Sumner pueden atrincherarse en su valle como en una nueva Arca de Noé, haciendo acopio de medios técnicos y humanos para esperar tiempos mejores mientras la civilización se derrumba a su alrededor.
Pero ni toda su fortuna puede hacer nada contra una cruel consecuencia de la catástrofe: todos los animales, así como los hombres y las mujeres, se han vuelto estériles. Como medida desesperada, los Sumner recurren a la clonación, en principio provisionalmente, hasta que se restablezca la fertilidad.
Sin embargo, el éxito del experimento multiplica el número de los clones hasta que éstos superan a los humanos supervivientes. Entonces se pone de manifiesto una consecuencia inesperada: los clones no sólo comparten una alta inteligencia, sino también una forma callada de comunicación... y la firme determinación de no ceder el paso a sus progenitores, sino reemplazarlos como la nueva especie dominante.… (mer)