the size of a human four-year-old. In time they would grow to be adult erta, and though they would never quite match the rest of the erta in terms of strength or intelligence, they would supersede their surrogate parents within a few short years of their first tearful union.
Due in part to their underdevelopment and part to design, ertlings were passive and pliable creatures, and for much of what the humans considered their childhood they would retain a soft, warm innocence. Beneath the surface, of course, the calculations were rattling away. They knew exactly what their purpose was.
When they reached adulthood, they were called to the valley ports where their mothers and fathers, now grey and sated of their drive to raise young, waved them off on their journeys to assist the rest of us in our task to balance the planet. They were given only basic jobs, their natural docility and sheltered upbringing rendering them even more useless than those curious humans whom I am led to believe elected to help instead of rest.
Twice each year they returned home to visit their doting parents. And when those parents finally died, they were allowed to follow, swiftly and without protest.
You may as well call them robots. The term is as good as any other.
‘WE WILL HAVE to make some more, of course, to provide other children with which the human can interact and learn. It will be a fine test of its social behaviour.’
‘You wish me to make them too?’
‘No, leave that to us. We will ask for volunteers to foster them when the time is right. You concentrate on the human.’
‘Very well,’ I said, rising from my seat. ‘Then I shall begin at once.’
My mother’s hand stopped me.
‘Ima, you do understand: this is a species we are talking about. Whether their resurrection is to be considered further will depend entirely upon this child’s life.’
‘Yes, Mother.’
‘Therefore, it must behave naturally. It must not be aware that it is different to you, or any other erta. Shows of superior strength or intelligence are likely to confuse it.’
‘You are asking me to behave like a human? I am sure I would not know how.’
She stood and faced me. We are the same height, my mother and I, although her skin has aged a little more and her hair is auburn, whereas mine is the colour of new hay.
‘Behaving like humans is the last thing I want any of us to do, my child. But for this to be a fair experiment, we must rein in the attributes which elevate us from them. Do you understand?’
‘Yes, Mother.’
‘It should not be too difficult. Our purpose is fulfilled. All we need to do is live peacefully until we are ready to transcend.’
‘Yes, Mother.’
I turned to leave, for I was eager to begin, but she stopped me again.
‘Ima, whatever you do, you must not impose your own agenda upon the outcome of the project.’
‘I have no agenda, Mother, other than the desire to seek clarity and truth. Like all erta.’
These pauses of hers. Entirely unnecessary. Eventually she smiled.
‘Well, then,’ she said. Two words as useless as her sighs, blinks and pauses. ‘Then you have a new purpose, Ima. Go and fulfil it. We shall all be watching.’
‘Thank you, Mother.’
‘And Ima, look to your sister for assistance for you are quite right; her expertise may prove valuable to your preparation.’
I bowed, left and set to work in the Halls that very afternoon.
I KNOW HOW this will end for you. I meant what I said to my mother—I have no agenda. I serve only truth and reason, and my purpose now is merely to provide the necessary data for my species to make an informed choice about humanity’s resurrection.
Nevertheless, nine months later and here I am watching you scream and wriggle upon my bed, already feeling my body’s nervous system rail at the sound. It is clear to me. I already know.
There will be no choice to make.
— FIVE —
MY DWELLING IS identical in shape and size to every other dwelling in every ertian settlement. It is a single-storey house made from precisely-cut timber and stone, with an oak roof, two windows and a stove. There are three rooms; the first a small toilet, the second a wood store, and the third a living area furnished with bed, chair, and table. At the front wall a small kitchen looks out upon a perfect stone circle, one of which gleams in the heart of every ertian settlement.