Damon Knight

Masters of Evolution Damon Knight

SHOWDOWN WITH MONSTERS!

Alvah Gustad was typical of New York City's twenty million citizens. He took for granted such luxuries as synthetic food and robot-servants, and he knew beyond a doubt that the Cities offered the only acceptable way of life for civilized Man!

But roaming the vast plains between the continent's five Cities, ever growing and expanding, were the dreaded tribes of Muckfeet. In direct antithesis to the City dwellers, these illiterate savages actually grew food and raised animals. And how they smelled! It was so bad that Alvah could feel his stomach churn at the mere mention of their name.

There was one thing in the Muckfoot territory that the Cities did need, though--metal ores. And Alvah, faced with the job of liaison to the tribes around New York, had to somehow make his patriotism outweigh his nausea. If he succeeded, the Cities would be monuments to eternity; if he failed, the dreaded Muckfeet would become the MASTERS OF EVOLUTION.



Alvah Gustad:

The fate of an empire rested on the condition of his stomach.

Beej Hofmeyer:

She looked like a woman, but she smelled like a Muckfoot!

Doc Bither:

When he raised a kitten, you couldn't be sure if it would turn out to be a cat or a tiger.

Manager Wytak:

Bravery was something he always looked for in other people, but never in himself.

Artie Brumbacher:

He couldn't read or write, but nevertheless he was a scholar.

Jerry Finch:

To his way of thinking, there was nothing unusual about being a gardener in an Iron Pit.




(Note: Is an expansion of the novelette "Natural State.")