Evolution by Greg Chase Page A

useful was beyond Sam’s understanding.
    Larry’s voice cut through the storm. “Landing looks good. We’ll be down shortly.”
    As the storms let go of their hold on the ship, Larry eased it out of the tight spiral. With a quick snap, he reversed direction to once again face the monsters still out at sea. The shuttle stood still in midair for a moment then settled down onto the roof of Rendition.

8
    T he penthouse was the way Sam remembered it. View-screen windows that filled the walls displayed the late-afternoon sun of autumn—a sharp contrast to the stormy day Sam knew raged outside.
    Jillian joined the twins to twirl around the great room, enjoying the grand space.
    Jess caught Sam’s disheveled look. “From the occasional bumps to the shuttle, and your pale demeanor, I’m guessing the weather wasn’t the nice calm day we saw in the main cabin.”
    Sam smiled at the comfort his family had experienced. “Not even close.”
    He settled into his familiar chair to watch his girls play with Earth’s gravity for the first time. Two large dogs came bounding in from around the corner. Each gave a playful bark at the girls then ran to escape their clutches. Try as they might, Emily and Sara were never quite able to lay a hand on the fast-moving animals—even with Jillian attempting to corral the creatures.
    It didn’t take long for the girls to lose their breaths. Jess clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. The twins stopped what they were doing and gave their mother guilty looks as though whatever was wrong had been their fault. Jillian lay on the floor, exhausted.
    “Okay, Joshua and Ellie, that’s enough play. Show the girls your true appearance,” Jess said.
    The short red hair of the golden retriever grew in length as it lightened in color. From four legs, it stood up on two. The canine form became a human woman in an orange dress. The metamorphosis didn’t take long. Joshua chose a more traditional blink-of-the-eye transformation.
    Jillian bolted off the floor. The girls stood in awe as the animals they’d been chasing appeared as professionals in their late twenties.
    Both Tobes looked older than Sam remembered. As with dogs, he’d have to figure out the conversion rate from human years to Tobe years. That Joshua and Ellie’s ages would plateau at some point didn’t help at all. “I see the pet operating system is going well. But I still prefer you as human.”
    Ellie brushed dog hairs from her skirt. “We only did that as our way of greeting the family. Wouldn’t do for us to act all goofy in our business attire.”
    “I want a puppy.” Emily pouted.
    “Sorry, darling,” Sam said. “Real dogs have gone the way of most animals on Earth. You’ll just have to talk Ellie or Joshua into playing with you.”
    He suspected dogs would become constant companions around the penthouse. Good thing Tobes don’t need to be housebroken.
    We heard that. Joshua gave him a wink. “As is always the case with Rendition, we’ve got a lot to cover. But we thought you might like to… stretch your legs I believe is the old-fashioned term. Take your daughters out and wander the city. Enjoy the day. When you get back, we’ve got another surprise for you.”
    Jillian crashed out on the large couch. “I’ve had enough craziness. Even with Sophie’s conditioning, it’s been a long time since I felt this heavy. Gravity’s a bitch.”

    * * *
    S am couldn’t believe his eyes as he stepped out the front door of Rendition. There’d been a storm, a big one. He vividly remembered Larry banking the shuttle through the chaos less than an hour earlier. Those storms had just disappeared. The sunny day shown on the penthouse view screens had made sense as a way of calming everyone’s fears, but walking outside into a cloud-free afternoon was taking the illusion too far. He looked up into blue sky. People walked the street, wearing short sleeves and summer dresses. What the hell? How are you creating the