Synopsis
A new mother gives birth to her daughter while concerned about mutations.
History
First publication: Astounding, June 1948
Review
While the science of the story is now known to be false, there was a time when we thought radiation would cause some extreme mutations. Radiation does damage DNA, but some of the thoughts of science fiction back in the 40s and 50s, especially in movies, were laughable. This story doesn’t go quite that far, but don’t count on the science in this. The rest of the elements of the story are excellent. For a short story you have really good characterization. This has a Twilight Zone style of twist plot that was very popular during the fifties and works very well, even though it may be a bit too strongly foreshadowed. In an introduction to this story, Isaac Asimov lamented the fact that Merril didn’t write more than she did. We can’t change that, but we can treasure the great stories she did write, like this one.
Videos
We have the story in these editions:
The Great SF Stories 10 (1948), edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg, paperback, DAW Books, 1983-08-00
The Future Is Female!, edited by Lisa Yaszek, hardcover, The Library of America, 2018-10-09
Homecalling and Other Stories, hardcover, NESFA Press, 2005-01-00
Astounding Science Fiction, June 1948, edited by John W. Campbell, Jr., magazine, Street & Smith, 1948-06-00
First Flight: Maiden Voyages in Space and Time, edited by Damon Knight, paperback, Lancer Books, 1963-08-00
