And a Little Child
By Marcia Kamien
Only on Mars could children such
as these walk proudly under the
stars. How ungrateful seemed their
bitter hatred of their teachers!
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Fantastic Universe September 1954.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Marcia Kamien is new to science fiction. It is not often that a story of such brilliance arrives on our desk unsolicited, and our surprise was even greater when the author informed us in an accompanying letter she wasn't quite sure we'd buy it. We are afraid she just does not understand editors. We know quite a few, and they all agree that there are stories which would never stay forever clipped to a rejection slip.
On the last day of school Professor Dayton looked with pleasure at his class. Fine men and women, all of them. If, the professor amended silently, one could call them "men" and "women." He, himself, preferred their new name: Martians.
They sat in front of him, ranged in rows, twenty-year-olds stirring restlessly in their seats, as thousands of generations of pupils had done before them.
Only this classroom was a bit different.