McGonigal's Worm
By R. A. LAFFERTY
It had happened—no question of it.
Now how could it be made to unhappen?
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Worlds of If Science Fiction, November 1960.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
When it happened, it happened unnoticed. Though it affected allchordata on Earth (with a possible exception to be noted in a moment),nobody knew of it, not even the Prince of all chordata, Man himself.How could he have known of it so soon?
Though his lifeline had suddenly been cut, it was a long lifelineand death would still be far off. So it was not suspected for nearlytwenty-four hours, nor accepted even as a working theory for nearlythree days, and not realized in its full implications for a week.
Now, what had occurred was a sudden and worldwide adynatogenesis of allchordata, not, however, adynatotokos; this distinction for many yearsoffered students of the phenomenon some hope.
And another hope was in the fact that one small but genuine member ofchordate was not affected: an enteropneustron, a balanoglossida of theoddest sort, a creature known as McGonigal's Worm. Yet what hope thiscreature could offer was necessarily a small one.
The catastrophe was first sensed by a hobbyist about a day afterit occurred. It was just that certain experiments did not act rightand the proper results were not forthcoming. And on the second day(Monday) there were probably a hundred notations of quite unusual andunstatistical behavior, but as yet the pattern was not at all suspected.
On the third day a cranky and suspicious laboratory worker went to asupply house with the angry charge that he had been sold sterile mice.This was something that could not be ignored, and it is what broughtthe pattern of the whole thing into the open, with corroborationdeveloping with explosive rapidity. Not completely in the open, ofcourse, for fear of panic if it reached the public. But throughout thelearned fraternity the news went like a seismic shock.
When it did reach the public a week later, though, it was greeted withhoots of laughter. The people did not believe it.
"The cataloguing of evidence becomes tiresome," said Director Concordof the newly originated Palingenesia Institute. "The facts areincontrovertible. There has been a loss of the power to conceive insea squirt, lancelet, hag fish, skate, sea cat, fish, frog, alligator,snake, turtle, seal, porpoise, mouse, bat, bird, hog, horse, monkey,and man. It happened suddenly, perhaps instantaneously. We cannot findthe cure. Yet it is almost certain that those children already in thewomb will be the last ever born on Earth. We do not know whether itis from a natural cause or an enemy has done this to us. We have, forten months, tested nearly everything in the world and we have found noanswer. Yet, oddly enough, there is no panic."
"Except among ourselves," said Appleby, his assistant, "whose provinceis its study. But the people have accepted it so completely that theirmain interest now is in the world sweepstakes, with the total sumswagered now in the billions."
"Yes, the betting on the last child to be born in the world. It willprove one point, at least. The old legal limit on posthumous paternitywas a year and a day. Will it be surpassed? The Algerian claimant onall evidence has nearly three months to go. And the betters on theAfghan have not yet given up. The Spanish Pretender is being delayed,