Sailing Off the Hook

These stories cover a range of time. I considered revising some of the older stories to update language and technology, then I decided to leave them alone. The characters are within their cultural time frames, and they don't wish to be juggled about nor to have their lives and stories changed, their histories altered.Many of the stories have been published (see acknowledgements). Some haven't found a home until this volume for various reasons. For instance, one problem story is "Baby Botchers." Editors, publishers, and readers tend to wince and run from the story as somehow supporting the concept of baby bartering. From my perspective, the story isn't in support of the idea of selling babies or manipulating genes according to human genetic specifications; rather, it's about how human attitudes and culture could be altered (not for the better) once that becomes the norm. See what you think.