Free Reconception: The Fall by Deborah Greenspan Page B

that way. But I see it as the way to help nature get
back on the road she was on before the industrial era."
    "Evie," Teller said, taking the scientist's hands,
"what's done is done. Now is the time to learn to live. Don't you
see that it's the idea that man must control and dominate nature
that is at the root of all our woes?"
    Evie thought about it before replying. "I don't want
to dominate nature. I just want to help her along."
    "But what egotism! Who are you to decide what Nature
wants or needs? Who are any of us? We are just another animal
living within the body of the Great Mother. It's our greed for
power that has destroyed everything. Our only chance lies in
accepting our position, in knowing our place."
    "Oh Teller, I just don't see it that way. If we have
the power to think and to manipulate things, why shouldn't we use
it? I mean, assuming we use it wisely."
    "Because, my friend, we are not wise. We only think
we are wise until we learn more, and then we discover how foolish
we have been."
    Evie decided it was time to change the subject since
they could obviously not agree. "Tell me more about the Great
Mother. From what I've seen and heard, you seem to believe in a
female deity. I always thought that the dominant religions were
centered on a male God.”
    "They were, but even religion can change, especially
when those who give it the most lip-service disappear underground.
After the leaders went away, all kinds of beliefs sprouted up, and
the failure of patriarchy led to the revival of mother-goddess
religions. What do you believe in?" Teller wondered.
    "Science ... Guilt ... Redemption ... ."
    "Come with me," the mountain woman said, "I want you
to meet someone." Taking the fair-haired woman's hand, she led her
through the house to the very door Evie had found locked. When she
opened it, the first thing that greeted them was an unpleasant
odor. Evie recoiled. Teller pulled her through the door and shut it
behind them. "You won't like what you see here, but I think you
should see it."
    She led her through the corridor to another door, and
opened it. It was a large room, well lit, with several beds, some
small tables and chairs, and some bigger chairs. In the first bed
by the door lay a little girl. "This is my daughter," Teller said,
going over to the child and kissing her on the head.
    "What's wrong with her?" Evie asked, "Why is she
here?" The child was about two, dark like her mother. Her eyes were
vacant and staring. She didn`t respond to the kiss.
    Teller sighed, and, pulling two chairs over, she sat
by the bed and invited Evie to join her. "When Lissa was born, she
was fine, a darling baby, fat and saucy, but after the first year
she began to change. She became cranky and, I know it sounds funny,
but she was hostile. She began to have these lapses of attention
and it was almost like she wasn't there. Then she started having
seizures, one worse than the last, and bit by bit…she became this
... ." she stopped speaking as a tear trickled down her face.
    Evie was appalled. She'd never seen such a thing,
never imagined such a thing. She reached out spontaneously and took
the mother's hand. "Oh, Teller. Isn't there something that can be
done? Why can't she be helped? What's the diagnosis?"
    "We're not sure of what's caused her condition, but
we think it may be that the residuals of pollutants and heavy
metals in our soil are being taken up by the plant roots. Some of
us seem to be more sensitive than others. This used to be prime
agricultural land, you realize. That means it was heavily sprayed
with pesticides and insecticides for more than fifty years. It's
been subject to acid rain for long enough to turn it into a near
desert and who knows what else? We do our best, but it's not always
enough. Many of our children die this way. Others die of kidney
failure, heart disease, cancer."
    "But we could help her!" Evie exclaimed. "We could do
tests on her and on the soil. It might take some time but I'm