Waiting on Humanity's Table

By Thea Hutcheson

Chuck Perlman is the world's first recreated Neanderthal. Nearly adult, he is the prize in a corporate struggle to own what Chuck represents. He must find a place in the world of Homo Sapiens, a world he doesn't fit into, often doesn't understand, and discover what he can offer that will give him a place and a future in it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lilac Moon Books
• Release date: Nov 21, 2010
• ISBN: 9781458165152

Thea Hutcheson

Thea Hutcheson lives and writes in a large house full of an understanding partner, four semi-feral cats, and about a thousand books in an economically depressed, unscenic, nearly historic small city in Colorado. When she's not working diligently as a planning commissioner to change that situation or writing, she's a factotum.

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Waiting on Humanity’s Table

by

Thea Hutcheson

SMASHWORDS EDITION

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PUBLISHED BY:

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Waiting on Humanity’s Table

Copyright (c) 2009 Thea Hutcheson

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WAITING ON HUMANITY’S TABLE

Cave man live in a cave, can’t talk English. Do you wear skins at home? Do you cook over a fire?

Chuck lazily lifts one massive hand in response to Dan’s taunt and slowly, languorously, makes a great ham fist. He doesn’t meet Dan’s eyes. That would be aggressive, provocative, and everyone expects him to be aggressive. But clearly Dan needs to be reminded of what could really happen if Chuck let loose.

It is true, though--Chuck does live in a kind of cave, an earth berm house, half-buried in the hillside to conserve energy. Of course other people here do too -- truth’s the kernel of most taunting -- but only enough to hurt.

You’re much stronger than the other kids, his mom has told him all of his life. You must be careful around them.

Chuck understands that. He vividly remembers the sharp crack, like a dry twig, of Nathan’s fingers, the pregnant pause before the little boy’s smell became sharp with pain and shock. Chuck doesn’t like the smell of pain or sickness or lies and he’s been surrounded by them all in various combinations all of his life.

Dan smells smug, but afraid of what Chuck’s Homo sapiens neanderthalensis fist could do to his delicate Homo sapiens sapiens body. Chuck smells that Dan did not anticipate this reaction. But he’s never seen Chuck cornered. Any animal will fight when threatened.

Is this what you want? Chuck says, enunciating carefully. His voice is high pitched because his hyoid bone sits up higher in his