,,man  ,,made   ,by  ,,albert ,r4       
,,teichner    ,a story that comes to    
grips with an age-old  question--what is
 soul8 and where8--and  postulates an   
age-new answer4   ,if ,i listed every   
trouble ,i've accumulated in a mere two 
hundred odd years you might be inclined 
to laugh4 ,when a tale of woe piles up  
too many details it looks ridiculous1   
unreal4 ,so here1 at the outset1 ,i want
 to say my life has not been a tragic   
one--whose life is in this day of       
advanced techniques and universal good  
will8--but that1 on the contrary1 ,i    
have enjoyed this ,earth and ,solar     
,system and all the abundant interests  
that it has offered me4 ,if1 lying here 
beneath these great lights1 ,i could    
only be as sure of joy in the future4444
  ,my name is ,treb ,hawley4 ,as far    
back as ,i can remember in my childhood1
 ,i was always interested in            
astronautics4 ,from the age of ten ,i   
specialized in that subject1 never for a
 moment regretting the choice4 ,when ,i 

was still a child of twenty-four ,i took
 part in the ,ninth ,jupiter ,expedition
 and after that there were many more4 ,i
 had a precocious marriage at thirty and
 my boys1 ,robert and ,neil1 were born  
within a few years after ,marla and ,i  
wed4 ,it was fortunate that ,i fought   
for government permission that early2   
after the accident1 despite my high     
rating1 ,i would have been denied the   
rare privilege of parenthood4  ,that    
accident1 the first one1 took place when
 ,i was fifty4 ,on ,planet #ab of the   
,centauri ,system ,i was attacked by a  
six-limbed primate and was badly mangled
 on the left side before breaking loose 
to destroy it4 ,surgical ,corps operated
 within an hour4 ,although they did an  
excellent prosthetic job after removing 
my left leg and arm1 the substituted    
limbs had their limitations4 ,while they
 permitted me to do all my jobs1 phantom
 pain was a constant problem4 ,there    
were new methods of prosthesis to       
eliminate this weird effect but these   

were only available back on the home    
planets4  ,i had to wait one year for   
this release4 ,meanwhile ,i had plenty  
of time to contemplate my mysterious    
affliction2 the mystery of it was so    
great that ,i had little chance to      
notice how painful it actually was4     
,there is enough strangeness in feeling 
with absolute certainty that a limb     
exists where actually there is nothing1 
but the strangeness is compounded when  
you look down and discover that not only
 is the leg gone but that another1      
mechanical one has taken its place4 ,dr4
 ,erics1 who had performed the          
operation1 said this difficulty would   
ultimately prove a blessing but ,i often
 had my doubts4         99       99     
99       99       99  ,he was right4    
,upon my return to ,earth1 the serious  
operations took place1 those giving me  
plastic limbs that would become living  
parts of my organic structure4 ,the same
 outward push of the brain and nervous  
system that had created phantom pain now

 made what was artificial seem real4    
,not only did my own blood course       
through the protoplastic but ,i could   
feel it doing so4 ,the adjustment took  
less than a week and it was a complete  
one4  ,fortunately the time was already 
past when protoplast patients were      
looked upon as something mildly freakish
 and to be pitied4 ,artificial noses1   
ears and limbs were becoming quite      
common4 ,whether there was some         
justification for the earlier reaction  
of pity1 however1 still remains to be   
seen4  ,my career resumed and ,i was    
accepted for the next ,centauri         
,expedition without any questions being 
asked4 ,as a matter of fact1 ,planning  
,center preferred people in my          
condition2 protoplast limbs were more   
durable than the real--no1 let us say   
the original--thing4  ,at home and at   
the beach no one bothered to notice my  
reconstructed arm and leg4 ,they looked 
too natural for the idea to occur to    
people who did not know me4 ,and ,marla 

treated the whole thing like a big joke4
 ,you're better than new1 she used to   
tell me and the kids wanted to know when
 they could have second matter limbs of 
their own4  ,life was good to me4 ,the  
one-year periods away from home passed  
quickly and the five-year layoffs on    
,earth permitted me to devote myself to 
my hobbies1 music and mathematics1      
without taking any time away from my    
family4 ,eventually1 of course1 my      
condition became an extremely common    
one4 ,who is there today among my       
readers who has all the parts with which
 he was born8 ,if any such person past  
the childhood sixty years did1 he would 
be the freak4  ,then at ninety new      
difficulties arose4 ,a new ,centaurian  
subvirus attacked my chest marrow4 ,as  
is still true in this infection1 the    
virus proved to be ineradicable4 ,my    
ribs weren't1 though1 and a protoplastic
 casing1 exactly like the thoracic      
cavity1 was substituted4 ,it was        
discovered that the infection had spread

 to my right radius and ulna so here too
 a simple substitution was made4 ,of    
course1 such a radical infection meant  
my circulatory system was contaminated  
and synthetically created living        
hemoplast was pumped in as soon as all  
the blood was removed4  ,this did       
attract attention4 ,at the time the     
procedure was still new and some medical
 people warned it would not take4 ,they 
were right only to this extent3 the old 
cardioarterial organs occasionally      
hunted into defective feedback that     
required systole-diastole adjustments4  
,protoplastic circulatory substitutes   
corrected the deficiency and1 just to   
avoid the slight possibility of further 
complications1 the venous system was    
also replaced4 ,since the changeover    
there hasn't been the least trouble in  
that sector4  ,by then ,marla had a     
perfect artificial ear and both of my   
sons had lost their congenitally        
diseased livers4 ,there was nothing     
extraordinary about our family2 only in 

my case were replacements somewhat above
 the world average4  ,i am proud to say 
that ,i was among the first thousand who
 made the pioneer voyage on hyperdrive  
to the star group beyond ,centaurus4 ,we
 returned in triumph with our fantastic 
but true tales of the organic planet    
,vita and the contemplative humanoids of
 ,nirva who will consciousness into     
subjectively grasping the life and      
beauty of subatomic space4 ,the         
knowledge we brought back assured that  
the fatal disease of ennui could never  
again attack man though they lived to   
,aleph ,null4  ,on the second voyage    
,marla1 ,robert and ,neil went with me4 
,this took a little political wrangling 
but it was worth throwing my merit      
around to see them benefit from ,nirvan 
discoveries even before the rest of     
humanity4 ,planetary ,council agreed my 
services entitled me to this special    
consideration4 ,truly ,i could feel     
among the blessed4  ,then ,i volunteered
 for the small expeditionary force to   

the #chth moon that the ,nirvans        
themselves refused to visit4 ,they tried
 to dissuade us but1 being of a much    
younger species1 we were less plagued by
 caution and went anyway4 ,the mountains
 of this little moon are up to fifteen  
miles high1 causing a state of          
instability that is chronic4 ,walking   
down those alabaster valleys was a more 
awesome experience than any galactic    
vista ,i have ever encountered4 ,our    
aesthetic sense proved stronger than    
common sense alertness and seven of us  
were buried in a rock slide4         99 
99       99       99       99           
,fortunately the great rocks formed a   
cavern above us4 ,after two days we were
 rescued4 ,the others had suffered such 
minor injuries that they were repaired  
before our craft landed on ,nirva4 ,i1  
though1 unconscious and feverish1 was in
 serious condition from skin abrasions  
and a comminuted cranium4 ,dr4 ,erics   
made the only possible prognosis4 ,my   
skull had to be removed and a completely

 new protoskin had to be supplied also4 
99       99       99       99       99  
,when ,i came out of coma ,marla was    
standing at my bedside1 smiling down at 
me4 ,do you feel1 she stumbled1 darling1
 ,i mean1 do you feel the way you did8  
,i was puzzled4 ,sure1 ,i'm ,treb       
,hawley1 ,i'm your husband1 and ,i      
remember an awful fall of rocks but now 
,i feel exactly the way ,i always have4 
,i did not even realize that further    
substitutions had been made and did not 
believe them when they told me about it4
  ,now ,i was an object of curiosity4   
,upon our return to ,earth the          
newsplastics hailed me as one of the    
most highly reintegrated individuals    
anywhere4 ,in all the teeming domain of 
man there were only seven hundred who   
had gone through as many substitutions  
as ,i had4 ,where1 they philosophised in
 passing1 would a man cease to be a man 
in the sequence of substitutions8       
,philosophy had never been an important 
preoccupation of mine4 ,it was the only 

discipline no further ahead in its      
really essential questions than the     
,greeks of four thousand years ago4 ,oh 
certainly1 there had been lots of       
technical improvements that were        
fascinating but these were peripheral   
points2 the basic issues could not be   
experimentally tested so they had to    
remain on the level of accepted or      
rejected axioms4 ,i wasn't about to     
devote much time to them when the whole 
fascinating field of subatomic mirror   
numbers was just opening up2 certainly  
not because a few sensational           
journalists were toying with dead-end   
notions4 ,for that matter the           
newsplastics weren't either and quickly 
went back to the regular mathematical   
reportage they do so well4  ,a few      
decades later1 however1 ,i wasn't so    
cocksure4 ,the old ,centaurian virus had
 reappeared in my brain of all places   
and ,i started to have a peculiar       
feeling about where the end point in all
 this reintegrating routine would lie4  

,not that the brain operation was a     
risk2 thousands of people had already   
gone through it and the substitute      
organisms had made no fundamental change
 in them4 ,it didn't in my case either4 
,but now ,i was more second matter than 
any man in history4  ,it's the old      
question of ,achilles' ,ship1 ,dr4      
,erics told me4  ,never heard of it1 ,i 
said4  ,it's a parable1 ,treb1 about    
concretised forms of a continuum in its 
discrete aspects4  ,i see the           
theoretical question but what has       
,achilles' ,ship to do with it8  ,he    
furrowed his protoplast brow that looked
 as youthful as it had a century ago4   
,this ship consisted of several hundred 
planks1 most of them forming the hull1  
some in the form of benches and oars and
 a mainmast4 ,it served its primitive   
purpose well but eventually sprang a    
leak4 ,some of the hull planks had to be
 replaced after which it was as good as 
new4 ,another year of hard use brought  
further hull troubles and some more     

planks were removed for new ones4 ,then 
the mast collapsed and a new one was put
 in4 ,after that the ship was in such   
good shape that it could outrace most of
 those just off the ways4  ,i had an    
uneasy feeling about where this parable 
was leading us but my mind shied away   
from the essential point and ,erics went
 relentlessly on4 ,as the years passed  
more repairs were made--first a new set 
of oars1 then some more planks1 still   
newer oars1 still more planks4          
,eventually ,achilles1 an unthinking man
 of action who still tried to be aware  
of what happened to the instruments of  
action he needed most1 realized that not
 one splinter of the original ship      
remained4 ,was this1 then1 a new ship8  
,at first he was inclined to say yes4   
,but this only evoked the further       
question3 when had it become the new    
ship8 ,was it when the last plank was   
replaced or when half had been8 ,his    
confidently stated answer collapsed4    
,yet how could he say it was the old    

ship when everything about it was a     
substitution8 ,the question was too much
 for him4 ,when he came to ,athens he   
turned the problem over to the wise men 
of that city1 refusing ever to think    
about it again4         99       99     
99       99       99  ,my mind was now  
in turmoil4 ,what1 ,i demanded1 what did
 they decide8  ,erics frowned4 ,nothing4
 ,they could not answer the question4   
,every available answer was equally     
right and proved every other right      
answer wrong4 ,as you know1 philosophy  
does not progress in its essentials4 ,it
 merely continues to clarify what the   
problems are4  ,i prefer to die next    
time6 ,i shouted4 ,i want to be a live  
human being or a dead one1 not a        
machine4  ,maybe you won't be a machine4
 ,nothing exactly like this has happened
 before to a living organic being4  ,i  
knew ,i had to be on my guard4 ,what    
peculiar scheme was afoot8 ,you're      
trying to say something's still wrong   
with me4 ,it isn't true4 ,i feel as well

 as ,i ever have4  ,your 'feeling' is a 
dangerous illusion4 ,his face was       
space-dust grey and ,i realized with    
horror that he meant all of it4 ,i had  
to tell you the parable and show the    
possible alternatives clearly4 ,treb1   
you're riddled with ,centaurian ,zed    
virus4 ,unless we remove almost all the 
remaining first growth organisms you    
will be dead within six months4  ,i     
didn't care any more whether he meant it
 or not2 the idea was too ridiculous4   
,death is too rare and anachronistic a  
phenomenon today4 ,you're the one who   
needs treatment1 ,doctor4 ,overwork1 too
 much study1 one idea on the brain too  
much4  ,resigned1 he shrugged his       
shoulders4 ,all the first matter should 
be removed except for the spinal chord  
and the vertebrae4 ,you'd still have    
that4  ,very kind of you1 ,i said1 and  
walked away1 determined to have no more 
of his lectures now or in the future4   
,marla wanted to know why ,i seemed so  
jumpy4 ,seems is just the word1 ,i      

snapped4 ,never felt better in my life4 
,that's just what ,i mean1 she said4    
,jumpy4  ,i let her have the last word  
but determined to be calmer from then   
on4  ,i was4 ,and1 as the weeks passed1 
the mask ,i put on sank deeper and      
deeper until that was the way ,i really 
felt4 ',when you can face death serenely
 you will not have to face it4' ,that is
 what ,sophilus1 one of our leading     
philosophers1 has said4 ,i was living   
this truth4 ,my work on infinite series 
went more smoothly and swiftly than any 
mathematical research ,i had engaged in 
before and my senses responded to living
 with greater zest than ever4         99
       99       99       99       99    
,five months later1 while walking       
through ,hydroponic ,park1 ,i felt the  
first awful tremor through my body4 ,it 
was as if the earth beneath my feet were
 shaking1 like that awful afternoon on  
,nirva's moon4 ,but no rocks fell from  
this sky and other strollers moved      
across my vision as if the world of five

 minutes ago had not collapsed4 ,the    
horror was only inside me4  ,i went to  
another doctor and asked for            
,stabilizine4 ,perhaps you need a       
checkup1 he suggested4  ,that was the   
last thing ,i wanted and ,i said so4    
,he1 too1 shrugged resignedly and made  
out my prescription for the harmless    
drug4 ,after that the hammer of pain did
 not strike again but often ,i could    
feel it brush by me4 ,each time my      
self-administered dosage had to be      
increased4  ,eventually my equations    
stopped tying together in my mind4 ,i   
would stare at the calculation sheets   
for hours at a time1 asking myself why x
 should be here or integral operation   
there4 ,the truth could not be avoided3 
my mind could no longer grasp truth4  ,i
 went1 in grudging defeat1 to ,erics4   
,you have to win1 ,i said and described 
my experiences4  ,some things are       
inevitable1 he nodded solemnly1 and some
 are not4 ,this may solve all your      
problems4  ,not all1 ,i hoped aloud4    

,marla went with me to hospital4 ,she   
realized the danger ,i was in but put   
the best possible face on it4 ,her      
courage and support made all the        
difference and ,i went into the second  
matter chamber1 ready for whatever fate 
awaited me4  ,nothing happened4 ,i came 
out of the chamber all protoplast except
 for the spinal zone4 ,yet ,i was still 
,treb ,hawley4 ,as the coma faded away1 
the last equation faded in1 completely  
meaningful and soon followed by all the 
leads ,i could handle for the next few  
years4  ,psychophysiology was in an     
uproar over my success4 ,man can now be 
all protoplast1 some said4 ,others as   
vehemently insisted some tiny but       
tangible chromosome-organ link to the   
past must remain4 ,for my part it all   
sounded very academic2 ,i was well      
again4  ,there was one unhappy moment   
when ,i applied for the new ,centauri   
,expedition4 ,too much of a risk1 the   
,consulting ,board told me4 ,not that   
you aren't in perfect condition but     

there are unknown1 untested factors and 
out in space they might--mind you1 we   
just say might--prove disadvantageous4  
,they all looked embarrassed and kept   
their eyes off me1 preferring to        
concentrate on the medals lined up      
across the table that were to be my     
consolation prize4  ,i was disconsolate 
at first and would look longingly up at 
the stars which were now1 perhaps       
forever1 beyond my reach4 ,but my sons  
were going out there and1 for some      
inexplicable reason1 that gave me great 
solace4 ,then1 too1 ,earth was still    
young and beautiful and so was ,marla4  
,i still had the full capacity to enjoy 
these blessings4         99       99    
99       99       99  ,not for long4    
,when we saw the boys off to ,centauri  
,i had a dizzy spell and only with the  
greatest effort hid my distress until   
the long train of ships had risen out of
 sight4 ,then ,i lay down in the        
,visitors ,lounge from where ,i could   
not be moved for several hours4 ,great  

waves of pain flashed up and down my    
spine as if massive voltages were being 
released within me4 ,the rest of my body
 stood up well to this assault but every
 few seconds ,i had the eerie sensation 
that ,i was back in my old body1 a      
ghostly superimposition on the living   
protoplast1 as the spinal chord         
projected its agony outward4 ,finally   
the pain subsided1 succeeded by a blank 
numbness4  ,i was carried on            
gravito-cushions to ,erics' office4 ,it 
had to be1 he sighed4 ,i didn't have the
 heart to tell you after the last       
operation4 ,the subvirus is attacking   
the internuncial neurones4  ,i knew what
 that meant but was past caring4 ,we're 
not immortal--not yet1 ,i said4 ,i'm    
ready for the end4  ,we can still try1  
he said4  ,i struggled to laugh but even
 gave up that little gesture4 ,another  
operation8 ,no1 it can't make any       
difference4  ,it might4 ,we don't know4 
,how could it8  ,suppose1 ,treb1 just   
suppose you do come out of it all right4

 ,you'd be the first man to be          
completely of second matter6  ,erics1 it
 can't work4 ,forget it4  ,i won't      
forget it4 ,you said we're not immortal 
but1 ,treb1 your survival would be      
another step in that direction4 ,the    
soul's immortality has to be taken on   
faith now--if it's taken at all4 ,you   
could be the first scientific proof that
 the developing soul has the momentum to
 carry past the body in which it grows4 
,at the least you would represent a step
 in the direction of soul freed from    
matter4  ,i could take no more of such  
talk4 ,go ahead1 ,i said1 do what you   
want4 ,i give my consent4  ,the last few
 days have been the most hectic of my   
life4 ,dozens of great physicians1 flown
 in from every sector of the ,solar     
,system1 have examined me4 ,i'm leaving 
my body to science1 ,i told one         
particularly prodding group1 but you're 
not giving it a chance to die6 ,it is   
easy for me to die now2 when you have   
truly resigned yourself to death nothing

 in life can disturb you4 ,i have at    
long last reached that completely       
stoical moment4 ,that is why ,i have    
recorded this history with as much      
objectivity as continuing vitality can  
permit4         99       99       99    
99       99  ,the operating theatre was 
crowded for my final performance and    
several ,tri-,d video cameras stared    
down at me4 ,pupils1 lights and lenses1 
all came to a glittering focus on me4 ,i
 slowly closed my eyes to blot the      
hypnotic horror out4  ,but when ,i      
opened them everything was still there  
as before4 ,then ,erics' head1 growing  
as he inspected my face more closely1   
covered everything else up4  ,when are  
you going to begin8 ,i demanded4  ,we   
have finished1 he answered in awe that  
verged upon reverence4 ,you are the new 
,adam6  ,there was a mounting burst of  
applause as the viewers learned what ,i 
had said4 ,my mind was working more     
clearly than it had in a long time and1 
with all the wisdom of hindsight1 ,i    

wondered how anyone could have ever     
doubted the outcome4 ,we had known all  
along that every bit of atomic matter in
 each cell is replaced many times in one
 lifetime1 electron by electron1 without
 the cell's overall form disappearing4  
,now1 by equally gradual steps1 it had  
happened in the vaster arena of         
,newtonian living matter4  ,i sat up    
slowly1 looking with renewed wonder on  
everything from the magnetic screw in   
the light above my head to the nail on  
the wriggling toe of my left foot4 ,i   
was more than ,achilles' ,ship4 ,i was a
 living being at whose center lay a     
still yet turning point that could      
neither be new nor old but only         
immortal4   ,,the ,,end                 
,transcriber's ,note3      ,this etext  
was produced from ,amazing ,science     
,fiction ,stories     ,january #aifj4   
,extensive research did not uncover any 
evidence that     the ,u4,s4 copyright  
on this publication was renewed4 ,minor 
spelling     and typographical errors   

have been corrected without note4