He shoots! He scores!

I'm not much of a winter sports fan, but when the Winter Olympics rolls around, I find myself watching speed skating and ski cross and skeleton and figure skating. And that's how I found myself watching the exciting USA-Canada hockey game on Sunday.

What does this have to do with science fiction? It an excuse to post a link to Steven Popkes' 2002 story "The Ice".   

Phil Berger is a young hockey star who learns that he is actually a clone of Canadian hockey great  Gordie Howe. 

 The lead article, by Frank Hammett and Carl Weatherspoon, is about the "Gordie Howe Clone." The article continues, occupying most of the flimsy with a host of associated links. There are several pictures of DNA chromatographs and chromosomes, documenting the similarities between the Howe genotype and that of Phil Berger.

Phil feels as if the world has entered into some long, horrible tunnel. He shakes his head and stares at the pictures. This is his life on display without his permission. No. It’s more than that. He feels naked before strangers. He feels shame without knowing why.

The story isn't so much about hockey,  as it is about a young man trying to figure out who he really is and what he wants to do with his life.

Read "The Ice" by Steven Popkes

(I wonder what Mr. Howe thinks of the story.)
((Also, Go Team USA!))

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickspacee/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Tags:science fiction, cloning, hockey