SOLVED. 1970's SciFi story about deformed children raised in isolation [s]

[Melanti]

This is a science fiction short story I read in an anthology some years ago.

There was a group of children being raised together in ... a lab? a hospital? Some sort of crèche or dormitory set-up. And they were never allowed to leave their suite of rooms. I don't think the kids ever saw the scientists in person. That they only spoke over the intercom? The children were all deformed in some way. Some were mentally handicapped. It's not explicitly mentioned in the beginning of the story - just offhand references to extra or missing limbs as if it were perfectly normal.

The one thing I remember really well is that all the names started with "Em" and were three letters spelled out - like "Emelee" or "Emelem" or "Emopee." (These three names I don't think are quite right... but they're the names that I keep thinking of over and over again.) And at one point the kids were talking to a scientist and he says the kid's name is "MLM" and the kids correct him and say that he's pronouncing it wrong and that the letters should sort of run together instead of being separate words.

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It isn't until the end when they do leave (escape?) the room and see "normal" people that they realize they're deformed. I think society used some sort of genetic manipulation on all babies to improve humanity and that this group of kids were the "rejects".

And I think there was a brief mention that after these kids were born, it was eventually decided it would be kinder to abort/euthanize any future deformed kids rather than have huge amounts of kids living in confinement, especially as some of them had mental and physical health issues. I might be confusing two stories with this bit though.
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I read this in the mid '90s and I vaguely remember that the cover was dark-ish? And that it was an older book - maybe 20 years old, give or take 10 years. So that would put it being published oh say 1965-1985. (Still a huge date range, I admit!)

I also remember it's the book the dog ate, but that's not likely to be of help to anyone...

[D.M.]

This I remember. It's in The Other Side of Tomorrow. The story is "The Others" by J. Hunter Holly.

"In "The Others" J. Hunter Holly gives us the story of Emelen, whose world consists of four metal-walled rooms populated by his fifty friends. And the Voice, which resides in a wall of the Commons and directs their lives. Emelen knows there's something wrong with his world and struggles to make sense of it, but every time he asks questions, the Voice scolds him that curiosity is a fault, and his friends become upset with him."

[Melanti]

Thank you! That's definitely it, and I remember several other stories from the book too.

[D.M.]

You're welcome. It's a memorable anthology, and it affected me as a kid. "A Bowl of Biskies Makes A Growing Boy" was my favorite in the book .

[Melanti]

As soon as I saw "A Bowl of Biskies..." in the table of contents I knew it HAD to be the right book. Definitely a very memorable story and a memorable title!

I still think of it from time to time whenever I see a long list of artificial ingredients in something.