Now We Are Three

The story follows a physicist who has retreated to a farm while caring for a wife dying of an inoperable brain tumor and their twins, who are blind, deaf, and mute—a condition implied to result from cumulative radiation exposure. He endures self-reproach and public hostility directed at scientists associated with atomic testing, and faces a threatened custody action by juvenile authorities. A physician makes uneasy, duty-bound visits as domestic life collapses. The narrative examines moral ambiguity around technological progress, personal culpability, and social scapegoating, portraying private grief, institutional distrust, and the painful human consequences of choices made in the name of national security.