Erik poured the oatmeal into his cup, topping it with soy milk. He thought it tasted like pressed cardboard. According to some people, soy milk was supposed to be indistinguishable from cow's milk’s, but Erik didn’t buy that. That soy stuff had nothing to do with the milk he remembered from his childhood.

Not that he had much choice, anyway: with rationing, real milk was difficult to find, and very expensive. Erik already spent more than he should on the cigarettes he ...