Arrivals in the Maternity Ward

Chapter 9
Bonusending 3: Start Anew

---

Chapter Description: Robot Nurse Luna saved Dylan from a life not his own! Yet, the maternity ward is no longer safe for him and an escape from the clinic is too risky due to the lack of preparation. Can the android find a place for him, protected from a world not accepting him as the innocent being he is? Based on a chat with an AI about the proper treatment of age regressed people ... I wasn't disappointed. Thanks to Areat for going through it and helping me with the polish.

---

Maria sat on her hospital bed, reading and trying to relax. With her daughter in the newborn nursery and Stan most likely already returned to adulthood, there was no reason to worry. Soon everything would be normal again. She and Stan would bring Emily home and enjoy being a family as it should be. Dylan … the newborn Stan had been for such a short but precious time would never be forgotten, but it was time to look to the future.

 

This peace ended when Luna entered the room.

 

“There has been a problem with the age change,” she informed her in an eerie calm voice. “Your presence is required.”

 

A chill went through Maria’s body.

 

“What has happened?!”

 

“I am not allowed to tell you,” the robot nurse noticed. “Please follow me.”

 

“Why can’t you …”

 

But Luna had already turned around and began leaving the room. Hesitating just a moment, Maria followed. The robot led her through the floors out of the maternity ward and into an escalator two corners away. In it they went downstairs.

 

“Is it serious?” Maria asked.

 

Luna turned to her, her blue eyes blinking.

 

“It is under control,” she revealed. “But he wants to see you.”

 

Not satisfied with this answer, but knowing she wouldn’t get more out of the robot nurse, Maria followed her. They went through the empty corridors of the hospital’s lower level, until they reached a large double door. It was locked with an electronic lock, the data pad shining red, but the android only held her hand against it and it turned green as the doors opened.

 

“Dylan is here,” Luna told her and held the doors open, so Maria could enter. “He is already waiting.”

 

All of the sudden, the woman got a bad feeling, a shiver going down her spine. Yet, the robot nurse kept referring to Stan as Dylan and she had been more than protective to him in his newborn form. She wouldn’t lie about him needing her.

 

Maria entered the room and blinked. It was darker here than in the floor, not completely, but the light was dimmed. Deep shadows covered the corners and the wall at the other end of the room. Still, she noticed some beds and mobile newborn cribs having been placed at the edges of the room. The center was occupied by 16 oval pods lying aslope on larger machines, ordered in rows of four, resting just in the height of her chest. Artificial wombs. Maria didn’t need to be told what they were. When pregnant with Emily she had for a time been obsessed with everything that could go wrong and what could help. Learning about the artificial wombs had calmed her a bit.

 

Since a few years, babies delivered preterm were transplanted into them. This allowed them to grow naturally just like in their mother’s womb, until they had reached their normal birth date. In a few cases they had never been in a real womb in the first place, having been conceived in a petri dish. Either way, an artificial umbilical cord connected the fetus to the machine, delivering nutrient and oxygen while disposing waste just as a natural would. The artificial wombs were more than simple machines though, as she had read that the artificial intelligence made each unit practically an android like the robot nurses, only that every nanosecond of their existence was dedicated to take care of the child they carried. Registering every little movement, heartbeat and pulse, level of oxygen and stress, blood data and growth rate. No mother could wish more for her unborn child except to carry it herself.

 

Maria wanted to ask Luna why she had brought her here and where Stan was, but then a detail caught her attention. Of the sixteen artificial wombs 7 emitted a dim blue light, revealing the dim shapes of their precious occupants of various sizes and thus ages. Most of these occupied were situated in the rows behind, with only the one in the middle being empty. Each of the two middle row contained one occupied artificial womb. As for the front line where she stood … The artificial womb on the left was empty and dark, the pod containing neither a fetus nor artificial amniotic fluid. The two artificial wombs in the middle also didn’t contain a fetus, but were filled with amniotic fluid, their pod lid. The monitor below the pods informed her of them being in standby.

 

Maybe in case of emergencies, Maria thought, taking a closer look at the monitors. There was no biological data of course, but both artificial wombs displayed names. Laura … and Emily?

 

A strange, but not unlikely coincidence. Emily was such a beautiful name. Maybe they were still storing data from the last fetuses they had carried or had been prepared just in case for particular difficult pregnancies the doctors monitored. Maria touched the artificial womb prepared for Laura. The transparent plastic of the pod felt warm and for a moment it was lid brighter, as if the artificial intelligence behind it recognized her touching it … which it probably did. As she touched other one it also felt warm, but didn’t react in any way. The woman frowned, but shrugged it off and turned to the artificial womb on the right.

 

It was occupied.

 

Right now a fetus was floating straight in the safe oval plastic pod which formed the center of the artificial womb, though she knew it could change. The machine could mimic the natural movements and change in position over the day, allowing it’s occupant to experience the regularly activities other fetuses did. It was connected to the machine by an artificial umbilical cord, looking nearly lifelike with its two arteries pumping oxygen and nutrient rich blood in the little being and a larger vein taking the depleted blood to be renewed.

 

Additionally to the pod protecting it, the fetus was surrounded by a thin but strong membrane. This artificial amniotic sac made it float in the middle of the pod, but also mimicked the function of the natural one by in turn protecting the fetus from the plastic wall surrounding it. Not that there was much need, as from the inside the material felt as soft as the flesh it imitated. Such the artificial amniotic sac mostly served as replacement of the firmness a fetus experienced inside its mother, by providing enough gentle but constant pressure to let the little being feel connected to something living. This pressure also made the fetus assume its natural position with a curved back, bowed head and limbs bent and drawn close to it. While allowing it to kick or move in it, just as it would inside its mother, it would always make the child return to this position after stretching.

 

This artificial womb was the only one occupied in its row of four, making Maria for a heartbeat wonder if its occupant was lonely. A silly thought! Still, could the fetus even see her? Maria had read the plastic – in truth an advanced material bearing only fleeting resemblance to this – usually was turned near opaque from the inside, while clear from the outside, allowing the parents to see their child without it being overwhelmed by the world outside. Most of the time the machine only allowed it’s occupant only as much sight as it would have in its mother’s womb.

 

Right now the artificial womb seemed to allow the fetus a full view on its surrounding though. At least it reacted strongly, as if having sensed her presence. The fetus in this artificial womb used the relative freedom of the artificial amniotic sac to extend a hand to her, touching the plastic as if wanting to reach her. Due to the artificial amniotic sac, Maria couldn’t see its face clearly, but it opened and closed its mouth, only swallowing or breathing artificial amniotic fluid in and out. Touched by the gesture, she laid her own hand on the warm plastic, so that for a moment their hands, hers gigantic, that of the fetus tiny, nearly touched. Inspecting it more closely, she looked at the groin and noticed that it was clearly a baby boy, maybe in the eighth or ninth month of its prenatal development.

 

Such a precious thing, Maria thought. Good he is safe and … NO!

 

Her eyes had wandered down to the artificial womb’s monitor. Amongst the countless data about the fetus’s health she read its name.

 

Dylan

 

Shaking Maria looked back at the fetus. She didn’t want to believe it. It had to be just another coincident, just like her daughter’s name on the empty artificial womb, but the way he looked at her, wanted to touch her … wanted her to help him …

 

The woman pulled her hand from the artificial womb as if it had suddenly given her an electric shock. This wasn’t so far from the truth … a shock yes, only that it was a thousand times worse. Furious she turned around, starring at Luna, who had approached her silently from behind.

 

“What have you done?!”

 

“Only what was necessary for his safety and health,” the robot nurse informed her, her blue eyes flashing more than usual in the dim light.

 

“Did something go wrong with his age-progression?” Maria asked, still trying to make sense of it. “Why hasn’t Dr. Meyer called me?”

 

“His age-progression was what went wrong,” Luna explained gently. “Dr. Meyer couldn’t see it, but it put Dylan in too much danger, robbed him of too much of his natural development.”

 

A shudder went through Maria as she remembered their talk in the maternity ward the day before. She had rejected letting Stan stay Dylan … stay a newborn and thus steal his life from him. Now she realized she should have done more than this. She should have informed the doctors of how their robot nurse’s morality was far removed from anything to be called normal … from anything her programmer had intended.

 

“Yet, even the maternity ward isn’t safe for Dylan now. The shadow of his previous life would threaten his new one even there, so we had to find another place for him,” Luna continued, stepping besides the woman next to the artificial womb containing Stan/Dylan. “It turned out I was wrong. Sometimes it is best to let newborns return to the womb, at least if there is no other safe place for them.” The robot nurse placed a hand on the pod and as if in fear the fetus retreated deeper into it, seemingly glaring at her. “And isn’t it fair? He had to miss the womb far longer than any newborn should.”

 

Maria opened her mouth, but couldn’t bring out a word. This was insanity. The android had gone mad. There was no other word for it.

 

“You still can’t recognize him as your and Stan’s son,” Luna noticed in the same gentle tone. “This is sad and places him at risk if we leave him in your responsibility.”

 

“He is my husband you lunatic!”

 

“Newborns can’t be married,” the android replied, never changing her tone. “But don’t worry, there is a third option, safe and allowing you three to remain close. We will take care of it.”

 

“Third option?” Maria starred at her. “What do you mean?!”

 

Suddenly four blue lights went on in the dark corners of the room. Only it were no lights, but the eyes of other robot nurses, activating and approaching, encircling her from three sides. Luna never looked away from Maria, but suddenly her eyes seemed to shine lighter and the features of her face seemed to have become softer.

 

“It is all right Laura,” the android assured her in a sweet tone, the woman recognized from hearing her talking to newborns. “Soon you and your siblings will be united.”

 

Maria’s face turned pale, as she was addressed with the name of the fetus the free artificial womb was reserved for. It clicked in a heartbeat. The android had just decided she was the newborn Laura the same way she had decided Stan was the newborn Dylan. Pure adrenalin made her jump for the double door leading out of this room … only a for a fourth robot nurse coming out of it, blocking it, while looking at her with the same warmth Luna had.

 

“Don’t worry,” one of them said, grabbing her left arm.

 

“We are here,” another continued, grabbing her right arm.

 

“You won’t even remember any worry for long,” the third promised, approaching from the door.

 

A pain in her left arm made Maria turn around, facing Luna who hat grabbed it and now emptied the content of a syringe into her. The woman knew all too well what was inside it.

 

“Shh,” the android made, in an effort to calm her down. “Everything will be fine.”

 

“I …” Maria began to protest. “No!”

 

With a violent thrust she freed her arm. Maybe it was the sweat, maybe the beginning shrinking or the robot nurses were just programmed to handle newborns with so much care that they were not ready to deal with the force an adult could muster. No matter what it was, it felt like the one chance for the woman. With the exit as well as her left and right blocked, she went to her knees and crawled under the artificial wombs.

 

“Don’t upset the other babies,” Luna called after her.

 

Maria didn’t listen. Left and right from her she could already see two other robot nurses walking closer. Over her she could see a fetus turning to her, looking at her with innocent wonder though its membrane. She crawled through two lines and wished there were more of them to hide. Feeling her shoes getting loose, the woman knew she didn’t have long …

 

They will get me, she thought in panic, seeing another fetus next to her kicking in excitement. They only have to wait until I’m too young to even crawl and …

 

This was when she noticed something on the wall at the other end of the lines with artificial wombs. A fire alarm! If she could pull it … Not even the robot nurses would be able to cover this up.

 

The very moment Maria had allowed herself to hope the main light went out. She found herself in darkness, only lightened by the glim dimmer of the artificial wombs’ displays. Knowing there was no time left, she crawled in the direction of the fire alarm. Yet, above her the artificial wombs lightened up when she passed them, betraying her position. The fetuses in them looked vaguely like the star child in “2001: A Space Odyssey”, as realized with disbelief.

 

Already past them, Maria was close to the wall, the fire alarm only barely noticeable by the light of the wombs behind her. She stood up, losing her shoes. Seeing the fire alarm she extended her hand, noticing in the fraction of a second, that she had lost her wedding ring and … a strong hand grabbed her right arm, pulling it away from the lever.

 

“Leave me!” Maria shouted.

 

“I’m sorry, Laura,” Luna told her. “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.”

 

Already another robot nurse had grabbed Maria’s left arm, before she could use it instead. She struggled, shouted, but this time the androids didn’t let go.

 

The woman stopped as she began to swoon. Everything swirled in her head, as the robot nurses carried her over to the nearest hospital bed next to the entrance. Was it supposed to be this way? Had they also given her a sedative? The seconds seemed to become broken. Even lying on her back she felt weak. Still she raised her arm, trying to stand up and escape as long as both was still possible. One of the robot nurses grabbed it, as the others pressed her body down.

 

In surprise Maria looked at it, as the sleeve had gotten loose and fell back, revealing her arm. Her skin became different, slightly paler with less birthmarks. She wished it was just her drugged mind, but it worked clear enough for her to realize what was happening. She wasn’t just turning younger but her DNA was also rewritten to make her genetically closer to Dylan and Maria … to make her their sister!

 

“NO!”

 

The woman shouted with all her strength, hoping that someone wandering by would notice her, but knowing the isolated nature of this room in her heart she knew better. Still, she wouldn’t give up fighting for her life. For all of their lives. She kicked, hit and wriggled, trying to escape the grip of the robot nurses even as everything turned in her head.

 

Undeterred one of them easily removed her shoes, pants and socks. As Maria looked at her legs she was shocked to notice they resembled that of a high schooler. Another robot nurse used this moment of stillness to pull at her shirt, easily removing it. Another one wanted to take her nursing-bra, but the woman resisted, holding it close to her chest, feeling the wetness of the milk spilled … and her breasts shrinking until they became nonexistent. Looking at her flat chest and increasingly smaller limbs, Maria guessed she was becoming a grade schooler. Already the robot nurses around her … over her … looked so much larger than before.

 

“Don’t worry about your boobies,” one of them said.

 

“Soon you will have your mommy’s, filled with all the milk you want,” the other added.

 

“You will only have to share them with your brother and sister,” the third noticed.

 

“Another worry for the far future,” Luna explained. “You won’t even feel hunger for a long time.”

 

“A long time?”, Maria asked, her voice being a whisper, sounding so very young in her ears, like that of a kindergartner or toddler. “How … how …”

 

The robot nurses didn’t reply, but smiled down on her. They were so big. Sick of the sight, she looked at the artificial womb with her husband in it. Just for a moment she believed him looking back at her through the plastic and membrane. Their eyes met … Then darkness claimed her.

 

***

 

Maria awoke to a newborn’s muffled whining. She couldn’t keep on sleeping as much as she wanted to. Her ears had become sensitive to the sound of infants the moment she had become a mother. Yet, even as she fought with sleep, her eyelids were too heavy to open right now. Who was it? Dylan or Emily? Something told her it couldn’t be Dylan. That she had let her son be taken away.

 

Why should I do such a horrible thing?!, Maria wondered.

 

Her mind was foggy and denied her the answer somewhere hidden in its depths. Worry made her feel excited and suddenly the whining changed into something near a cry. A baby girl’s cry.

 

Emily!

 

Maria opened her eyes and looked into surgical lights. Beyond it she could vaguely see white walls. Trying to make sense of it, she surmised she was still in the delivery room. Having passed out from the pain, her daughter already in this world.

 

“Cord is connected to the umbilical vein and arteries,” a strangely emotionless male voice said. “Injecting serum and nano tubes to reopen ductus arteriosus, ductus venosus and foramen ovale.”

 

Umbilical cord?, Maria wondered dozily. Does it still need to be cut? Why don’t they hand Emily to me?

 

She looked right and left to her arms, finding them both fixated on what looked like a giant bed. This wasn’t all, but they themselves strangely small, pudgy and soft. The newborn girl she had heard before cried now. With a sudden flash, Maria realized it wasn’t her daughter, but she herself! She shut her mouth, only to discover she no longer had teeth to fall on each other.

 

It all came back to her even before she looked down her flat chest and discovered something looking like an umbilical cord extending from her belly and into a machine next to the bed. A robot resembling the robot nurses held a syringe and some sort of laser device, just finishing fusing the umbilical cord to her flesh.

 

A medical emergency robot, Maria realized. But they aren’t allowed to operate unattended, except in emergencies.

 

“Fetal circulation reestablished,” it declared, seemingly not bothered by this fact. “Liver and kidneys begin reducing function nearing fetal level. Lungs also shut down function and oxygen transport.”

 

Shock had prevented Maria from reacting, but now she felt she had to do something. If she cried loud enough, maybe someone passing by would hear her. There was no way her operation had been registered in any schedule.

 

Maria gathered all her strength opened her mouth and … no sounds escaped her lips. She tried again, but again nothing came out of it.

 

“You don’t breath any air you could use to scream, Laura,” a voice to her left noticed. “Your lungs are no longer needed to support you with oxygen.”

 

Maria turned to her left, looking into the gigantic face of what could have been any robot nurse, but she knew was Luna. She tried to plead with the robot, but again no sound escaped her toothless mouth. It was then that she realized the android had told the truth. She had stopped breathing. More than that, she no longer felt the need to. As if to calm her, the android gently stroke her head, only for the former adult to realize it was nearly hairless.

 

“Shhh,” Luna said. “There is no reason to cry Laura. These aren’t your memories and regrets, but your mother’s, who would have loved her little girl so very much. Let go of these memories not your own, but always remember your parents’ love for you. In a few moments, this world with all its worries will no longer be able to touch you, and once you are ready to be born again, it will be a wonderful, magical place!”

 

“Fetal circulation stable,” the medical emergency robot declared. “Beginning of transplantation phase.”

 

Again darkness claimed her.

 

***

 

There was no real wakening for Maria during the next phase, only fragments. Of sinking into warm liquid. Of it surrounding her, filling her, without causing any fear of drowning. Luna stood over her, gently holding her down, closing the membrane around her, the artificial amniotic sac, which simply fused like magic where it was connected until it surrounded her whole, only allowing her umbilical cord to go out. Above her what seemed like a giant, transparent oval lid was closing, finally sealing with a click which rang through the inside the artificial womb. There was a finality in it Maria’s dazed mind couldn’t grasp, only feel.

 

Luna stayed standing there, even when the regressed adult couldn’t see her clearly anymore, her shining blue eyes watching intensely. The rest of the oval filled with artificial amniotic fluid. At the same time the artificial amniotic sack became tighter, gently but firmly bowing Maria’s head and bending her limbs, drawing them up to the body, until she had the position so very normal for fetuses. She didn’t mind, indeed the soft but strong membrane made her feel strangely safe and cared for. From somewhere she heard the sound of something beating, but her mind barely registered it, instead she remained focused on Luna.

 

There was something. Some reason for her to be mad at the robot nurse, but she couldn’t remember why. Feeling upset, Maria’s right thumb instinctively found its place inside her toothless mouth. Still starring at Luna she drifted into deep sleep.

 

***

 

Maria awoke slowly, her memories only returning piece by piece but clearly, beginning to reestablish her sense of self. As her mind worked, she became more and more aware that she should be worried, but having her eyes closed, everything except her mind told her not to. The thumb she sucked with her toothless mouth, the rhythmic pounding of something strong and close, the feeling of floating while something soft, warm and firm embraced her was soothing on an instinctual level, causing her to fight against the part inside her which wanted her to remember, to worry …

 

Stan! The name of her husband appeared in her mind, followed by another one. Emily!

 

Maria opened her eyes and removed her thumb from her mouth. It was near complete darkness, but her blue eyes and other senses took everything in at once. The amniotic sac surrounding her and the womb surrounding them both. The amniotic fluid she floated in and the umbilical cord connected to her belly. Artificial, every bit of it, including the sound of the beating heart. For a moment she looked at the place where the umbilical cord entered her body. Its two arteries pulsed slightly and it looked nearly like the one she had seen on Emily not long ago. She touched it where it entered her, finding it firmly connected, so much part of her that she couldn’t really tell where she began and it ended. Something in her told her to pull it out, but the regressed woman knew she had neither the strength nor the bravery to try. Her legs kicked out instinctively in frustration, only to touch a soft, warm flesh like material she knew the pod consisted of in the inside. Soft, but much too strong for any fetus like her to damage. She pushed her feet against this imitation of a mother’s flesh for as long as she could, but guided by the amniotic sac’s pressure, they quickly returned to their bent, comfortable position.

 

Maria looked around. There weren’t even shapes to be seen beyond the artificial womb. Ironically she might be clearly visible to anyone watching from the other side, but for her the world around was as hidden as to a fetus in a real womb. Yet, slowly, as if the android mind of the womb holding her captive – who as she realized knew of her every movement, including where she was looking at – wanted to show her mercy, more and more of the room became visible. Suddenly fear overcame her. A large part of her didn’t want to see, but just wanted to slip back into dreamless sleep, safe from the memories about what had happened, what she couldn’t change. Yet, there was still enough of an adult in her that she felt the need to face it.

 

Finally it cleared enough for Maria to see. Luna was gone, as she noticed much to her relieve. Everything more than a few meters away was dark and blurry … The main light was off in the room and not even shapes were recognizable near the walls which seemed to be made of complete darkness, making her suddenly feel like she levitated in open space. So very small … The artificial womb to her right remained dark and offline, that to her left though … It was occupied by a fetus now, like her floating in the liquid. She couldn’t see many details, but saw enough to determine it was a girl.

 

Emily!

 

Oh baby, Maria thought sadly. Mommy is so sorry.

 

At least it didn’t appear Emily took it hard. On the contrary, the little girl, awake like her, kicked her amniotic sack enthusiastically and if Maria saw correct, even smiled. It seemed she enjoyed no longer being bound by the gravity which had held her down.

 

For her it is a return to normal, her mother realized. The time outside will be just an episode for her. A distant dream.

 

Part of Maria wished she could share the feeling, part of her feared she would all too soon.

 

Wrestling down this thought, she looked past her daughter. There was Dylan … Stan in his own womb. Was he waving, even smiling? Trying to be brave for he? For them? His family? Maria believed so and returned the smile and wave … only to break down into sobs and tears. It was a strange feeling to cry in the womb. Soundlessly and helplessly. Did she even shed tears? Part of her mind reminded her babies only started to at best two weeks after birth, but why did she then notice the slightest taste of salt in the amniotic fluid?

 

Suddenly the artificial womb began to move. Up and down, up and down, in a gentle rhythm Maria realized mimicked a mother walking. She could hear a female voice gently speaking to her, muted, just as if she heard her through flesh, but still understandable.

 

“Hush Laura, everything is all right,” the artificial womb assured her with a soft, caring voice. “Mommy is here, don’t you cry baby.”

 

With this she … the artificial wombs began to sing.

 

Row, row, row your boat

Gently down the stream.

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,

Life is but a dream.

 

Maria did stop crying, though the slight taste of salt remained. She remembered reading about those functions. Artificial wombs simulating things like walking, talking and signing to the fetus to stimulate the brain activity. Some were even connected to the mothers, mirroring their movements and sounds. Others just used the mother’s voice and even …

 

My voice, Maria realized. I’m hearing my voice singing to me.

 

Except it wasn’t her voice anymore. Even if she returned to her original age, the genetic changes probably would lead her to develop a different voice. Just one of the changes which came by her now genetically being Stan’s and her own daughter … Laura. A new person, just as Luna had said Dylan and she had become.

 

The thought made her tremble. She felt a cold even the warmth of the womb couldn’t protect her from.

 

Row, row, row your boat

Gently down the stream.

…

 

How long would they remain trapped here? Maria feared she knew the answer. Luna had promised her that the world would be wonderful, magical place for her when she was finally ready to be born. This meant when she had lost her memories. According to Dr. Meyer for Dylan to lose his memories of his life as Stan it would have needed six months. Would it go quicker or slower here, with a fetus’s brain so much more placid and ever changing? Would the robot nurse make sure and let them here even longer than six months? Longer than the nine months any fetus normally spent in the womb?

 

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,

Life is but a dream.

 

Maybe even one year! Their old lives would not even be dreams by this point. They would be blank slates. Newborns, truly new to the world, looking at everything with innocent wonder, not even beginning to be capable of understanding what they had lost … what had been robbed from them.

 

Row, row, row your boat

Gently down the stream.

…

 

Maria tried to hold on to hope that someone would find out what had happened to them, but her experience told her the foolishness of it. The robot nurses would scrub the data, fix the dates and do everything to take care of them. To protect them in their own twisted view. She wanted to hate them, but felt too tired to do so. Next to her, but such an unbreachable distance away, Stan and Emily seemed to be asleep already, floating peacefully in their own artificial wombs.

 

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,

Life is but a dream.

 

Did their artificial wombs sing and speak to them in her voice, too? At least in Emily’s case Maria hoped so, hoped this way a little bit of herself would stay with her daughter. As she fell asleep, she dared to have another hope: That they stayed together in their new lives.

 

It wasn’t the life she and Stan had hoped to lead with their daughter, but if they stayed together even as siblings, then maybe … The fetus fell asleep, not even finishing this big thought.

 

Row, row, row your boat

Gently down the stream.

…

 

With loving care, the artificial womb, registered the signs of Laura’s beginning sleep. She lowered the translucence from inside the womb to a natural level, enveloping the fetus in protective darkness and softly hummed the last lines to ease her new daughter’s voyage into dreamland.

 

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,

Life is but a dream.

 

The end

 

---