access to this facility.”
She watched the eggs in their dishes and the drops of sorted semen that had been added to them. The increased magnification allowed her to see the moment of conception in all its cellular glory.
She smiled as they stared and one cell after another sparked with the start of its own development.
“Nice. Ten little girls with charcoal skin. That is going to be fun.”
“The precise outcome of these little citizens is unknown. This is the prime test to determine the known outcome of the combination of your genetics and Familiar Helbri’s.” The medic was helpful, and there was an excitement to his tone.
The completed combinations were sitting under the monitor, and when the first cellular split happened, the medic whisked the subject out of the field and into a storage device.
“What happens to them now?”
The medic nodded as he put another disk into the case. “They are going to be observed until they reach a hundred cellular splits, and then, we will place them in a tube. From there, nutrients will be given and scans will be taken to make sure that the little ones grow strong and healthy.”
Cleo felt a strangely anxious feeling as the medic put the last of the eggs in the case and walked into the next lab.
She and Helbri followed the medic and he removed the eggs from the transport case and he set them carefully into a wide rack. Each station had a lens over it that displayed the activities in the dishes.
“I thought it was supposed to take half a day before the first split of cells.”
The medic grinned. “We accelerate the first days of development to ensure that we have a viable embryo before we place it in for undisturbed growth.”
She nodded. “Right, well, keep me posted. I would like to be here when they go into the tubes.”
Helbri rubbed her back again. “Would you care to see the different developmental levels?”
She smiled. “Please. I would love to see the rest of the facility.”
They went through the levels of development for the Lrrko population. The tiny citizens were floating under soft light, and an artificial heartbeat was thrumming in the walls around them.
She touched the tubes and hummed lightly to the six-month-old developers. A few kicked out a little at her contact, and she hummed again and again until she had made the rounds.
The medic giving them a tour was excited. “There is to be a decanting in a few minutes. It would be an honour if you would be there with the Elders.”
Helbri tensed, and if he was excited, Cleo needed to see this.
“I would enjoy that. Please, lead the way.”
They went up another level, and the Elders were gathered in a large room where a series of tubes were on a gurney with a power supply. Lynni smiled and waved.
To Cleo’s surprise, the babies weren’t identical. A few had dark hair, some had light but most kept to the grey-cast skin shades, though none as dark as Helbri.
The technicians extracted the first of the little boys by the expedient means of putting his tube on a drain table, unplugging it and removing the bottom, lifting it away from the infant.
Everything went smoothly. The medics suctioned the mouth and nose, waited until the pulsing umbilical had ceased its work and they tied off the cord.
Lynni stepped forward and lifted the little squirming fellow. “Hello, citizen.”
The Elders each greeted the new baby, and when it was Cleo’s turn to hold him, she grinned and tapped his nose. “Boop!”
The blink of surprise in the dark eyes showed intelligence that she hadn’t anticipated in an infant.
With a grin, Helbri took the baby and chuckled as he whispered, “Welcome, brother.”
The medics wrapped the baby in cloth and whisked him out of the room. The same ritual was enacted with the other babies, right down to Cleo’s boop.
After the ceremony, Helbri took Cleo over the city and into the Bride facility. If she thought security was tight at the Elders’ building, it was nothing to
She watched the eggs in their dishes and the drops of sorted semen that had been added to them. The increased magnification allowed her to see the moment of conception in all its cellular glory.
She smiled as they stared and one cell after another sparked with the start of its own development.
“Nice. Ten little girls with charcoal skin. That is going to be fun.”
“The precise outcome of these little citizens is unknown. This is the prime test to determine the known outcome of the combination of your genetics and Familiar Helbri’s.” The medic was helpful, and there was an excitement to his tone.
The completed combinations were sitting under the monitor, and when the first cellular split happened, the medic whisked the subject out of the field and into a storage device.
“What happens to them now?”
The medic nodded as he put another disk into the case. “They are going to be observed until they reach a hundred cellular splits, and then, we will place them in a tube. From there, nutrients will be given and scans will be taken to make sure that the little ones grow strong and healthy.”
Cleo felt a strangely anxious feeling as the medic put the last of the eggs in the case and walked into the next lab.
She and Helbri followed the medic and he removed the eggs from the transport case and he set them carefully into a wide rack. Each station had a lens over it that displayed the activities in the dishes.
“I thought it was supposed to take half a day before the first split of cells.”
The medic grinned. “We accelerate the first days of development to ensure that we have a viable embryo before we place it in for undisturbed growth.”
She nodded. “Right, well, keep me posted. I would like to be here when they go into the tubes.”
Helbri rubbed her back again. “Would you care to see the different developmental levels?”
She smiled. “Please. I would love to see the rest of the facility.”
They went through the levels of development for the Lrrko population. The tiny citizens were floating under soft light, and an artificial heartbeat was thrumming in the walls around them.
She touched the tubes and hummed lightly to the six-month-old developers. A few kicked out a little at her contact, and she hummed again and again until she had made the rounds.
The medic giving them a tour was excited. “There is to be a decanting in a few minutes. It would be an honour if you would be there with the Elders.”
Helbri tensed, and if he was excited, Cleo needed to see this.
“I would enjoy that. Please, lead the way.”
They went up another level, and the Elders were gathered in a large room where a series of tubes were on a gurney with a power supply. Lynni smiled and waved.
To Cleo’s surprise, the babies weren’t identical. A few had dark hair, some had light but most kept to the grey-cast skin shades, though none as dark as Helbri.
The technicians extracted the first of the little boys by the expedient means of putting his tube on a drain table, unplugging it and removing the bottom, lifting it away from the infant.
Everything went smoothly. The medics suctioned the mouth and nose, waited until the pulsing umbilical had ceased its work and they tied off the cord.
Lynni stepped forward and lifted the little squirming fellow. “Hello, citizen.”
The Elders each greeted the new baby, and when it was Cleo’s turn to hold him, she grinned and tapped his nose. “Boop!”
The blink of surprise in the dark eyes showed intelligence that she hadn’t anticipated in an infant.
With a grin, Helbri took the baby and chuckled as he whispered, “Welcome, brother.”
The medics wrapped the baby in cloth and whisked him out of the room. The same ritual was enacted with the other babies, right down to Cleo’s boop.
After the ceremony, Helbri took Cleo over the city and into the Bride facility. If she thought security was tight at the Elders’ building, it was nothing to
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