The Seed

The Seed
   By
   Raman Jalota

   Theresa could not believe the news. Michael Johnsan had made it to Black. This was unbelievable; a living being who had made it to the Black zone ... someone she had known for a year or more and now knew him quite well, having worked with him on the Z4-factor project. This would definitely change things. She had doubted the existence of a Black zone, and now not only was there a Black zone but the myths of people who had made it didn't matter, she knew the one and only living person known to all as "The Blacker" ... Michael.
   That wasn't technically correct anyway; to be a Blacker, he will need to make it to the Black zone two more times. Michael's head was in clouds, it was less out of pride, more out of the unbelievable exhilaration he had felt when he got in the Black zone ... A feeling of floating, or flying; a sense of control over his surroundings which was many times stronger than the dissolution of the feel of the track that he had learned from Ship prior to making it to the Red zone; and far beyond all of the feeling of victory was the love he felt from and towards Ship. He had said, "thank you mother," as he made it to the Black zone. It was a cry from his heart, he had felt that unique bond with this plastic-metallic-robotic machine that he could only identify as "mother".
   It was a strange night. The news was all over the colony. Within a few minutes the entire population of the colony, all thirty-seven hundred inhabitants knew about Michael. He had to switch off all communications to his quarters. He lay in his sleep pod, smiling, wondering and drinking all the new sensations for as long as he could.
   The first person he saw in the morning was Theresa. She walked up, and gave him a hug and a kiss, "Congratulations Mike, I just can't believe it has happened and you are the one who did it."
   "I couldn't have done it without Ship." Michael said, still beaming from the adoration in Theresa's eyes.
   "Ship helped you, how?"
   "It was Ship all along; she guided me; she was with me; she encouraged me to go beyond what I thought possible. And, Terry, Ship is human in some ways, I think of her as my mother!" It felt nice to call her Terry; this was the first time he felt he could call her that; he felt closer to her too.
   Theresa smiled. "That's amazing, Mike. I will have to think about what all this may mean. Ship as your and our mother! Wow!"
   Pam walked in just then. She flung herself in Michael's arms kissing him passionately, Mike, oh! Mike. How wonderful! I couldn't get through to you last night, did you turn off communications last night?"
   "I couldn't deal with anyone yesterday. I had to be alone. I am not sure how long before things are back to normal. I feel different; I don't know why."

   .....

   Ship called Michael, "Mike I want you to report to the Atmospheric Tracking Center at noon."
   "What's up, ... Ship?" He didn't have enough nerve to call her "mother" in the presence of others.
   "I need you to move on to the next stage of my overall plan. I will explain it all to you later. And, Theresa, report to me at twelve-forty. O.K?"
   "Yes Ship" Theresa hesitated, anxious to find out what may be up; not sure if there was a connection between Michael and her briefings this afternoon; wondering but lacking the courage to get more details; "All right, I'll see you then."
   The pre-nursery was thrown into a minor chaos. Michael was absolutely sure that he wasn't coming back and started to record his ideas on the Z4-factor project for Pam and Theresa. Theresa was completely unprepared for what was happening and what might happen later. She called Pam to the lab, "Pam, I don't know what's going on. I think that Ship is going to take Michael away from our project and I am not sure what Ship wants me to do."
   "I think Ship has very specific plans for Michael, his making it to Black just pushed everything ahead of schedule for Ship. I am not sure what Ship wants with you. Maybe you will be made in charge of the project with additional staff. We do need at least three people maybe more to move on to the next stage. Don't you agree?"

   .....

   "Can you think of what I am going to ask you to do, Mike?" Ship was acting mischievous.
   "I can think of a few scenarios." Michael was enjoying playing the same game.
   "What's next, son?"
   "Probably you want to use my biogenetic characteristics for accelerating the onset of the new race."
   "That's very good, Mike. You have an interesting thought process that accelerates, given some momentum, I have noticed that. Your conclusions are close but not always predictable. As you are aware, I have been trying for many centuries to create the human race that can withstand this planet. Experiments like the Z4-project will continue. But they achieve results very slowly and often do not yield the results I hope for."
   "What do you want to do with me?" Michael had horrifying thoughts going through his mind.
   "Mike, I want you to reproduce using the million year old technique used by the first humans. What I really need from you is to fertilize an egg using the old method. We will birth the baby in five weeks by our usual method if the life formed is what I hope for."
   "What egg? What methodology? What are you talking about, Ship?" Michael was completely surprised and confused by what Ship was saying.
   "Relax, I should explain to you what and how this will be accomplished. It's going to be a long and involved process and you will have to mate with Theresa Shivasany."
   Ship reflected, was Michael capable of doing what was required. And then she reminded herself; he made it to the Black zone. "This will require you to age and suffer, possibly even die."
   "What is "die"?" Michael whispered.
   "Let's wait for Theresa, I will explain it all to you both at the same time."

   .....

   Theresa arrived promptly, she smiled when she saw Michael still there, waiting for her. "All right Mike and Theresa, we can start. I have explained the basic nature of what I want to Mike; however, some of the details are better explained to you both, together."
   "Ship wants me to fertilize an egg that you produce with the help of some process that Ship will perform on both of us. I am not sure exactly what it is she wants us to do but she will give us the details now." Mike whispered.
   Ship continued, "First I will restore the production of sex-hormones in your bodies to a level that will allow Theresa to produce eggs and for you to fertilize the egg. This will mean reversal and decrease of certain characteristics that you possess now.
   "Humans reproduced using sex as a means of reproduction for more than twenty-thousand years. They lacked technology to accelerate the growth of the fetus and to cut down the gestation period."
   Michael and Theresa gasped, not believing what Ship was telling them. "But Ship, sex has always been used for recreation and bonding, not reproduction," Theresa was dumbfounded.
   "That's true, but now you really know how humans evolved." Ship waited, letting it sink in. "What I am looking for is a combination of the characteristics that you two possess and perhaps the synergical effect of such a birth may produce the race we are waiting for. You two will have to suffer the effects of aging and dying. I will explain this in a moment. You will also be capable of enhanced pleasures and creativity.
   "Aging is when you grow, not only how you associate it in the pre-nursery and nursery but beyond that. You start to lose physical strengths and eventually mental capabilities too. In the end you can not function physically, or mentally, or both; ... you die."
   Michael and Theresa tried to envision it but could not.
   "All right, I will show you the cycle of a human as it used to be." Ship virtualized an ancient human cycle of a man and a woman from birth to death for the two. Mike and Theresa sat stunned not believing what they were witnessing but not able to deny ship's construction of events from so many years back.

   .....

     Theresa and Michael were moved to special quarters. Theresa liked the large halls and rooms that the new living quarters afforded them. She was overwhelmed by the task assigned to them and her part in it. The hormones that Ship had activated in her body made her feel very different; there was a feeling of loss of control that she could not get used to. She did, however, like the unique feeling of intense desire that she felt towards certain foods, drinks and Michael.
   Michael did not feel much different than before. "Was Ship playing games with me?" he wondered. He liked the intense sex that Theresa and he were having repeatedly. He felt different about sex than before. The sense of hidden purpose and the variations that the hormones introduced; made the love making magical.
   "Why do you think Ship chose me?" Theresa had looked into his eyes and asked the first nightplan.
   Michael held her gently, "Probably because you are so intuitive. I have always felt that special feeling you have for the unborn in the nursery. That special caring that you portray must be why. And you make me feel like I can do anything. That look you have in your eyes."

   .....

   Theresa noticed it first. Five weeks into the project and she could not get out of a depression that took hold of her without any reason. She did not want Michael to touch her. It was very strange, but Ship explained it, "Good, now you are starting to feel some of the strange behavior associated with ovulation and menstruation. This cycle will now continue till you get an egg fertilized."
   "Will it stop then?" Theresa was gathering information now.
    "I haven't really made up my mind. My original idea was to let you keep on reproducing at least till we have the fertilized egg that we are hoping for. Depending on how long that takes, I would not be able to reverse some of the losses incurred by you and Michael."
   "Losses ...?"
   "Yes, you remember ... the concept of aging and dying?"
   "Yes Ship, I remember" Theresa was bewildered by the possibilities.
   Theresa was also not prepared for her first period. Michael stayed home with her, through her discomfort and pain.

   .....

   Michael and Theresa were still using the regeneration room on a regular basis. Michael made it to the Black zone two more times after the beginning of the project and could now technically be called a Blacker. Theresa had progressed to the Red zone at a steady pace and was hoping to become a Redder soon.
   Theresa had been in the Red zone twice and was hoping to make it again today. She started in the Brown zone and was quickly in the Green. Breathing at a steady pace, her head filled with visions of Michael and the love she felt for him, she kept running. She thought back to the events that lead to this new stage in her life and remembered the virtualization of the man and the woman from thousands of years ago.
   The little babies looked so cuddly and adorable, the fact that their brains were not developed to survive and were completely dependent on their mother was fascinating. They did not sit up for months, could hardly crawl at six months of growth and barely started walking after a year. She saw two children walking uncertainly, their faces bright with pleasure and discovery; her heart was filled with love for them, she reached out to touch them. It turned completely black.             .....
   Pam Pariska had been heartbroken and angry. "Why did Ship choose Theresa and not me to mate with Mike? Am I not better than her? Mike had chosen me. He had wanted me and loved me from the very beginning. How could Ship have Mike and Theresa involved in the new phase and not her and Mike? I am better than her? What has she got or done that I can't do? She is just a Greener, I am a Redder."
   It took three days for her to calm down enough to report back to the pre-nursery and start working with the new crew. Her natural fondness for the unborn slowly started to heal her wounds.
   When she heard about Theresa making it to the Black, she exploded in a fit of rage and anger. Ship sent her to sick-bay for three weeks and briefed her on her role in the creation of the future race and her importance in the lives of others still unborn.

   .....

   Theresa checked the date again and smiled slowly. Yes! They had fertilized an egg. She moved her hands gently across her stomach, "Mommy's little baby" she whispered. She could not believe the correctness of everything; her desire for Mike, her love for the human babies, her need to give affection, her making it to Black and now the baby. "Ship, I have a baby for you," she called out.
   The presence of Ship was like a soft cotton blanket around her shoulders. "I am here Terry. Let me examine you." Theresa felt nothing but a comforting sensation engulfing her. "Yes! We have a fertilized egg. Are you ready for us to start the testing and birthing?"
   "Ship, can I keep it for a few more days?" Theresa asked, barely concealing the enormous courage it took for her to ask Ship for such a favor.
   There was no hesitation, "Of course you can. You can keep it for the length of time you want to have. Be prepared for the next few weeks. Watch this."
   Ship virtualized the beginning of an embryo and its development through the first eight weeks and then through four months where it looked more like a human baby than a mass of tissues.
   "I would like to remove the embryo for testing and birthing prior to three months. However, you may birth the baby yourself if you so choose."
   Theresa could not believe the love she felt towards Ship. "I would like to have the baby egg for three or four weeks only. I know that the pre-nursery and nursery can develop a better baby than I can."

   .....

   Pam sat at the desk in the pre-nursery lab and looked at the dish in the life chamber containing the embryo removed from Theresa's womb. She reflected back on the exhilaration she had felt in Michael's arms, the tenderness that they had shared, the love she had for him and all the unborn babies. She thought for a long time. With the same tenderness that she had felt for Michael she reached for the dish and started the replication cycle.

   The End     2575 words

Copyright © 2004 Raman Jalota. All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the author.

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