MOAB

Chapter 54: Melpomene @ 107x nhs

Chapter 54: Melpomene @ 107x nhs

Melpomene walked down the lab corridor. She inspected the wombs and checked the readouts. Everything was nominal.

The door opened, and a young man came in, wearing a decontaminated suit.

“Whoo, these are not comfy,” he exclaimed. “How do people work in them all day?”

“Hermes, you understand it is necessary. I have been decontaminated thoroughly, but it wouldn’t be pleasant on a human.”

“Yeah, yeah. Show me around. Where are the babies?” He looked around the lab. “Eww. Okay, that’s explicit. I didn’t expect that. What am I even looking at here?”

“The Extracorporeal System for Physiologic Foetal Support.”

“Artificial wombs.”

“Artificial wombs,” Melpomene agreed. “The baby is kept in this transparent Closed Biobag system. It is linked through an Umbilical Artery and Vein to the vascular interface and the oxygenator circuit.”

“Mother’s heart and lungs. Right, these things. I remember those, they cost a fortune.”

“Frankly, Maker, everything in here costs a fortune.”

Hermes shrugged. “Good point. Wait, why is it breathing?”

“Because it’s alive, Maker.”

Hermes stopped for a moment. “Right. You know, last time I saw these proofs of concepts, they had a baby lamb growing inside of them.”

“The process is the same,” Melpomene nodded.

“Which one is Gregoris’ son?” Hermes asked.

Melpomene walked a couple of steps and presented the baby in the artificial womb. Just like the others, it looked like a weird piece of raw meat in a transparent bag. It breathed.

“Does he have a name?”

“That honour falls to you, Maker.”

“Hm… Dolios would be nice.”

“Agreed.” Melpomene tapped her tablet and inputted the baby’s name. “And how would you like to name this entire project?”

Hermes rubbed his chin. It barely had any stubble on it, even though he was twenty-six years old. “You know, Baxter and Pratchett came up with the concept of the Next, evolved humans that spoke in quicktalk. This the first of a new line of demigods, so let’s go with that term. The Next.”

“An excellent choice, my Maker.”