A One Way Ticket on the Neo Kosmo

Chapter 12: Hope of a Future (Part 2)

Rhea began to hyperventilate. If the pattern held then she only had two weeks before the worst would happen. Should she have waited? Should they all have waited?

No. She was assuming there was a problem, which was still unproven. With a few deep breaths to calm herself, she sent a text message to Rahmi summarising the situation and then slugged through the end of the day, trying to stop herself from fixating on the questions raised.

Rahmi was waiting when she made it home and he immediately grabbed her in a strong embrace, holding her close while she fought to keep her breathing under control. When she had calmed, he tilted her head back and kissed her. "It's going to be fine. Everything will be fine. This is a good thing!"

"What if there is a problem? Not just for me, but for the colony?"

Rahmi thought for a moment, then touched a hand to her stomach. "If there is, you'll find it and fix it. You always do." He kissed her again. "Maybe you just have to prove it can happen? If anyone can bring a baby to term, it's you."

She half chuckled, but smiled nonetheless and rested her head in the crook of his warm neck. "I think I need to speak to Mayor Beatriz."

Rahmi nodded, still holding her. "Do you want to call her now?"

Rhea nodded and reached for her datapad. Mayor Beatriz asked her to come by the office as soon as possible in the morning, and she had to re-shuffle some appointments – thankfully all general practice.

The mayor's office was located in the Town Hall and demonstrated an eclectic mix of architectural styles. The white columns at the entrance led to a glass and steel lobby, from which Rhea was directed through a series of capped arches and brick corridors before she ended up outside a solid wooden door that was tagged with 'G. Beatriz, Mayor of Armstrong.' The door was slightly ajar, and Rhea poked her head inside to see the Mayor speaking to a young man.

Without pausing her sentence Gabriella motioned for Rhea to enter. "So it looks like we'll soon need to put some resources into expanding the size of the wind farm, to take us through the winter?" The man in front of the Mayor agreed, and she thanked and dismissed him. "Good work, Oleksiy. See you soon."

Gabriella then turned her attention to Rhea and listened patiently while the situation was laid out, interrupting only for clarification. When Rhea had finished, Gabriella leaned back and took a long, deep sigh. "That is a disturbing thought. I never want children myself, but we need them. To an extent it doesn't matter if there is a pattern or not – if people even start thinking there is no future for the colony we could have all manner of problems."

"I'd like to investigate."

"Absolutely. What do you need?"

"If you'll allow me to soft-open the new ward, I'd put a bulletin out for reports from people who are trying, or are thinking of trying. We can advise them to get a procedural health check and see if any pattern emerges."

Gabriella nodded. "Good. That controls the messaging as well. Just routine check-ups."

"I'll get right to it," Rhea said and turned to leave.

"Dr. Iwan-Jones," Gabriella called out, "please also get in contact with Tanji Hatanaka – she works out in the satellite towns and has a good ear to the ground outside of Armstrong. Let's not leave them out of it."

Rhea nodded and took her leave. At the hospital she pulled Clarissa aside and summarised the situation. "If you're willing, I'd like you and Suzanne to start trying. I'll give you access to the ward, but I want to see the genetic results. I'll be doing the same for me as soon as things are calibrated."