Nano Nana

Short Story

Five years ago, everything changed for Meela. It was a sign of the times the article had said, a turn-of-the-century breakthrough. The dawning of the 22nd century had brought with it one of the most interesting and mind-blowing discoveries yet to be made. And Meela was ecstatic.

When she had her first child, she worried that she wouldn’t be a good mother, but with the advent of the Nano Nana, parenthood became an enjoyable experience. Being a mother was easy and she was proud to have acquired quite the collection. Now, expecting her thirtieth child, six more than any of her friends, Meela actually found herself excited to have another baby, under the care of the Nano Nana of course. Her husband, Jalon, had helped develop the Nana and his annual bonuses were more than enough to support her child-collection. Her best friend and most fierce competitor, Channa, tried to keep up, but her husband was out of work and couldn’t afford any more Nanas, which meant no more children. Channa had to stop at twenty four.

Meela sat in the birthing room and waited as the robo-surrogate’s fetal incubation compartment opened up and expelled a healthy baby boy. Meela clapped her hands; her twelfth son!

The doctor examined the baby, swaddled him and handed him to Meela. “He’s a good-looking boy. I’ll get him implanted with the Nano Nana right away and then you can take him home.”

Meela held her son and smiled. Raising children was no challenge these days. Why would anyone do it the old-fashioned way? “Wonderful. Thank you, doctor.”

“Do you have a name picked out?”

She did. “Yes, his name is Jalon 12, J-12 for short.”

“All right, fine, I’ll get his Nana programmed with his name.” The doctor took the baby and disappeared.

Meela paced. She remembered her first baby and how she was afraid the Nano Nana implants wouldn’t work, but they did. According to her husband, Jalon the first, once the nano-chip was implanted into the baby’s brain, the grandmotherly instincts began. Nano Nana would calm the child when it was upset, detecting the neural changes in the baby’s brain. As Jalon explained it, the Nanas were programmed to do everything a grandmother would do, entertain, teach and even lull the child to sleep at night, on a neural level. It truly was the best invention for a busy mother.

When the doctor came back, Meela took J-12 and held him close. There was a tiny red dot on his forehead where the implant was inserted, but otherwise, he was perfect. She signed the discharge papers and took the high-speed pneumatic tube rather than the air-taxi since it was rush hour and she was anxious to get back home. The airspace was getting more and more crowded lately due to the increase in children, but still, nobody had such a large brood as she did.

She opened the front door and saw her twenty-nine children sitting in a circle on the floor, staring into space. Meela announced, “Mama’s home.”

The children blinked and said in unison, “Hello, mama.”

“Hello, children. You have another brother, J-12.” Meela showed the baby to her children.

“He’s cute, mama,” they said together, then immediately returned to staring into space.

Meela carefully put J-12 in the center of the circle of children and went into the kitchen where Mrs. Grayson, the housekeeper, was preparing lunch.

Mrs. Grayson turned. “Oh, you’re back. Boy or girl this time?”

“Boy. J-12. I might have to increase your pay by 5% with the new baby here. You’ll be the highest paid housekeeper around! You’re a lifesaver, Mrs. Grayson.” Meela sat down at the table. “I’m going to spend the day at the country club so I can brag about little J-12. My friend Channa is going to be green with envy. Absolutely green.”

Mrs. Grayson nodded. “Yes, she will. I’ll have the children fed and dressed for bed by the time you get home.”

“Thank you. Well, I’m off.” Meela slipped out the back door and caught the next pneumatic tube to the club.

When she arrived, her friends were already having lunch. She joined them and immediately announced the arrival of J-12. As she expected, Channa pouted and moped for the entire afternoon. Meela had beaten all of the ladies, no one had as wonderful a collection.

Just as she was about to leave, the club manager approached with a tall, well-dressed woman. “Good afternoon, ladies, this is Mrs. Tanal, she’s a new member and very well situated in the community.”

Meela looked her over. Pretty and young, probably didn’t even have a collection yet. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Tanal.”

Mrs. Tanal extended her hand. “Nice to meet you, too. I’ve heard about you. Twenty-nine young ones. That’s quite an accomplishment.”

Meela beamed and shook her hand. “Yes, it is, but it’s thirty now. My husband is one of the developers of the Nano Nana.”

“So that’s how you can afford such a large family.” Mrs. Tanal sat down gracefully. “But haven’t you heard?”

“Heard what?” Meela leaned forward. “Heard what?” Could there be someone out there with a bigger collection?

“This year, it’s all about down-sizing. The new popular collections are servant-robots. All of the wealthy are collecting them. Small families with large servant populations.” Mrs. Tanal smiled. “Multiple children are out.”

“What!” Meela felt ill. “No, no, this isn’t right. You’re wrong, misinformed. Child-collecting has been going on for years and I’m at the top. It wouldn’t stop just like that.”

Mrs. Tanal shrugged. “It’s a trend that’s run its course. People are sick of the crowds. Trust me, I know what I’m talking about.”

“You do? How?” Meela took a gulp of water.

“My husband heads the servant-robot sales group. And I’m not only his wife, but the owner of Serve You More Robotics. We have an excellent marketing team as well. My company is very influential in the community. Oh, and I probably should mention that my inside information says the Nano Nanas will go off-line soon.”

“Off-line! Off-line! What does that mean?” Meela’s blood was pounding in her ears.

“Deactivated. Sales are already dropping, the company’s going bankrupt. Nobody wants a large family anymore. You’ll have to raise your brood on your own, without your expensive housekeeper and husband’s fat salary. Thirty children, all demanding your constant attention. When will you find the time to relax? I have an idea. Perhaps you can start collecting servant-robots now. If you can afford them.” Mrs. Tanal smiled.

And Meela fainted.

The End