"It's a Pre." The nurse's
voice was full of finality. "Ten toes."
"It can't be." The mother
gasped. She looked from the nurse to the doctor. "I'm a Trans.
Brian is a Trans. The chances are..."
"Occasionally two fully-Trans
parents will produce a Pre," the doctor said. "I'm sorry."
He took the child and handed it to me. "The social worker will
take over now."
"But what will happen to it?"
The father reached, but I was too quick.
"Next time," the doctor said,
as I fled the room and headed to Disposal.
As soon as I passed the last set of
cameras, I veered left. "Hurry," someone urged.
I didn't need reminding.
"The red door," I whispered
to the child. "We just have to get through the red door."
And we did.
I pressed the child into the arms of
Lawrence. My job was done.
The Evolution from Pre to Transhuman
was slow. The two outside toes on each foot shortened, then stopped
growing altogether. Wisdom teeth disappeared. Brains were re-wired,
literally. People developed the ability to disassemble their bodies,
digitizing themselves and traveling across the internet. Transhumans
developed the ability to clone themselves; to carry a thousand years
of information inside their heads; to repair the parts that had worn
down.
Eventually, the differences between the
Pres and the Trans became too great.
"Do you blame God?" Lawrence
asked, pulling back the blanket to peer at the child. "Do you
blame nature?"
I shook my head. "I blame
humanity."
Lawrence nodded. "Dee will take it
from here." He handed the child to his daughter and signed off
on the paperwork that would guarantee the safety of the child.
"Thank you." I sank into a
chair and removed the sandals I'd worn for the eighteen hours I'd
waited in the delivery room.
Just before he broke apart and
dissolved into bits, Lawrence looked at my feet. "Freak,"
he said.
I laughed and began rubbing my aching
toes.
All ten of them.
This was written for this week's
Trifecta Writing Challenge. The word was freak and was based on some predictions about human evolution.
Kelly Garriott Waite on Google+
Labels: fiction Trifecta Writing Challenge