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Chapter 8

Rain carried her bag in front of her, both arms folded across it, as if the tablet and other odd assorted items inside were of extreme importance. That wasn’t the case at all. She was completely lost in her thoughts as she made her way to IW, trying to concentrate on what she’d learned in the lab that day, not on what she was about to do.

They had done rounds, as she’d hoped, and they’d actually gone into the incubation room, or Nourishment Unit, as it was officially named. They’d watched the medical team work to bring the babies to thriving states and had been shown some that were likely not going to meet the criteria needed to continue to stay in the unit for much longer. Mother Swan had explained that once their levels reached below red level and stayed there for more than two hours, the technicians in the medical unit would “call” them, give them the cursed label, “failure to thrive,” and they’d have to walk them to the Bridge. One of Rain’s classmates asked if they’d be allowed to see the Bridge that day, and Mother Swan had said they were not ready for that yet. Rain was glad. She hoped she’d never see it.

While part of the day had been fascinating, learning how the incubators worked and getting to try her hand at keeping a pretend fetus alive, the entire situation had left her feeling unsettled, particularly after Cloud had asked how she’d feel taking a baby she’d worked so hard to grow to the Bridge. She hadn’t seen much emotion in the face of the techs who were losing their fetuses. In fact, when one of the students had asked how they felt about it, the women had shrugged and said, “It happens. Some fetuses are just better prepared for life than others. We can’t possibly allow them all to live, now can we?” The other students, for the most part, had seemed to think that was a fair answer, but for Rain, it had begged the question, “Why not?”

She had not asked it aloud, though. But she saw the same question in Cloud’s eyes. It was Rain’s understanding that, a long time ago, when Mothers used to carry their children in their womb, it was impossible to tell what child may thrive and which may be sickly and weak. Once a baby was born, it wasn’t discarded or taken to a place like the Bridge, no matter its state. Rather, the mother always tried to nourish the child after it was born, praying it became healthy if it were born sickly or deformed. The Motherhood dismissed these actions as a waste of time and energy now, but Rain couldn’t help but wonder why it was this practice had been discarded. Something about deciding who was worthy of life and who was not just seemed… wrong.

Rain reached IW about the same time as a few other girls who were walking together in a pack from another direction. They were laughing and carrying on, much like the girls she and Cloud had seen the day before. Rain smiled at them to be friendly, but she didn’t feel the same way that they did about IW. This was a task she was assigned, something else she had to complete, and when it was over, she would be happy to have a few days off so she wouldn’t have to think about it again. It was clear by the other girls’ attitudes that some women actually enjoyed it, but Rain didn’t understand that at all. If she could get out of ever visiting IW again, she’d do so. It seemed a little ridiculous to her that women were required to practice so many days a week leading up to their attempts at Motherhood. There wasn’t anything difficult or grueling about the act itself. It wasn’t something that seemed to require practice to her. But who was she to question the Motherhood? Until recently, it wouldn’t have occurred to her to do so. Now… she seemed to be questioning everything.

This was one task she had done mindlessly in the past that she thought she could walk through with her thoughts elsewhere easily enough. She went into one of the changing rooms and slipped off her uniform shirt, leaving her bra on, which was optional. She had heard some women liked to take it off so they could touch their breasts during their session, but she’d never done that before and didn’t see the point. She muttered to herself, “Maybe that’s what I’m missing,” but it didn’t change her mind about leaving her bra on today. She slid the short black gown on overtop, slipped out of her sneakers, and discarded her khakis and underwear, deciding to leave her socks on. Sometimes it was cold in IW.

Gathering up all of her clothes, she stuffed them inside of her bag and brought them with her, only leaving her shoes behind in her locker. She knew she could leave all of her belongings there, but it just seemed like a good idea to carry her clothes with her, so she often did. The reason behind her precaution eluded her, but she did it just the same.

Dressed in her short black gown and little else, she walked back through the changing room, hearing a few giggles from the others, but not as loudly as before. She imagined some of them were in a hurry to get on with their sessions.

As she walked down the hallway, she passed a few Military Mothers. Rain didn’t look them in the eyes. The Military Mothers were usually cold, the only emotion they seemed to know disdain--or maybe even anger. The one nearest her caught her eye, though. She seemed to be staring at Rain for some reason. Rain had no idea why. As far as she could remember, she’d never seen the woman before. She looked to be high-ranking, someone important. Rain blew out her breath slowly and pulled her eyes away, catching the name on the women’s uniform. Mother White.

Trying to shake the idea that the Mother had been staring at her, Rain stepped up to the selection board. Choosing wasn’t usually that difficult. She had a few that she liked and a few she knew never to try again. With this many girls coming to IW at once, she was afraid she might get stuck with a number she hadn’t tried before, but when she saw 24C was available, Rain went with him, pressing the number before even giving it a second thought. It wasn’t as if 24C would be able to see her and know it was the same woman coming back again and again. Besides, he was probably just thankful he’d been chosen. From her understanding, that’s what the men of IW lived for--to have their numbers selected so they could spend a few minutes with a woman. Who knows what they did after that, but she imagined this must be the highlight of their day.

She gave 24C a few moments to get locked into his seat and then went and stood outside of the door. The light was still flashing red, meaning she couldn’t enter. He was taking his time today…. Eventually, it went to green, and Rain entered, sticking her bag on a shelf toward the back of the room before she approached her spot on the floor where she was to wait. The lights went down almost completely, and then an opening in the wall appeared, and 24C’s chair was rocketed out to meet her.

His face was completely covered with the black, knit mask they called a shadow sock, his hands strapped to the seat, and his ankles corded so that his movements could only be the subtle thrusts and arches required for Rain to complete her practice. With a sigh, she hiked up her dress and mounted him, eager to get her insemination practice over with.

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