Be Prepared
Copyright© 2025 by Han Jansz. van Meegeren
Chapter 14
“I know who would be the best next member of the team”, Jenny said.
“We had planned on a midwife, didn’t we?” Joyce confirmed who we were looking for next.
“Yes. We women are supposed to bring as many offspring into the world as we can, simply to ensure that enough people continue to exist to guarantee the existence of humanity. The claim is that childbirth is simplified there, with our bodies naturally adjusting for easier delivery. I’d rather have a seasoned midwife present, someone to aid us in safely delivering our children into this world, no matter what it holds. So, is there a midwife you had in mind?” I asked Jenny.
“I propose to remove the midwife from the list and replace her with a lab technician, slash research assistant.”
“Kindly tell me why we would want such a person?” I asked, perhaps sharper than I had intended.
“I have been watching Drew for weeks now. And I admire his work attitude. He not only works hard, he is patient with me if I need to take notes and haven’t got a clue what he is talking about. But he does all the work himself. If you think of a dentist, he could do all the work by himself, but every dentist has an assistant. She knows what he will need next; she can help him with simple things like keeping the patient’s tongue out of the way; and anticipates the exact components he will need for this filling. Of all these things the dentist could do, he knows what he has to do, but it would take way longer and less efficient with an assistant at his side. Drew is doing so many things I couldn’t do for him because I simply do not know where to start, but an experienced lab assistant would be a real contribution to the team.”
“What about the midwife?” Joyce asked.
Isis looked at Jenny. Jenny nodded. “Who would benefit more from having a midwife on the team, we or Drew?”
“I think Drew would benefit if we all stayed alive.” I murmured.
“Is, or is it not, the mission of this group of concubines to facilitate Drew as well as we can?” Jenny asked me directly.
“You know very well it is.” I said.
“In that case, I might have a candidate in mind for the lab assistant function.”
Isis intervened. “Hold that thought, Jenny; we are going a bit too fast. We all need to agree on important subjects like this. I understand why you think we might need a woman to help us with childbirth, Sharon. I really do. For any woman, this could be a life-threatening moment. Who is, besides Joyce obviously, a mother?”
“I think I’m the only one.” Joyce said.
“No, you’re not. You cannot survive in my line of business without being pregnant once. And after one abortion — a terrible experience — I wanted to keep this one. A baby girl. I called her Leila. She was born two weeks early and didn’t make it, unfortunately.” We all looked shocked. “I know about giving birth, trust me. And I don’t blame anyone for being scared, especially if you don’t know what is going to happen, and how you will react to that. But it’s nature. We are capable of bringing forth the next generation. We have tens of thousands of years of experience in this. And if that AI technology can help us get straight teeth and lose a couple of pounds, make my tits look normal again, why don’t we trust it to help us bear children?”
All of us were looking at Isis as if she had suddenly become Medusa.
“Really?” Jenny piped. “You want smaller tits?” We all laughed.
“So you are saying I wanted the midwife just because I am scared?” I asked Isis.
“Don’t think you have no right to be scared; on the contrary, you have every right. It shows you think not only about the here and now like a teenager, but about the future as a woman.
“So who is this lab assistant of yours, Jenny?” I asked.
“Aislinn Blair. Of all the lab assistants, Aislinn is the only one Drew tolerates. She is highly focussed when working, almost obsessive about precision. That’s important in Drew’s work. Also, she becomes very stubborn if she believes that is the right way to investigate further. It sometimes drives Drew crazy, but it’s good for him to have someone around who is always convinced she’s right. Although she is frequently mistaken, Drew benefits from her input when he’s thinking.
“Is she ... like Drew?” Isis asked Jenny. Translation: Is she autistic?
“No, but she is different. She flaunts all the time with her clothes under her lab coat. Sometimes she doesn’t even wear a lab coat if she doesn’t have to. She’s really into goth fashion, which suits her well. Have I told you all that she’s beautiful, tattoos and all?
TMI. Time to get down to business. Drew would be home soon. “Do you know her CAP score? It sounds like she has enough to be a sponsor herself?”
Jenny shook, “Her CAP score is somewhere in the 3-point range. She is a staunch pacifist, and it won’t be easy to convince her to leave Earth and travel to the colonies. Maybe if she’s allowed to bring ten suitcases of clothes, she’ll want to go, but even then I doubt it. Still, it’s worth a try. She’s the ideal candidate; in fact, she’s the only one qualified to help Drew.”
“Everyone in favour of inviting her here, raise your hand.” Joyce put an end to our discussion. Just in time, by the way, as I heard Drew come in. We all raised our hands. Another democratic decision.