Chapter 12: More "Discussions"

An attempt at subtlety by the visitors failed when they delicately asked about the ‘communication’ between the team members just prior to the team going to sleep. Bronwen took it upon herself to explain in unequivocal terms, “Oh, we were both nervous, so we indulged in sex to calm us down.”

“What means ‘indulge’, who can grant indulgences?” asked Hln.

A rather irate Huw butted in with, “I told you many words have changed their meanings since the fourteenth century in more or less subtle ways, nobody has granted indulgences in that sense for many hundreds of years, still less sold them. So we came to a mutual decision to have sex for pleasure and to calm us.”

Bronwen then changed the subject slightly, “How do your humans reproduce, if at all?” she asked.

“Of course they reproduce. The female donates an egg and the male donates sperm. The resulting embryo is brought to maturity in a womb, of course. Do you not have such things? With many people you must have need of many such items,” was the perplexed and perplexing response.”

“Tell me again,” she asked, “how is the embryo brought to maturity?”

“In a womb, of course.”

Huw took over again and explained, “We use the womb inside the female and in the vast majority of cases the sperm and egg meet also inside her.”

“Does that mean Bronwen will be pregnant now?” Hln wondered, “In a womb miniaturised so that it can be fitted inside her?”

Bronwen answered “No. I am on the pill. An oral contraceptive that is,” then she blushed remembering that all this was being recorded, “But if I were pregnant it would be in my own womb, not a ‘miniaturised artificial device fitted inside me’ as you put it.”

“So how do you prevent defective offspring?” demanded HLN., “assuming you cannot examine the foetus regularly.”

“We can and do examine the foetus regularly by ultrasound imaging, and occasionally abort one for major defects, but otherwise we basically don’t,” offered Huw.,

“But do you not have a high proportion of defectives in some way or another? Poor sensory skills or poor cognition?”

Huw’s reply was “Yes, maybe ten per cent of births are in some measurable way less than optimum.”

“And how are these segregated for elimination?” was the next question.

“They aren’t,” said Bronwen, “in most cases the woman takes what nature gives her.”

“How then, do you decide what is an animal and what is a human being?” asked Hln.

“We think and can communicate, animals mostly can’t.” was her instant reply.

Huw changed the subject at this point by asking, “Just what do you need from us?” but he noted the last series of questions from Hln would not have been out of place in a twenty-first century discussion about selective abortion. So much for the language problem, he thought.

Hln then listed the visitors’ requests, though they sounded much more like demands:

“Fifty or more live females, to be transported in frozen hibernation;

“Hundreds of human ova, also frozen;

“Thousands of samples of human semen from different males, also frozen;

“Many ova and much semen from a variety of animals used as feed by humans.”

“One question,” Huw asked, “Since you think we are no more than talking animals, what possible use do you have for our females. If they are so inferior to yours. unless, of course they are to be eaten, and speaking of eating, I need my breakfast.”

Hln interposed at this point, “How do you take your nutrients?”

Bronwen said, “Orally, three or four times a day, and we digest them through what is known as the digestive system, the stomach, bowels and so forth. How do your owners take theirs?”

Hln responded, “In nutrient capsules, also three or four times a day.”

Bronwen thought, How boring, but she did not criticise the future arrangement.