That faded though when gray pictures flashed on the screen. Anna sighed. “There you are.”
“Beautiful.” Sterling tapped on the screen. “Hold it there.”
Her baby kicked on the screen, nameless but active. She rubbed her front.I’ll name you once you get here.
As if Atlas could read her thoughts, he asked, “Still no name?”
“. . . No.”
“Why not?”
Anna bit her lip and looked away.
Atlas, in a moment that didn’t seem entirely professional, wrapped his hand around hers. He pulled quickly back. “It might help if you had something to call her. Even if it isn’t her name later.”
“Well . . .” Her mouth went dry at his touch. “I call her my baby girl. Because that’s what she is.”
Atlas put the wand back on her stomach. “Well, yes. She is a baby girl.”
The little heartbeat pounded over the monitor, and Anna’s eyes were riveted by the tiny moving image. It was strange, seeing her kick in real time while feeling it.
“This baby girl is healthy.” Atlas slowly removed the wand and then pushed on a different angle. He smiled. “Very healthy. She’ll be the first baby born on Mars in a long, long time.”
“Atlas.” Sterling worked the monitor. “Can you get an angle of the placenta?”
The pictures zoomed in and out of focus, almost faster than Anna could process.The first baby born in a long time.“Can you tell me more about the humans at the colony? I saw all the baby pictures.”
“They were all born here.” Atlas said.
“Yes, but . . .” Anna shifted on the chair. “Are we really that different from them?”
“Not in genetics, but you’ve met them now.” Atlas gave a low chuckle. “I would say you’re very different, even in the way you talk.”
“Very different. But also very much the same.” Sterling tapped on the screen. “I wish I could help you to trust us. We will take care of you here. Both you and this little baby. I promise you will not have to struggle here like you did on Earth.”
Anna slowly nodded.
Both Sterling and Atlas talked quietly, taking measurements for the next few minutes.
She listened to them talk, and the unease that had been building the entire trip here slowly started to make sense.That’s what has really been bothering me.The thought had begun forming earlier, when Stella talked about the humans that lived on Mars already, then it crystallized when she met the humans in their quarters. And it became more clear upon seeing that little crib in the glass room.
They were treating humanity like one of the animals they helped.
Like the ducks. Like pets.
Anna’s eyes narrowed.I know what it feels like to be kept. I didn’t come here after Paul to just be kept again. Nora won’t take it, and I won’t either.
A vague sense of determination came over her as she watched her baby kick. Her fingers clenched in her lap, eyes glued to the moving screen.She’s in there. My baby girl.Anna clenched her fist.I’ll figure it out. I’m not helpless.
She would not be a pet to these androids. She would not let them decide everything for her future. And that included whether neurochips went into her body all the way to what she ate.
She glanced at Atlas, who stared at the ultrasound.Atlas isn’t dangerous. Last night he even told me he didn’t agree with any monitoring plans.
Anna preferred this look in his eyes as he read her scans, interested and gentle. He told her the truth last night, after all. She breathed faster, studying him.He’s so kind.That was its own kind of problem, but it was something she needed to think about later.
At any rate, she preferred the way he looked at her more than the expression Sterling had. That almost pitying expression made her cringe. She balled her hands into fists. That same sad expression was on most of the faces at dinner last night. She gritted her teeth.I don’t want their pity help. I don’t want to be kept.
Anna's heart rate spiked on the monitor and she took a steadying breath.Calm down. It’s okay. It’s gonna be hard work, but that is nothing scary. I’m smart. I can figure it out.She focused in again on the baby kicking on the monitor.I ran that whole damn bakery pretty much by myself.
