For The Sake Of The Baby

It was by the greatest stroke of luck that Miriam and Stanley's flight had led them to the underground 'TruLife Society'. Their luck had held when the Society agreed to sneak them aboard a moon-bound freighter commanded by Captain Richard Glory, a man with known underground sympathies.

"I've fixed up a cabin for you and your husband, Mrs. Greely," the Captain said. "It's small and most decidedly less comfortable than the accommodations you two are used to, but it's the best I can do," he added, apologetically. "Fortunately, the trip to the moon colony should only take a couple of days. And once there, no Earth agency would dare extradite you. The moon is a known sanctuary for refugees and expatriots--always has been."

"It's a home for criminals and cast-offs, according to Earth-news," Stanley said. "My wife is pregnant. Do you really think the moon is the place for us, given her condition?"

"I could leave you on Earth, sir. Would that suit you?"

"No. The moon will be a fine place to live, Stanley. Those Earth reports on moon-crimes and atrocities are somewhat exaggerated, aren't they Captain?"

"People on the moon are not criminals, as a rule. They're people who are running from Earth authorities, same as you. They just want a little peace and quiet. They just want to be left alone, same as you. Earth-news is prejudiced against the moon as a matter of official policy. Would you expect Earth locals to tout the virtues of moon-life? Of course not. If they gave folks a fair picture of life on the moon colony, everyone would want to go there, don't you see?"

"No decent, honest person has been to the moon in years," Stanley said. "It's against the law to even plan such a trip. They only let YOU go on your trips so that you can transport food, medicine and supplies to the moon-ers. Your trips are sanctioned for humanitarian reasons."

"And what about all the rare minerals that I transport from the moon back to Earth? I suppose Earth authorities sanction that for humanitarian reasons also?"

"What minerals? You transport minerals from the moon to Earth? I've never heard that before."

"It's not generally acknowledged, of course. But if the moon colony had nothing to offer Earth, it would have been bombed out of existence long ago, don't you see?"

"It makes sense, Stanley," Miriam said. "And besides, even if the Captain isn't telling us the whole truth . . ."

"But I am, Mrs."

"Even if the Captain is telling out-and-out lies," Miriam said, "we have no choice but to emigrate. You know that."

"Yes," Stanley said, "I know."

#

When Miriam first found out she was pregnant, she and Stanley were ecstatic. They celebrated with a romantic, candlelight dinner at their favorite New York restaurant, and talked about their hopes for the child-to-be.

Miriam saw her doctor several days later. His initial news was unqualifiably positive.

"Mrs. Greely, you are carrying a healthy baby boy. Your pregnancy is about one month along, and the fetus seems to be developing nicely," the doctor said. "We should be ready to do the first computer extrapolations of the child's life in about two weeks."

Stanley and Miriam were more than curious about the computer extrapolations, reputed to predict the progression of a new life with uncanny accuracy. This technology was only about ten years old. Miriam and Stanley themselves would have loved to have had access to such extrapolations when they were children. Then, Miriam would have know when and where she was going to meet Stanley. Stanley would have known what college he was going to attend, and what his future profession would be. Miriam would have known all about her abilities as a painter and sculptress. Such foreknowledge might have made life go a little more smoothly and predictably for them. Stanley's initial erroneous career choice would have been avoided. Miriam would have been spared the criticism of her early paintings, which were in a style the local critics called 'too retro for current tastes.' Her paintings could all have been done in the neo-realistic style which had earned her a small reputation as a master of her craft.

John and Alice, their closest friends, had the currently compulsory extrapolations performed for their child, a boy who was now a healthy, hearty five-years-old. Their child was destined to become a prominent figure in the banking industry. Also, they learned that he would marry a wealthy woman and have three children of his own. A myriad of other facts about their son's future life had been revealed to John and Alice, enabling them to provide modern, superior parental guidance to the child. For example, as young as the boy was, Alice had already successfully taught him the rudiments of accounting. She'd already exposed him to the intricacies of banking interest rates and fair-lending practices.

Stanley and Miriam could hardly contain their excitement in the two weeks between Miriam's initial trip to the doctor and the exiciting second visit. They envisioned learning that their child would become a stock-market wizard, a famous lawyer, or maybe a promising artist like his mother.

When the day of the extrapolation finally arrived, Miriam donned her best dress, and Stanley put on a new suit for the visit to the doctor. Expecting a long delay in the physician's waiting room, they were delighted when the nurse ushered them both into his private office, mere minutes after their arrival.

"Now Mrs. Greely, I hate to disappoint you," the obstretrician said with a smile, "but this shouldn't hurt a bit." He exposed Miriam's stomach and attached the prognosticating sensors to her naked flesh.

"Tell me exactly how this works, doctor," Stanley said. "These sensors analyze and evaluate our child's DNA?"

"Yes, that's part of it, Mr. Greely. The information is transferred to our computer, which then couples the simulated growth of your child's personality and native abilities with information about you, your wife, and future expectations for our society and culture. The resulting information on your child's life to the age of fifty-five will be accurate, plus or minus a 5% margin for error."

The doctor's explanation of the process concurred with the information given to the Greely's by John and Alice, and reinforced Stanley's faith in this new, miraculous technology.

The entire extrapolation process took only a few minutes. Soon, Miriam was dressed and waiting, with Stanley, for the doctor to interpret the results. Miriam bit her nails and Stanley looked nervously at the clock, as they sat in the examining room for nearly an hour.

"I wonder if anything's wrong, Stanley. John and Alice said that they received a full analysis of their child's life within a half hour of the examination."

"I wouldn't worry,' Stanley said. "Maybe some analyses just take a little longer than others. After all, John and Alice's child is just destined to be a banker. Maybe our child's destiny is more complicated, and requires a second or third review of the computer data before the doctor can give us his professional opinion."

When the doctor finally returned to the examining room some two hours later, his face was long and grim. "Mr and Mrs. Greely, I'm sorry to inform you that your child has--unpleasant potentials. We need to further evaluate our test results before we can reveal them to you. We'd appreciate it if you'd leave now, and call us in a couple of days. By that time, I may be able to recommend a proper course of action concerning your boy.

Miriam was incredibly upset by this news. "What did they find, Stanley?" She repeated that question over and over again on the trip home, and as they sat in their living room that evening. "What could our boy do that is so--unmentionable?" Stanley had no answer for his wife. The same questions were relentlessly passing through his own mind.

Two days later, the doctor paid a visit to the Greely home.

"Well, doctor. Tell us what you've found. Tell us about our son," Miriam said. The uncertainty of the previous days had been hard on the woman, and she'd spent hours in the bathroom, nauseous and retching. Also, she hadn't slept well, and her eyes had deep, dark circles under them.

"Mrs Greely," her doctor said in an ominous tone. "The news isn't good. Your boy will grow up to be a criminal, a mass murderer, in fact."

"That's ridiculous," Stanley siad, immediately. "The child hasn't even been born, yet. How can you condemn him so lightly?"

"I assure you, we have evaluated our test results thoroughly, sir. We've even changed some of the future parameters. We evaluated your son's potential progress if you and your wife lived in a smaller city, or even a different country. We evaluated his progress, assuming that you and your wife divorced and he only grew up with one or the other. We even analyzed future development assuming the child grew up in foster care, without the influence of you or your wife. Despite subtle variations, the end results were the same. Your child will grow up to be a heinous criminal and murderer."

"So. . . So what do you suggest, Doctor?" asked Miriam with a quiver in her voice."

"I suggest abortion. You and your husband are young and strong. You can become pregnant again and, hopefully, the new child will have a more conventional destiny."

"Abortion?" asked Miriam, bile rising up in her throat. "Absolutely not. That's murder, doctor."

"Yes it is. And we will commit this one small murder to prevent dozens, perhaps hundreds of others."

Miriam watched as Stanley grabbed the doctor by the scruff of the neck, punched him hard in the stomach, and showed him unceremoniously to their door.

"Mr. and Mrs. Greely," the doctor said as he stood on their front lawn. "You cannot simply ignore me. You situation is unique. The government will not allow a creature such as your son to come into this world. In your case, an abortion is not voluntary, it is mandatory!"

Stanley screamed at the doctor. "Get off our property," he said. "If I ever see you again, I'll beat you within an inch of your life."

"Threatening me won't help your current situation, Mr. Greely. I'll leave now, but you'll hear from me, or from an official of the government, soon. That I guarantee."

For the next several days, Stanley and Miriam were insensate. They barricaded the doors, and refused to leave the house. Stanley didn't go to work. They didn't answer the phone for any reason and turned away old friends who arrived at their door.

A week later, a government official arrived with a garrison of armed police officers. He informed Miriam that she was now under arrest. She had no choice but to accompany him to the hospital, for the unwelcome operation. Under such a show of force, Stanley opened the door and allowed the official to escort him and his wife to a waiting hospital transport van. The Greely's seemed resigned to their fate and took their places in the back seat of the vehicle.

As the transport began moving down the street, Stanley peered through its back windows, and kept an eye on the police escort. When the van turned a corner, Miriam and Stanley simultaneously decided to try and escape. Miriam clasped her hands firmly around the drivers neck, which caused him to thrash around and lose control of his vehicle. Meanwhile, Stanley quickly climbed into the front seat and smacked the driver in the face, then opened the driver's side door, and pushed the man out into the street. The Greelys then stamped on the gas pedal and began a mad flight from society's justice, police cars rapidly in pursuit.

Using driving abilities that he didn't even know he possessed, Stanley turned rapidly around corner after corner. When the police were temporarily out of sight, Stanley stalled the vehicle, and he and Miriam jumped out. On foot, they trotted to the seediest section of town, to look for someone who could put them in touch with the 'TruLife Society'.

These efforts had quickly brought them together with Captain Glory and his moon-freighter. Within just a few hours, they had blasted off with the Captain, for a new, hopefully better life on the moon colony.

Miriam watched the Earth grow smaller from her vantage point by the freighter's rear portal. "I hope we've done the right thing, Stanley," she said. "I hope our son DOESN'T become some horrid criminal or murderer."

"All that's in the future, Miriam. A future that we'll have a strong hand in creating. We're good people, Mrs. Greely. We'll try and teach our son to be a good and honorable man. We can only hope and pray that everything turns out for the best."