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pointless!”
    “I guess it’s your right as a woman,” said Shane. “To what?”
    “To, you know, menstruate...”
    “That is like being able to catch trains but not being allowed to get off at your stop.”
    “Mmmm… I’m not sure if it is like that...” Shane knew what she meant but couldn’t see
    what was so bad about being on a train.
    “The point is that I don’t have any rights as a woman.”
    “You have plenty of rights as a woman and… you never know it might come in handy one day.”
    “For what!”
    “Like when we get out of here—then we can have as many children as we like,” said Shane.
    “Oh yeah, and I have a little kid that looks just like the little kid next door and every other kid in the street? I run out to the park and yell, ‘Come in for dinner, little Tommy!’ and a dozen little clones all laugh and say, ‘But we wanna keep playing, Mummy!’”
    “You know it won’t be like that. You’ve still got your own... what are they? Gametes. You still have your own DNA—your body’s just been fooled into thinking you’re someone else,” explained Shane, positively.
    “Yeah, well, that’s exactly what I mean. Do I have my own DNA? How does anyone know what they’ve done to my body? To your body? We just go on day after day, playing these pointless games, believing that we’re all going to revert back to some ancient human way. You don’t even remember what a doughnut is.” She sniffed.
    “Hey, come ‘ere. Don’t get so upset. You’re acting like it’s some kind of evil conspiracy...”
    “You said it...”
    “It is going to be okay. Everything else they said would happen has happened. We have a great life. We can do, experience, anything we want...”
    “I want a baby,” said Mia.
    Shane covered his face. “Oh, not this again.” He looked up and said to her quietly, “You have one. He adores you. Why won’t you let him in?”
    “You know that’s not what I am talking about!”
    Mia had heard about a hormone-blocking agent available through a Sub dealer. It was originally manufactured for the Subs by Napeans to control their rabid population problem. Napean women had used it to mask their hormonal activity, to protect themselves from nightly digital analysis—and hide pregnancy.
    “Even if you did get pregnant and by some freak accident it escaped Service detection... what are you going to do? Keep it in the cupboard?”
    Mia was silent. Shane continued with his argument: “Everything that Robbie sees, the Service can see… if they can be bothered looking.”
    “I’ll keep Robbie in the cupboard for the next two years. See what he sees in there.” Mia did have a ruthless quality.
    “You can’t abuse him.”
    “He might have a little accident.”
    “By the way, where is Robbie?” said Shane, trying to move off the topic of murdering their robotic son.
    “He’s cleaning his room,” said Mia flatly. “Like we told him to about two hours ago. He’s so obedient it drives me insane!”
     
     

Chapter 9
    Robbie
     
    TO MIA, IT seemed like the greatest scam in history that Napean women had to endure the painful charade of the reproductive cycle without any of the benefits. It was relentless; every month, the same cramps and feelings of doom; followed by the bleeding. She didn’t understand why The Service couldn’t simply just work out a way to stop it.
    “I can’t have a child!” She yelled from the bathroom to her husband, “Why do I still have to go through this!”
    Shane rushed in with arms outstretched. “Darling! Keep it down! We’ve been through it before!” Then in a hushed tone: “Yes he’s a machine but he has feelings.”
    Mia sighed, “I know, sorry.”
    “There’s nothing worse than a depressed robot—just be careful—his ears are incredible.”
    “I get it!” she snapped.
    “Sorry I’m irritable!” she snapped again. “It’s just this bloody period! It’s pointless!”
    “I guess it’s your right as a woman,”