08-22-2025, 11:44 PM
== Three months later ==
The purple-haired little girl giggled as she blew out the candles on the birthday cake, taking two puffs to get them all. The half-dozen staff in the room cheered and Doctor Kizol applauded with two hands while his middle arm spun a noisemaker. "Happy birthday, Robin!" they called more-or-less simultaneously. But today was a double celebration: the child's birthday but also the completion of her resequencing treatments.
Robin's mother began slicing pieces of the vanilla cake for the staff. She'd insisted on baking it herself, something that wasn't easy to do on a world as replicator-dependent as Adigeon Prime. Finding an oven had been an undertaking, but she'd managed to locate a staff member with an old-fashioned streak who still had a home kitchen. As far as Sonjia Mayfair was concerned her daughter was going to have a real cake, not a piece of replicated matter constructed out of who-knew what. And besides, when they finally returned home there would be no replicators. The staff members were handed their pieces on paper plates. A few stuck around to eat, but most had duties to attend to and couldn't stay.
The Edosian doctor walked over to his patient's mother as the child began inhaling pieces of cake. Both had a laugh about it; they'd already discussed that the girl's metabolism required a lot of calories, and Sonjia was honestly just happy to see Robin eating again. They lived on the largest ranch on Iota Tau. Food would never be an issue.
"Wipe your mouth, Robin," the girl's mother scolded, and her daughter obeyed, removing the accumulation of icing on her face before it reached ridiculous levels. "Good girl. Slow down, all right? There's plenty of cake, and you can have as much as you want." The child nodded.
"I've sent a recommended diet to your PADD, Mrs. Mayfair," the doctor said as he adjusted the foil party hat on his bald head. "Our dieticians have come up with something that will maintain a healthy growth level. Little Robin probably won't ever have to worry about becoming overweight, but her body needs a lot of nutrients as it tries to catch up to where she should be. Did you read the report I sent you yesterday?"
Sonjia nodded. "Yes, doctor. I'm fine with her not having inherited the strength and stamina of an Augment. It wasn't something I expected anyway. Everything that she's gained has been a blessing."
Kizon considered. Apparently the Mayfairs were some of the few humans who retained religious beliefs, and such things were common on their colony world. He didn't judge. "We could have forced the issue but it might have created some unstable pairings. We've seen such things before. It's definitely better to err on the side of caution. Trying to get too ambitious often leads to disaster. Personally I'm more than happy with the results so far."
They were interrupted by something Sonjia Mayfair never expected to hear. A song, coming from her child.
"Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise"
Robin had stopped eating and picked up her PADD, flipping idly through a list of children's shows with icing-sticky fingers. Her voice was perfectly pitched as she continued the song, paying no attention to the adults staring at her. Her mother suppressed a sob.
"Doctor? She can sing?"
"Yes. You sound surprised at that."
"Musical talent isn't something that runs in our family, neither mine nor my husband's. I mean at all." She swallowed, tears in her eyes. "She has the voice of an angel."
Kizon smiled. "People think Augments are just humans with enhanced intelligence, strength, and reflexes. But their genetic code is enhanced across the board, in countless minor ways. In this case it's likely a side effect from the enhancements to the UGT8 gene that is related to the nervous system. Musical talent often does have a genetic component to it."
The smile was genuine for the mother and the child, but it was also for him. He felt like an artist who had created a great work. The Augment genetic code that had been used on Robin hadn't had this particular enhancement; the Edosian doctor had added it personally, copied from a different set of genetic material and modified to fit into the genes the girl was receiving. He'd hoped for exactly this result. And he was never going to say anything about it. Let the Mayfairs think it was a happy accident. And besides, he wasn't a monster, experimenting on a hapless child. Let it be his personal gift to her, even if she never knew it.
At least that's what he told himself.
"You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise"
== To be continued ==
The purple-haired little girl giggled as she blew out the candles on the birthday cake, taking two puffs to get them all. The half-dozen staff in the room cheered and Doctor Kizol applauded with two hands while his middle arm spun a noisemaker. "Happy birthday, Robin!" they called more-or-less simultaneously. But today was a double celebration: the child's birthday but also the completion of her resequencing treatments.
Robin's mother began slicing pieces of the vanilla cake for the staff. She'd insisted on baking it herself, something that wasn't easy to do on a world as replicator-dependent as Adigeon Prime. Finding an oven had been an undertaking, but she'd managed to locate a staff member with an old-fashioned streak who still had a home kitchen. As far as Sonjia Mayfair was concerned her daughter was going to have a real cake, not a piece of replicated matter constructed out of who-knew what. And besides, when they finally returned home there would be no replicators. The staff members were handed their pieces on paper plates. A few stuck around to eat, but most had duties to attend to and couldn't stay.
The Edosian doctor walked over to his patient's mother as the child began inhaling pieces of cake. Both had a laugh about it; they'd already discussed that the girl's metabolism required a lot of calories, and Sonjia was honestly just happy to see Robin eating again. They lived on the largest ranch on Iota Tau. Food would never be an issue.
"Wipe your mouth, Robin," the girl's mother scolded, and her daughter obeyed, removing the accumulation of icing on her face before it reached ridiculous levels. "Good girl. Slow down, all right? There's plenty of cake, and you can have as much as you want." The child nodded.
"I've sent a recommended diet to your PADD, Mrs. Mayfair," the doctor said as he adjusted the foil party hat on his bald head. "Our dieticians have come up with something that will maintain a healthy growth level. Little Robin probably won't ever have to worry about becoming overweight, but her body needs a lot of nutrients as it tries to catch up to where she should be. Did you read the report I sent you yesterday?"
Sonjia nodded. "Yes, doctor. I'm fine with her not having inherited the strength and stamina of an Augment. It wasn't something I expected anyway. Everything that she's gained has been a blessing."
Kizon considered. Apparently the Mayfairs were some of the few humans who retained religious beliefs, and such things were common on their colony world. He didn't judge. "We could have forced the issue but it might have created some unstable pairings. We've seen such things before. It's definitely better to err on the side of caution. Trying to get too ambitious often leads to disaster. Personally I'm more than happy with the results so far."
They were interrupted by something Sonjia Mayfair never expected to hear. A song, coming from her child.
"Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise"
Robin had stopped eating and picked up her PADD, flipping idly through a list of children's shows with icing-sticky fingers. Her voice was perfectly pitched as she continued the song, paying no attention to the adults staring at her. Her mother suppressed a sob.
"Doctor? She can sing?"
"Yes. You sound surprised at that."
"Musical talent isn't something that runs in our family, neither mine nor my husband's. I mean at all." She swallowed, tears in her eyes. "She has the voice of an angel."
Kizon smiled. "People think Augments are just humans with enhanced intelligence, strength, and reflexes. But their genetic code is enhanced across the board, in countless minor ways. In this case it's likely a side effect from the enhancements to the UGT8 gene that is related to the nervous system. Musical talent often does have a genetic component to it."
The smile was genuine for the mother and the child, but it was also for him. He felt like an artist who had created a great work. The Augment genetic code that had been used on Robin hadn't had this particular enhancement; the Edosian doctor had added it personally, copied from a different set of genetic material and modified to fit into the genes the girl was receiving. He'd hoped for exactly this result. And he was never going to say anything about it. Let the Mayfairs think it was a happy accident. And besides, he wasn't a monster, experimenting on a hapless child. Let it be his personal gift to her, even if she never knew it.
At least that's what he told himself.
"You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise"
== To be continued ==