ablankpage | Voxophone 7/??

Citizens of Luceti.

[It is, perhaps, the first time Robert Lutece has ever used the journal as an actual means of reaching the community at large rather than simply a voxophone others happened to hear and respond to.

For all intents and purposes, he sounds as if he's discussing the weather or another phase in the Lutece Field he and Rosalind have been attempting to re-discover here and the machine they intend to re-build.

It's a very calm, very scientific tone.]

I would like to know if anyone here has information regarding conception, gestation, and delivery of children as it pertains to Luceti.

Physics is my specialty, but I am well-versed in anatomy and biology. [He does not need the "birds and bees" talk. That isn't the purpose of this.] However, there are anomalies in this world in regards to anatomy and biology -- the wings, for instance.

It is of interest to me whether these changes or the progression of the alterations of reality commonly referred to as "shifts" affect the aforementioned topics.

[...And yes, that is all he's going to say on the topic. Not why it matters or why he's decided to start researching this. It's simply stated as a matter of fact.]

Any information or Luceti-specific literature on the subject would be most helpful.

Thank you.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He might recognize the writing as being the same that's found in the guide.]

The length of pregnancy tends to be around three months. There have only been three observed pregnancies in this enclosure to date. Children are born with the wings.

As for related writings, there isn't any literature here that is native to Luceti itself.

[Three months? Curious.]

Have any adverse side effects been noted to the increased pace of gestation? Or any developmental abnormalities, aside from the wings, observed in the offspring?

No, not at all. They were all very healthy.

The problem is that children born to this world... will have nowhere to go.

The same could be said of some brought here.

[He knows far too many people -- like the entire population of his household -- who will cease to exist when they leave this place. If they do.]

What happens in the case of a child born here whose parents disappear?

Two of the children were removed from the enclosure, supposedly for compatibility reasons. We were told that they were placed in a foster care. [Although the recent 'blunder' by the intern seemed to hint that something else might have happened to at least one of them...] The other child still resides here, but it's not my place to give more information than that.

So there is little difference between their fate and that of an orphan outside of Luceti.

It bears consideration, at least.

[Some, at least. As much as "both of you could die" does in another world.]

Hm.

Their wings also continue to grow, unlike those who are pulled here from other worlds.

Do they?

There's no literature on their development?

Nothing that I haven't written myself. Most of the details come from observation, or outside sources.

I suppose record-keeping will need to be particularly thorough, then, if that course of action is pursued.

"Course of action"?

Yes. The "course of action" being procreation while in the enclosure.

There are ways to protect against childbirth available here.

I'm aware of that and quite familiar with those methods.

You should keep in mind that living here in Luceti in these conditions... are not ideal circumstances that would benefit a child. Especially if you are sent away while they're still young.

Which, as I said, is a risk in any place. Outside of here, it is death that is a constant threat and possibility. Yet, the concern that one or both parents could die at any moment does not seem to seriously hamper the number of people who choose to reproduce.

You're right. It doesn't stop the parents, and the children that are left behind have no choice but to suffer from those choices.

This world isn't the same as any of the worlds we are pulled from, where the choice is less clear, and situations are more natural. The children will be bound to the cycle, here, unless things are changed. And we don't know when that will be.

The cycle which, to them, will be perfectly natural, as they will have never known anything different.

It isn't a decision to be made lightly. However, that does not mean that it is a decision that must be answered in the negative. There are risks to be considered as well as benefits, and both must be weighed accordingly so an informed decision may be reached.

It won't be natural to them. Having their parents be sent away, or perhaps to meet them again, and have the parents not recognize them? To watch others be sent away, to places they never will have the chance to see? ~~To be abandoned, in a world that they~~

Can that truly be fair, for them? ~~You know~~

It's not the same as it would be in your home world. ~~Benefits?~~ Even if that's not worth returning to -

[The writing breaks off here, and something is crossed out heavily.]

I apologize. I've said more than I should.

[Is life ever actually fair?

But Robert doesn't write that. It stays a simple thought in his head. The person he's speaking with is coming from a place of emotion. The argument about what is "natural" comes from pathos.

Even the simple mention of fairness plays upon that.]

I believe this is an area where we will not agree.

[It's a rare thing, for her to be caught in a place of emotion.

But she knew the facts of this world. She had spent too much studying it, and observing, and listening.

She had seen the children who were born here, and she knows how Sophie is suffering. And she has her own life experience to look back on as well. ]

So it would seem.

Of course, when all is said and done, it is neither your choice nor mine.

I will convey your warnings, however, to the appropriate party. The matter is wholly her decision.

Thank you.

If she has any further questions, she is welcome to get in contact with me.

I will tell her that.

Voxophone 7/?? - Voice

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