MINEOLA, NY

"She's not going to last much longer," Betsy Cannon said as she angled the doppler wand this way and that against Meerm's swollen, gel-coated belly.

Romy, Zero, Betsy, and Meerm were crowded into the tiny, white-walled, windowless procedure room in Betsy's home office. Meerm lay on the table, Betsy working over her, Romy and Zero watching from the other side.

"What do you mean?" Romy said, watching in rapt fascination as the 3-D shape of the fetus within Meerm's belly formed on the monitor screen.

"Her uterus has taken just about all it can. It's too small for this baby. Andyet...the baby could use more gestation time."

At least Zero had his ski mask back on. They'd all agreed on the way here that no one else needed to know Zero's history. When it was all over - and with Meerm's baby, that could be very soon - he promised to go public.

The mask made it easier now for Romy, but she wished Zero had waited outside with Patrick and Tome; she was still uncomfortable with him, especially standing next to him like this. And she didn't want to feel uncomfortable, hated herself for it.

But...how elsecould she feel? She was fighting her way through an emotional maelstrom and still hadn't regained her bearings. She'd admired Zero so; he'd become a hero in her eyes and in her heart, and that was fine, but she'd also been sexually attracted to him, had fantasized about him, and now...

now to learn that he's not human.

So what?said the ghost of Raging Romy, ever ready to shoutUp yours! to the world. It's not as if he's a squid or a plant - he's a fellow primate.

That was true and real and forward thinking, but another more primitive part of her was repulsed and kept damning her, whispering that in another time, or in a SimGen-less world, Zero would have been born a chimpanzee, destined to spend his days sitting in a jungle sucking ants off a stick.

Sicko evil girl! Wanting to make love with a monkey! Sick! Sick! Sick!

Romy did her best to shut out that voice, but it wouldn't go away, couldn't because it was part of her, and that was what so dismayed her. She'd always thought she was better than that.

"How much longer?" Zero asked.

Betsy Cannon brushed back strands of graying hair from her face. "Hard to say. If this were a sim baby I'd say she's almost due. If human I'd say premature. But this baby...I don't know. And there's another problem: Meerm's uterus is small, smaller even than a breeder sim's. That baby is packed tight in there, so tight I can't determine its sex."

"We could lose the baby?" Romy said.

"It's a real possibility."

Romy stared at the color image on the monitor, watched the rapid filling and emptying of the chambers of its little heart, saw the baby move, squirming for comfort in the confines of the too-small womb.

We can't lose you, she told it. Youmust live. We're so close now and...the salvation of an entire species rests on you.

"We could lose the mother as well," Betsy added. "The baby is going to be premature, and I can tell you right now that a vaginal delivery is out of the question. This baby is coming out by section."

"Cesarean?" Romy said, looking at Meerm's distended belly. "How...where...?"

"I don't know." Betsy's expression was grim. "Not here, that's for certain. It's major surgery and I'm not equipped for that, not unless we intend to sacrifice the mother."

Romy's gaze darted to Meerm's face. The poor sim didn't have a clue as to who or what they were talking about.

"That's not an option," Zero said. The finality in his tone stabbed Romy with a reminder of why she'd been so attracted to him. "Tell me what you need and I'll arrange it."

"A sterile operating room and a skilled surgical team," Betsy said. "Can you manage that?"

"Tall order," Zero said. His voice had lost some of its confidence.

And then another voice spoke.

"Why Meerm sick?"

They all stared at her a moment, then Betsy spoke.

"You're not sick, Meerm. You're going to have a baby."

Her sloping brow furrowed. "Baby? What is baby?"

"You know babies," Betsy said. "You must have seen many babies on television."

The brow furrows deepened. "Baby?"

"Only this won't be like the human babies you've seen. This will be asim baby." She gave a little shrug as she glanced at Zero and Romy, signifying that she was simplifying the situation as best she could for Meerm.

"Where baby?"

Betsy tapped the sim's abdomen. "Right in here. And the baby will come out soon."

"Baby here?" Meerm said, a slow smile of wonder spreading across her face as she gently rubbed her hands across her belly. "Baby inside? Baby kick-kick-kick?"

"Oh, yes!" Betsy laughed. "I'll bet that baby's been kick-kick-kicking like crazy!"

As they all watched Meerm gaze at her belly, a question occurred to Romy.

"Will she be able to care for a baby?" she said softly.

"She won't have to worry a bit," Betsy said. "That baby will getgreat care. As a one-of-a-kind species, it will belong to the world."

"No, it will belong to Meerm. It will beher baby. We're not going to forget that, are we?"

"Ah, Romy," Zero said through a sigh. "That's why we need you: to ask the tough questions."

Something in his voice struck her...did Zero...could Zero feel about her the way she...?

No. Out of the question. He couldn't. He simply couldn't.