Claudia heard Leanna shouting and cursing outside. She put down the birthday cake on the table and ran out to the backyard where she found her swinging an oar at her classmates who calmly stood back.
“Leanna, stop!” Claudia shouted using spoken words.
The girl stopped swinging. Her cheeks flushed.
The other kids immediately backed off, then silently, they turned to look at Claudia while flooding her synaptic interface with media messages.
“She called us names”
“She said we were freaks.”
“She called me a robot and traitor to humans.”
“She used a primate slur on me.”
Claudia blinked and cleared the messages from her visual field. She messaged them back.
“Thank you for coming everyone. I will have a word with Leanna and then contact your parents to let them know you're on the way. You can all go home now.”
Silently, the kids scattered, got on their bikes, and left.
“There goes that birthday bash,” mumbled Claudia to herself. Inviting them had obviously been a mistake, she admitted to herself, but it had been worth a try.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?” Claudia said to Leanna.
Oar still in hand, the girl stared at the ground with puffed cheeks.
“What did you say to them?” said the girl, looking up with a flash of anger.
“I just told them to go home.”
“Don't speak behind my back. I can handle them myself!”
Claudia approached the angry girl.
Leanna’s hand twitched, and the oar smacked the ground.
Claudia stopped.
“Come inside, honey,” she said, wishing she could communicate through the synaptic network in which conversations were richer and more accurate than spoken word. “You can blow out the birthday candles on your cake.”
“Blow them out yourself, Claudia!” said the girl smacking a leaf. “I don’t care for birthdays.”
Leanna turned and ran into the forest holding the oar like a spear.
It was no use going after her, Claudia knew. The girl was incapable of properly regulating her behaviour like most children her age who had been implanted with cybernetic feedback mechanisms. She would have to self regulate the old fashioned way: by taking a walk.
On her way back to the house, Claudia’s attentional focus searched for Dr. Horace in the neural database and messaged him.
“Leanna is acting up again, doctor. Please advise.”
“It has been three years since she was brought from the interior," said Dr. Horace, "but her quarrelsome nature has not changed. Her classmates do not view her as one of their own, and she doesn’t treat them as one would treat peers. Her inability to communicate through a synaptic interface has severely hindered her development. She is bright, no question about that, but without the implants, she cannot progress at the same pace as her classmates. It's as if nature vs nurture are still debating inside her. In the rest of us, nurture won the day thanks to technology.”
The doctor placed the fingertips of his right hand on the screen of his work station and transferred some thoughts.
“They said the conditioning sessions would help,” said Claudia, looking hopefully at him.
“She was nine when her parents died,” the doctor said, his eyes abstract as he perused Leanna’s profile in his mental storage. He shared a connection with Claudia, who saw the ghostly charts and graphics of Leanna’s demographic and neuro-cognitive profiles materialize in her mental space. Her life had been meticulously tracked the moment she entered the system.
“Children now have greater control of their personality and behaviour, but after a certain age, humans are set in their ways; only biochemical or neural intervention can alter their brain. We were hoping it would be different in Leanna’s case.”
Each packet of information sank Claudia's heart.
“While there haven’t been many cases like her in recent years,” continued the doctor, “they were common in the old days before reunification. The difference between normal and engineered children became evident soon after, and it has only increased since then. Non-invasive technology can't keep up with neuro-tech. She should at this age of twelve have a good grasp of polynomial equations, for example, but she’s still struggling with the basics of algebra.”
“She’s trying her best,” said Claudia more defensively than she intended.
“I know she is. Indeed, her scores on various measures are above average for a non-engineered person, but her classmates can achieve in a month what it takes her a year. Spatial and other scores are also high but not as those of her classmates.”
“I just want what’s best for her," said Claudia running her hand through her hair.
“I know you do,” said Dr. Horace in a whispering voice. “It’s not your fault.”
He fell silent a moment as if carefully weighing his next words.
“You should know that I have to send the report to the ministry. There’s no other choice. Then they will provide a recommendation.”
“I know,” Claudia said.
Again the uncomfortable silence.
“The human colonies are not so bad,” he said, averting his eyes. “She would feel at home with others like her.”
Claudia looked down and sobbed.
“I won’t let her go without me,” she said.
He sat beside her and looked into her eyes.
“They don’t allow implanted humans, and they’re even thinking of banning engineered ones. They would not take kindly to you being there.”
“I want my implants removed,” she said. “I’m not letting her go without me.”
“Claudia…”
“I’ve made up my mind.”
From the top window, she watched Leanna place the arrow on the string and raise it at eye level. Her body straight with feet apart, she pulled the string, held it steady, then let go with a whistling sound and a thud when the arrow struck the target.
The girl repeated the procedure with near mechanical precision, striking the target several times without missing but never quite hitting the centre. In frustration, she threw the bow on the ground.
Dr. Horace was right, Leanna was an amazing athlete and extremely smart, but it wasn’t enough. Not in this society of designer humans. Without bio-upgrades, it was nearly impossible to comfortably survive in this highly connected world. Stores, government agencies, institutions, restaurants, education, transportation, work, and more- everything was accessible through the synaptic net. Not to mention all the other mental and physical enhancements that came from tweaking a few genes here and there. Non-intrusive technology had advanced, but it wasn’t enough. Like Dr. Horace said, Leanna was developing at a normal pace for a different epoch.
In her hands, Claudia held the mantle that Leanna had cross-stitched for her as a school project. She raised it and held it against her cheek.
“This is not an easy decision,” said Dr. Horace. “Living without implants in the colonies will be difficult.”
The doctor stood closer to her.
“If my child is to be exiled, then I will be going with her.”
Nothing would dissuade from her decision. The doctor could see that in her eyes.
He touched the screen on a pad.
“Very well. The removal of your implants will be scheduled for next Friday, and then you and Leanna will be free to travel to the colonies. I need your confirmation here,” he said, holding the screen towards Claudia.
She looked at the fingerprint icon. Her entire life would be altered in unpredictable and possibly dangerous ways, but in her mind there was no question about what she must do. She would travel with her daughter to the colonies, to the ends of the earth if necessary, and live among 'pure' humans.
She pressed her finger on the icon.
“The arrangements will be made for Friday,” said Dr. Horace, nodding at Claudia with a look of concern and admiration.
“Look, it’s my old hat,” said Leanna, putting on the bunny-eared hat.
Claudia laughed.
“You can leave it behind. I will get you one that fits right.”
The house was a mess. They could not take all their belongings, so they had to shed years of acquired items and take only the basics.
Leanna sang as she organized her stuff, then she fell silent.
Claudia turned and saw her holding a piece of paper, which she then held out towards her.
“He was supposed to be my father, wasn't he? Was he nice?” Leanna asked her.
Claudia looked at the old printed photograph.
“He was amazing, and I miss him,” she said and pocketed the image. “We cherish the past, but we must always look forward.”
She ran her fingers absentmindedly across the band wrapped around her head. She no longer had direct access to the synaptic net, and the memories stored there. The constant chatter and flow of information was gone. She was alone with her own thoughts, and the feeling was unsettling.
“Is it my fault we have to leave?” said Leanna.
“No, honey. It’s nobody’s fault. We’re leaving of our own free will,” Claudia said. It was technically true, after all. “Sometimes, new beginnings are important and necessary. So, let us clean up this mess, and then we’ll go out for ice cream.”
The girl grinned and clapped at the prospect of ice cream.
Such a human emotion, thought Claudia.
She realized there was no turning back. A long road lay ahead for the two of them, and although living in the colonies was full of danger and uncertainty, it would not deter her from taking care of her daughter.
“Mom?”
Claudia looked up startled. It was the first time Leanna had called her mom since her adoption.
“Yes, darling.”
“Are we going to need weapons?”
“I won't let anybody harm us.”
“I will bring my bow just in case."
Afterword
Thank you for reading my late and therefore unofficial entry to the Ink Well fiction prompt 241. It was inspired by the prompt: Nature vs nurture. I took the specific challenge for Blueprints of the Heart (Sci-Fi / Ethical Dilemma). I changed a few things around, and I hope you enjoyed it. 🏹
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