Life is complex, especially if you are a woman and have a baby to take care of. What does the future have in store for childcare? In the increasingly commercial world, technology would surely offer a solution - perhaps, a robotic Nanny. What are the consequences of letting the market and technology care for your child? Would our innate love for our children assert its primacy? Read on for Anitha Murthy's story on the state of childcare in the future and what one mother makes of it. This story is the joint second prize winner of 2007 TS3C.TheScian Science Fiction Short Story Contest Anitha Murthy likes to describe herself as a lazy dreamer. She is a software consultant living in Bangalore who enjoys the luxury of working from home, where she also plays full-time mother to her energetic little daughter. Her home on the web is here.
The night was like a thick blanket snuffing out all light. Ria lay rigid on the cool bed, half-listening to the slumbering sounds of her partner, a vague sense of unease nibbling at her mind.
"I think you're just imagining things." Mihir had dismissed her misgivings earlier in the day.
"But Cookie won't stop crying."
"All babies cry, Ria." Mihir's statement was emphatic and brooked no argument.
Before leaving for work, Ria had peeked into the nursery. The Nanny was cooing over Cookie, exhorting him to drink his milk which ran in rivulets down his obstinate chin. Tears stained his little face. Ria had retreated, a little worried about the scene. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. She had seen The Nanny at work in other homes. Babies gurgled with a calm content when cradled in The Nanny's cushioned arms. Cookie, however, was neither calm or contented; he was bawling his lungs out.
“The Nanny isn’t God.” The cryptic comment came from Sania, her colleague, who had given her a patient hearing.
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, Ria. Surely you know that The Nanny isn’t the last word in child-care?”
“It isn’t?” Ria had been puzzled. Barring stray news reports of weird people who liked to go against the norm, all the babies she had ever known had been brought up by The Nanny.
“I’m talking about Gaia.”
Ria had laughed. “Oh, that Involved Parenthood stuff? Sania, I can’t believe you take the Gaia movement seriously! That’s just pandering to quirkiness.”
“It’s not quirkiness, it’s going back to your roots.” Sania had defended. “It’s about connecting and bonding in the natural way.” However, before Ria could probe further, she had quickly changed the topic.
When Ria came home late in the evening, Cookie was red in the face. The nursery looked like a war-zone. Milk bottles lay like half-exploded grenades on the floor, and The Nanny was crooning a song in vain to calm the restless infant.
She had waited till Cookie fell into an exhausted nap before running The Nanny through a self-test.
"All systems OK." The Nanny had said in a sing-song voice.
"Damn!" Ria had hurled the manual into the corner in desperation.
