She turned over now, her hands curled into fists that dug into the knot of apprehension in her stomach. Sania’s words floated through her mind unbidden, and she sighed in exasperation. Gaia be damned. If only she could sleep.
"What's happening?" Mihir asked sleepily, his hands snaking over her body and pulling her closer to him.
"I just can't sleep." Ria exploded as she sat up abruptly. A soft light filled the room with eerie shadows.
"What?" He yawned and rubbed his eyes.
"It's Cookie. I'm telling you - something's wrong."
"Is he still crying?"
"No."
"Then?"
"I'm going to check on him now." Ria stood up. The light brightened perceptibly.
"All right, I'll come with you." Mihir rose, battling his reluctance.
The Nanny was standing inside it's pod, recharging and updating itself with all the latest updates to its routines. As they stood near the crib, Cookie looked up at them with large unblinking black eyes, sucking his thumb.
"See, he's all right," Mihir grasped her shoulder. "There's nothing to worry about."
Cookie broke into a reassuring grin. A little toothless grin that did strange things to Ria.
The grey, squat buildings of Cherubs Inc. huddled together, as if they were braving the storm that was brewing inside.
Cherubs Inc. specialized in making babies. They were the global patent owners for the Cherub birth system, which was now the de-facto standard for reproduction. It involved a simple extraction of the sperm and egg, induced fertilization that had a 99.99% success rate, and artificial wombs that housed the babies till they were ready to be "delivered".
Cherubs Inc., however, had gone one step further. The Nanny had been the one invention that had completely revolutionized child-care. Tailored specifically for each baby such that all its needs would be taken care of in the most appropriate manner, The Nanny was part of the baby package now. Though several companies had tried to replicate The Nanny with moderate success, Cherubs Inc. had the advantage of the first to go to market and monopolize most of the demand. It assiduously cultivated its captive clientele.
It was clear to the attendees of a meeting at Level 3 that trouble loomed over the horizon.
"The statistics speak for themselves", Javed, third-generation CEO of the Jagir family, jabbed at the screens that surrounded the pensive team. A tall man with thinning hair and a nose that could sniff out every secret, he was bleary-eyed.
