FUTURES

NATURE|Vol 440|27 April 2006

Ringing up baby

Order a little sister, then order her about.

Ellen Klages

Mine are blue, so brown again.

thing. Angela Xhobi’s sister has asthma, “Intel igence?”

because she was made the old-fashioned Nanny says that I am spoiled. It comes I have to think about that. I don’t want a way, without a menu, and she gets all the from being an only child, and not having sister who’s stupid, but if she’s smarter than attention. I wouldn’t like that at al .

to share holidays or cakes and always get-me, she wil be difficult to boss.

Nanny takes a breath for another lecting to sit by the window. If I had a little “Above average,” Nanny decides. “Good ture, but I am saved when the iVid sings brother or sister, I would learn responsi-at maths?”

the Phone Call Song. Nanny sighs again bility. More work for her, she sighs, but she Hmm. I’m in second grade, and we’re and when she says, “Connect,” I see that it’s is only thinking of my character. Thinking doing the times tables. That could be use-her mother, who calls every afternoon.

about me is Nanny’s job.

ful. But it probably isn’t something she’ll Mrs Nanny is quite deaf, even with her Of course, Mother is far too busy to be able to do right away.

implants, so Nanny taps SAVE on the baby have a baby right now, what with the Hen-So I shrug, which is a mistake, because screen and goes downstairs where she can derson case and all. (When I have supper Nanny is very strict about manners and shout without me hearing all the words.

with her, on Wednesdays, she talks about posture and I have to listen to a lecture “Little pitchers,” she says to her mother as nothing but the Henderson case.) So before she wil tap the bottom of the screen she greys the upstairs iVid. I don’t know Nanny has arranged for and scroll to the next page of baby parts.

what that means.

a nice lady to plant

I slump back into my chair, because Mother’s egg and do all Nanny isn’t here to tell me not to, and CEYJA the messy parts, then

because she will be gone a long give the baby to us time. Her mother always has a when it’s done.

lot to say. I stare at all the dis-

“What would you

eases, and then I see a better like,” Nanny asks me word at the bottom of the over cocoa. “A brother screen. PETS.

or a sister?”

We don’t harbour animals, I have to think for a because Nanny is allergic.

moment, but only a

(She was made the old-fash-little, because a brother ioned way, too.) But I’d like would be a pest and to see what we could have. I get into my best things, touch the screen to scroll like Courtney Taylor’s down for more pets, and a brother Robby, who pro—Bubble Man appears, to

grammed her mobile

tell me about a special phone to ring with a offer. His picture seems to nasty farting sound. A sis-come out of the wall and ter is someone I can be the stand right in front of me.

boss of.

“Jel yfish DNA on sale,” the “A sister, please,” I say in Bubble Man says. He takes off my sweet voice. Nanny loves his top hat, pul s a rabbit out of my sweet voice.

it, and holds it out towards me. The rabbit’s Nanny touches a box on the wall This page is less fur glows a soft, bright green.

screen, and it glows bright pink.

interesting because the words are “Wow,” I say.

“Birthday?” she asks, her finger not very long and I don’t know what they “Bioluminescence, 50% off. Today only.

quite touching the screen, but ready.

mean. Bioimmunity. Cholesterol. Neuro-Touch Box 306a to order!” He steps back My birthday is in June. “October,” I say muscular. I stare at the screen with my into the screen and disappears with a little after a minute, because I’ve had to count in eyes very wide so that I don’t yawn out picture of smoke.

my head, so her party won’t get in the way loud.

It only takes me a minute to find Box of Christmas, either.

On the side of the screen is a list, like the 306a and tap it to red. Then I SAVE and “Excellent,” says Nanny. “We can place menu on the Emirate of Toys site, which I scroll back up to the disease boxes. It is our order today.” She taps her finger on the used by myself last year for my Christmas good to leave things just the way you RES screen. That box glows red.

wants. The baby list is not very long.

found them.

“What else can we pick?” There are a lot Babies only come in about six colours —I sit very straight in my chair, humming, of boxes. I finish my cocoa and stand right we’re getting one that matches Mother and because I know a secret. Once I have my next to Nanny, who smells like Vermont. me. Humans are a lot less interesting than baby sister, I will never need my night-TU A nice cool green smel.

Legos or iBots.

light again.

She begins to read to me, scrolling Nanny reads me al the diseases you can Nanny will be so proud.

�

slowly down.

ask your baby not to have. Most of them Ellen Klages won a Nebula Award in 2005

FU “Hair colour?”

are options, she says, which means we have for her story Basement Magic. Her first novel, “Brown.” Mine is honey blond.

to pay more. But I think we should pick The Green Glass Sea, will be published by “Eyes?”

them al , because a sick sister is not a good Viking in October.

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©2006 Nature Publishing Group

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