Jalyn's pregnant. A girl. I guess that's not that much of a surprise given how often she expressed her desire to have a child here, and to have the first child here. She even married Dr. po-Galchen in the Beta session just to be old and traditional about it. I know we should all be happy, but this disturbs me.
I would never argue that she shouldn't be allowed to have a child if she wants to (despite what it would be like to have Jalyn as a mother). She has the right, and the evidence for the objective value of maternal autonomy is conclusive. Experimental ethics can answer these kinds of questions fairly easily, so despite whatever one may feel about the matter one only has to point to the body of research and fold one's arms. The matter is settled. Given my own history I'd be silly to disagree.
But there are other factors. Children born out here will not have the full range of options. We have e3 technology -- which would be the norm on Earth -- but we don't have the medical facilities to cope with early-onset rejection syndrome. Without the neo-natal equipment and personnel to handle the worst-case scenario, this child will have to be fitted with e2 enhancements. She can be upgraded later to some extent, but it's a definite disadvantage compared to Earthly peers. Which is the other problem. An eight year-old child arriving on Earth after this mission will be a walking time capsule. The culture that she was born into will be 25 years out of date, and all her cohorts will be e4's. It's just not something that you do to a child.
It all really means that they're not planning to go home; they're already imagining their lives here. They're picking out where to build cities and homesteads and retreats, and plotting their children's roles in the future politics of the new colony, and they're starting to have those children. It's natural, I suppose, but betrays a sickening lack of commitment to our real mission here. We are here for the science.
They seem to have forgotten that my research may yet show that the Tanzen are sentient. If they are then this is their home, and we have to leave. I'm used to coming to unpopular conclusions, and I can take the heat. I just wish people didn't stake their families on their preferred outcome.
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