The extraction of the fully developed fetus from Womb 16 had been completed. Eve removed the umbilical and scraped the uterus for all remaining placenta material. Having placed it into the respective tubs for stem cell harvesting and SG processing, she then placed the infant into the cleansing tub. It was quickly sealed and pushed gently onto the conveyor. Within three seconds the conveyor whisked the tub and child away to join the myriad of similar containers headed for the initial screening station.

Eve turned back to Womb 16, withdrew a laser suture and mended the tear in the labia. She lightly touched a circular panel to her left front. It opened and projected a small, finger-sized cylinder held by a clip. Eve removed the inseminator module; she then ran her gloved thumb along the side to locate the identity strip. Once located, she touched the strip against the implanted inner thigh strip to sync up and calibrate with Womb 16's biometrics. Once completed, indicated by the pulse that was sent through the device to her glove receptor, she inserted the module into the vaginal opening. Touching her ring finger against the palm of her glove, a pulse, which triggered the module to eject anchor needles to hold it in place, was sent. Womb 16's body was then pulled back within its container which then revolved upward to the left.

An outside feed penetrated her consciousness. There was an instantaneous delivery of over one hundred messages. This was allowed in the seconds between womb operations to provide a sense of connection to the world. She was informed that her essays on toddler and nonagenarian exoskeletons were accepted in both Mandarin and Cantonese, as well as Arabic and the North American dialect. She had been concerned about the latter, as it was such a subjective and mongrelized language. There were fifty or sixty messages about interplanetary discoveries, her investment profits in deep-sea and asteroid mining, and a barrage of security-skipping advertisements about increasing her brain mass or re-growing fat cells. Personal messages were also completed, though edited and blended to allow the greatest amount of sentiment and diversity of sources within the allotted pulse. She now knew that her biological relatives, a quaint anachronistic expression of a social connection that once existed, were still alive. They all sent their affirmations for her continued existence.

The next container was now visible and Womb 17 began sliding out towards her. It was near the end of the first trimester and Eve would take an amniocentesis. Placing a decimeter-long probe injector on the body's belly, she pressed the top of the probe to start the three-step process. The probe first sent out sonar bursts to ensure the fetus was clear of the impending probe needle. This instantly caused the needle to lock or inject. The injection occurred and the sample of amniotic fluid was returned to the probe for analysis. Within fifteen seconds the fluid had failed the scan for defects and the probe armed for abortion. Eve replaced the probe of Womb 17's belly and injected the chemical that would begin the dissolution of the fetus. Pushing the body back into the container it too revolved to the left. It was then disengaged and transferred mechanically to another cylinder that held bodies of a similar nature. These cylinders were designated to process the vaginal debris and reexamine the viability of the womb to be recommitted or discontinued.

It was lunchtime now. Her biometric monitor automatically released vitamins and minerals into her stomach. Hormones were also sent to inform the satiety center of her brain that she was full.

A new container rotated down and presented her with Womb 18. The cervix was dilated to twelve centimeters and a head had crowned. Eve touched a triangular door on her right front. It opened and produced a double-ringed device that she slipped onto her index and middle finger. With a touch on the body's right thigh, the abdominal muscles contracted and forced the child out of the womb. Eve removed the umbilical cord and removed the remaining placenta material from the uterus. She placed the waste materials in designated tubs, and then placed the child into a cleansing tub. All tubs were immediately sealed and conveyors took them all away.

A flash later, Eve had enjoyed a scan of the novel Moby Dick, an unedited showing of Birth of a Nation, and the memory of a weekend of debauchery taken from a memory donation and sent to her neural receptors.

Another container rolled into view and Womb 19 began sliding out towards her. It was near the end of the first trimester and Eve would take an amniocentesis. Placing a decimeter-long probe injector on the belly, she pressed the top of the probe to start the process. The injection occurred and the sample of amniotic fluid was returned to the probe for analysis. Within a few seconds the fluid had passed the scan for defects and the probe was placed in a disposal chute. Pushing the body back into the container it revolved to the left.

The workweek was over and Eve and her family were off on a cruise. She had legally aligned herself with her childhood sweetheart, Celeste, and enjoyed their two beautiful boys, Dougie and B.J.. The ship sailed without incident across the Gulf of Mexico to a port in Cabo San Lucas. They all enjoyed skiing, parasailing, swimming with dolphins, a nature hike, and shopping. Back aboard the liner they participated in dancing and a variety show. The food was nonstop, they even ate with the ship's captain. The whole family played in the pool, zip lined across half the length of the ship, and played millionaire bingo in the main lounge. Eve won the cover up super pot and claimed the million dollar prize.

Womb 20 rolled into view and slid out to her. Shoulders had crested and Eve grabbed the head and pulled the small body the rest of the way out. The extraction of the fully developed fetus from Womb 20 had been completed. She then removed the placenta and sent it to its processing locations. The infant was then placed into the cleansing tub and zipped away.

Eve turned back to Womb 20, withdrew a small, finger-sized cylinder from a clip which sprang from an opening in the table, performed a few arming functions, and inserted the module into the vaginal opening. Womb 20's body was then pulled back within its container, which then revolved upward to the left.

Eve received dozens of messages. She was informed that her designs were being purchased by a cybernetic company on Io for use in outfitting the Ionion populace with frames that would allow them better chances assimilating into the new colonies of Earthians. There were fifty or sixty messages about interplanetary discoveries, her investment profits in Soylent Green (SG) and kelp futures, and a barrage of security-skipping advertisements about dating lonely domestic engineers and helping a Nigerian king reclaim his money.

The next container was now visible and Womb 21 began sliding out towards her. The cervix was dilated to twelve centimeters and a head had crowned. Eve touched a triangular door on her right front. It opened and produced a double-ringed device that she slipped onto her index and middle finger. With a touch on the body's right thigh, the abdominal muscles contracted and forced the child out of the womb. Eve removed the umbilical cord and removed the remaining placenta material from the uterus. She placed the waste materials in designated tubs, and then placed the child into a cleansing tub. All tubs were immediately sealed and conveyors took them all away.

A flash later, Eve had viewed all seasons of I Love Lucy, Desi and Lucy, and The Lucille Ball Show, scanned the Oxford Dictionary for spelling errors, and witnessed the harrowing dash, via a shell-mounted mini-cam, of a Galapagos turtle as it raced from its shell to the sea, through a gauntlet of ravenous sea gulls.

A new container rotated down and presented her with Womb 22. Eve's vision was blurred and soon her breathing became labored and painful. She experienced a sense of floating and was no longer aware if she were standing.

Eve was not aware of the disassembly of her upper torso. Her brain had experienced a stroke and she had become catatonic. Her body had been externally scrubbed, and an electrolysis ball removed and deadened all hair and follicles respectively. Her unnecessary organic extremities were removed and a bio-skeleton was installed to allow easier installation and continued manipulation of her body.

An outside feed penetrated her consciousness. There was a steady delivery of over one billion messages. This stream began to provide a sense of connection to the world. She began observing the history of the colonization of Mars and the moons of Jupiter. Each episode of Doctor Who had been painstakingly restaged and emoted by Ionian thespians. The first episodes began playing. Daleks were obviously being portrayed by Europans, Ganymedians, and Callistites from neighboring Jovian moons. These viewings were all translated into the Nepalese dialect of Dzongkha, Azerbaijani Turkic, Swahili, Estonian, and Mandarin. There were several million messages about solutions for cleaning teeth and vaginas, chemicals to eliminate body odor and hemorrhoids, and reminders for everyone to buckle up for safety and duck and cover.

Her body had undergone extensive down-sizing in order to be inserted into the cylinder. Once she was completely attached to the main processor and sealed in, her container entered the revolver and rotated into place as Womb 427.

The next container was now visible and Womb 425 began sliding out towards him. It was near the end of the first trimester and Evan would take an amniocentesis. Placing a decimeter-long probe injector on the body's belly, he pressed the top of the probe to start the three-step process. The probe first sent out sonar bursts to ensure the fetus was clear of the impending probe needle. This instantly caused the needle to lock or inject. The injection occurred and the sample of amniotic fluid was returned to the probe for analysis. Within fifteen seconds the fluid had failed the scan for defects and the probe armed for abortion. Evan replaced the probe of Womb 425's belly and injected the chemical that would begin the dissolution of the fetus. Pushing the body back into the container it too revolved to the left. It was then disengaged and transferred mechanically to another cylinder that held bodies of a similar nature. These cylinders were designated to process the vaginal debris and reexamine the viability of the womb to be recommitted or discontinued.

It was late afternoon now. His biometric monitor automatically released adrenaline into his bloodstream. Electrical pulses flexed his abdomen and thigh muscles to complete his core workout.

A new container rotated down and presented him with Womb 426. The cervix was dilated to twelve centimeters and a head had crowned. Evan touched a triangular door on his right front. It opened and produced a double-ringed device that he slipped onto his index and middle finger. With a touch on the body's right thigh, the abdominal muscles contracted and forced the child out of the womb. Evan removed the umbilical cord and removed the remaining placenta material from the uterus. He placed the waste materials in designated tubs, and then placed the child into a cleansing tub. All tubs were immediately sealed and conveyors took them all away. Evan took an inseminator module and inserted and anchored it into the vaginal opening.

The workweek was over and Evan and his family were off on a cruise. He had legally aligned himself with his childhood sweetheart, Celeste, and enjoyed their two beautiful boys, Dougie and B.J.. The ship sailed without incident across the Gulf of Mexico to a port in Cabo San Lucas. They all enjoyed skiing, parasailing, swimming with dolphins, a nature hike, and shopping. Back aboard the liner they participated in dancing and a variety show. The food was nonstop, they even ate with the ship's captain. The whole family played in the pool, zip lined across half the length of the ship, and played millionaire bingo in the main lounge. Evan won the cover up super pot and claimed the million dollar prize.

Womb 427 rolled into view and slid out to him.