The New Eve

1 — “The Myth of the Mother”

He had been waiting two hours; an almost imperceptible moment in the eternity of endless time, but it was a long wait in the life of a father impatiently awaiting the birth of his son. All the means brought to bear by the Reproduction Center to calm parents’ heartburn and eagerness for the children, did nothing to calm his raging nerves. This, despite being designed on the basis of a precise knowledge of the parental psyche, representing a form of childbirth with neither labor nor pain for the benefit of parents.

He sat on a revolving armchair moving around from corner to corner in the waiting room, so that he would not be tired of turning and spinning. Evidently, the compassion of the affectionate father hurls him into turmoil and upheaval until the newborn sees the light. At the beginning of the wait, a host Android provided him with a cigarette made specifically for this type of occasion, which generated from its own ashes, like the Phoenix. Whenever it ignited, the proportion of tar and nicotine would diminish, without lessening the flavor of tobacco, enabling the father to satisfy his desire without damage from smoking residues.

He sat smoking his undying cigarette, revolving, coming and going on his moving armchair, as videos cascaded on the screens of his glasses, explaining how to deal with newborns... What came to his mind was the Android smile that had accompanied him since his arrival:

«The smile is familiarity, compassion and tenderness. It is the body’s other way to accept and seduce… But his smile increases his strangeness and returns the passion and desire of the other body to their metaphysical origin. No sooner does it begin with the relaxation of the lips than it takes in the entire face, revealing a clear, sculpted gap, emitting from the depths of its throat a breath and a wonderful resonance, like the holy shouting by the men of Arkadia in their beauty contests… »

His attention drew back to the scenes flowing through his spectacle screens and returned to his reality as a father impatiently awaiting his son. He remembered the circumstances of a birth in the old time, as told by the “Myth of the Mother”:

«On her second day of labor pains, with every thrust, the mother made sure relief was at hand and that the newborn would finally accept coming into this world and out of her bloated womb. She felt him moving, so she imagined he was playing. She was sure that the time for his delivery had come, but she did not understand why he delayed his arrival every time. Every woman explains this according to her own experience and point of view.

“Your baby does not want to come because you craved something and did not get it. Reveal your desire to us!”

The mother did not answer their questions. The only response she issued was the screams of labor.

Searching for the cause of the delay in childbirth, one of them found the puzzle and said, “I know what she wants! One day, a pilgrim came to us and described a wonderful sunset he had beheld from atop Mount Sinai. Throughout her pregnancy, she yearned to lay eyes on this remarkable sight!”

When he heard the news, the baby who would be born from time to time, decided to delay his delivery until he inspected the scene from inside his mother’s womb, atop Mount Sinai.

“Indeed”, admitted the mother, “I vividly recall that pilgrim’s story. And I still long to see that amazing scene!” The women shouted: “God help us! Egypt is so far away! If the mother does not give birth in six hours, the baby will surely die!”

End of sample. From The New Eve.