MAX HEADROOM
Children of Science
CHAPTER 1: Scientific Conception
"What did you want to see me about?" Bryce asked as he walked into the old lab at Ovu-Vat.
"As you may have heard, we've recently managed to make enough funds to proceed with a new project. That of allowing men to carry gro-bags inside of themselves."
"Why?" Bryce asked, a bit mystified by the idea.
"We wish to give homosexual couples the same experience of pregnancy which heterosexual couples share. The only problem is that we need a volunteer. Someone who can be trusted to responsibly write down the effects on the body in a logical and scientific manner. You're known for being very thorough in your research and I think we can trust you in this matter."
Bryce was rather flattered by this remark, but one thing did turn him off.
"I don't want some stranger's child," he said. "If it's possible, I want it to be Edison's. I know he's trustworthy and that's important."
"Very well," the doctor told him. "We'll do what we can to procure the necessary DNA. But if we can't get Mr. Carter's do you have a second choice?"
"If it has to be male then I guess Murray will have to do," Bryce shrugged. "Though he'd pitch a hundred fits. So I'd rather not have to pick him as a co-father."
It was a few days later, on Friday afternoon, that he was called back to Ovu Vat for his surgery. It was after work and as he was back at Network 23 on Sunday morning none of the others on Edison's team even were aware that he'd been away from the Network.
There was not a lot of news that Edison found interesting for the next couple of weeks, which was fine by Bryce. He had his own problems, the worst of which was morning sickness. The gro-bag, it had been explained, had been set up so that it had three sides rather than four. This would allow his own abdominal wall to form the fourth side so that a placenta could attach itself to his body, allowing the baby to feed until it was ready to be born.
"I hope this won't last for the entire time," Bryce remarked as he wrote in the baby journal he was keeping. "If it does, I will have to talk to them about reconsidering the feeding method. That has to be the cause of…" he put the journal down and raced to the bathroom, reaching the toilet just in time for another round of vomiting.
While he'd been writing in the journal, Theora had been talking to Edison about some news she had recently heard from her friend.
"She says that Ovu-Vat has started a new project," she had said. "They're experimenting with male pregnancy."
"Playing God again," Edison remarked. "I'll have Bryce look into it."
He headed up to Bryce's studio, walking in just in time to hear Bryce throwing up in the bathroom.
"You okay?" he asked as Bryce emerged. He could see Bryce looked rather pale.
"Fine," Bryce told him.
"I heard about Ovu-Vat's new experiment," Edison said. He noticed that Bryce turned very white when he mentioned it and paused. Was it possible? "Bryce? Are you…?"
"Am I what?" Bryce asked, almost challengingly.
Edison shook his head. "Never mind. Do you think there's any validity in Ovu-Vat's male pregnancy experiment?"
"There could be if it's handled correctly," Bryce told Edison.