Conversations
Chapter 5
In a Lab
*****
Ryoko had a lot on her mind as she lay on the couch and tried to watch TV. She thought about all of the changes that had happened in her life in the past year or so. She had never been one that was comfortable with change, but even she had to admit that things were better for her now than they had been in the last 5000 years. She enjoyed the feeling of freedom and she finally had people in her life that she could call `family'. There was just one more obstacle to overcome and she would be truly happy. But first she needed more information. And she knew just where to get it.
*****
"Washu! Washu, are you in here?" Ryoko called out as the lab door disappeared behind her. "Mom! Yoohoo! Hey! Mom!"
No answer.
She moved further into lab towards the area where Washu's main computer terminal was. She still felt apprehensive about entering Washu's lab alone. Washu had explained to her that leaving her attached to that machine, alone in the semi-darkness had been part of the procedure to identify and break down any barriers that Kagato had left behind in her mind. It also tested for any negative influence that her merging with the android Zero might have had, and if Ryoko's own emotional expression had been freed in that process. But that explanation didn't cover why the whole episode had been taped from hiding. Ryoko was still upset about that. That bull about not explaining it to me first because it might influence the results was a load of crap. But she did apologize to me in front of the whole family and she's never tried anything like that again at least.
She entered the area where Washu was most often to be found working at her holo-terminal. It was empty. The terminal was still active and running a crab motif screen saver, so Ryoko knew that Washu had planned on stepping out for just a short while. She decided to wait for Washu to return. She considered summoning up a terminal of her own and playing a game, but zapping ships of the Rebel Alliance with her TIE Defender reminded her too much of her old line of work. She was still thinking about ways to pass the time when she heard the door phase into existence and Washu entered the lab.
"Oh. Little Ryoko. What brings my girl down here on her own initiative tonight?" Washu asked in a motherly tone.
"Washu, Mom, please. I may be your daughter, but I was never a child. Please don't treat me like one." Ryoko muttered back.
"Ok, Ryoko. I`ll try to remember. Now, what can I do for you? It must be something important because I know you don't like coming in here since…"
"Don't remind me of that either, please."
"My, so polite. There must be something big on your mind."
"Yeah, I need to know some things. About myself."
Washu looked at her daughter for a moment. "What things dear?"
Ryoko's expression tightened at the word "dear", but she decided to let it pass. She needed to be on Washu's good side to get the information she wanted. It wouldn't do to start an argument now. If Washu wanted to call her dear, well it was better than "Little Ryoko".
"Washu, can I have children? I mean naturally."
Washu cringed inside. She knew that eventually Ryoko would be asking her this question and she also knew that Ryoko might not like the answers. She summoned two floating cushions, a table, a bottle of sake and two cups. She motioned Ryoko to a seat on one of the cushions and took the other herself. After Ryoko was seated, she poured two cups of the drink and handed one to Ryoko. She sighed.
"Ryoko, before I answer that I need to explain a few things. When I created you I wanted a daughter that I could love and that could take care of herself. I knew exactly what I wanted and how to get it. But the only way I could get funding from the Academy for your project was by presenting it as a weapons package. Jurai was in the middle of a military buildup and they were ready to fund anything that was even remotely feasible. I created a presentation for them that sold my project as a "super soldier". That's why you have some of the power that you do and the link with Ryo-ohki. But I intended for the project to fail after I created you, the prototype. I never had any intention of creating an army of super beings. You are a complete being, far beyond the specs that the Juraian Council approved." She paused for a minute to let Ryoko think about what she just said.
"Are you saying I was a military project?"
"No, Jurai thought you were a military project. I had other ideas."
"Oh."
"Anyway," Washu continued, "you were created complete. All of your parts work, or can work. Your reproductive system is currently mostly inactive except for some hormone production. A simple stimulant injection will turn the rest of it on and you'll start having monthly cycles like the rest of the girls. I always meant to do it sooner, but that little issue with Kagato put it on hold for a few thousand years."
"If I get this injection, Tenchi and I can have children?" Ryoko asked.
This was the question that Washu didn't want to answer. "Well, all your reproductive parts will be functioning, but Ryoko, I doubt if you an Tenchi could have children the normal way."
"And just what exactly do you mean by that?" Ryoko asked as her heart hit the floor.
"What I mean is that your DNA is not compatible with Tenchi's. In fact it's not compatible with any known life form. Ryoko, I'm sorry. I never finished the project before Kagato took you away and it's too late now. Your genetic structure is fixed. It was probably one of the first things Kagato did to you after he got control."
Ryoko began to cry.
Washu, changing to her adult form, put her arm around her daughter to comfort her. "Ryoko. Ryoko, listen to me. I didn't say that you and Tenchi could never have children, just that you can't have them in the normal way."
"B… b… b… but I don't w… w… want to adopt. I want to have m… m… my own b… b… babies."
"You can. You just need help to conceive. If I take one of your eggs and can get Tenchi to finally give me that `sample' I've been wanting, well, with a little gene splicing I can fertilize your egg in the lab and implant it. You can have your own babies, you just need a little help. This sort of thing happens to couples all the time. It's rather extreme in your case though…"
Ryoko wiped her eyes. "Me and Tenchi can have our own children?"
"Yes. I just explained that. And I'll even make sure that your children are compatible with other human species while I'm at it. You have to tell Tenchi though, or I won't help you. He really needs to know."
Ryoko looked at her mother with red-rimmed eyes. "Ok, mom. You're right, this is a decision that both of us will need to make when the time comes."
"No Ryoko, he needs to know before that."
Ryoko sniffed. "But what if he doesn't want me if he finds out?"
"I can believe you're that insecure. If Tenchi truly loves you then this little thing won't matter to him."
Ryoko sat quietly for a few minutes, her head resting on her mother's shoulder. Washu held her tight for the first time in 5000 years. I could get used to this, the scientist thought.
"Mom?" Ryoko mumbled into Washu's shirt.
"Yes, Little Ryoko?"
"Thanks for being honest with me."
"You're welcome Little Ryoko. Just be honest with Tenchi ok? Things will work out, you'll see."
Washu's last comment brought Ryoko back to the present. "Oh crap. I'm supposed to be meeting Ayeka in the onsen. I have some things to discuss with her."
Washu, now back in her small form, reached into a subspace pocket and pulled out a tissue. "Here Ryoko, dry your eyes before you go. I wouldn't want the princess to think you'd been crying or anything."
"Thanks mom." Ryoko wiped at her eyes as she walked toward the door.
"Oh, and Ryoko?"
"Yes?"
"Here, catch." Washu tossed her a basket. "It's on me tonight. Have a good time."
"I think I will," Ryoko said as she went out the door.
Washu sighed, alone in her lab once more. "My little girl is all grown up."
I was never little. she heard Ryoko growl cheerfully through the link.
In my eyes you were dear. Yes, you were.
*****
On her way to the onsen, Ryoko passed through the kitchen where Sasami was cutting up items in preparation for breakfast the next morning. She had a big grin plastered on her face and was humming happily, Ryo-ohki perched on her head.
I wonder what she's so happy about these days? Ryoko thought as she went out the door.
*****
To be continued
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