“This way, Mr. Carpenter, Mrs. Carpenter.” The receptionist led us toward a set of double doors behind her desk.

I squeezed my wife’s hand before moving to follow the woman. This whole thing had been my wife’s idea, but after all the time and money we had invested in it, I was rather nervous myself. I shouldn’t be, of course. Everyone did it this way these days. It was easier. Less messy. Safer, even. 

Through the double doors, a hallway stretched, one side lined with pictures of smiling babies between solid steel doors. The other side was floor-to-ceiling glass, looking out over the New York City skyline. I could just see the roof of our building across downtown. Since ours was the penthouse condo on the top floor of Eden, I even imagined I could see individual rooms. I stared, straining to see the pastel pink walls, the stuffed animals, and the crib my home now contained.

Me. A father.  I still couldn’t believe it sometimes, but I knew GOD held all the answers.

“Adam?”

I realized my wife had said my name several times. “I’m sorry, Eve. I was just thinking about… Well, about a million things, I suppose.” 

“I hope one of them was about what we’re here to do, my love.”

I gave her a knowing smile. “Most of them actually.”

She planted a peck on my cheek. “I can’t believe we’re finally doing this. Are you sure we’re ready?”

“I’m certain, dear. We’ve done all our research, made all our decisions. It’s time we finally committed.”

We came to a door at the end of the hall, this one carved wood. The receptionist knocked and opened the door without waiting for a response. A smooth voice from inside said, “Please come in.”

As we entered, I immediately noted his expensive suit, shoes, and watch. GOD must have been doing well these days. They should be, considering the sizable donation I had contributed this past year.

“Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter, what a pleasure to finally meet you.” He shook my hand with a firm grip, and I noted the platinum ring on his finger. This man was not afraid to show off his extreme wealth.

“As I’m sure you know, I’m Dr. Phanes, the CEO of Genetic Organism Development or GOD, as we’re more commonly known. Please, have a seat, and we’ll discuss your options.”

Together, Eve and I sat on the plush leather couch across from Dr. Phanes’ desk. 

“I’m sure you’re both very excited, so I won’t make you wait any longer. Please, tell me what you’re interested in.”

“Well,” Eve began, looking at me for assurance, “we’d like a girl, doctor.”

“Excellent! Congratulations on your choice. I assume you have filled out all the forms for all your aesthetic decisions?”

“Of course.” I handed him the papers from inside my suit coat. They contained our desired height, weight, complexion, hair and eye color, desired skills, as well as a million other aspects of our future child. “I know we’ve taken quite a bit longer than the average couple to put this together. We had a rather difficult time making up our minds.”

“Nonsense. Everyone moves at their own pace. And may I say that not everyone has a legacy such as yours to uphold, Mr. Carpenter.”

“Yes, well. We’ve finally decided.” Eve held my hand. “And we’d just like to get the process started.”

Dr. Phanes smiled. “That’s how most couples feel. Once they’ve determined exactly what they want, they just want to get to the end of the process right away. Unfortunately, while we can give you precisely the child you desire, we can’t increase the speed at which it’s done. But I assure you, nine months from now, you’ll be able to take home your perfect bundle of joy.”

“How involved can we be in the process, Dr. Phanes? Can we check on the status of the baby?” I thought this was an interesting question from my wife. What could we do but wait for it- for her- to grow? 

Dr. Phanes didn’t seem phased by the question, though. He smiled and replied, “Many of our mothers want to be close to the process, since someone else is doing their job for them, as it were. Rest assured, you can come visit our incubatorium as often as you like.”

And we did. At first, just Eve. But as she told me about our small child, I became interested and joined her. Eventually, I was stopping in on my own.

***

Several months later, I stood in front of a tank filled with fluid and a small, curled up body. Her fingers and toes twitched periodically. I pressed my hand against the glass and stared. My child. My little girl. Only four months until I could hold her in my arms. Other tanks stood nearby, but I was the only one visiting at the moment. Since it was two in the morning, this wasn’t exactly a surprise. The closer the delivery date came, the less I could sleep, the more I worried that something could happen to my soon to be child. Work had become more stressful, Eve was nesting like mad, but standing here watching my baby grow took all that away. I was assured that she was okay.

I turned to leave just as someone else entered. Not once had I been interrupted during one of my late night visits; the appearance of another person was a bit of a shock.

The man, wearing a lab coat and carrying a clipboard, didn’t look up. He was muttering to himself, flipping pages and running his free hand through his hair. While I appreciated my solo visits, I knew extreme care was taken to ensure the babies were safe and healthy at all times. Assuming he was here to perform a late night check up, I started to exit.

The man only noticed me when I began to skirt around him toward the door. He jumped, dropping his clipboard and letting out a small squeak.

“Who- who are you?” he stammered, stooping quickly to pick up his papers. They were covered in black and white scans of brains.

“I’m Mr. Carpenter, the father of one of these children. That one, actually.” I pointed to my little girl’s tank in the corner of the room.

He didn’t look over, though his eyes roamed everywhere else. “Ah, I see. And, um, what are you doing here at this time of night? Visiting hours ended ages ago.”

“Dr. Phanes and I have an agreement. I have an access card that lets me in at any time.” I pulled it from my pocket to show him.

The man’s eyes continued to dart around the room, looking at everything except at me. “Well, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave. I need to run some tests, you see. Very sensitive work.”

“I understand. If you’ll just let me through…”

“Of course, of course.” He finally stepped aside, but didn’t move any further into the room.

His attitude bothered me. Even though I had never held my child, I was already protective of her. It was clear this man didn’t want to be here, and I didn’t want him running tests on anyone if he wasn’t in his right mind.

“What did you say your name was? I’m here a few times a week, and I’ve never seen you before.”

He looked at me for the first time, seeming to sense my irritation. “I’m Dr. Judas Snowden, Chief Geneticist here at GOD. I’m here to do some basic checks, Mr. Carpenter.”

“Then would you mind if I stayed? I’m very interested in my daughter’s care.”

He frowned at me. I couldn’t help but notice the sweat dripping from his brow. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible. I need to open the tanks, and the environment must be sterile.”

At least it seemed he knew what he was talking about. And this floor was incredibly difficult to access for anyone who wasn’t supposed to be here. I shoved down my paranoia and nodded to Dr. Snowden.

“Well, thank you for your effort, Doctor. Perhaps I will see you here again.”

“Perhaps.”

I left, still with a sense of annoyance at the man. I resolved to ask security to check if he really was who he claimed to be.

As it turned out, though, he was actually Judas Snowden, chief geneticist. I came to find out much more about him over the course of my visits. It seemed both of us enjoyed the solitude of those late night hours, and as such, we bumped into each other more often. At first, I consented to leave and let him complete his work. Eventually though, we began talking. Judas would check the vitals readings on each baby’s tank, while we discussed everything from current politics to family life. Notably, he never commented on the health of the children he was caring for, not even my own. When asked, he always told me I had to go through the official channels to get a proper report.  

***

Finally the day came. Little Gen Carpenter was “born”.  Judas and I had become such good friends by that time that I invited him to the celebration along with family and other friends. Dr. Phanes even showed up with a hand carved rocking chair with tiny animals etched into the spindles. 

“I’m so happy for you both,” he said. “And I can’t express my personal gratitude, or possibly more importantly, GOD’s gratitude for all your donations. With the influx, we may be able to open another clinic sooner than expected.”

I shook his hand and pulled my wife closer to me. Eve held Gen swaddled tightly in a soft green blanket. “Let’s not talk money, doc. Relax! Have some champagne! I don’t think I’ll stop smiling for the next month.”

“Maybe a year,” Eve said. “And the rocking chair is beautiful, Doctor, thank you. We’ll be sure to use it to rock Gen to sleep. And… And also her little brother.”

“Eve!” I chided.

She smiled wider, almost giggling with joy. “I’m sorry, dear, but I’m just so excited.”

“Wait, you mean..?” Dr. Phanes asked.

“Yes, we’ve decided to have another child with GOD. But please,” I said, placing on hand on his shoulder and steering him away from the rest of the guests, “don’t mention it to anyone at all. We’d like Gen to have her time as the center of attention, and learn to manage raising one child. But we would like to get the process started soon so that little Gen can have a brother when she’s maybe one or two.”

He clapped me on the shoulder and shook my hand again. “I’m so thrilled to hear it, Adam. Yes, you and Eve take all the time you need to adjust, but we can fill out the paperwork any time you like. You call me personally when you’re ready.”

We rejoined the party. My wife and child glowed under all the attention. Gen was young enough that she slept through the whole thing. She was passed from aunt to cousin to grandmother to best friend. But eventually everyone went home and Eve and my daughter, still such a novel thing to say, went upstairs to nap together.

Judas had hung around, nursing a beer, and chatting. When Eve’s mother finally left and just the two of us sat in my living room, he cleared his throat. “Adam, I… I truly hate to ruin such a beautiful day. But there is something you must know.” 

I knew he wasn’t one to pull my leg. He was always a serious person, but the expression on his face made me nervous. “It’s not Gen is it? I thought she had a clean bill of health?”

“No, no, no. God, I’m sorry, of course you would think that. No Gen is absolutely perfect.”

I raised my hand to my heart. “Jesus, Judas, my heart stopped. If not Gen, then what’s the matter?”

“I heard what you told Doctor Phanes. About a second child.”

I relaxed, smiling. “Well that’s alright, I don’t mind if you know. We just didn’t want to tell family and take away from the attention on Gen. It’ll be nice to visit you in the lab again, I miss our late night chats.”

“See, that’s the thing. I don’t think… Well. Adam, I don’t think you should have another child with GOD.”

Now I was more confused than worried. “Why on earth not?”

Judas covered his face with his hands. “There’s something you don’t know. About GOD’s children. And I swear, I didn’t know until last week or I would have told you sooner. I hope you can believe me, because this. This is something unimaginable.”

“Just spit it out, Judas.”

He took a deep breath and spoke slowly. “Genetically engineered children is still a relatively new field. It’s very expensive and obviously time consuming. And the company wanted a way to track their investments over time to… to make sure everything functioned properly. And that… they got their money’s worth.”

“You’re telling me,” I matched his slow tone, my voice low, “that there is something in my child tracking her. Giving information back to GOD.”

Judas nodded. I might have screamed at him, thrown him out of my house, but he was shaking, and there was even a tear sliding down one cheek. Even if he had known before he claimed to, revealing this to me was obviously a great personal risk. 

I gathered my emotions. “I don’t even know where to begin handling this.”

“Neither do I. You’re the first person I told since I found out. Dr. Phanes has so much money and so many friends… I didn’t feel safe confronting him or going to the police.”

I hated that he was right. This kind of revelation wasn’t something you could tell just anyone. We needed to go about this the right way.

***

Six months later, I stood at the window in my home office. I had been stalling Eve for months, coming up with various reasons why we weren’t ready for our second child so soon. But she was adamant, and here I stood, ostensibly on the phone with Doctor Phanes to give him the green light on the paperwork we had already filled out. 

“Hello, this is Doctor Phanes office, may I ask who’s calling?” a receptionist answered. 

Damn. I was hoping he would answer directly. That would mean no one else was in the office.

“This is Adam Carpenter. I’m hoping the doctor is still at the office?” I knew he was at the office. Judas and I had spent months learning his schedules and routines. Judas had left the building only 20 minutes ago after confirming he was at his desk.

“Oh yes, Mr. Carpenter, we’re always happy to hear from you. Give me just a moment, and I’ll connect you.”

The line rang once and Phanes picked up. “Adam! Good news I hope? Are we finally ready to make an Adam Jr.?”

“I’m afraid not, Doctor. In fact, we’re putting those plans on hold indefinitely.”

A pause. “I’m sorry to hear that. No fault of GOD, I hope? I know being a first time parent is exhausting.”

“The problem is with GOD, I’m afraid. You see, I don’t appreciate a tracker in my child’s brain.”

A longer pause this time. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean, Adam.”

“Don’t play games with me, Phanes. I know everything about the tracker, and its other more lethal capabilities.”

He swore. “Alright, Adam. Let’s work this out. How much do you want? I’d gladly return some of those charitable donations of yours.”

“How much do I want?” It was hard not to shout, but my wife and child were sleeping next door. They would never know anything of this. Gen would never remember the minor procedure that a friend of Judas’ had performed to remove the small chip in her brain. And if my wife ever noticed the small scar under Gen’s thick, red curls, I would just chalk it up to a happy childhood spent climbing on things. “You expect me to put a price on my child’s head? On the head of who knows how many other children out there?”

“Come now, it’s no real threat. It’s honestly a protection measure. GOD wants to be able to help if any of our children get lost.”

“You mean you want to be able to threaten their parents if they can’t pay.”

Phanes’ voice hardened. “Don’t forget that your little gem has a chip, same as all the rest.”

I was finally able to smile. “Not anymore she doesn’t. You have no power over me or my family. And I’m going to make sure you don’t have power over anyone else.”

As I hung up the phone, I saw a bright flash across town. Seconds later the rumbling reached our building and a black plume of smoke began to rise in the sky. 

I didn’t think about all the babies in test tubes or the receptionist or anyone else that might have been in the building. I thought only of Doctor Phanes, the hand of GOD, and how he couldn’t hurt another child ever again.