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In New Migration Theory, there is a concept of a “true native”, which is
academically known as the rooted generation in order to avoid charged
sociopolitical connotations. A true native would be anyone who identifies as
such, and can reasonably consider themselves that way. Trying to establish a
particular definition would undoubtedly offend people. The rooted
generation, however, refers to very specific people born to a given area.
The Void Migration Ship Extremus is about to experience it, and the keystone
for this species really just depends on who happens to be born first.
When the original passengers of Extremus first boarded the ship, they were
leaving their home behind. They knew that they would never see the
destination planet, but they didn’t do it for them. They did it for the
descendants. Even now, after all this time, not a single person on board is
expected to be alive to see the mission realized. It will be up to those who
have not yet been born. Until then, the rooted generation will be in
reference to a native of the generational ship itself. Again, they don’t for
sure know who that is yet, but they know what the trigger was. Naruhito
Arethusa was three years old on Launch Day, making him one of the youngest
babies to board. He wasn’t the absolute youngest, but lifespans aren’t all
the same, so others have died already, making him the last man standing.
While he had no intact memories of Gatewood, he technically lived there. He
was a Gatewooder. He was 96, and is survived by his children, grandchild,
and great grandchildren.
Naruhito being the last Gatewooder is an important milestone in Extremus
history. Everyone alive today was born on the ship. He was too young to be
able to decide for himself whether he wanted to board the ship or not, but
he still had influence on the decision, if only subconsciously for his
family. No one else here even had the hope of altering this decision. It had
already happened. The first member of the rooted generation is one who will
have a temporal gap between them and Gatewood. Of course, knowledge and
stories have been passed down the years, so it’s not like this big mystery,
but they will never meet a Gatewooder. Everyone who sees this future person
will be an Extremusian who never saw Gatewood themselves. The distinction
between this baby, and everyone else who was born here, is not meant to
cause some kind of generational divide. It’s not there to cause anyone to
other anyone else. It is just, again, a milestone. Whichever baby is
born first will become the first member of the rooted generation, and its
inherent value is enough to warrant some form of celebration. This
achievement was never inevitable. A million things could have happened in
the last 93 years to prevent its success. Yet through it all, Extremus and
its passengers have persevered. The rooted generation is a testament to
that. The job isn’t over yet, but this is still an accomplishment. Or it
will be anyway, once the baby is born.
The problem that Tinaya is facing today is one which no one thought would
happen. It didn’t occur to them that this issue should arise, and cause
conflict between otherwise perfectly normal and well-adjusted families.
“This is highly irregular, Dr. Cernak.” After Dr. Ima Holmes died, Captain
Soto Tamm appointed a new Chief Medical Officer, though Tinaya can’t
remember her name at the moment. Whoever it was, they coincidentally retired
at around the same time that the captain’s seat was changing butts. One of
the last things that Lataran did was appoint Radomil Cernak to the position.
“Why are you treating a passenger, and why have you brought me here?”
“I’ll let her explain,” Dr. Cernak replies.
A very pregnant woman is sitting sort of between them in a wheelchair. Her
doula is holding onto the handles, and showing no signs that she’s going to
say anything herself. “My name is Veta Vivas, and my child’s name will
be...” She pauses to create a sense of anticipation. No one is feeling it;
they’re more annoyed. “Root. Root Vivas.”
“Congratulations,” Tinaya says politely, not understanding why she should
care. If this were an emergency, the tone of the room, and the behavior of
the medical staff, would be quite different. “When are you due?”
“Unfortunately, a week from now,” Veta answers. “The Wiegand baby is due in
three days.” Back in the olden days, a baby’s due date was only ever the
best guestimation. Few babies actually came into the world on time. Some
were early, some were late. These days, with advances in medical science,
the date is generally spot on, even if it has to be adjusted slightly during
the gestational period as development presents a clearer pattern. This late
in the process, however, doctors are never wrong.
But Tinaya. She still doesn’t know what this has to do with her.
“I have put in a request to induce labor,” Veta goes on. I want Root to be
born now, or his name will just sound stupid.”
“You’re rejecting it?” Tinaya asks Dr. Cernak, not accusatorily.
“I wasn’t the first,” Dr. Cernak explains. “Like you said, she’s not my
patient. She...escalated the issue when she didn’t receive the answer she
was hoping for.”
Tinaya nods, and looks back at Veta. “You want your child to be the first in
the rooted generation.”
“He deserves it. We deserve it.”
“You realize that inducing labor in order to give one particular family this
privilege is not only unfair to other parents, but goes against the spirit
of the milestone. We don’t get to decide who turns out to be the first to
take root. That is time’s job.”
“So you’re rejecting us as well,” Veta figures.
“I’m not rejecting anything,” Tinaya argues. “This is a medical concern. I’m
the captain. I don’t understand why you’re bugging me with this.” She’s
still looking squarely at Veta. She doesn’t blame Dr. Cernak for seeking
help with the problem. She can tell by everyone’s respective demeanor that
this is not the beginning of the conversation, but the middle of a long one.
Tinaya has so far gone down in history as the least polite captain. Even
Tamm was charming and beloved by many until the scandal blackened the lines
of his story. Tinaya is the oldest to hold command, and she doesn’t take any
shit. People know this about her, and they respect her for it. She’s not
losing any popularity contests because of it either. The captain has to be
firm, even if that means some people don’t get their way.
“This is Root’s birthright, literally,” Veta insists. “We were trying to
conceive for months before we sought medical assistance.
Tinaya is flabbergasted by this response. “First off, if you had
successfully conceived earlier, then you would be having a different child,
rather than the one you’re having now. Secondly, and more importantly,
Naruhito Arethusa died yesterday. This other hypothetical child would not
have had any hope of being the first in the rooted generation as they would
have been born months ago.”
“We don’t see it that way,” Veta says matter-of-factly. “My husband and I
were really close to conceiving 280 days ago today.”
Tinaya sighs. “Dr. Cernak, I’m asking you one last time, are you rejecting
Mrs. Vivas’ petition for the inducement of labor?”
“I am rejecting the petition,” Dr. Cernak confirms.
Tinaya studies Veta’s eyes. “Please place Mrs. Vivas on safety watch for the
remainder of her pregnancy, and clear your schedule to perform the delivery
procedure yourself once the time comes.”
Veta is fuming. “What the hell! You can’t do that! I’m not suicidal!”
“Safety watch is not about suicide alone,” Tinaya begins. “It’s about the
risk that you pose to yourself, and-or to others. “You have exhausted all of
your legal options for the inducement of labor, and I can tell that you are
willing to explore alternative methods, which would not be safe for you, nor
your baby. If you don’t already know what they are,” Tinaya says before
looking up at the doula, “she surely does. You will stay in quarantine until
you have the baby. Should something happen to delay the Wiegand baby’s
birth, you may get your wish, but we will not be assisting in this regard.
My word is final.” She turns around to leave, suddenly realizing her grave
error.
“You can’t do this!” Veta screams. “Root is the root! Root is the root!” She
sounds like she’s thrashing about. The security guard posted in the
infirmary runs over to help.
Tinaya teleports to the passenger hospital, and approaches the reception
desk. “I need to look up a patient. I don’t need any medical data on her,
just the name of her obstetrician.” She submits the name, then proceeds to
Dr. Causey’s office.
“Captain, this is quite the surprise, and an honor. If you are looking for
discreet treatment, I promise you that I can offer it, no questions asked.”
Tinaya has never heard of a member of the executive crew seeking medical
attention from someone who enjoys a distance from scrutiny, but perhaps it’s
happened. If it’s true, it’s none of Tinaya’s business. “That’s very kind of
you, but it won’t be necessary. I need you to place a patient of yours on
safety watch. A...rival of hers is determined to predate her date of
delivery.”
Dr. Causey nods. “Veta Vivas; I am aware. Lena has already expressed her
concerns to me regarding this one-sided conflict. You believe she is in
danger?”
“I made the mistake of telling Mrs. Vivas that her child may end up winning
if something happens to Mrs. Wiegand. I meant it innocuously, but
immediately grew concerned that she might encourage someone to force a
delay...or worse.”
Dr. Causey nods again. “That is a scary thought, however, my patient is
willing to trade delivery dates to avoid any social unrest. She has no
strong feelings about her child becoming the first rooted descendant, and
recognizes that it’s evidently quite important to this Veta Vivas.”
“That will not be happening,” Tinaya contends. “Perhaps if you had made this
arrangement sooner, it might have worked, but now it’s too late. I cannot
allow you to reward Mrs. Vivas’ inappropriate behavior. I’ve already placed
her on safety watch. If I backpedal now—”
“I understand,” Dr. Causey interrupts. “We should have dealt with this
internally. There was no need to bring the Captain into this. I apologize
for the inconvenience, I’m sure you have more important things to attend
to.”
“So you’ll place Mrs. Wiegand on safety watch?”
“Might as well,” Dr. Causey agrees. “We’ll take good care of her, and
protect her from any interference. She won’t complain; she’s very laid
back.”
“Thank you.” Tinaya taps on her watch. “I’ve placed you on my priority
access list, so if you need to contact me, you’ll be able to circumvent the
communication filters that shield me from every rando who wants to talk to
the captain.”
“Great. I’ll be sure to call you every hour, on the hour, to ask you your
favorite colors and foods.”
Tinaya chuckles. “Good day.” She disappears.
When Tinaya returns to the executive infirmary, Dr. Cernak is locking the
door to the safety watch room. Tinaya watches through the window as doula is
helping Veta into the bed.”
“She staying in there with her?”
“She’s a tethered doula,” Dr. Cernak begins to explain. “She literally can’t
leave her client’s side. Time will teleport her right back if she tries to
walk away.”
“She consented to that?” Tinaya questions.
“It’s her whole job. She takes a new one every year. I believe she only
gives herself a week or so off, depending on who commissions her next, and
when they need her.” They stand in silence for a moment, watching to make
sure the mother is okay. “We’re getting her her own bed to put in the
corner.”
“I’m sorry you had to do this,” Tinaya says to him.
“Me too, but this is what these rooms are for, even if this is the first
time anything quite like this has happened. I would rather be safe than
sorry. Though...you do realize that the other mother—”
“I just spoke with her doctor. She’ll have to go into safety watch too, in
case the father gets any crazy ideas put in his head, or someone else close
to Mrs. Vivas.”
They’re silent again before having to flatten themselves against the wall to
make way for the trundle bed. “I kind of like the name Root,” He decides.
“If this hadn’t become a whole thing, I might suggest it for the actually
rooted child.”
“Yeah, maybe. Listen, I gotta go pick up my own kid, but call me if you need
me. Maybe consult with Dr. Causey about the situation too. After both
children are born, they’ll probably all need some counseling. I, for one,
would like to see them become friends one day. There’s no need for all this
hostility. This is no one’s fault.”
“Will do, Captain. Thanks for comin’ by.”
Tinaya jumps back to her stateroom, and plops herself on the couch.
“Can you talk about it?” Arqut asks respectfully from the perpendicular
loveseat.
Tinaya stares forward into space. “I’m gettin’ too old for this shit.”
“You’re just as beautiful today as the day I first saw you at graduation.”
She furrows her brow, and cocks her head towards him. “You were at my
graduation? Why didn’t you ever tell me that?”
“You were only a little baby at the time, I’m a few years older. Seems
creepy, looking back.”
She scoffs. “You couldn’t have known that we would end up together. Besides,
because of my time travel, I’m actually older than you.”
“Well, I’m telling you now.”
Tinaya kisses the air in his general direction as he does the same towards
her. “I better go get Silvy from school,” she determines.
“I’ll take care of it. I didn’t do anything today.”
“Thanks.”
Tinaya’s watch beeps with a text message from Dr. Causey. That whole
every hour, on the hour thing was a joke, right? It reads,
I just received word. The rooted child has been born. A different OB
agreed to induce labor for the Hearn family.
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