Waiting in the Silence

Oriana is pregnant, a rare occurrence in her Nantucket home. Her child should gestate in an exo-uterus, its genetics carefully monitored and altered by VISHNEW, a seemingly conscious AI that melds the virtual with the real.

Most in Oriana's community view VISHNEW with a mix of adulation and fear, and with reason. Any deviations from its plans are dealt with quickly.

Oriana finds herself accused of stealing her mate's genetic material. Forced to stand trial in the Nantucket Compliance Court for Obstetrical Obedience, she is found guilty of obstetrical obstinacy.

The court gives her a choice. Either she allows VISHNEW to immediately connect to her unborn child, or the fetus will be retrieved and her womb immobilized.

Oriana chooses a third option-flight. Unsure of even where she's going, she hides out in an abandoned Quaker meetinghouse, knowing that outside VISHNEW waits. Her only hope for her baby lies with a childhood friend but comes with a terrible price. To save her child, Oriana may have to lose her forever.

A prescient tale questioning the power society assigns over women's reproduction and the loss of control to AI.