Scene 1. Home

“I don’t know Roc, if you’ll want me back home all the time,” Lilly stands in the entryway of the large ranch house provided by Roc’s team management, looking around as if she has never seen the place before. The kids run in screaming, “Mommy! Mommy!” She kneels down to them and pulls them in, “I guess I am home…”

Roc watches the family reunion with a broad smile, “I am home for a while too.” “The team gave me some time off after my adventure with the Psych-Squad” “The Psych-Squad even roughed up Tex, although he won’t talk about it.” “Let’s use this time to do some fun things, like go to the beach.” The twins immediately start bouncing, “The Beach!" "The Beach!” Lilly stands and walks over to Roc and embraces him, “You haven’t fallen in love with my ‘other self’, when I was gone, have you?” Roc smiles again, bright as always, “She hasn’t been around.”

Lilly walks to the back window and looks out at the piles of boxes and toys in the yard, “Probably because I haven't been sleeping very well at The Base.” She turns away from the window, “Oh sure, the apartment is comfortable and quiet enough and I don’t mind the The Base food,” “I even formed a small tennis club.” She turns to face Roc, “But I don’t have you, Roc.” “I don’t feel your back against mine in bed. So I don’t sleep as well. And I don’t dream at all, not even the awful lucent dreams that used to haunt me so.” “I get up feeling okay but something is missing, like I didn’t get everything I needed from the night.”

Roc smiles again, this time with a twinkle, “Let’s take a shower and go to bed.” “Tomorrow, we’ll go to the beach.” Lilly is suddenly apprehensive, glares at him suspiciously, “What do you have planned!?”

The couple takes their time enjoying washing each other, “I could use a trim.” “Okay,” “Me too.” After through scrubbing and brief drying sessions, they take turns trimming each other’s beards, whiskers mane, shoulders, tails, knees and hoof feathers, Lilly looks up, “Why is it so hard to find someone that can do this properly.” Rod bends down to do her delicate 'bloomers', “I prefer our ‘personal’ touch.” At last they are done and they face each other in the bedroom, next to the bed. Lilly looks the handsome Roc up and down. She then feels a warm rush come over her body, Oh no, not now! He’ll get me for sure!

Lilly, are you about to show me how much you have missed me? Lilly tears up, overcome with emotion, “Damn you Roc, you know I cannot resist you!”

Scene 2. Return

Lilly awakens to a feeling and a smell she has not experienced for a while. She opens her eyes to her room at Apollo’s. She starts to move and immediately notices something else, I’m still pregnant! Her belly is very large and uncomfortable. How much bigger is this thing going to get? She staggers to stand, I am starving! Breakfast! Now! The door vanishes and Apollo is standing in the doorway. He motions Lilly to the kitchen. She quickly walks in to the kitchen, her favorite room, but without her usual bouncing.

Apollo has her tray ready, “After you have your morning ritual, I want to take you to one of our factories and show you some of the mechanical wonders of this world.” “Today I will show you how we make our mechanical friends and helpers.” Lilly is not paying much attention except to her tray, ‘Friends and helpers’ my furry tail! They are your solders and slaves!

The usual walk is much more tiring for Lilly now that she is expecting, but she is strong and she appreciates getting out to see The White City again. They approach another large white building and walk in. It is very similar to the others. This lobby features a mechanical receptionist. It still has the same hallway leading to the small rooms that move to the other floors.

Lilly glances back at the receptionist, The receptionist is a machine, like the doll...

They arrive at a new floor, the door opens into a large room with numerous figures, all looking much like the receptionist. “Yes Lilly, this is the home of our machine servants.” The figures ignore the appearance of Apollo and Lilly, they all continue with their various tasks, loading and unloading carts, appearing and disappearing, carrying various items and papers. Lilly stops and watches the automatons, fascinated. I build figures that move too. Why do I feel so uneasy around these?

Apollo continues into a side hallway, Lilly follows, trying to heel like a good dog. I really don’t want to get lost in here! Eeek!

Apollo enters a large room that is filled with cabinet like machines, whirring, working. The cabinet-machines are in the act of fabricating something. Apollo guides Lilly up to a window in the side of a machine to look in. Inside she sees a number of small round plates. Stylus’s and welder rods are periodically in contact with the plates, continuing the manufacturing process. What are these?

Apollo expounds, “This is part of the assembly process for the brains of the automatons.” “These electrical ‘brains’ are fabricated from silicon using printing processes too small to see in regular visible light. We use the ‘invisible-ray’ machine for calculation element fabrication by photo exposure, to get the size of the components down small enough.” Lilly had already discovered the ‘invisible-ray’ could reveal structures too small to see. She has imaged very tiny structures on photographic film using this process.

Apollo takes Lilly around the room to see each of the fabrication processes in sequence, from raw silicon plates to completed automaton control modules. So this is where the doll’s control box was made. “I will take you back to the technology demonstration pavilion and show you exactly how, and from what, these devices are created.”

“Let’s take a look at the mechanical construction.” Lilly and Apollo walk through another door to a very large high-bay construction area. Near the door is a model of the biped automaton. Apollo enumerates its features, “Up here are electrical cameras, one on each side looking forward like our eyes, for close-up stereo vision." "Below the 'eyes' is the nose, a custom chemical gas sensor can be installed there for special applications.” “That hole below the nose is an orifice for emitting warning sounds or words, again specialized for specific applications.” “On each side of the ‘head’ are receptors for sounds.” The sensors are all mounted up high on the ‘head’, to get maximum range. The 'head' can swivel half a turn to face in the direction of interest.

Apollo then steps to the side of the model and lifts its foreleg, “These ‘arms’ have fine-control manipulators at the ends for grasping or manipulation of objects.”

Lilly regards the metal ‘arm-end manipulator’, This device is similar to the manipulator on the demonstration doll!

The model is completely covered by a protective outer housing so Lilly cannot see the details of its inner construction. I want to know more about this!

Partially constructed biped automatons are lined up and stationary, while other automatons install their various mechanical body parts, forelegs and internal components. Lilly walks to a table with a number of trays containing the parts to be installed. One tray is of special interest, flat boxes containing components are carefully arranged in fitted depressions in soft material, apparently for secure shipment to this manufacturing facility. These biped automaton components are metal foreleg manipulator assemblies, ‘the hands’! Lilly’s eyes widen, This is the hand in the stone!

Apollo pats his side as a signal for Lilly to keep up and continue the tour. They walk the entire long distance of the biped automaton assembly factory. All areas are either installing sub-assemblies or testing their operation, the component assemblies must be fabricated elsewhere, and shipped here, for final assembly in the completed automaton.

They then briefly visit other factory bays. Inside each bay is a model of the automaton being constructed there. The bays construct a variety of automatons, each propelled by flying, by wheels, and even crawling. Some had with methods of locomotion that Lilly could not figure out. All were being assembled in much the same way as the biped units. One facility was assembling a wheeled lower vehicle with a biped style upper half, likely to get the fine manipulators (hands) with close-up stereo vision into locations that could not be reached with the biped model. Several other combinations of the designs under construction could also be seen. These things all look pretty versatile. Did they leave anything for the ‘humans’ to do?

The tour took all day. Lilly is back home, exhausted and panting, with protruding tongue. Wow, it is almost as hard to be pregnant here! Apollo fixes Lilly’s tray and turns on the ‘frame’. It immediately displays moving pictures of a violent military conflict, along with the sounds of the displayed explosions . Lilly lifts her head from her tray, she shakes her head, War is here too? In this perfect paradise?

Lilly, at last, is couched on her bed roll, exhausted from the day but disturbed by the pictures and sounds of war from the 'frame'. And then she thinks about the automatons she saw on the tour,

Why am I thinking that ‘war’ and ‘automation’ is such a bad combination?

Scene 3. Family

Lilly awakens and lifts her head, it is still very dark. She feels her back against Roc’s. I’m back! I wonder if ‘the other me’ was bad last night? She carefully extracts herself from the bed, to avoid waking Roc. He needs his sleep. Lilly stretches, feeling fully refreshed for the first time in a long time, I feel great, the best nights sleep in a long time, and a visit to my dream world too!

Lilly completes her morning ritual then goes to the kitchen to make breakfast. Rod’s oldest daughter, Elaina, has already started breakfast. Elaina is still working as their ‘nanny’. Lilly reflects on the hard working Elina, We are so glad to have you, Elina, although I am really the ‘nanny’ (goat) here, but I can’t do all this work! As Lilly is walking, she feels a slight bulge in her lower abdomen. Lilly looks down and scowls, Roc!

The twins are up, cheerful and hungry. Roc finally appears at the kitchen door and Lilly is ready for him and points, “You!” “You!” “What did you do to me last night?” Lilly furiously sputters.

“I only did my husbandly duty.” “And you don’t remember anything?” “That’s too bad, it was great!” Roc looks down at himself, “Although I think you gave me some bruises…” “Again...”

Lilly responds, angry, “You’ll get more bruises if you have given the girls the 'little brother' they want!”

The twins, on cue, shout, “Little Brother!” We want a “Little Brother!”

Lilly looks at them and responds, “What makes you think you’ll be getting just one?”

“Little Brothers!” We want “Little Brothers!”

“What makes you think you’ll be getting 'little brothers’?”

“Little Sisters!” We want “Little Sisters!”

Roc cannot smile any wider, “Lilly,” “You’re not going to win this.”

Roc, wanting to change the subject, “By the way, you were up again last night.”

Lilly frowns, “How did it go?”

Roc smiles, wanting to cheer up the downcast Lilly, “It went very well.” “You needed very little help, even with the bathroom. Your ‘eating utensil’ use was also much improved.” “But the real treat was watching you play roll- the-ball with the girls.” “They heard you get up and I was initially afraid of what 'that you' might do, but you just looked at them, smiled, and bleated to them.” “That scared them a little, but they quickly recovered.” “You then sat down on the floor, on your haunches, and rolled their ball back and forth to them. You would bleat occasionally and we would all laugh,” “Until I herded you all back to bed.” “I think you all would have played ball all night”

Lilly relaxes a little, “Sounds like it is going better for 'her' in my world than it is for 'me' in her world.”

I wonder how she will do here if I get pregnant?

Scene 4. Farm

Lilly awakens back in Apollo’s apartment. She has rolled off of her bedroll and is covered in sweat. She is feeling movements between her inner thighs,

This can’t be good, it must be time.

Lilly struggles to stand and walk to her door and up the stairs to Apollo’s bedroom. The door opens for her and she bleats as loud as she can, screaming, “BAAAAAAAH!!”

Apollo bolts upright, immediately knowing the situation, “Let’s go!”

Apollo helps Lilly back down the stars and pulls out the covers from under the table and lays Lilly down, “You can stand up, if that is more comfortable.” “I hear that standing is the way for your kind.”

Apollo walks over to the ‘frame’ and presses a few buttons on the small black control box. The frame emits a beeping sound and after what seems to Lilly to be a very long delay, an ugly human face appears, looking very sleepy, “Yes?”

Apollo responds, “It is time!”

The sleepy face, “Place her over something soft and give her an hour or so.” “It should all happen naturally.” “Call me if there are any problems.” “Click” and the ‘frame’ goes dark.

Lilly cannot understand the conversation, but she stands back up over the mat on her own. Apollo walks back to her side and holds her, “I’ll stay with you.”

Lilly scowls, You had better stay with me! You got me in to this! She then closes her eyes and cuddles up to Apollo, feeling comforted by his touch. They wait together, trembling a bit with anticipation for whatever comes next.

Lilly waits for what seems like a very long time, but it has only been a few minutes. Then Lilly feels a long and powerful thigh contraction, Wow! That actually that felt pretty good! Lilly suddenly feels very light, thin, and very hungry. Lilly hesitates to look back behind herself, Do I really want to see this?

On the pad, behind Lilly, is a wet heap with two small white figures embedded in it, very still. Are those mine? I guess I had better check this out. Lilly turns to face the wet heap. She notices that she is still dragging something along behind her. She gives the heap a sniff, it doesn’t smell too bad. She then gives it a lick and the two figures start wiggling and emitting short squeaking sounds. She noses them loose from the heap and licks them off. Their short white coats of fluff start to stand up. The are both making a lot of noise bleating and crying. Lilly then experiences another strong contraction and expels the afterbirth. She then helps the kids stand up with her nose, little girls. Lilly then turns to the side and presents them with their first breakfast, These bags are killing me, would you please empty them? The two kids comply, sucking and sucking. I am glad I have room for two.

Lilly scowls, looking at her own bloody afterbirth, I am so hungry that I could even eat this thing! Following her instincts, she takes a bite then quickly consumes her entire afterbirth. We don’t want to attract any predators! Apollo looks on, covering his mouth, trying to suppress his shock at the scene. I guess this is ‘natural’. Lilly smiles at him, Ha ha, I gotch back for all of this! If you are going to have a pet, get used to ‘natural’!

After a rest, a caller comes to Apollo’s door. The caller came with a truck. Apollo and the caller load Lilly and the new kids into the back and they drive over to the farm building with the subterranean pasture. A small cart meets them at the loading area and they are taken to the pasture where the ‘billy’ Al lives. Lilly and the kids are put out into a pasture area next to Al's pen. Al sees them drive up and is bleating and jumping into the air from clear across his corral. Lilly hears Al’s thoughts, “Yay” “Yay” “Baaaah!” “Little Girls” “Little Girls” “Baaaah!” Lilly projects her thoughts to him, “Al,” “Come over and meet your new family!”

The workers pile up crates in the corral for the kids to play on. The kids waste no time jumping and climbing on the crates, but mostly the kids crowd around Lilly to drink more milk. I cannot hear any thoughts from them yet, it is likely too soon. Al’s head is hanging through the fence. He is fascinated by the kids actions and he comments, “It may take a while to get thoughts going and not everyone can do ‘projected thoughts’.” “So we will have to wait and see what they can do.” “They are very cute though, good work Lilly!” Lilly guides the family up to the fence to meet their father. The kids are fascinated by his smell, with their nostrils dilated and snorting, “I think they may be allergic to you, Al.”

Al sniffs them, “I hope not,” “I want to take them climbing!”

Lilly has another reason to approach Al, “Al, have you ever been able to ‘contact’ anyone else here?”

“Yes, there were two, a female pig and a female horse.” “I only connected briefly and it was a while ago.” “I haven't seen them since.” “Maybe they were dissected…”

Lilly looks disappointed, “Oh no!” “And no one else since?”

“Only you, Lilly” “Please don’t get yourself dissected!”

Al, do you ever ‘go back’ or are you only in this world? “I know that doesn’t make since, but if you are going between worlds, you will know what I am talking about.”

“No, I am only in this world. I have a dim memory of having been in another world long ago, but this memory may just be a dream fragment.” "The others seemed surprised to find themselves here." "They seemed to struggle with the body-forms that they had here.” “It may have been the first trip for both of them." "Maybe they found a way avoid returning.”

Can you connect with any of the ‘humans’? Can you read their language or understand their speech?

“No, I am afraid not.” “I have learned what a few of the symbols on their signs mean, but that is all.

“Do the humans have any other species that they can communicate with?”

“They seem to be able to communicate with a few of their mechanical constructs.”

“They can talk to their machines?”

“Yeah.” “I guess you haven’t met any of their 'smart' machines yet?”

“Smart machines?” “Now that sounds really scary!”

Scene 5. Both Worlds

Lilly awakens and feels Roc’s back against hers. I am back in the waking world, what a relief! She carefully gets out of bed and retires to the bathroom. She looks at the bathroom sink and is suddenly overcome with nausea. Oh no! I know what this is! Morning sickness!

The morning ritual proceeds, but Lilly says nothing about her condition, she just frowns and looks at the floor.

Roc is cheerful, “I know, Let’s go out for pizza for lunch!”

Lilly scowls at him, “Are you fattening-up your ‘brood mare’?”