The Meaning of Perfection

The Meaning of Perfection

     None of the day’s events would have happened if the new nanny hadn’t called in sick. At 6:30 that morning, as Dr. Mika Landis stirred from a deep sleep filled with disturbing dreams, her new AppleSoft MindPhone announced loudly that she had an important call. Before she could figure out how to turn it off, Jania’s sickly voice was on the line, interrupted by bouts of coughing, apologizing profusely that she couldn’t make it there that day. Jania had only been with them for a few weeks, so it came as a surprise that she was already asking for a day off. Normally, Mika would have taken the news in stride, but she had two satellite radio interviews and a DTV show to do and it wasn’t a great day to be so highly inconvenienced. What was she going to do with Zendra now?



     As Mika was pondering her options, Zendra bounded into her bedroom and hopped onto her bed, showering her with morning kisses.


     “Hi Sweetie,” Mika cooed as her darling daughter climbed into her lap. Setting her MindPhone on the nightstand, she commanded it with her thoughts to switch to speaker mode. “So, will you be here tomorrow? Or do I have to arrange childcare for the rest of the week?”


     Jania’s voice became a bit defensive then, taking on a slight edge. “I’m not really sure. I have to try to see my doctor today. I’ll let you know as soon as I can. In the meantime, there’s a daycare that’s pretty decent where my good friend brings her kids. I got their number, so I can call and arrange for Zendra to go there today and maybe tomorrow if needed. If you want me to, that is.”


     Mika sighed. She hated the idea of leaving her precious daughter with total strangers, but she realized she really had no choice. The book tour had just kicked off this week, and she had several appearances scheduled she couldn’t exactly cancel. “I guess that would be okay. Just give me their number and I’ll bring her in before my first interview. You should really drink some javaglaad, you know. It’ll help you feel better.”


     “Can’t stand the stuff,” Jania sputtered before erupting into another coughing fit. Some people still felt that way, and Mika wasn’t too crazy about javaglaad either, but all of the health benefits of the synthetic coffee replacement were so promising, it was hard to even find actual coffee anymore. Most people had either made the switch or quit altogether. Euroglaad had monopolized the market, putting Starbucks and all the other coffee houses out of business, and now javaglaad was all one could get if they needed some extra energy during their day.


     Mika took down the number of the daycare, but then realized she was still calibrating her MindPhone and couldn’t yet dial out. Jania agreed to call for her and then get back to her with the directions. Mika focused her thoughts toward the MindPhone, telling it to hang up, and then cradled Zendra in her arms, whirling her around like an airplane as they made their way to the bathroom to get ready.


     Her four-year-old daughter was of course good-natured and agreeable to everything, exactly as Mika had planned, but as they entered the Newton Daycare Center, she clung anxiously to Mika’s leg. Never having seen her that way before, Mika tried to explain again why they had to come there. Zendra was too young to understand, and she started to cry loudly and gripped Mika’s leg even tighter.


     Suddenly, from around the corner, Xeno the Spaceman skipped over. He was the newest rage with all the kids, and someone at the daycare had become very popular donning his outfit. “Well hi there, Earthling,” he bellowed, putting out his hand in a high-five gesture.


     Zendra instantly stopped crying and looked on shyly from behind Mika’s leg. “Don’t leave me hangin’, Earthling,” he said, still holding up his silver gloved hand.


     Finally, Zendra returned Xeno’s high five, and within a few minutes, she didn’t even know her mother existed. Mika quietly made her way out the front door, relieved that she could get on with her day.


***


     “Hey, we just got a bunch more bumper stickers in. Want one?” Chloe asked, holding up a sticker to Joey, her sidekick on the most popular satellite radio morning show in the country.




     Joey looked at the sticker, refusing with a shake of his head. Everyone had one these days, but he was rarely one to follow the crowd. The red, white and blue sticker read “Luvin’ the Good New UPNA”, celebrating the semi-recent unification of the former United Stated with Israel and Canada. Israel had finally gotten sick of being bullied by the Arabs, and they’d made a treaty with Canada to take over part of their land. It had taken a few years to transfer everyone and a lot of patience and organization, but Israel was finally part of Canada. Shortly thereafter, the three nations joined forces and renamed themselves the Unified Provinces of North America. That was six years ago, back in 2022, and Joey still hadn’t gotten used to it. Everything was changing so much lately, no one could get used to it all.


     “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Joey muttered, grabbing his cup of javaglaad and taking a hefty swig. Cringing from the taste, he threw the day’s production notes down on the desk in front of him.


     “What’s in ya’, bugga’?” Chloe asked, turning in her chair to see what he was so upset about. She often used the latest slang, and every day, Joey learned at least one new phrase or expression.


     “We’re interviewing that kook today.”


     “What kook? You mean Dr. Landis?”


     “Yeah. What a nutjob!” Joey glared with disgust at the thick ream of papers which held the notes their producer Shirl had made about the day’s interviews.


     “She’s not a nutjob. I personally think she’s a real genius. A true innovator.”


     Joey stared incredulously at the woman who had been his partner the last five years as if she’d suddenly grown wings and taken off flying. “Yeah, right!  Seriously?”


     Chloe nodded. “Yeah, I’m totally serious. I think she’s what this world needed. She’s doing great things everyday, which is more than most can say. What exactly do you find so offensive about her, anyway?”


     “Well, she’s got a God complex, for one.”


     “I’ve heard some say that, but I so disagree.”


     “She thinks she can completely alter the way things are supposed to be done. The way human beings are created, for God’s sake! You really think that’s okay?”


     “Yeah, I do. Cause she’s making opportunities available to everyone that never existed before.”


     “Yeah,” he snorted, “opportunities, huh? Opportunities to have a whacked-out super child.”


     “I think you’re so missing the point.” Chloe rolled her eyes at him and ran a hand through her short, spiky blue and green streaked hair.


     “Oh, please… enlighten me.” Joey eyed Chloe, challenging her to continue.


     “Well, before she came on the scene, many women couldn’t even get pregnant. Others wanted a baby but couldn’t find a decent husband. And still, others had genetic issues and were terrified of passing them onto their offspring. She’s changed all that. Infertility and genetic anomalies simply don’t exist anymore. Any woman can now have a baby if she wants, as long as she can produce an egg or get one from a surrogate.”


     “Yeah,” Joey snorted again. “Women don’t even need a man anymore. Then, we have a society with more and more single mothers raising children in broken one-parent homes.”


     “We had that before, but from what I hear, these children do just as well as in two-parent homes.”


     “Yeah right. And who did those studies? Single mothers, I’ll betcha’.”


     Chloe frowned at her partner, crossing her arms angrily in front of her. “Not true. Studies have been done at all the major universities, Harvard, Yale, Stanford for sure, and they’ve written it all up in the medical and psychology journals, and the only difference they’ve found is that the attachment of the child to the mother is not as secure in the single-mother-by-choice homes because the moms are out working all the time. But, I hear Dr. Landis is even coming up with a way to change that. She’s starting to work on ways to alter more personality characteristics in the children, and then an absentee parent who has to work for a living won’t negatively affect her child. The child will become securely attached, not at risk of having the anxious or ambivalent attachment styles some have now. And, that’s the only difference they’ve even found at all.”


     “You mean to say, they’re able to change things about the personality along with physical features now?” Joey scratched his head, looking even more concerned. “I didn’t know that was happening too. And you think that’s normal?!”


     “I don’t know what you define ‘normal’ as, but I think it’s a good idea. They can insert different things into the sperm somehow and change things about your child. You just pick what you want, and then they magically make it happen. I hear they’re even coming up with a patch a man can put on during sex and it will change his sperm on the spot. It’ll be programmed with the physical and personality traits the parent wants.  I think the whole thing is super awesome, and I’m actually considering doing it myself with their donor sperm.”


     Joey’s jaw dropped open. He had no idea his partner was that far gone. “That’s unbelievable! Really? You’d actually go that route instead of waiting to meet the right man, fall in love and have a real child with him?”


     Chloe stood up, hands on her hips, her face twisted with rage. “Do you know how many jerks I’ve dated the last few years? I mean, seriously, total jack-asses! There was the one guy who just lied to me about everything, then left me. Then, there was the other one who led me to think he’d marry me, but instead slept with my best girlfriend while I was out of town. Another one slapped me during an argument, and I was so out of there. The list goes on. Either they’re gay, complete weirdos, or they’ve got a mommy complex. Or, of course, they’re commitment-phobes who just want a piece of ass. I’m not waiting around for Mr. Right anymore! I’ve wasted enough time doing that. I’m already 37, ya’ know? I don’t have that much longer to have a baby. And that’s what I want more than anything!”


     With that, Chloe angrily wiped tears from her eyes and stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind her.


     Joey sat there dumbfounded, surprised by his partner’s outburst, wondering what he could do to make peace with her even though they obviously disagreed on more than he realized. Even though she’d had horrific experiences with men and was getting older, he still thought taking God’s job into your own hands was just completely immoral. He knew the idea of creating the perfect child was becoming increasingly acceptable, with around twenty-percent of women nowadays using the services of Dr. Landis’ lab or one of the similar labs springing up throughout the provinces, but he just couldn’t agree with the whole thing. It shocked him that once the idea took off, everyone had to do it. It had become trendy, and it sickened Joey immensely. The last thing he wanted to do was conduct an interview with this Dr. Landis, who had discovered the process of genetimating about six years ago and had become quite wealthy after convincing everyone it was such a good idea. He’d rather go clean out the Dumpster than talk to that whacko.


     Shirl peeped her head in then. “On in twenty. And the good doctor isn’t even here yet!”


     Joey brushed past his producer in the doorway to head out to the studio. “Good. Then maybe I’ll have a decent day after all.”


     Ten minutes later, Shirl was perched on her chair in her booth overlooking the studio, nervously tapping her pen on her clipboard and glancing at the door every few seconds, praying Dr. Landis would appear. Chloe sat in her chair sulking, arms still crossed and a scowl permanently affixed to her face as she used mind commands to scroll through Dr. Landis’ latest book, “How to Make Your Perfect Baby”, which appeared on her monitor. Joey sat across from her at his desk, jotting down some questions he’d ask since it looked like cleaning out the Dumpster was not an option after all. Shirl’s assistant frantically searched through papers, trying to locate Dr. Landis’ number to see what was holding her up.


     Finally, five minutes before they were to go on the air, Dr. Landis entered the studio looking a bit frazzled. “Sorry I’m late,” she said while catching her breath. She looked as if she’d just been running. “I had some childcare issues today and had to make arrangements at the last minute. I would have called, but my MindPhone is still being calibrated and I can’t dial out yet.”


     Shirl made her way down from the production booth, feeling a bit annoyed but plastering on her friendliest smile, and welcomed the doctor to the studio. She helped Dr. Landis into her chair and got her set up with a mike and a copy of the interview questions she’d prepared, offering to get her a cup of javaglaad or some water. Dr. Landis had regained her composure, and she accepted a glass of water as she primed herself for the first interview of the day.


     “It’s 2028, don’cha feel great?!” the recorded announcement sang as they went on the air. “It’s the Joey and Chloe Morning Show on the WXKZ – All Talk, All Action, All the Time! This segment is brought to you by NitroFlare, makers of the finest air-powered cars anywhere.”


     “Hey there, superfolks. It’s Chloe, sitting right here in my P.J.’s and wondering what’s the word?!” Chloe crooned into her mike, suddenly as chipper as ever.


     “The word is,” Joey began, as he’d done so many times before, ”today’s gonna’ be a great day. You have the power to make it that way, so whacha’ gonna’ do with that?!”


     “Well, today, we’re talking to Dr. Mika Landis, founder of the Landis Cryolab and inventor of the genetimating process we’ve all been hearing so much about. She has written a new book called ‘How to Make Your Perfect Baby’, and it’s climbed to number one on the best-seller’s list. Welcome, Dr. Landis.” Chloe reached over to shake hands with the doctor.


     “Thank you, um, Chloe, for that kind introduction.” Mika took a sip of water, waiting for the first question.


     An awkward pause followed as Chloe and Joey looked at one another, silently debating who should ask the first question. Finally, Joey talked into the microphone, barely looking at the doctor. “Is it true,” he asked robotically, reading from the production notes, ”that your genetimating process is up for the Nobel Prize for innovation in biology and genetics?”


     “Yes, it is. I just got word a week or so ago. We’re all very excited about that over at my lab. My research teams have been working around the clock on new and exciting improvements to the original process we came up with five years ago, and we’re making breakthroughs every day.”


     “Great,” Joey said without enthusiasm, not posing a single follow-up question.


     Chloe intervened at that point, trying to smooth over the awkwardness. “So, your book, does it describe exactly how this revolutionary process works, or is it more of a guide for prospective parents who want to use your services?”


     “Well, it’s really more for the woman, although it could also be for a man or couple, who is considering creating a child with our process. The book goes into some detail about the genetimating process, but in layman’s terms so anyone can understand. We’ve written several more technical articles about how the process works in more scientific terms, and the book tells where to look up that information. We’ve published a lot of it online. However, the book is more of a step-by-step guide for how to decide if our process is right for you, what’s involved, and what action needs to be taken to work with one of our specialists in designing your child. There’s also a special section on how to customize and order your perfect child through our cybersite.”


     “Isn’t it true, Dr. Landis,” Joey broke in suddenly, an antagonistic tone readily apparent, ”that you’ve made a ton of money off this ‘process’?”


     Mika looked at Joey for a second, surprised by the question, but quickly recovered. “Most of the profit of the company is put back into research so we can continue making progress in the industry and make it easier and less expensive for the average person to use our services.”


     “Oh,” Joey said lamely, then pointed to Chloe to continue.


     “Your daughter Zendra, who has received so much national attention for being the first ever child to be produced by your process, is she still doing well?”


     “She’s an absolute angel! She’s learning at breakneck speed, it seems, and she’s even reading now and writing full sentences and doing arithmetic problems. She just turned four, so it’s all very exciting!” Dr. Landis beamed as she spoke of her daughter, and Chloe looked on enviously, thinking of how proud she would be to have a son or daughter to tell others about.


     “That’s great,” Joey interjected with a bit of sarcasm. “But, how do you feel about the fact that because she was created by artificial means, you don’t know if something will go wrong in a few years and she’ll begin sprouting horns out of her head or something?”


     Mika had been asked far worse questions by critics for years, and she let this obviously jaded man down when she easily answered. “Nothing like that could possibly happen. Our clinical trials and research show that our process is completely safe and will not produce unexpected side effects in the future.”


     “How could you possibly know that?” Joey challenged, the edge to his voice becoming even more pronounced. “Your daughter is the very first, and she’s only four. How could you have studied this in depth with many children over the course of time to see what repercussions there are?”


     “And we have our first caller!” Shirl shouted down from the booth, interrupting what was threatening to erupt into a full-out brawl. “Lana from Jacksonville, Florida. You’re on the air with Dr. Mika Landis, pioneer of the genetimating process.”


     “Hi Dr. Landis,” a younger sounding woman called through the phone line. “I’m so excited to actually speak to you today!” The caller’s voice was shaking with exhilaration at actually talking to the famous doctor.


     “Why, thank you, Lana. It’s nice to talk to you.” Mika calmly crossed her legs, sitting back confidently and relaxing in her chair.


     “I just wanted you to know that if you didn’t do what you’re doing, I’d be probably completely suicidal by now.”

     “Really? Why’s that?”

     “Well, I’ve had three miscarriages already, and I’m only 27. I just couldn’t stay pregnant, and no doctor could tell me why. It was so upsetting, and I was so depressed for the longest time. All the doctors wanted to do was put me on antidepressants instead of figuring out what the problem was. But, I worked with your lab in Gainesville, and Dr. Shelcrow helped me so much. She’s such an inspiration!”

     “Yes, she really is,” Mika agreed, sipping her water and checking her watch. She had to be out of there in exactly forty minutes or she wouldn’t be able to make it on time to her second interview.

     “My darling Natron is four months old now, and he’s so perfect! He doesn’t even cry! That was one of the options we added to our package. I can totally sleep through the night. If he wakes up, we have one of those Baby Centers that tends to his every need. So, we can just enjoy him all the time and don’t have to get so irritated and tired out the way so many other new parents get.”

     “That’s wonderful,” Mika said absently, wondering how her daughter was faring at the daycare. She wished she could call out on her MindPhone already so she could check on her, but it would be a few more days of calibration before that was possible. “I’m glad to hear things are going so well.” Mika wondered how to mute the mike so she could ask one of the DJ’s to borrow a phone, but the panel all used the Mind Command Technology, or MCT, and she didn’t know the proper commands. She’d ask for someone’s phone when they went to a break.

     A few more callers phoned in with similar stories of how happy they were with their perfect babies, and as each caller boasted about how wonderful their children were, Joey got more and more angry. Doesn’t anyone but me see anything wrong with this? he wondered. He knew his wife Meg was in agreement with him, or so she said, but perhaps she was just trying to appease him because she knew how strongly opposed to the idea he was. It felt like he was the only sane person in a world gone mad.

     During a short station identification and commercial break, Mika borrowed Chloe’s phone, but for some reason, she couldn’t get through to the daycare center. She kept getting the voice-prompting system and couldn’t get a live person on the line. Frustrated, she figured she’d call back after the segment ended before she had to go to the next interview. Shirl patched through the next caller.

     “Hi Dr. Landis,” a male voice called out. There was static on the line, and everyone leaned forward, straining to hear.

     “Good morning to you. And who am I speaking with?”

     “Uh, um… Just call me Janus.”

     “Did you say ‘Janus’?” Dr. Landis questioned, unable to hear through the static.

     “Yeah, as in the Roman God of Good Beginnings,” the caller said tersely. “Anyway, I want you to do me a favor. Go get your MindPhone right now. I have a very special message to send you, and it’s important that you see it while I’m talking to you.” Shirl fiddled with the dials, turning the MCT mode off and switching to the manual mode, trying to get the sound to come in better.

     “My number is unlisted,” Mika said a bit apprehensively, sensing something wasn’t quite right with this caller. She knew as she said this that several close friends and some key researchers in her lab did have her private number, so it was possible they had shared it with others.

     “Well, I happen to have it, and I’ve now sent you something quite special. I guarantee, you will want to look at it immediately.” The caller’s voice seemed momentarily familiar to Mika as she tried to make sense out of what he was saying. She couldn’t place it, but she’d heard his voice somewhere recently. “Don’t you want to know what I’ve sent?” he asked after a pause.

     “Um, Janus,” Chloe interjected, “ Dr. Landis is here for questions about her new book and her research. Did you have a question regarding either of those? Because if not, or if this is something personal, perhaps you could contact her privately at later time.”

     “No!” he said, his voice rising a few octaves. “I will not contact her privately! I want everyone to know what a total psycho she is. I called her while she was on national radio for a reason, you moron!”

     All three in the room looked at each other, then up at the booth where Shirl was sitting. As Shirl was about to disconnect the call, Mika threw her hand up in a gesture to stop. “No, wait! Don’t hang up!”

     She was looking at her MindPhone then, her eyes widening with alarm. She started crying suddenly, her breaths quickening, staring in horror at the image on her phone. Joey and Chloe ran over to her in an instant to see what was on the screen. A young girl, probably four or five, with jet black hair and a perfect button nose, stared back at them, her piercing blue eyes rimmed in red as if she’d been crying for awhile. Her thumb was in her mouth, and she looked up at someone they couldn’t see on the screen.

     “That’s my daughter! Why are you sending me a picture of her? Why do you even have a picture of her?!” Mika yelled incredulously, cradling the MindPhone in her hands, her brow knit in confusion. She noticed Zendra was wearing the teal jumper with the brightly colored butterflies she’d dressed her in that morning.

     What she thought was a still image abruptly came to life, and she realized with panic that it was actually a live video streamed into her phone. Her daughter was bawling like she’d never seen before and sucking her thumb intensely, fear visible on her face. Mika’s heart plummeted as she viewed this, and she jumped out of her chair then, careful not to drop the phone, wondering what she should do. The caller, whoever he was, had her daughter somehow, and her daughter was obviously terrified. She just prayed that Zendra wasn’t being hurt in any way.

     “Don’t you dare lay a hand on my child!” she screamed, tears streaming down her face. Joey and Chloe looked at each other and shrugged, each not knowing what to do.

     Shirl was down there in a second at Dr. Landis’ side, but she also was stunned into silence.

     “Oh, my dear doctor. I would never hurt your little girl. I took her away from you so that you can’t ever hurt her again.” The voice was smug and threatening and chilling at the same time.

     “I have never hurt her! What are you talking about?” Mika demanded, trying to catch her breath, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

     “You are not a sane woman. You do not know the difference between right and wrong. I do not want this innocent little girl to be subjected to the erratic and unpredictable ways of your mind,” the caller said with a hint of condescension, and Mika slumped against her chair as if she would fall over right there.

     Meekly, she responded. “I’m not sure what you’re referring to. I have always acted in the best interest of my child.”

     “Oh really? Hah!” he laughed loudly, a sinister tone taking over his voice. “You have, have you? I find that hilarious! The funniest thing I’ve heard in a long time.” He continued his affected laughter for a bit while Mika and the DJ’s and the producer looked at one another helplessly.

     “Like when you used her as a guinea pig with all of your experiments? Was that in her best interest?” he challenged, the laughter now gone, replaced by a voice dripping with vehemence.

     Mika looked down at her phone again, at the video of her daughter crying, and her face grew red with rage. “She was not used that way! I would never do anything to hurt her. You obviously have the wrong information!”

     “Oh, I know how it all happened. I used to work for you, you know. I know all the details of what went on when you were creating your super child. So, don’t even try fucking with me!”

     Shirl busily scrawled down everything that was said, underlining the words he worked at her lab.      Meanwhile, Chloe had gone into the next room to call the police. Joey just stood there, unsure of what to do, still unable to move. He was heavily conflicted about the situation, because although agreed with the caller in principle, he definitely did not agree with his actions. Two wrongs did not make a right, something he’d learned long ago. He wasn’t sure what he could do to help Dr. Landis or even if he should help her at all.

     “What details?” Mika inquired, her head feeling light and her vision blurring. A throbbing pain started pounding over her left eye just then, winding down the bridge of her nose to under her right eye.

     “I know how you used a synthetic sperm to conceive her. You didn’t even create her naturally at all. She’s half man-made, for Chrissake!”

     “How do you know this? You say you worked for me?” Mika asked, realizing if she could keep him talking, perhaps the police could trace the call and track him down faster. His voice still rang with familiarity, but she still could not place it. She came across so many people every day, she couldn’t possibly recognize the caller’s voice right now while her head was spinning and she was concentrating on what he was saying and staring at the awful video before her of her daughter crying in fear.

     “Yes, in the early days. You didn’t know me though. I wasn’t important enough for you to even acknowledge.” His contempt was obvious.

     “I’m sorry you felt that way. I have so many people working for me, it’s hard to get to know everyone. I didn’t mean to offend you.” Dr. Landis spoke carefully, Joey noticed, choosing her words slowly as she put together each sentence. Her hair had somehow come loose from its clip, and the blond strands fell across her face, making her look wild and unbalanced. Her complexion was ashen, her lips quivering as she tried to prevent more tears from flowing. Her gaze was fixed at her phone in her hand, watching intently every movement her daughter made.

     “Oh, I don’t care about that now. All I care about is making sure your daughter is raised by a normal family and never knows who her mother really is, what she’s capable of. She will never know how she was created, or that her mother cared more about science than morality. Rest assured, she will be raised by a mother and a father, with sisters and brothers, and we will never tell her that she is a freak of what you call science. She will be treated just like a normal child.”

     Mika gulped, unsure of how to respond. Finally, she whispered, “What is it you want from me?”

     Janus laughed again, making a clucking noise with his tongue. “Oh, I have what I want from you. I have your daughter. She’s finally safe. But I also want other things, and these other things, I shall have.”

     Mika looked to Joey then, realizing he was standing beside her. He did not return her gaze, and she realized he was not on her side. He’d been challenging her before this, so she had guessed correctly that he was not one who understood her vision. There were still a few naysayers, and he was clearly one of them.

     Chloe rushed back into the studio then with a man and a woman behind her. They were both formally dressed in suits, and Mika surmised they were detectives of some sort. Chloe grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down the letters MEC, holding it up so everyone could see. The MEC unit of the FBI specialized in finding missing and exploited children, and unfortunately, they had become larger and larger as people found more ways to harm children for profit or perversion or both.

     The male agent, a large Indian man with curly black hair and a serious demeanor, held up his finger over his lips to indicate they should all stay quiet about the agents’ presence. The female agent, a younger black woman with long, straightened hair and a no nonsense attitude, began setting up electronics equipment quickly, expertly plugging in different leads into the panel, attempting to trace the call.

     “Do you want money? I can get you whatever you want.” Mika looked on at the agents, feeling a bit relieved that they were there, praying they were able to trace the call and get her daughter home safely.

     “Oh, I know you can. You’ve been raking in the money for years with your immoral acts against God. I know all about that too.”

      Mika breathed heavily then, twisting in her chair, staring back and forth from the MindPhone where her daughter was still crying to the agents to the speaker where the Janus’ voice continued to torture her.

     “Don’t worry, dear doctor. I have all of your money now. Just this morning, I hacked into and drained all of your accounts, including the corporate accounts tied to your lab. All your money is spread all over the world right now in offshore accounts that only my wife and I can access. Congratulations, Doctor, you’re now officially broke! We do, after all, need enough to care for Zendra in the manner to which she is accustomed.”

     Mika’s heart skipped a few beats with this new information. Shirl continued to scribble notes furiously while Chloe and Joey stood by, listening intently. The agents focused on their equipment, trying to trace the call. “So,” Mika finally spoke, her voice cracking, “this is all about money then?”

     “For someone supposedly so bright, who has so many awards for her so-called intelligence, you certainly are dense,” Janus reprimanded, clucking his tongue again. “I told you what this is about, but you don’t see it at all. What you have done, and what you continue to do and promote with this depraved genetimating process, is just wrong. How can you not see that? How can you remotely think what you’re doing is for the good of society? You are changing what it means to be a human being, with faults and flaws and problems, and you are taking so many on your slippery slope toward what end? Where will this all be headed? Mind control, robots that destroy, a society made up of super-humans without their own thoughts and feelings? You’re the next Hitler, and you will be stopped! I’m just doing my part to make sure that happens.”

     Suddenly, Zendra disappeared from the screen of the MindPhone as the image faded, and Mika panicked, sending the phone frantic thoughts to bring the image back. At the same time, the female agent came over, trying to take the MindPhone to hook up to the tracer, but Mika grabbed it back in desperation, hoping to see her daughter again.

     “We need the phone, and keep him on the line,” the agent whispered, and Mika finally released her death grip, sinking back into her chair, completely defeated.

     “Where is she?” Mika asked, tears again streaming down her face. “Why can’t I see Zendra on the phone anymore?”

     “Because you’re not cooperating. You’re not thinking clearly. You’ve not thought clearly in a long time. You should be committed to a hospital, or better yet, sent to Death Row, for the crimes you’ve committed against humanity.”

     Mika sighed, realizing there was no reasoning with this man. He would never see her vision, and she did not have the energy or desire to help him to do so. All she could think of was Zendra and the horror she must be feeling being with unfamiliar people in a strange place. Why had she entrusted her to complete strangers that morning who obviously couldn’t keep track of her?

     As Janus continued to criticize her for her supposed misdeeds against humanity, Mika scribbled furiously on a pad of paper in front of her. The male agent looked on, then pulled out his phone and stepped out of the studio.

     Rahj Lalwani called his squad commander and arranged for a unit to head to the Newton Daycare Center to find out what happened that morning. Someone had to have seen something. In his experience, little girls didn’t just vanish into thin air. In the meantime, the female agent, Noelle Bredsoe, looked up in frustration. Her equipment was not able to trace either call yet. Her screen kept giving her messages that the signals were blocked. She needed an expert in here. She made her way out of the studio to call in reinforcements with more advanced equipment. She also sent for a unit to begin tracking Dr. Landis’ bank accounts to verify they had been hacked into and hopefully to follow the trail of money to the caller’s identity.

     Time ticked by slowly. Janus argued with Mika, condemning every aspect of work she’d done over the years. Finally, she’d had enough. “Okay, I get it. You’re not a fan. I can take that. What I cannot understand is why you’re doing all of this. Do you really think Zendra will be happy with you? By now, she is very attached to me, her mother. Why would you want to scare her like you have?”

     “She will get used to us in time. She will grow to love us and forget all about you. You will just be one more memory stirring around in her sub-consciousness. She will be well cared for, especially with the sudden fortune that has come to us.” Janus laughed then, and Mika’s blood pressure reached its boiling point.

     “I will hunt you down,” she started, her voice seething with fury and contempt, but then a loud click sounded through the studio and everyone stared at her at once. Janus had hung up.

     The silence was deafening as everyone gazed at the speaker, willing Janus’ voice to return.
Meanwhile, Shirl’s assistant was frantically fielding calls in the producer’s booth. Every line flashed over and over again as the entire country called in to offer their opinion or to find out if the whole thing was a hoax.
After a minute or so, with the silence crushing her soul, Mika yelled to the agents, “Do something! Make him come back! He has my daughter!”

     Agent Bredsoe wrapped her arms around Mika as she collapsed in agony, screaming for her daughter. Chloe could not stop the tears from falling as she embraced the two women. Even Joey felt some emotion while witnessing the anguish the doctor was obviously experiencing.

Suddenly, Agent Lalwani’s phone chirped, and he stepped into the hall to take the call. After a moment, he returned, and he announced to the group that the daycare director was on her way over. She had called the police earlier that morning and they had already been out there when the MEC unit had arrived. Someone dressed in a Xeno the Spaceman outfit, posing as a worker, had led Zendra Landis from the playground that morning while the other workers were busy supervising the children, and by the time anyone realized the little girl was being taken, they had climbed into a dark van and sped away. No had thought to look at the license plate number, it had all happened so quickly. One of the workers did report seeing a dark-haired woman driving the van, but she said she was too far away to be able to see too clearly. The sketch artist was still trying to extract a picture of the woman from the witness.

     Mika’s heart sank in hearing this news. That’s why the voice of the caller was so familiar. She had just heard it a half hour before she had arrived at the studio. She’d never seen the worker’s face though, as it was disguised in the helmet Xeno the Spaceman wore. Apparently, from the report from the daycare director, no one else had seen his face either. They just assumed he was one of the workers who had decided to surprise the children that day by dressing up in the costume of their favorite cartoon character.
Different agents filed through the studio the rest of the day as Mika sat there numbly, fielding questions over and over and wondering through her tears what her daughter was going through. She hoped they were treating her well, that they had given her a teddy bear or some other comfort to calm her. She prayed they fed her and dressed her warmly, and that she had finally stopped crying. As day turned to night and still no word from Janus, Mika’s hopes dwindled until she was unable to function. She curled into a fetal position on the floor below the desk as if in a trance, and when no one could rouse her, they called in a psychiatrist to examine her.

***

     A year went by without hearing from her daughter or the man called Janus who had taken her. Mika stopped going into her lab, and the researchers continued to work, but without her vision and guidance, they made little progress. Funding had dried up, and since all of Mika’s wealth had also been taken, she had very little to live on. She sold all of her properties and liquidated all of her assets, but since she no longer was earning much through the lab, she was going through the money pretty quickly. Donations had come in at first, as had several letters from concerned strangers, even movie stars, and she was of course the top story on the news for months. However, the donations had stopped, the letters had faded, and people finally discovered something else to talk about. She had become old news. The MEC unit, after running into several dead ends, finally closed the case. Officially, they claimed the case was still open, as all missing persons cases were, but all the agents were assigned too many other cases to bother with hers. It seemed that Zendra was lost forever.

     Finally, the depression got to be too much, and Mika’s remaining few friends forced her to check into the hospital’s mental ward for observation. They were quite worried about her. She was very frail by then, eating very little, and her eyes were void of the life and hope they once contained.

     At that point, all expectation of ever seeing her daughter again was gone, and she didn’t care if she was at home or in the hospital or dead. She just sat there, staring out the window, refusing to interact with the doctors or other patients. She was practically in a catatonic state, and the doctors had to force medication into her several times to rouse her.

     One day, as she studied a robin busily preparing its nest in a tree outside the window of the day room, an orderly approached her with a letter. She continued to stare at the robin, ignoring the orderly even as he snapped his fingers in front of her eyes. He finally left the letter on her lap, and she continued to stare until dusk fell and the patients were told to return to their rooms. Clutching the letter in her bony hand, she walked like a zombie toward her room, barely able to keep her balance as the drugs they’d forced down her throat took effect.

     The letter sat for days on the nightstand. She’d forgotten all about it. Then, her younger sister Marie came to visit, and she noticed the letter. Mika and Marie had always been close, and many said they looked a lot alike. She was one of the very few who continued to visit. “You want me to open it?” she asked, but Mika continued gazing at the wall, unresponsive.

     “Okay…” she said as if her sister had answered. “Then, I will.” She noticed the envelope did not have a return address, and it simply had the words Dr. Landis, Westview Hospital, Mental Ward printed neatly on it. She read it quickly, then blanched and shook her sister excitedly.

     Mika did not respond until Marie told her the letter was from Zendra’s kidnapper. As if she were shocked back from the dead, Mika was suddenly at attention as Marie began to read aloud.

Dear Dr. Landis,

     You may remember me. I called myself Jania back then, and I was your daughter’s nanny for a few weeks. My husband and I are the ones who took Zendra. I have waited this long to let you know because we of course did not want to be found. I’m sorry for the pain we caused, but we thought we were doing the right thing. We still really don’t agree with what you have done, but that is a moot point now. We want to give her back. We thought she would fit in, that if we treated her as a normal child, she would be a normal child. But, Zendra is not normal, and honestly, we’ve become quite afraid of her. She has become very violent at times, and just last week, she took a baseball bat and broke my son’s leg. She was not provoked by him at all because I was right there to see it. Her temper flares up over nothing, and she becomes uncontrollable. We don’t know what’s wrong with her, but we suspect it has something to do with how she was conceived. We have also witnessed her stabbing our family’s dog, and she has become increasingly willful and won’t listen to anyone. The teachers in her kindergarten class have asked us to take her out of school, and we just don’t know what to do with her. We feel that for what you’ve done, you deserve her and she deserves you.
We will set her free in Guardian’s Park sometime during the early morning on June 16, and we will confine her in a kiddie leash tied to a bench so you can find her. We don’t wish to harm her in doing so, but we don’t want her to run off and get lost before you can get her. We hope you can correct what’s wrong with her before she hurts anyone else.

Jania

     Mika barely heard the entire letter. She only knew that they wanted to return her daughter. Instantly, she jumped into action, making plans for how to get out of the psych ward so she could get Zendra to safety. She convinced her sister, who looked so much like her, to return in two days, which would be June 16, wearing a baseball hat and tinted sunglasses. She promised faithfully that once they switched places and she could retrieve her daughter, she would get her sister out of there. Finally, Marie agreed, and two days later, she arrived at the ward dressed exactly as Mika had instructed.

     It was easy to slip out of the ward then. They exchanged clothes in her room, and no one was the wiser. Mika had Marie’s keys in her pocket, and she quickly found her sister’s luminescent NitroFlare Glide in the visitor’s parking lot. Mika could barely contain her excitement as she approached Guardian’s Park, which was only a few miles drive on the Nofta Zipway.

     Parking haphazardly in the first spot she could find, Mika sprinted around the park, looking frantically for Zendra. Finally, after stopping to catch her breath, she saw her sitting quietly tied to a bench. Her heart lurched out of her chest then as she ran full speed to her daughter, smothering her in kisses for the longest time before realizing she should untie her.

     Mika and her daughter resumed the blissful life they had once shared. Mika examined Zendra thoroughly and found she was the same sweet girl she’d known. She suffered a terrible haircut, but she seemed the same as Mika remembered. She was healthy and soon resumed being bright, confident and happy. Mika got the lab back into shape, and soon, with all the media attention over her finding her daughter, business really picked up.

     A few months later, as Mika put Zendra to bed, after Zendra had read aloud from her favorite bedtime story, she realized how lucky she was to have the perfect child.

     A few hours later, Mika was fast asleep, having good dreams for a change. Little did she know, they’d be her last dreams. Zendra stabbed her mother several times with a knife she’d retrieved from the kitchen, and as Mika lay dying, she went back to her room to read another story.