The Siamese Swan

(Science fiction)

Oprah sighed.

A long drawn out gust of breath, full of self pity. There he was- Tudor. The best thing since sliced beetles on lotus. The handsomest male swan in their lake. But he'd never look at her- forget a second glance. For she was- a freak of nature- a Siamese Swan. Born with not one- but two graceful necks and heads.

Harpo sighed.

A short, crisp intake of breath. There he was- Tudor- the handsomest of the lot. Would he look at her today- she- a Siamese Swan- saddled with the other head- Oprah?

Oprah swam a little closer to where Tudor was- maybe tonight she could tell him how she felt. She'd heard the elders whispering it was a full moon tonight. Maybe the silvery moon, the cool lake and the ample stars could add to the lovers' atmosphere. Tonight...

Harpo swam a little closer to where Tudor was- craning her neck to hear what he was saying to the others. Maybe tonight, was all she heard. What was tonight? If only she could get rid of the silly other neck- Oprah- she'd have the body to herself and Tudor would be hers. But how, was the question. Hoping Oprah had heard 'tonight'- she looked away, a devious little seed creeping into her brain.

Oprah heard tonight. Yes. Tonight it would be. She looked at her reflection in the clear blue water. What if Harpo had never been there? The elders often complimented her on her beauty and she knew none of those remarks were meant for Harpo. Harpo was the only impediment between her and Tudor. She tried to shake off the 'what if' feeling. No, she couldn't, not to her own sister. 

Harpo thought of Oprah. Silly silly silly. She'd have been much better off without this other neck craning away her chances of a full-blown romance.

Slowly dusk fell in sheets over the small lake. Tudor and his small gang of female admirers were gazing at the velvety sky with it's multitude of stars. They heard a cackle, followed by sharp grunts and then a hiss. Swimming over to the bushy clump, they found the Siamese Swan- the one of a kind rare sight- whom Tudor believed to be an incarnation of God- and worthy of secret worship- floating feet up.

It's two necks were severely twisted, as if in battle. 

The elders bemoaned the fact that tonight was the seventh night of the full moon, the night when God himself would've descended the Earth, through his prized creation of the rare Siamese Swan.

Love is not a four-letter word

(Science fiction) It all began when Maya's Ma-Clone started putting little smileys next to Lila - her ten month old daughter's- daily feed log. This log was presented to Maya at the end of each day, before the Ma-Clone retired to her closet, after Maya came in from office.

Ma-Clones were a boon to the working mom. They looked, acted and felt just like real moms. Except that they were bits of some really sophisticated wires and metal, and neat programs- basically robots.

Through the day, Lila was bathed, fed, played with and looked after by Maya's Ma-Clone. They cost a small fortune but then Lila was worth it and as Anant- Maya's husband said- it was worth the smile on Maya's face after she had spent a satisfying day at office and not sat at home virtually twiddling the buttons on the wall-melting TV. 

Little hearts, little party caps - all dotted the day's activity log- appropriately next to an achievement- Lila had thirty ounces of milk in the day- a hurrah sign- she had a full bowl of soup for dinner- a little party hat. 

At first Maya was unperturbed. Ma-Clone's manual had clearly indicated that they weren't programmed to 'feel'. Yes, they would gauge the baby's need from amongst a thousand permutations and apply the remedy but they would never have a mother's instinct. 

She felt a little gnawing at the back of her mind but promptly dismissed it as adorable Lila crawled into her lap for a cuddle. 

Over the next few days, Maya video-phoned home more than usual, determined to find any odd behaviour. She went through Ma-Clone's manual carefully, reading even the terms and conditions in fine print- hoping to get a sliver of evidence supporting human behaviour- she anonymously joined an online group of Ma-Clone customers- but all she could gather was the additional activities each customer was able to program their clone into doing. She also noted that none of the moms had a baby as young as Lila. 

Frustrated, she let it pass, but at night, gazing into her beautiful daughter's angelic yet helpless face, she felt such a surge of protective pride that she vowed to be alert triple-fold. 

Meanwhile, Ma-Clone's feelings of affection for Lila kept growing. Once Maya saw her hugging Lila tightly to her bosom, and she thought she saw a tiny tear-like thing trickle down Ma-Clone's cheek. Another time Maya walked in on Ma-Clone swinging Lila high up in the air-singing 'away,away we go'- laughing and giggling along with her, abruptly stopping when she saw Maya enter.

But the day Maya sent back Ma-Clone was when she returned home early and both Ma-Clone and Lila were not at home. Terrified and on the verge of hysteria, she had just finished searching everywhere- including the robot's closet- when they both walked in- Ma-Clone pushing Lila's stroller - clearly, they had gone out for a walk- an activity off-limits to Ma-Clones because of the confusion they would cause in case acquaintances met them and mistook them for the real mother. 

Maya quietly glared at the robot and asked it to retire to its closet and quickly spoke to Anant. 

The next day, Maya's Ma-Clone was deported to the lab, and a fresh replacement sent over (free of charge). In fact, the chairman of the company himself called to apologise for this strange case. 

Maya went back to work- feeling happy that she wouldn't need to quit- until the day the new Ma-Clone presented her with Lila's activity log- decorated with little hearts...