DEFORMED (standard:science fiction, 1075 words)
Author: Danny Raven	Added: Dec 12 2005	Views/Reads: 3281/2161	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Krebbs' first child is born horribly deformed and in the future that is no longer tolerated.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

Krebbs smiled once more at his wife then limped over to the door. The
doctor followed him out. 

“Is there something wrong with the baby ?” Krebbs asked as they walked
along the corridor. 

The doctor didn't reply. He stopped and checked the number on a room
door then took a key from his pocket and unlocked it. “In here please, 
“ he said and they entered. 

The room had no windows and the doctor flicked on a light. There was a
single cot in the centre of the room and Krebbs could hear some 
gurgling noises coming from it. 

“I'm afraid we've had one of those rare occurrances,” the doctor told
him, indicating the cot. “They still happen from time to time. We don't 
really know why.” 

Krebbs moved towards the cot but the doctor gently held him back. “You
don't have to see it if you don't want to,” he said. “I'm afraid it's 
not pretty to look at.” 

Krebbs turned and looked at him. “I must see it,” he said. 

The doctor led him over and pulled back the sheet on the cot. 

Krebbs recoiled in disgust. The baby was deformed. Horribly deformed.
The worst he'd ever seen. It lay naked on the cot, kicking its legs and 
waving its arms about. Two legs. Two arms. Krebbs counted the fingers 
and toes. Ten of each. He shook his head and shuddered. 

The baby's skin was pale. Smooth and pale. Smooth and unmarked. Krebbs
glanced at the doctor's hands where they held the sheet back, comparing 
his course mottled skin with the baby's smooth unmarked skin. He 
shuddered again. 

And the baby's face ! Its face was horrible. A round soft mouth. A nose.
Two ears. And the eyes ! Two blue eyes blinked up at the lights in the 
ceiling. 

The doctor covered the baby and gently led Krebbs from the room, locking
the door after him. 

“You know what we have to do ?” he asked softly. 

Krebbs nodded. He knew the rules. 

“It's a kindness,” the doctor said, as they walked back along the
corridor. “Best putting it out of its misery. Can you imagine the life 
something as deformed as that would have ? Imagine the teasing at 
school from the other children. And later,” he went on, shuddering 
involuntarily, “can you imagine any young woman who would marry someone 
like that ? No, it would be too cruel to keep it alive. Too cruel. It's 
best this way.” 

They reached Room 306 again and stood in awkward silence outside the
door. 

“Go to her,” the doctor eventually said. “She needs you.” He brightened
and half smiled. “Who knows...maybe in the future...,” he said. 

Krebbs glanced at him and nodded. “Yes,” he agreed, “maybe in the
future.” 


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