Womb 67
Chief Engineer Regina Arnold leads a crew of convicts constructing the first University on Venus. But even her best laid plans can't change what's in the stars.
By Eric W. Gershman
Sci-Fi, 15 minutes | Courtesy of Monnath Books
She awoke after 7.4 hours of sleep. High above the glass Womb that served as her home, sunrays streamed past the planet's dark outline. The season was changing, and the Quadrant she lived on was rotating toward direct sunlight, now only 20 sectors away--roughly 90 days' time. It was location of the groundbreaking John Hopkins School of Energy Physics, the first in space, and her suggested location on the planet was where the first Stabilizer was actually set. That was 19 months ago.
Regina had paid Amazstar handsomely for a package to make the 30-million-mile voyage from Earth in 30 days to Venus, but it was already three earth days late. She opened her eyes and pushed her cat off of her pillow. She either dreamed or heard something hit her starbox in the night. The package contained the ingredients for her third attempt at pregnancy, but this time it looked like she had missed the narrow window. Herman hissed at her, his good morning way of saying that he was hungry.