The experimental child

The first few years were rocky.

The discovery of aliens had been mindblowing for all nine billions humans on planet earth. Scholars suspected that there would be a huge war, but the aliens showed their skill for negotiation by inviting humans who were willing to live in a giant city on the moon with aliens from all the known planets.

The outward friendliness of the aliens combined with the sheer number, variety, and advanced technologies convinced the humans that war would be a bad idea.

In the year 1969 aliens had been discovered. The goverment had desperately tried to cover it up, but it couldn't last forever. In the year 2042, the truth had come out when technological advancements in the human race had convinced the aliens to make contact.

It is the year 2269 now, and humans and aliens are celebrating the one hundredth anniversery of legal alien/human intermarriage.

There is just one problem.

The mad scientist is wearing an old fashioned lab coat stained with the results of dubious experiments and burned at the edges by a failure they love to go on about.

They have their hands in the air wildly gesturing to their spouse, Xuwaqi V. Narcissist. "I'm making progress on the kid! We'll be the first wyre/human couple to have a real half and half child!"

Wyres have spongy green/blue skin with strong wirelike appendages that they use like hands. Xuwaqi in particular is wider than they are tall, has a tired air about them, and is a bright shade of blue.

Xuwaqi doesn't really see the point of all this.

They don't see anything wrong with a child created by Xuwaqi absorbing a bunch of organisms and detaching a piece of themself to become its own being. That's the way it has always been done for Wyres.

The mad scientist can also have their own child with the help of some long used technology. Whatever they do, it will be raised by both of them.

So why is the mad scientist obsessing over creating a hybrid? Xuwaqi supposes it's just their thing.

But as time goes on and the mad scientist is always just 'making progress,' or 'getting close,' Xuwaqi starts to question if they should really be allowing the mad scientist to continue with their whims.

Even with the new laws allowing moral liberties to be taken with experiments, the half dead and half alive results of the mad scientists experiments can only be called immoral.

Xuwaqi had known what they'd be getting into when they had married the mad scientist, but they hadn't known how obsessed they would get with something so irrelevant as what creature their child would be. It would be enough for Xuwaqi to know what species their child will be, and that they're alive and happy.

But although they call for the mad scientist to stop their madness, the mad scientist just says things like "The next one will live, for sure!"

Xuwaqi contemplates morality as they sit tiredly on the collapsable couch watching their spouse calculate a formula.

It doesn't seem like this whole thing is going to work. The mad scientists obsession is strong enough that they could be working on this project forever. What if they never suceed and are distracted for the rest of their life?

"I knew what I was getting into." Xuwaqi mutters, untangling their wires and pressing them neatly against their sides. It was almost time for the local knitting club to meet.

Xuwaqui watched the mad scientist seemingly descend into madness for some time, and then..

"Xuwaqi, look!" the mad scientist says excitedly.

Xuwaqi supposes he's just made some small progress, so they're surprised to see a short baby creature with skin somewhere between spongy and smooth, wires spaced throughout their skin, human limbs, and wyrelike eyes in a brown shade not normally seen on wyres.

"Well. You really did it," says Xuwaqi dispassionately. "It isn't going to up and die super suddenly, is it?"

"Nope, it's absolutely stable! You will need to feed it a combined diet of human plants and assorted materials, though. You're free to love it like your own child, don't worry!"

Xuwaqi is caught up on something the mad scientist said. "Wait, me? You created it."

"Well, I'll help of course. We'll take turns!"

Xuwaqi can see that the mad scientist really wants them to love the creation. The mad scientists large, worried eyes touch Xuwaqis wyre heart somewhere. "Very well, I'll give the thing a chance." They pick up the creature, which proceeds to bite them.

"Mad scientist..." Xuwaqi looks at them.

"They're just hungry. Here's some leafy stuff, kid!" The mad scientist shoves the dubious half dissolved leaf stuff into the childs mouth. Xuwaqi expects them to gag, but the baby actually seems to enjoy it. They make a humming noise, slurping noises, then settle down with snoring noises.

"Well I'll be, it's actually functional. Color me impressed." says Xuwaqi, rocking the mad scientists creation. They have the feeling they might grow to love the creature.