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15th Aug 2070, the whole nation was getting ready to celebrate 123rd Independence Day. “Paper…” called the paper delivery boy in his high-pitch. Swathi picked it up and settled on the couch to enjoy her coffee while reading the newspaper. The first few pages of the newspaper were filled with advertisements "Independence Day Sale", "Freedom offer" and many more. She slowly turned the pages one by one. One of the Ads on the third page “Order one, Get one free” drew her attention. She was thinking about having one for a very long time. The moment she saw the Ad, her pulse rose in excitement. She ran to her room in search of her mobile. She called a number stored as “Honey”. It went full ring and ended with the message “Your call is not answered right now”. She tried again and again and on the seventh attempt, the call was answered “h…a…..l...lo…....” by her husband Vishy, who was still half asleep.
Vishy and Swathi were college mates and got married in 2052. Vishy works in a private space organisation in Pune on a project "Mission Jupiter" to send humans to Jupiter by 2090. He was instrumental in the "Mission Mars" project that first sent humans to Mars in 2050. He spends nearly 20 hours every day at work. For him, his job is his first wife. He doesn’t differentiate between his work and personal life. He visits Swathi occasionally. She takes care of her aged parents in Chennai.
The moment Swathi heard Vishy's voice, she started speaking in a hurry, “Honey, did you see the newspaper ad?” “What newspaper, what ad?” questioned Vishy. "Okay wait, let me send you the photo on WhatsApp…" said Swathi. Vishy saw the photo and showed little interest. He questioned Swathi “Why now?” Swathi started explaining, “Look, I am already 41… my parents are getting old… every day they are asking when they can play with their grandchildren... they want to see their grandchildren before their last breath… there are so many things happening which I cannot explain over the phone, idiot… please try to understand my position… when are you coming to Chennai?” “Swathi, my project is at a critical stage. The first prototype failed miserably, and we are working day and night to fix it... I can’t imagine of coming for the next two months…” replied Vishy. “Okay, I have decided… we are going for it now…” said Swathi. “But…” dragged Vishy and finally said, “Okay, give me some time, let me think about it and get back”. “That’s great but we don’t have time, this offer is valid only today and we have to place an order soon”, Swathi said. “Okay, I will call you in the evening… have to go to the office now...” said Vishy. “Office? Even today?” questioned Swathi. “There is a critical component that has to be delivered for testing tomorrow. I must go now to get it done, but I promise I will be back before evening 7’o clock” answered Vishy. “Okay, I will wait for your call. If you don’t call me, I will go ahead and place the order”, said Swathi. “No…no… don’t do that, I will come back… let us discuss before you do anything” replied Vishy. “There is nothing to discuss, I have made up my mind, talk to you in the evening, bye...” said Swathi and disconnected the call.
The conversation was running through Vishy's mind. He was bewildered and unable to decide as this was something new to him. He went to grab his coffee. His phone beeped. He took his phone and opened the message from Swathi which read “Waiting for you” with a picture of a baby. Vishy looked at the message and smiled.
She informed her parents about her decision and they were overjoyed by her decision. She was waiting for Vishy to call who finally called around 11.30 PM. She had almost slept in frustration. “Honey?” murmured Swathi. “Swathi, though I am not mentally prepared, I go with your decision. In the 18 years of our married life, I don’t remember doing anything for you. I have always been busy with my work. Now I feel I should do something that brings you joy. Let’s go ahead” said Vishy. Tears rolled down Swathi’s cheeks. “Do you want to place the order or shall I?” asked Vishy. “No…no, I can do it. I am in front of my laptop” answered Swathi. “Let’s go ahead” reiterated Vishy.
Swathi logged in to baas.com to place the order. She read the terms and conditions carefully and started filling the details one by one”. “Gender?” read Swathi. “Let’s go with the girl. It will be easier to manage another Swathi than Vishy” said Vishy. Swathi smiled and selected “Girl”. “Food preference?” read Swathi. “Asking me?” questioned Vishy. “Wrong question to ask you. I know your food style. Let me select myself” said Swathi and selected “Veg”. “But what is this for?” puzzled Vishy. “Based on the food preference we select, they will feed with different flavours like Banana, Orange, Carrot, Chicken, etc.,” explained Swathi. “Date of Delivery?” read Swathi and continued. “I already checked with my father and he says 4th May 2071 is an auspicious day with good star”. “Looks like you have done all the groundwork!” said Vishy. “Okay great. Let’s move on” said Swathi and continued “there is an offer available today - order one get one free”. “You mean twins?” asked Vishy. “Yes, why not? I am an only child and I know the pain of growing up without a sibling. Let us get twins, otherwise we will have to go through the same process again a few years later”, explained Swathi. “Hmm, I am fine as long as you can manage two kids” said Vishy. Swathi smiled and selected the option “Twins”. As a final step, she entered their Aadhaar numbers under the “Father ID” and “Mother ID” columns respectively. The government had mandated linking Aadhaar post marriage. The system will check the relationship of the person placing order. The “Spouse” details in Aadhaar should match with each other. Only when it matches, the order will proceed further. “You will get OTP on your mobile. Please read it out, I just entered mine...” said Swathi. “260910” read Vishy. “Please review your order carefully and proceed to make payment” read the message on the screen. Swathi reviewed the details, entered credit card information, and placed the order. “Your order is successful. Happy parenting!”. Swathi read the confirmation message with excitement to Vishy.
“What’s next?” questioned Vishy. “Let me explain the whole process… First, they will deliver a vial through courier in a specialized specimen container. We must get your sample in it. I hope you understand what I mean. They will then collect it within 8 hours of taking samples. They will collect it separately from the two different addresses that I mentioned in the order. Since we had preserved my egg by Oocyte Cryopreservation method 15 years ago, I can have it collected directly from the lab. After collection, it will be sent to their centralized laboratory where they will fertilize the egg by a process known as “In-Vitro Fertilization”. They will then place the embryo in a “Bio-Bag” which is an Artificial Womb similar to a mother’s womb. It is also called “POD”. Bio Bag resembles a big plastic sack with ports on the side and a few tubes going in and out. It's a sealed system, so bacteria and viruses can't get in. The baby’s umbilical cord is hooked up to an oxygenator circuit which provides vital gas (like oxygen) and scrubs out carbon dioxide. In 10 weeks, the foetus would form a shape, including limbs. They will then fix a camera on the POD and give us remote access. We can watch the baby growing stage by stage. The POD will have speakers too. We can play music, play our favourite songs, or even talk to the baby. There will be a microphone which will help us listen to all the sounds that the baby makes. We can literally watch the baby, 24/7. It is a highly secure and protected environment. After the babies are fully developed, they will be delivered to our address on the delivery date that we selected” Swathi gave a detailed explanation. Vishy smiled and said, “Looks like you are not going to bother me for the next 10 months...” Swathi smiled and continued “Honey, I want you to be here on 4th May 2071 to welcome our babies, don’t give any excuse”. “Don’t worry, my prototype will be over by then” replied Vishy.
4-May-2071: The entire house was in a festive mood. Swathi decorated the whole house with balloons and colour hangings. Swathi’s father dressed in a white shirt and dhoti to welcome his grandchildren. Swathi’s mother was busy preparing sweets to distribute to friends and relatives who would pay a visit. Swathi was preparing soft music to be played when the babies enter. Vishy got a support call for the successfully launched prototype. He was trying to finish the call in a hurry. Swathi’s phone rang. “Ma’am, we are on the way to deliver your order. May we have the landmark please?” spoke the delivery person. Swathi gave the landmark. She couldn’t control her excitement. She went to the doorstep and asked everyone to assemble. The delivery team opened the lift on their floor. They came with a big medical container, entered the house, and carefully placed the two containers on the floor. They slowly and carefully took the PODs outside, which were still operating on battery. The PODs were tied with gift ribbons. Swathi collected the scissors and handed over one to Vishy. “Your babies are ready to take their first breath. The moment you open the PODs, your babies will be on their own. They are fully grown now and very healthy. You’ll get medical and birth certificates by email in 2 days.” explained the delivery team. Both Vishy and Swathi hugged each other and cut the ribbons. They slowly opened the PODs to have a glimpse of their babies. The moment external air entered the pod, the babies started crying. Swathi’s father noted the time to be given to the astrologer to prepare horoscopes. Swathi and Vishy lifted the babies at the same time. The first-time parenthood experience brought tears to their eyes. Both handed over the babies to Swathi’s parents and took their blessings. They had tears too. After carefully handling the babies, they placed them in a cradle. The delivery guys took a selfie with everyone at home. Swathi’s mother gave them handmade sweets. After a brief period, they handed over the bills and delivery note. "Please call our toll-free number for any support. Your babies are under 12 months of the free support period. Our team of doctors will visit them on-site and provide necessary medical care. After 12 months, you can extend support at a nominal price" said the delivery person. "What about vaccinations?" quizzed Swathi's father. "It is covered as part of support, Sir" replied the delivery person. As they prepared to leave, Swathi’s father collected the documents. One of the documents read “Thank you for your trust in Baby as a Service (BaaS) team. Wishing you happy parenthood!” and in the bottom “Returns not accepted” was printed in bold letters.
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In 1924, the evolutionary biologist JBS Haldane coined the term ectogenesis to describe pregnancy in humans provided through an artificial womb. Haldane imagined that artificial wombs might become so popular by 2074 that only a small minority—fewer “than 30 per cent of children” — would then “be born of woman”.
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