Sisters

by Laurence Dahners

  She had.

  Wait! For the symphysis to come apart, the fronts of the sacroiliac joints at the back of the pelvis have to separate too. She sent her ghirit to the back of the pelvis. The anterior edges of the SI joints had only opened a little. Daussie cut the tightest ligaments at the front of the right SI joint. As she disked each little segment the joint hinged open a little farther. She checked the symphysis again. It was much wider. She moved her attention back to the left SI joint and cut some ligaments there.

  This time when she checked the symphysis she thought it was widened by two centimeters. Maybe even a little more. She waited for a contraction. And waited.

  And waited.

  Oh, she thought. Then, trying to make her thoughts loud, she said, Jadyn! I think you’re suppressing her labor! Dial it down!”

  Jadyn gave her a wide-eyed look, then looked down at her patient.

  A few moments later, Deborah started having a contraction. The baby shifted deeper into the birth canal!

  Daussie looked at the midwife, “I think it’s time to wash our hands again!”

  The midwife’s eyes widened, then turned to their patient. She leaned toward Deborah as if wanting to examine her, but then she turned to the basin and lifted it to Daussie. Daussie washed her hands, then held the basin for the midwife while she washed hers.

  The midwife looked at Daussie, then waved her hand at their patient indicating Daussie should examine her first.

  Daussie said, “No, you do it. You have a lot more experience than I do and you know how Deborah’s exams have been up until now.”

  The woman gave her a surprised look but leaned down and deftly examined the girl. Now she looked startled. Raising amazed eyes to Daussie’s, she said, “She’s much further along!” She studied Daussie for a moment, “How… how did you do that?!” Then, eagerly, “Can you teach me?”

  Damn! Daussie thought. I should’ve been expecting this. Internally she laughed at herself, And I would’ve if I’d actually thought it was going to work! To the midwife, she said, “I’m afraid I can’t. I would if I could, but it involves techniques I had to start learning from my mother as a very young child. However, if you ever encounter this problem again, just call us and we’ll come, okay?”

  The midwife gave her a dubious nod. Daussie thought she was dubious about the reason she couldn’t learn the technique, rather than doubtful about whether Daussie would show up.

  As they waited for Deborah’s labor to progress, Deborah’s little sister Pippa, said, “If Deborah’s okay now, can you come help my friend Kaylee? Her whole family’s sick.”

  Daussie wondered whether it’d be okay for her to leave Deborah. The girl’s labor was progressing now, but it’d already gone on for so long the girl seemed weak. Besides, the last thing she and her newborn infant needed was for Daussie to return from a neighbor with some viral illness.

  Though, she thought, eyeing Deborah’s young sister, if Pippa’s been over visiting Kaylee herself, she’s probably already brought the virus back.

  Deborah grunted as her next contraction struck. The midwife spoke to Pippa, saying, “She’ll go see Kaylee in just a bit, okay? Deborah’s baby’s coming now.”

  Daussie’d been thinking the midwife would probably be just as glad to have Daussie gone now that labor was progressing. She felt complimented that the midwife did want her there. For a moment she wondered if she should send Jadyn to check out Kaylee’s family, but then realized that if Jadyn was needed to help with Deborah, it’d be bad for her to be over getting contaminated with whatever was making Kaylee’s family sick.

  The baby boy came all in a rush. There were a few desperate moments when the little tyke wasn’t breathing, but then he started with a lusty howl.

  Deborah’s mother took the baby, tears of joy streaming down her face. Then she gave her daughter a clumsy hug and settled the little boy at his mother’s breast. Turning, Deborah’s mother exuberantly hugged Daussie, Jadyn and the midwife.

  This is why I’m a healer, Daussie thought joyously, forgetting her fears and contemplating her hopes of finding other ways to save people.

  ~~~

  “This is Kaylee’s house,” Pippa said as she pushed the door open. “They’re too sick to come to the door.

  What a thoughtful child, Daussie reflected admiringly as she followed the little girl through the door. Then, on her first breath inside the little shack, she realized someone in the home had died.

  A couple of rats skittered behind a mattress.

  The room held four people, an elderly man, a young woman, and two children, one was a little girl who Pippa was speaking to. “I brought the healers Kaylee. They’re going to fix you up.”

  Kaylee wasn’t breathing. When Daussie checked, none of the other three were breathing either. The woman had an arm thrown up over her head. A massive swelling filled her armpit. It’d erupted and a streak of drying purulence trailed from it.

  Daussie glanced over at Jadyn.

  She was backing toward the door, a stricken look on her face.

  Daussie looked at the dead again. With horror, she thought, Plague!

  The End

  Hope you liked the book!

  To find other books by the author try Laury.Dahners.com.

  Or his Amazon Author page

  Author’s Afterword

  This is a comment on the “science” in this science fiction novel. I’ve always been partial to science fiction that poses a “what if” question. Not everything in the story has to be scientifically plausible, but you suspend your disbelief regarding one or two things that aren’t thought to be possible. Essentially you ask, “what if” something (such as faster than light travel) were possible, how might that change our world?

  I think the rest of the science in a science fiction story should be as real as possible.

  So, in this story, the central question continues to be what even weak telekinetic, teleportation, and telepathic powers would let you do. This story delves deeper into the medical applications of such abilities (which seem endless) and the moral and ethical ramifications of using them (which are frightening).

  For those who are interested, the aerospace metal titanium truly is highly biocompatible and bone really does like to attach to it.

  Cutting the pubic symphysis has been used for pelvic dystocia during childbirth for centuries, though it isn’t a first-line treatment today except in the developing world.

  Retinal detachment is a devastating problem that could be treated much more easily if you were telekinetic and could teleport.

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to acknowledge the editing and advice of Gail Gilman, Nora Dahners, Mike Alsobrook, Jeff Durham, Hamilton Elliott, Phillip Lawrence, and Kenneth Pence, each of whom significantly improved this story. Also a special acknowledgement of Jerry Aguirre who suggested the title.