Melanie stared down at the doll, still feeling unsettled by it. She understood so little of this existence, but the one key aspect that she was beginning to grasp was the definition of self; humans were discrete individuals with separate thought processes and...wills? Was that the term? It was all so new to her, but these first days of her existence in this form had been an intense crash-course in exactly this aspect of human existence. The difference between being what she had been and being a single being in a world of distinct, separate beings was so vast that she couldn't not come away with some understanding of this. But if this was the defining feature of human existence, why, then, did they make facsimiles of themselves without this individuality? What was the purpose? It was like...like looking at a thing that had...ceased to be. It was the kind of feeling that had overcome her in her first encounter with Jenny, when she'd realized that her own existence would cease if she followed through on her mission. She dropped the doll on the table, feeling like there was something that remained on her hand that she should wash off. "D-don't...understand..." she muttered, her voice trembling slightly.
Jenny looked at her curiously. "What don'tcha understand?"
"Wh...why? What is the purpose? Why make...dead things?" Melanie stared at Jenny. How could she be unaffected by this? She knew from their encounter that Jenny didn't desire "death" any more than she did...didn't this bother her?
Jenny's first impulse was to laugh, but she stifled the giggle when she saw the earnest discomfort on Melanie's face. "They're not dead!" she said, trying to figure out how to comfort her counterpart (or would she be her sister, now?) "Dolls weren't alive t' begin with," she said. Well, she thought one of the kids at school had said something about seeing people changed into dolls that were alive, but that was kind of a different thing. "They're jus' toys."
Melanie didn't really understand the distinction Jenny was trying to make; did she really mean that from a human perspective, there was a difference between a thing that had been "alive" and was "dead," and one that had never had life at all? Was it then the loss of life that was distressing, and not merely the absence? But why did she feel distressed, then? Or did "just toys" meant that they weren't close enough to humans to be considered as such? But they were clearly designed to represent them... "What...are they for?"
Jenny thought for a moment, then smiled. "I'll show you!" she said, picking up the doll and putting its head back on. Good, it went in like it wasn't broken. "Here, I'll be the mommy an' you can be the li'l girl."
Melanie stared at her. "You will be...mother? But Muriel is...?"
Jenny giggled, and Melanie felt her face get warm, little prickles of heat across her cheeks as her blood began to flow more freely through that part of her skin. "Not for real, silly!" Jenny said. "Jus' pretend, is all."
"It's...simulation?" the insect-girl asked. Jenny nodded. "I guess so, yeah. Jus' pretend for the li'l girl." Melanie stared at her, trying to sort this out. It was...not a demonstration, then, but a participatory simulation? Then...perhaps these were devoid of life in order to serve that purpose, so that the participants could create - re-enact? - the facets of human life being mimicked? It was a training exercise? She eyed the smaller of the dolls with some unease; it still seemed a bit like a dead thing to her, even though Jenny said it wasn't. But her counterpart was waiting expectantly... Melanie didn't even really understand what it was she was supposed to do, but...well, perhaps Jenny could help her understand.
Alex sighed wearily as she stretched out on top of her bed. The soup Sally had made had improved her mood and even soothed her aching abdominal muscles some, and after a good long lie-down the soreness was mostly gone, but she was still pretty drained. The eggs were still covered with a blanket in the corner of the room...she'd deal with them tomorrow. Right now she just needed to rest.
As she was getting settled in, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," she said, not quite sure she was in a mood to visit. The door opened and her mom slithered into the room.
"Hi, Alex," the naga-man said, smiling sympathetically at her. "How are you feeling?"
"Unnnnh," the dragon-girl moaned. It was mostly for show, but it was a pretty sincere echo of the aggravation she'd felt at the time. "Better, but...ugh." It was okay, it was over now, it was done and she wouldn't have to go through that again for...for four weeks. It...could be worse, right?
Sue nodded and slid over next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I can't exactly relate," he said, "but...if you want to talk about it..."
Alex nodded, not sure she did. It was...it was just such a strange situation; he was her mother, and still registered as such in her brain, but he was a man now, and she was his son, but now she was a girl, and he was trying to relate to her on girl issues that he knew about and she'd never experienced before...but at the same time, it didn't seem creepy to her, just weird. And...and really, it just made her feel better to be given support from her parent. Sally was a big help, and Sally could relate more closely, but Sally was also her little sister, even if they were twins now. This was different. She sighed. "It hurt," she groused.
Sue nodded. "I'm sure it did," he said. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, honey."
Alex shrugged. "I...I guess at least it's done now," she said. "...Mom, Sally read that people say it doesn't hurt as much as having a baby. But it really did hurt...are they still right?"
Her mom laughed - she felt a little offended, but she could tell that he wasn't laughing at her. "Oh, Alex," he chuckled, then turned a little more serious. "Honey," he said, looking her in the eye, "I was on six months of pregnancy-induced endorphins and an epidural when I had you, and I still made my share of noise. If you'd gone through the equivalent of a sudden-onset childbirth without even natural analgesics, we could've heard you across the street."
The dragon-girl looked confused. "What's an epidural?"
"It's where they stick a needle in your spinal cord and pump painkillers in through it."
Alex gasped. "They what!?" That was a step up? "Is it...I...wow. I'm...'m sorry you had to..."
Sue shook his head firmly, wrapping his arms around his daughter. "None of that, kiddo. I've never regretted it for a moment, not even in the middle of labor. Besides, pain is a transitory thing. That was over soon enough, and then we had fourteen years of life with a precious little child that we got to watch grow up into a teenager. It's a trade-off I wouldn't hesitate to make again, if it were still possible." He smiled. "But you're a brave girl for going through all that with so little fuss, and no mistake."
Alex wasn't quite sure how she felt about being called a "brave girl," but...oh, who cared. Right now it was good enough. She smiled and hugged him back. "Thanks, Mom," she said.
