Some time in the future, baby “K-23, 23rd citizen, Generation K” is born from a biological mother, in the traditional manner. The reactions of her mother, I-Cara, are much the same as those of any mother straight after childbirth — physically drained, relishing her tea and toast, and above all amazed and slightly panicked by her baby. The difference is that, firstly, the birth is supported by robot midwives, and every aspect of the new-born monitored technologically. And secondly, unknown to the authorities, I-Cara has “crossed the divide”. The baby’s father is a ‘bot’, and bots aren’t supposed to make babies….

Collected in Glimpse: An Anthology of Black British Speculative Fiction, edited by Leone Ross, Peepal Tree, 2022