not happy.
48 After a year of trying he had asked the Ship's Doctor to tell him
why he hadn't fathered a child. His wife had already been examined and
found to be perfectly healthy. The Doctor took dozens of tests and
twice that many scans. He finally spoke to Morn in his office.
49 "The Doctors at The Palace," he began, "were mistaken when they
thought you weren't sterile. You do produce sperm and they are active,
but they simply do not have the strength to accomplish fertilization.
You must understand, that only twenty per cent of mixed bloods can
reproduce.
50 There are alternatives. When the sperm are active, we could
introduce them artificially. Fertilization would then take place and
from then on, it would be a normal pregnancy. It's not really an
uncomfortable process, and I'm sure your wife wouldn't object. It's
just a matter of precise timing, and, there's other ways."
51 "I know," Morn said. "I would prefer it to be natural, but I know my
wife wants to carry my seed. I know in time, we will accept one of the
processes you have recommended, but for now, I think we'll wait awhile.
We're young!"
52 The Doctor nodded. "Whenever you're ready," he suggested, "we can
begin the pre work. In the meantime, it might be helpful if the station Doctors make a complete study of
your wife's cycle. It will make things far easier when we're ready."
53 When Morn told his wife, she agreed. "Let's, wait five or ten years.
Maybe by then you'll have a different assignment and we'll be on a
nicer station for raising children."
54 Morn agreed, but neither of them had any idea fate was not
going
to let them be without children for that long. Two runs later Morn's
vessel was at the limit of its circle, just dropping cargo pods at the
distant