Well, I was really thinking more about how they are used both in the Honor Harrington novels and in the Miles Vorkosigan novels.
Both universes postulate rather similar technologies -- first, contraceptive technology is good enough that accidental pregancy pretty much only happens on primitive planets; second, really good uterine replicators are available, and, when a couple on a technologically-advanced world wants to reproduce, they do so with the aid of a uterine replicator. Some families rent or buy their own replicator, and therefore can have their gestating kid in the box in the nursery, and, y'know, play Mozart to it and sing to it and stuff.
In the Honor Harrington books, which are written by a guy, the main character's mother, although she had access to the advanced stuff and was a biochemist and medical doctor herself, chose to go through an old-fashioned pregnancy and birth. David Webber, the author, seems to imply that this was a rational decision somehow, dispite the fact that Honor's mother is an under-five-foot tall tiny little Asian woman, and Honor is an over-six-foot-tall-and-genetically-modified-to-be-stronger-and-bigger-than-human-normal giant.
In the Miles Vorkosikan books, the main character's mother was from an advanced world, but fell in love with and married a noble on a primitive world. Because there was such suspicion of the outside high-tech universe, the mother was convinced much against her will to go through a natural pregancy, but insisted on having uterine replicators and fetus-extractors available in the castle in case there was any sort of complication with the pregnancy. Like, for instance, a terrorist chemical attack on the pregnant mother -- the use of the uterine replicator is the only reason the main character survived to be born. Lois McMaster Bujold implies that you'd have to be kind of nuts to prefer a natural pregnancy and childbirth to an artificial one.
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Date: 2006-02-05 12:19 am (UTC)Well, I was really thinking more about how they are used both in the Honor Harrington novels and in the Miles Vorkosigan novels.
Both universes postulate rather similar technologies -- first, contraceptive technology is good enough that accidental pregancy pretty much only happens on primitive planets; second, really good uterine replicators are available, and, when a couple on a technologically-advanced world wants to reproduce, they do so with the aid of a uterine replicator. Some families rent or buy their own replicator, and therefore can have their gestating kid in the box in the nursery, and, y'know, play Mozart to it and sing to it and stuff.
In the Honor Harrington books, which are written by a guy, the main character's mother, although she had access to the advanced stuff and was a biochemist and medical doctor herself, chose to go through an old-fashioned pregnancy and birth. David Webber, the author, seems to imply that this was a rational decision somehow, dispite the fact that Honor's mother is an under-five-foot tall tiny little Asian woman, and Honor is an over-six-foot-tall-and-genetically-modified-to-be-stronger-and-bigger-than-human-normal giant.
In the Miles Vorkosikan books, the main character's mother was from an advanced world, but fell in love with and married a noble on a primitive world. Because there was such suspicion of the outside high-tech universe, the mother was convinced much against her will to go through a natural pregancy, but insisted on having uterine replicators and fetus-extractors available in the castle in case there was any sort of complication with the pregnancy. Like, for instance, a terrorist chemical attack on the pregnant mother -- the use of the uterine replicator is the only reason the main character survived to be born. Lois McMaster Bujold implies that you'd have to be kind of nuts to prefer a natural pregnancy and childbirth to an artificial one.