Hillary’s Baby was a story that was always going to get written once I introduced the idea that Hillary the gendermorph was pregnant. Alien childbirth doesn’t happen very7 often even in science fiction.

A party to celebrate the birth of a child that begins before the child is even born is rather an alien idea. It is certainly not something that is done anywhere on planet Earth. Nobody could be that certain of a healthy birth.

I do seem to have spelt the name of Hillary’s planet differently as these stories progress. It is sometimes Haolstrom and other times Haollstrom. I haven’t really decided which it should be. Just go with the flow.

But whichever way it is spelt, Haolstrom is a society which doesn’t quite conform to the concept of democracy that Marion would understand.

“Haolstrom’s industrial cities are below ground,” Kristoph explained. “The lands above ground are for leisure. There are great public parks and gardens where the city dwellers enjoy their leisure time in the sun, and of course the homes of the aristocracy. Haolstrom is a good society. The working classes are treated well, with good education facilities and medical services. They have good homes and free access to the public places. But they DO have a two tier society. The old aristocracy live well above ground in their demesnes.”

On the other hand, Gallifrey isn’t exactly an equal society, either. A later Theta Sigma story - Revolt of the Underlanders- deals with a potential revolution on Haolstrom. But for now we see the bright, sunny, green part of Haolstrom from the point of view of the aristocrats.

Choosing unisex names is a bit of a fun game when dealing with the gendermorphs. Brandon, Drew and Kaye are less obvious ones. Brandon is normally a boy’s name, but in some circumstances can be a girls’ name. Drew certainly goes both ways. Kaye is a bit more unusual for a male name. Camilla, the new baby, is definitely a girls’ name, but the short form, Cam, fits the male persona.

The party going on while Hillary was having her baby was loosely based on a scene in a rather dark dystopian future film I saw once called The Handmaid’s Tale. In that film, female slaves were compelled to have babies which were then taken by their rich ‘owners’ and presented as their own young. The presentation of Camilla to the party guests was a far nicer variation on that idea.

Apart from introducing Camilla, who is destined to grow up to be a fond friend of Chrístõ, Marion and Kristoph’s future son, this story emphasises the fact that Marion is going to marry an alien, and that, among many other problems she faces, she is going to have a tough time when she comes to a Gallifreyan childbirth.

http://www.pearsecom.co.uk/thetasigma/84revoltoftheunderlanders.htm

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099731/