The girl on the kneeler wore the plain, gray dress of a novice. She faced the corner of the small, empty room and prayed the prayers she had been taught, especially the prayers of contrition. The door opened. “Sister.” The girl rose and followed the nun into the next room. This room like the other was small, windowless, lit only by a large candelabra perched on a small table. Next to the table sat the abbess, her face bathed in the soft glow. ...
Darleen lay in her mother’s lap, suckling. On one hand it was a Sunday morning like any other, on the other her world was about to turn upside down. Today she was 16. Today she would take her first step to adulthood, her first step to becoming a Cow. And if she did well in high school and was passed by the lactation board she’d attend Bovinity School. A nun sat with them in the milking room. Sitting quietly while Darleen sucked. But presently her mother eased her off, gave her a kiss. The nun prepared the injection, a cocktail of hormones, stem cells, and an alphabet soup of chemicals Darleen couldn’t pronounce. ...