Autumn Ben on his way to Michael’s

I hc that Ben cannot walk on his own legs outside of mansion as an excuse to try to doodle him in a wheelchair

One of the games I bought while in isolation was Prehistoric Kingdom. Which is basically Planet Zoo, only with (accurate! Don't get me started on the fucking Jurassic Park/World movies/games!) non-avian dinosaurs and prehistoric mammals like mastodons, woolly rhinos, and cave lions.

The game's still in early access, but I've read that much of it is functional, so I bought it on sale. I just fired it up tonight to see what it's about and figure out how it works. Which was a little bit difficult because the recent major update of it broke the tutorial, so the tutorial is currently disabled. But as it turns out, at least in terms of landscape sculpting and building stuff, much of it works an awful lot like Planet Zoo -- only with added (and awesome) scaling functionality, not to mention being able to turn off the grid and to paint entire swaths of trees/shrubs instead of placing things one-by-one -- so between that and the in-game help, I could figure out most things.

And then I bred myself some psittacosaurs, shown in the pic, because they're among my favorite non-avian dinosaurs, and plopped them in a habitat....and....Well, a bit of nerding ahead. But before I get to that, I give the game a thumbs up so far, and it has tons of potential ahead of it. I'll probably put the game in unlimited, creative sandbox mode and just check out and build for every dino species in the game before going back and actually playing the game in its challenge mode, where you have to unlock stuff and don't get unlimited money.

Now for the nerding. My psittacosaurs promptly escaped from their habitat because I didn't bother with any natural barriers to block the invisible fences I laid. LOL But that's OK because I just wanted to see what they looked like in the game, given that we actually know a lot about what they looked like in real life in terms of soft tissues and pigmentation and such.

And it turns out that they did a pretty good job with the psittacosaurs! They got the dorky bristles at the base of the tail and the bizarre-o head correct. And they got the countershading right! That is, darker on top and lighter on the belly, which is typical for animals that live in dense forests. We know that psittacosaurs had this because there've been some specimens preserved with soft tissues, which included skin which included preserved melanosomes, so we could find out about the coloration of these buggers. So, the devs got the countershading as well as the subtle stripes/spots correct. I'd say they still look a bit too shiny/plastic-y, so they probably need to crank down the speculars a little, but otherwise? Pretty damn good.

I'd read that the developers of this game were trying to be more scientifically accurate, as opposed to...you know what...but I'm still pretty impressed. Can't wait to see if they did a similarly good job with the dilophosaurs, which are my favorite non-avian dinos. (Fucking Jurassic Park...Dilophosaurs are not tiny, venom-spitting frilled lizards, for fuck's sake, and yes, that was well-known in the early 90s, so there's no excuse!)

St. John Central Well Situated

It has been quite an inaugural year for St. John Central Academy for the building, its students and faculty, and the spirit of St. John Central High that still pervades the school. The Diocese of Steubenville handed the building over to a newly founded corporation comprised of St. John Central High School alumni.  This board immediately gained the support of past Fighting Irish alumni and has been successful in steering the school forward.  St. John Central Academy just completed year one of its 5-year plan and is showing signs of marked growth. “It’s been crazy,” said SJCA Advancement Director Johnetta Yaegel. “When we started, everything was coming down to the last minute because of how long it took to get the charter in place and then follow up with all the other requirements needed to open the school. “Everyone was prepared to move forward with the new school year and Mrs. (Selina) Brooks (principal) took everything to the top. Then, the coronavirus happened, and we were able to continue educating our students in expert fashion to complete the school year.” The Academy ended the school year with 103 students enrolled K-through-12, roughly the same amount the combined St. John Central High School/Grade School finished with its final year. Those numbers figure to increase in the coming years as programs expand and the Academy further establishes itself in the minds of the community as a viable educational option. “I think it’s safe to say the Valley needs to know we are here to stay,” said Yaegel, whose daughter will be a senior for the 2020-21 school year. “There are major changes coming at the school.” Yaegel admitted the Academy has exciting news, both in the short term and in long-term planning for the students, their families, and the community.

Coming soon

SJCA is in the process of planning a significant expansion of its chemistry lab with plans to invest $100,000 in equipment and technology.  The school’s biology lab has already been upgraded to a state of the art level. Dan Vitlip, the school’s renowned science teacher, is spearheading the design and planning of the lab. It will incorporate aspects of robotics, chemistry, and engineering. SDJCA is reaching out to alumni for support for Mr. Vitlip and his programs.  “Anyone who has had the opportunity to take his classes, understands their value, and will undoubtedly support his efforts to expand the programming for the sciences at SJCA,” Yaegal said. The school also plans to offer computer coding classes taught remotely by alumni who are Information Technology professionals for more in-depth exposure to these technical skills. In addition, the school is racing to give every instructor at SJCA the ability to teach remotely. Yaegel noted the ability for full remote learning will come in handy should another coronavirus wave hit or another similar situation requiring the school building to be closed for an extended period. It also increases the potential offerings available to both SJCA students and potentially others off-site. “We want every teacher in the whole school to have remote capability,” Yaegel said. “Our teachers will be able to go to work, even during a quarantine, and still be able to teach their kids how they normally would.” Yaegel briefly touched on the ability of home-schooled children to directly connect to a live instructor and participate “in the moment” with that instructor and classmates. Many parents of home-schooled students struggle with higher mathematics and sciences.  Home-schooled students will be offered the opportunity to participate in dissections with Mr. Vitlip, having their own specimens sent to their homes, and participate actively.

The E-Sports team members built their gaming rigs used for competition. Their setup is shown, along with iMacs further down in the school's upgraded computer lab.

E-Sports and Other Athletic Plans

The Academy’s E-Sports team, which plays competition-style PC video games remotely versus other schools, is a program taking off. SJCA students helped design the E-Sports station at the school along with helping to build the gaming rigs themselves. “The students built the computers themselves, under supervision,” Yaegel said. “You can compete against schools from anywhere and there isn’t a classification ranking system like those of the OVAC. If you can field a team and have the equipment, you can compete. “You can play people all over the country.” And that was the exact plan. The team built the equipment, practiced strategy, and was ready to go, and then the pandemic kept the team from playing because the lab was closed, and the students will wait to compete when the new school year starts. More traditional sports are being discussed as well. The Academy had planned an instructional soccer camp to be held at its facility. Coaches from both Wheeling University and West Liberty were to run the camp. It, too, was canceled. But the Academy is in talks of taking the necessary steps of getting a soccer program up and running. For the first few seasons, SJCA will need to practice and play its games on other schools’ or facilities’ fields. But that isn’t the long-term goal. “We eventually want to be playing on our own field,” Yaegel said. “We are working on trying to get together with plans for our own pool facility that also will include a soccer facility. “We were going to present ideas to the Belmont County Tourism Department with a presentation on March 20, but that got canceled.” The school is looking at adding a golf team this year. The return of boys’ basketball in coming years is also in the works.

A Pool You Say?

A home soccer field is a great addition, but there are many options to utilize in the interim for SJCA. But an indoor pool? Those locations Upper Ohio Valley-wise are at a premium. The facility’s demand would be immense, not just from a Fighting Irish swim team, but other area teams without a home pool, along with other local organizations. Obviously, it’s not an inexpensive prospect. So, when asked if this was more vision than plan, Yaegel responded. “We have some funding in place already and a lot of interest,” Yaegel said. “Our people in Belmont County don’t have an (indoor) facility for kids to practice swimming. It’s a vital part of school sports. We need a facility for our students and the students of the Valley.” There are a number of schools that have official teams without a home pool to practice in. Other schools have swimmers who compete individually. This provides an additional practice option and what would be the first in Belmont County for indoor use. “This would be for all the kids in the Ohio Valley who don’t have a place to practice,” Yaegel said. “Our kids need that. Bellaire needs that, something here to generate tax dollars for the city.” Yaegel noted another possible option to help with funding once the facility would be open is to offer up space for medical offices therapists. These medical professionals could set up a satellite office with the intention of performing aqua therapy for their patients. Any funding attributed to allowing the facility such use could help with upkeep and maintenance on the facility.

Speaking of Funding

Depending on where you live and what grade level your child is currently in, they may be eligible for a scholarship from the EdChoice program in Ohio. In short, if your child is a fourth grader at a county elementary school and if they attend a school listed on the EdChoice program site as being eligible, your child could attend SJCA at no cost to you. Locally, according the Ohio Department of Education, those districts and grade levels are: Belmont County—Bellaire (K-4, 9-12); Bridgeport (5-8, 9-12); Martins Ferry (5-8, 9-12); Shadyside (9-12); St. Clairsville (K-4) and Union Local (K-5, 9-12).Monroe County—Beallsville (K-6, 7-12); Monroe Central (9-12, K-8 at Woodsfield and Skyvue); River (9-12, K-8 at Powhatan)Jefferson County—Buckeye Local (K-6 at all three elementary schools, 9-12); Edison (9-12); Indian Creek (4-6, 9-12); and Steubenville (5-8). Yaegel noted that once the EdChoice scholarship is approved, the student can enroll at SJCA. From that point, the family need only renew the scholarship each year by the deadline. Eligibility does not change if the student’s home district improves or the student advances to a grade level where the home district is higher performing. Once they are eligible, they remain eligible until graduation, provided the scholarship is renewed on time. “Even if the district is no longer failing, once the student is enrolled, that voucher follows the student,” Yaegel said.

The SJCA building houses students from kindergarten through 12th grade. More than 100 students attended last year and that number figures to grow as parents learn more about the EdChoice scholarship opportunities, as well as what the school has to offer.

Open for All Students?

St. John is not picking and choose its students in order to keep its test scores higher, as some have suggested. If that was the case, enrollment never would have been an issue. The school will accept students that have an Individualized Education Program, that is not a disqualifier. But Yaegel noted there are some disabilities, whether those be physical or learning disabilities, that the public-school system is better equipped to accommodate. And if parents are inquiring about sending their child(ren) to St. John, the staff will be honest with their assessment. “We have students at our school on an IEP,” Yaegel said. “But if you are a student with a severe disability, we can’t accommodate that. We don’t have the structural resources and staff to handle severe disabilities.” “We are able to help those students who need extra attention, that extra study table after school. Our intervention specialist can go 1-on-1 with them and get them the help they need.” St. John is no longer affiliated with the Diocese of Steubenville and, as such, is not a Catholic school. But it is a non-denominational Christian school where religion may be taught and practiced For more information, call (740) 676-4932 or visit SJCA on its temporary website and fill out your information to be contacted at sjcacademy.net Read the full article

No, Lyme disease is not an escaped military bioweapon, despite what conspiracy theorists say

New Post has been published on https://nexcraft.co/no-lyme-disease-is-not-an-escaped-military-bioweapon-despite-what-conspiracy-theorists-say/

No, Lyme disease is not an escaped military bioweapon, despite what conspiracy theorists say

Ticks could spread weaponized bacteria – but B. burgdorferi that causes Lyme isn’t one of them. (Kelvin Ma/Tufts University, CC BY-ND/)

Could Lyme disease in the U.S. be the result of an accidental release from a secret bioweapons experiment? Could the military have specifically engineered the Lyme disease bacterium to be more insidious and destructive—and then let it somehow escape the lab and spread into nature?

Is this why 300,000 Americans are diagnosed annually with this potentially debilitating disease?

It’s an old conspiracy theory currently enjoying a resurgence with lots of sensational headlinesand tweets. Congress has even ordered that the Pentagon must reveal whether it weaponized ticks.

And it’s not true.

Ticks can indeed carry infectious agents that could be used as biological weapons. Military research has long focused on ticks. Sites around Long Island Sound, near the military’s Plum Island research lab, were some of the first places where the American Lyme disease epidemic was identified.

But there was no release of the Lyme disease agent or any other disease vector onto American soil, accidental or otherwise, by the military.

I started working on Lyme disease in 1985. As part of my doctoral thesis, I investigated whether museum specimens of ticks and mice contained evidence of infection with the bacterial agent of Lyme disease prior to the first known American human cases in the mid 1970s.

Working with microbiologist David Persing, we found that ticks from the South Fork of Long Island collected in 1945 were infected. Subsequent studies found that mice from Cape Cod, collected in 1896, were infected.

So decades before Lyme was identified—and before military scientists could have altered or weaponized it—the bacterium that causes it was living in the wild. That alone is proof that the conspiracy theory is wrong. But there are plenty of other lines of evidence that show why Lyme disease did not require a human hand to change something Mother Nature had nurtured.

Ticks and the diseases they spread can do just fine without being altered in the lab as weapons. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty/)

Lyme is an unlikely bioweapon

I teach a graduate course in biodefense. Biowarfare, the use of biological agents to cause harm, was once an interest of the U.S. military and that of many other countries.

One of the most important characteristics of a biowarfare agent is its ability to quickly disable target soldiers. The bacteria that cause Lyme disease are not in this category.

Many of the agents that biowarfare research has focused on are transmitted by ticks, mosquitoes, or other arthropods: plague, tularemia, Q fever, Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever, Eastern equine encephalitis or Russian spring summer encephalitis. In all of them, the early disease is very debilitating, and the fatality rate can be great; 30% of Eastern equine encephalitis victims die. Epidemic typhus killed 3 million people during World War I.

Lyme disease does make some people very sick, but many have just a flu-like illness that their immune system fends off. Untreated cases may subsequently develop arthritis or neurological issues. The disease is rarely lethal. Lyme has a weeklong incubation period—too slow for an effective bioweapon.

And, even though European physicians had described cases of Lyme disease in the first half of the 20th century, the cause had not been identified. There was no way the military could have manipulated it because they did not know what “it” was. None of us knew—until 1981, when the late Willy Burgdorfer, a medical entomologist, made his serendipitous discovery.

Burgdorfer’s discovery of the Lyme bacterium

Burgdorfer had done his graduate studies in Switzerland in the late 1940s, investigating the biology of tick-borne relapsing fever, a bacterial disease that can spread from animals to people. During the course of that work, he developed new methods to detect infection in ticks and to infect ticks with specific doses of a pathogen. Those methods are still used today by people like me.

Eventually, Burgdorfer moved to the Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Montana, an outpost of the U.S. Public Health Service and National Institutes of Health – at the time, the world center for tick research.

Burgdorfer’s unique expertise was studying how microbial agents were adapted to the internal tissues of their tick hosts, using experimental infections and microscopy. Until Lyme disease came along, his reputation was as the world’s expert on the life cycle of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF).

Burgdorfer at the microscope. (NIH, CC BY/)

It was RMSF that led Burgdorfer to the cause of Lyme disease. He had been working to better understand RMSF on Long Island in New York. Why were dog ticks, the acknowledged vector, uninfected even in areas where people were getting sick? He knew that a new tick, the deer tick, had recently become common on Long Island and been incriminated as a disease vector.

So Burgdorfer asked his colleague Jorge Benach at Stony Brook University for some deer ticks to test for the presence of RMSF bacteria. Benach happened to have some from nearby Shelter Island that he sent along.

In testing the “blood” of the deer ticks, Burgdorfer did not find RMSF bacteria. But he did find spiral-shaped bacteria called spirochetes. The spirochetes were very similar to what he had studied as a graduate student: the cause of relapsing fever. If spirochetes caused relapsing fever, perhaps other spirochetes were responsible for the mysterious new Lyme arthritis for which a cause was not known.

This ah-ha moment led to the landmark 1982 paper in Science with a question for a title: “Lyme disease – a tick-borne spirochetosis?”

Conspiracy theory can’t account for the facts

Some have overanalyzed the fact that Lyme disease spirochetes were first found in ticks from New York’s Shelter Island, right next to Plum Island, an isolated facility used as a military research lab until 1954.

But it was just a coincidence that Benach’s Shelter Island ticks were the ones in which Burgdorfer made his serendipitous finding. By 1984, once researchers knew what to look for, Lyme disease spirochetes were found in ticks from coastal Connecticut, New Jersey, and even California.

The research center on Plum Island focuses on animal diseases that could damage the agroeconomy. (AP Photo/Ed Betz/)

But let’s pretend the military started working immediately on the newly found agent of Lyme disease in 1981. That’s long after Fort Terry on Plum Island was repurposed in 1954 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study exotic animal diseases. It’s also after President Richard Nixon outlawed biowarfare research in 1969. If the bacteria was manipulated, it had to have been done after 1981—so the conspiracy theory’s timeline just doesn’t work.

The real nail in the coffin for the idea that Lyme disease in the U.S. was somehow accidentally released from military bioweapons research is the fact that the first American case of Lyme disease turns out not to have been from Old Lyme, Connecticut, in the early 1970s. In 1969, a physician identified a case in Spooner, Wisconsin, in a patient who had never traveled out of that area. And Lyme disease was found infecting people in 1978 in northern California.

How could an accidental release take place over three distant locations? It couldn’t.

Population genetics research on Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterial agent of Lyme disease, suggest that the northeastern, Midwestern and Californian bacteria are separated by geographical barriers that prevent these populations from mixing. Had there been a lab strain, particularly one engineered to be more transmissible, that escaped within the last 50 years, there would be greater genetic similarity between these three geographic populations. There is no evidence for a recent single source—such as a release from a lab—for Lyme disease spirochetes.

The real reasons for the epidemic becoming so burdensome include reforestation, suburbanization and a failure to manage deer herds.

Conspiracy thinkers make much of the military’s interest in tick-borne infections and how it influenced top researchers. Until Lyme disease came along, the number of tick laboratories in the world could be counted on both hands. As an acknowledged expert on ticks and the infections they transmit, it’s surely possible that Willy Burgdorfer received funding from the military, undertook studies for them, or was consulted by them. They were one of the few sources of research funds for tick projects in the period from 1950 to 1980. The overarching goal of such applied work would have been understanding the tick-related risks American soldiers faced while deployed, and how to protect them.

That Burgdorfer alluded to biowarfare or biodefense programs in interviews toward the end of his life should not be construed as an admission of participation in top-secret work. I met Burgdorfer several times and was struck by his wry sense of humor. It’s my guess that his hints that there was a bigger story to what he did for the military was a prankster’s way to toy with the interviewer.

.embed-container position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;

As someone who has worked for more than three decades to understand the epidemiology and ecology of Lyme disease in order to reduce the risk of Americans getting infected, I am appalled that this conspiracy theory is taken so seriously that Congress is now involved. The idea that Lyme disease is due to bioweapons research gone wrong is easily disproven. Our legislators could better spend their time fighting for efforts to prevent disease instead of investigating a far-fetched story that’s based on misinterpretation and innuendo.

Sam Telford is a Professor of Infectious Disease and Global Health, Tufts University. This article was originally featured on The Conversation.

Written By By Sam Telford/The Conversation

Unanswered Questions Into Marijuana and Health Disclosed

 In some folks, THC may lessen aggression. THC can also lead to fatigue. THC is the most abundant component that you'll find in a marijuana plant, the greater the sum of THC the better it is going to be for recreational use.  please click the following page

Alcohol Alcohol is one of the most abused drugs in the united states. Drinking an excessive amount of alcohol can quickly kill an individual. For that reason, it's quite important to steer clear of drugs. Drugs affect various components of body and impair their regular functioning. Marijuana itself has more than a hundred active components. Marijuana is also utilized to control nausea and weight loss, and may be used to take care of glaucoma. Smoking marijuana clearly damages the human lung, and normal use contributes to chronic bronchitis and can result in an immune-compromised person to be more prone to lung infections. Marijuana Marijuana is the most frequently abused illicit drug in the united states. Twenty-five years back, marijuana was illegal throughout the States. Also, there's no ignoring the simple fact that marijuana is now still classified as a Schedule I narcotic, as stated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Specifically, marijuana seems to alleviate the pain of multiple sclerosis, and nerve pain generally. Medical marijuana is a powerful treatment for individuals who are afflicted by anxiety.  Choosing Marijuana and Health Is Simple

Hemp Oils and coconut oils are the most frequently used oils. There are many ways of consuming CBD extract. For the interest of trying something new, folks start adding cannabis extracts to the edibles not just to boost the taste but also to raise the nutritional advantages. Studies have produced mixed outcomes. Over the years, it has yielded results to suggest that marijuana may be of benefit in the treatment of some conditions. More research is required on the manners in which government policies on marijuana affect public well-being, the researchers said. Animal studies have indicated some potential effect on reproduction. They have pointed to how even a small amount of CBD is extremely helpful in getting a good night's sleep. Some studies on cancer cells imply that cannabinoids may either slow down the development of or kill some kinds of cancer. Make certain it passes the sunlight test, the product you're planning to buy needs to be clear enough so that light may pass through it with no hindrance. Saliva drug test is not difficult to conduct since specimen collection is simpler and non-invasive. It is the most convenient test among all tests. Consumers using Cannabidiol products for relief out of their immediate wellness condition should decide on a Cannabidiol goods and delivery system which best serves their requirements. Together, you are going to be in a position to determine which product might be appropriate for you as we work to control your ailment. Such products provide therapeutic advantages and are also known to give relief in instances of nausea and vomiting. Only purchase a homogenous item, the product which you are buying should have a uniform mix, not appear in various layers. If you're searching for CBD goods in Myrtle Beach, you might find it being sold in a lot of forms as CBD dietary supplements, as pain relievers in the type of oil or tinctures in addition to CBD edibles that are usually in high demand. The essential component connected with coffee consumption is caffeine. If you wait too long there isn't going to be a system you will have the ability to afford. Purchasing the appropriate Product Manufacturers have now only begun to learn more about the benefits and uses of CBD. 1 benefit that may be derived from using hemp in medicine is it causes no allergies. When an affect on performance is the principal reason behind screening, the urine cannabinoid test result alone can't indicate performance impairment or assess the level of risk connected with the individual's continuing to perform tasks. There looks like a lot happening when it comes to legalization, but not an equally quick pace in conditions of knowing what the health effects of marijuana may be, Chavarro states. It is vital to comprehend the short and long-term effects of drugs and alcohol abuse on human body to avoid them. Some individuals have abused the usage of high TCE-containing hemp goods in order to make feel good'' drugs. Also, oral ingestion use gets rid of the need to inhale toxic combustion products made by smoking and thus negates the danger of respiratory harm related to cannabis smoking. There's no need to allocate a particular room for sample collection. In some instances, Cocaine use can cause death by cardiac arrest. Long-term marijuana usage is also connected with behavioral issues and disability. Another illustration would be the penalties of cocaine below the law. All forms have to be signed and can't be submitted electronically.

DS: Aftermath - Day at the Office with Ruby

Words: 1,464 Spoiler Warning:  Takes place after Job & Family.

This is gonna be the first of three little deleted/future scenes that include some requested content.  I’m hoping to post all three within a few days.

Ruby walked down the hallway of the Citadel’s prison flanked by four Knights of Hell.  When they reached the end of the hall, one of the Knights opened the door to the last cell, then two of Knights entered.  She gave them a moment to react to any potential threats, then followed them in, leaving the other two Knights to stand guard at the cell door.

She had gotten used to having an entourage of at least two bodyguards while outside of camp.  At seven months pregnant, with Sam & her second child, she was a very real target for anyone with anti-Hell sensibilities.  For the most part she only left the camp to visit the Citadel for her work, but no one was taking chances, even in the very heart of Hell.

The prisoner was an angel that was affiliated with the Order of the Morningstar.  He had joined the group of Lucifer loyalists after the revolt in Heaven.  Four hours ago he'd been picked up by one of Hell’s task forces that was tracking the source of an effort to breach Hell’s barriers that limit interplanar communication.  It wasn't clear whether the attempt to open a direct line to Hell was for recruitment, contacting an ally on the inside, or something else.  Before starting, Ruby double checked to make sure the angel's warded handcuffs were secure.

“We are going to discuss fifteen topics.”  Ruby informed him.  “That's how long you have to convince me not to have my people torture you to death.”

The prisoner stared at her belly in a way that was both annoying & unsettling.  It was a common frustration that people meeting her for the first time to fixate on the pregnancy.  But more than that, as a member of the Order, the angel was probably painfully aware that the child was a vessel for Lucifer.  She snapped her fingers and one of the Knights hit the prisoner.

“Look me in the eyes when I'm speaking to you.”  Her voice was cold & commanding.

“I serve your true king.”  The angel stated.  She didn't want to engage in some non-sequitur, but she could at least take a shot at his reverence for Lucifer.

“Your brother, he made a little mistake when he was designing this place- it's toxic to angels.  You see, you're slowly dying just sitting here.”  Ruby shrugged.  “I guess maybe it wasn't a mistake, maybe he just didn't want to share his toys.  Either way, the longer you stay down here the weaker you’ll become.  We're gonna have our nice long chat, just you, me, & my enforcers.”

“I won't tell you anything.”

“Maybe you won't, but I'm also interested in speaking with your vessel’s soul, once we kill you both.”  Ruby pulled a scroll from the pocket of her robe.  “Interesting fact, your vessel abused a disabled classmate in high school.  He's our property and I'm guessing he’ll happily strike a deal.”

“You wouldn't-”  Ruby snapped her fingers again resulting in another punch to the angel’s face.

“Topic one of fifteen: What are the names & species of every member of the Order that you've worked with directly?”

The interrogation lasted seven hours before she had to stop it.  As predicted the prisoner started faltering five hours in.  She got what she could while he was in reasonable shape, but when he lost his focus she handed him off to her subordinates.  Honestly she was glad to be out of there, for the last hour the prisoner had gone back to staring blankly at her belly.

Walking through the hallways of the Citadel’s administrative offices she relished the peace & near isolation.  She didn't stop moving, but she rested her hand on her belly as the baby shifted & kicked a few times.  Despite her preference for being hands on, she conceded to herself that it'd probably be a good idea to let her underlings handle interrogations for the next two months.  The poor kid was probably coming down off of her stress induced adrenaline high.  She was almost back to her office when Morrison hurried over to walk with her.

“How’s our little prince doing?”  The Archdemon nearly had a spring in his step.

“He'd be doing a lot better if he didn't already have a job title.”  Ruby replied without bothering to slow down.  

Three months earlier Kay had told Ruby that she was secretly trying to get pregnant, but until that actually happened Ruby's children were either first or second tier heirs to Hell’s thrown.  No one was really clear where Sam fell in the chain of succession, having been forced to disassociate with Hell’s governmental activities.  Though, if something did happen to Kay while their children were still young, Ruby was convinced that Sam would breach the agreement with Heaven in order to insulate his kids from the threats of the throne.  But hopefully, the whole thing would remain moot.

“It's time for another check up.”  Morrison reminded her.

“Can we do it at my desk?  In the interest of efficiency.”

“Of course, whatever makes you comfortable.”

When they got back to her office, Ruby took off her traditional Maji robe, leaving her just in a pair of maternity pants & a bra.  She sat down at her desk and began making notes on her current investigation while Morrison examined her belly.  He touched her, painted sigils on her belly, took different measurements, & more.  She was used to it by then, during the first two months after her pregnancy had become public knowledge Morrison was checking on the baby almost every hour.

“He's doing quite well.”  Morrison commented after several minutes of analysis.  He disappeared for a moment, then returned with a jar of powder & a folder.  “I'd like you to start taking another supplement.”

“Give me the recipe & full report for it.”  She refused to take any potions Morrison prescribed without carefully studying them.  He handed her the folder, which she started flipping through.  “What's it for?”

“It enhances the pons & thalamus portions of the brain.  I've observed that a weakness in those regions is responsible for Sam & Kay’s migraines when their powers become exhausted.  This should significantly reduce the child's risk of cognitive impairment from overuse of powers.”

Ruby reviewed the report’s findings carefully, then added the powder to her collection of prenatal nutritional supplements.

“During the next pregnancy I'd like to start that treatment at week 18, but as with so many things we have to refine with each version.”

“You're talking about my kids, not prototypes.”  Ruby put her hand on her belly and subtly narrowed her eyes at him.

“I have the utmost respect & concern for each of our royal children.”  Morrison assured her.  “I'm just trying to ensure that future children receive the best start possible.”

“You sound like Crowley.”

“The whole realm is excited for his arrival.”  He stated the painfully obvious fact that she wasn't thrilled about.  There was no doubt in her mind that the constant badgering about prenatal exams would soon be replaced by constant badgering to bring him down to Hell.  The requests for Kaylee to visit were more than enough.  “And the data that I've been provided is invaluable.  At this rate we may only need to study another two or three pregnancies before we can begin trials with other demons.”

“Sam & I are not on the hook to have three more kids.”  She reminded him.

“Well, with hope Kay will provide us with at least one or two children.”

“You’re doing that thing where you devalue people again.”  Ruby observed, but he didn't acknowledge the comment.

“I think it would be best if you didn't travel between planes during the last few days before the birth.  I know you require sleep, we could set up a bedroom for you-”

“I'm giving birth on Earth.”  

“I think it would be best to have the child here.”

“I'm not gonna make Sam miss his son’s birth.”  She was unwavering on the issue.  “If you insist on being there to study the birth you can come, but you aren't interfering.”

“I wouldn't dream of interfering.”  Morrison said a bit taken aback.

“Not just with the labor, I also mean no pestering Sam.”

“I've never pestered him.”

“You asked him if you could watch him masterbate and then keep the sample.”  Ruby scowled at the memory in order to keep herself from snickering.  “He understands that you're trying to figure this out, but you're more invasive than humans are used to and it can be disturbing.”

“I'll try to be attentive to him.”  Morrison agreed.  “His well being is just as important as any other specimen of our breeding program.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I think you really need to practice your phrasing before I go into labor.”