fandomhigh | Ethics class [Tuesday, November 8, 2011, first period]

When Anakin came into the classroom today, he was not alone. He was wheeling in more than a half dozen droid babies in their own strollers. "It's that time of year again," he said, not even trying not to look amused. "Droid babies. You make fifty different decisions a day when faced with a child--what will you feed them, how strictly you enforce bedtimes, how often you interact with them, how much leeway you grant them in exploring their environments--and as every parenting booklet will tell you, each decision you make is fraught with peril about causing lasting damage to the child's delicate psyche."

He rolled his eyes. "If you think about it too hard, you'll get paralyzed by the responsibility. These droid babies have been programmed to be about six months old--they can crawl, but slowly, and are putting absolutely everything into their mouths. They eat formula about once every four hours, are exploring the wonders of solid food and are generally sleeping through the night."

If you didn't annoy Anakin, of course, in which case, the baby would cry alllll the time. He gestured at the back of the classroom, which had been filled with baby food, diapers, clothing, baby-proofing equipment, cribs, toys, and various other baby stuff.

"As you can see, six month-old babies do not travel light," he added. "The average cost of a baby's first year is rough ten thousand dollars in modern money," he continued, "and adding an element of budgeting will often bring moral debates into relief as, for instance, the cost of a babysitter is weighed against a night out and trying to balance the mental health of the parents against the child's ever-demanding needs. Each pair has been given 200 fake dollars to budget out for your week, and before you ask, no, this will not pay for childcare at the center in town, and no, you cannot supplement with your own incomes. It will, however, be needed to pay for baby's various...things. I provide the baby, ten diapers, a day's supply of formula, a pack 'n play that can be used both as a bed and a containment unit for when the baby is getting into too many things, and two changes of clothes for each of them. You must work with your partner to decide on the name of your child, and then what you will be buying from the store in the back of the room to prepare for a week with a baby."

He grinned. "May the Force be with you." His expression turned a little more steely as he focused on the engineers in the class. "And no trying to modify the droids. It'll set off an alarm that only I can turn off."