io9 is proud to present fiction from Lightspeed Magazine. Once a month , we feature a story from Lightspeed’s current issue. This month’s selection is “Reality Check” by Nancy Kress. Enjoy!

Reality Check

by Nancy Kress

The bedroom door was closed. It was always closed, locked from the inside. Harry and Sarah glared at each other one last time before rearranging their faces into parental smiles. Not that Oliver would see them. Still, they had to try.

They’d been trying for fourteen months.

Sarah rapped on the door. “Oliver, darling, won’t you come down for breakfast?”

“No, thank you,” Oliver called. “Can Mattie bring me the tray?”

“Son,” Harry called, “you make a lot of extra work for Mattie, bringing up all your meals on a tray.”

Silence. Then, “I’m sorry, sir, but it’s not t

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