"...I see what you mean," Ekaterin says slowly. "And I don't quite disagree. But... I feel we would lose something, as a species, if random assembly wasn't an option anymore. Even if helpful geneticists were freely available to design children for inexpert couples, even if they - took client goals into account. I don't know what, but I do feel we'd lose something."

"I am afraid I cannot help you articulate what it is you think would be lost," says Linya.

"The option itself, if nothing else. I don't know."

"Any competent geneticist with enough equipment to do nonrandom children can also do random assembly. With sufficiently well-engineered parents this probably isn't even harmful for the first or second generation on the levels that I mentioned as worrying me, although shuffling it enough would start to damage some of the more elaborate complexes after more than a couple iterations."

"Well, what's the point of involving the geneticist just to do the random assembly? Other than getting the child checked over for all the sorts of things galactics ordinarily check for, but - I've heard that's mostly automated anyway."

"It is, yes, takes about ten minutes if you have the right tools - my point is that even if there's for some reason no way to make a baby besides going through a geneticist, one who was responsive to client goals - which could include 'random assembly' - would be able to do that. So loss of the option would basically have to involve geneticists who were not responsive to client goals somewhere along the line, which was not the hypothetical we were working with."

"Oh, that's - no - I was imagining it being outlawed or something," she says. "All children being produced by someone's deliberate design, whether by law or custom or I don't know what."

"Oh. Well - I don't think that would be the worst of all possible social outcomes, but it isn't required in the hypothetical I was entertaining."

"That... wouldn't be so bad, but I'd still rather people could do the - low-tech version of random assembly, even if hardly anybody ever chose to."

"The appeal is completely lost on me... I don't want to take something from you and people who share your opinion that you want to have, but I find myself quite incapable of appreciating why it would be wanted."

"Old-fashioned notions of romance? Not wanting to involve people outside one's marriage in the production of one's children? Independence? Sentiment? I don't want to sound like I have all the answers. I hardly have any."

"Well, that's more answers than I was generating."

She smiles.

It is at this moment that Ivan chooses to wander by. "Hullo," he says. "Lady Vorkosigan, and, I don't think I've had the pleasure?"

"Lord Vorpatril, Madame Vorsoisson. And vice-versa."

"...You can call me Ekaterin," says Ekaterin, mainly to Lady Vorkosigan although if this Lord Vorpatril person decides to include himself there isn't much she can politely do about it.

"And you can call me Linyabel. Both of you can, for that matter."

"I'm going to be completely honest here, I had actually forgotten the last syllable of your name because Miles always drops it and I was too embarrassed to ask."

...Ekaterin puts her hand up to cover her mouth.

"I'm sure you could have asked Cordelia," laughs Linya.

"She'd have... replied in a perfectly civil and informative manner. Can't have that."

This time, Ekaterin fails to repress the giggle.

"Anyway, feel free to drop the Lord Vorpatril, Ivan is fine."

"Ivan it is. How are you enjoying the party at which I demonstrate that I don't bite?"

"Quite well. Music was pretty," volunteers Ivan. "And I've managed to escape Vorparadijs so far, too."