They flew to Geneva and consulted the geneticists at the Clinique Leclerc de la Reproduction et de la Fecundation. Papu gave a sperm sample and Eponine underwent a procedure to extract eggs. These elements were merged to create embryos which were incubated and monitored through the primary stages of development. Many were rejected out-of-hand. The more promising embryos were enhanced with nutrients, injected with colored tracking dies, and their genetic maps were analyzed with microscopic precision until the doctors were able to assure Papu and Eponine a ninety-nine percent probability that she could bring to term a normal, well-formed male child.

The embryo was implanted into Eponine's womb and she was flown back to Bombay by corporate jet. Papu had constructed for them a grand yellow palace in the exclusive Malabar district, and Eponine's pregnancy was achieved with the most exquisite care in the most elegant luxury.

The baby arrived on a stormy night. The Sea of Oman roiled turbulently, breaking against the concrete wharves of the harbor, seeming to express the displeasure of the gods, as sheets of rain battered the city, bringing all activity in the normally bustling megalopolis to a halt. A spider web of lightning erupted repeatedly and with increasing ferocity low overhead, accompanied by a deafening shock wave of booms and clashes, like a tremendously amplified symphony orchestra gone insane.
Papu and Raj Bhopal waited nervously in the maternity waiting room of the Mahavishnu Clinic, Papu sipping Courvoisier from a gold flask. At length, the surgeon appeared in a pale green scrub suit and removed his surgical mask, revealing a wizened face ash-white with apprehension. "Doctor," blurted Papu, "what is your prognosis?"

"Both mother and son are doing well. But I must advise you to prepare yourself for a shock."

"In what sense?"

"The baby is also born with three eyes."

Papu fell back in his chair. Raj leaned over, grabbed Papu's hand and squeezed it tight.

The doctor said, "This is an occurrence that we were not able to detect with the ultrasound. Surely, you must have been able to deduce that this result might be an eventuality!"

"The doctors in Geneva assured me that the baby would be normal!"

"Mr. Bhopal, nothing in this world is a hundred percent guaranteed. A man of your wisdom and experience is able to appreciate that better than most."