"I didn't do an inventory, but not that I could see," I say, wondering briefly if Kira's asking for himself or if there's just someone he really thinks shouldn't procreate around here. It's a worthy question, though, and one I might not have thought to ask on my own: If we came out of a simulation, if this is actually real (and that, like anything else, is a big if), how many subtle controls have been removed that we weren't even really aware of? Was the fact that we had no pregnancies and few illnesses a combination of luck and genetics, or were be playing on easy?

"I have to get a better look around, get my feet under me, but for now I'd say it's safest to assume we've had our training wheels taken off and should proceed with caution," I add. Not that I'll ever really have a real answer for him on the pregnancy count; it's not exactly something I've been tracking.