Necessity is....

 "Mother of Invention", a story by Nnedi Okorafor is a story about a woman Anwuli and her smart home Obi 3. In the story Anwuli is alone. The married father of her unborn child abandoned her and the small town in which she lives has shunned her for being 'the other woman'. Her town of New Delta has an overflow of pollen from "peri" plants that is rather deadly during the pollen season as it sweep through the town like a dust bowl. As the story progresses, Anwuli goes into labor at the time of one of these pollen storms. After calling her ex, and facing a brutal rejection from him and his wife she is force to endure labor alone with only the aid of Obi 3. 

Obi 3 soon reveals its plan for Anwuli's illness to the pollen and activates vents to filter the air along with turning the house into, essentially a transformer. When Anwuli hears Obi 3's touching words about protecting her she utters the words "necessity is the mother of invention" 

I thought this was a really interesting way to tie in the significance of the story. Once I read this line it was clear to me that the relationship between Obi 3 and Anwuli works to show the power of Black creation and how much it means to Black people. While some people may look at corn rows and think they are simply braids, they too are an invention out of necessity, as they were used to carry foods or information for enslaved peoples trying to escape. In the story Obi 3, an invention, is the only thing there to help Anwuli as Black people in the past have only had their inventions, like corn rows, to protect them. 

I thought this was an extremely touching story about the trials of Black womanhood. It was beautifully written and gracefully demonstrated the power of creation not only through Obi 3 but through Anwuli's pregnancy.