Hello and thank you so much for reading this. This is a story I started writing back in September of 2018. Obviously, none of us had any idea that a real-world pandemic would hit just over a year later, but it spurred me on to complete this novel. I would like to give many thanks to Volunteer Editors Phil Anderer and WishLove for their immense amount of help in fixing multiple aspects of the narrative writing.
All persons discussed and described in any forms of sexual and or intimate terms are and were 18+ years old. While there is a point in the story where incest and inbreeding become a primary focus as a driver for the story, I want to state that I do not condone this dangerous practice in real life. As this is a work of fiction, I also implore all my readers to recognize scenes that are fictional and not intended to be reenacted in real life.
Thank you.
Chapter 4: No More Monogamy, Start of Polyamory
It took almost a full week before the results of the genetic and psychological profiling came back. In his living quarters, Braedon heard his navigation wristband chirp and the female voice state that his results were waiting. Braedon had discovered that his room, like those of the other males here, had been equipped with a smart mirror with a camera, internet connection and back-lit LED display integrated into the mirror surface. After announcing his results were waiting, the smart mirror displayed the appointments for the day, which now included family building. "That's odd," he thought to himself. "Don't they know that I already have a family?"
Following the Nav band, Braedon headed to his first appointment - with an architect who would design the new home where he would live for the rest of his life. Walking into the office, he saw a few computer stations, each with two chairs, a sizable workspace and lots of binders, presumably with the samples the architects required when helping the men choose elements of their new homes. Within seconds after entering the architecture office, one of the staff walked over and greeted him.
"Good morning! Mr. Braedon Owens, may I presume?" asked the architect.
"Yes ma'am. I have an appointment to design my new house."
"It's a pleasure to help you today, Mr. Owens. You can call me Daisy. Let's step over to my station here and we'll get started. So first off, we'll cover what your government allowance will and will not cover."
"Oh, you mean I don't get my own island? Haha!" Braedon quipped.
"Hee hee! No, Mr. Owens. Can I call you Braedon?"
"Of course," he replied.
"So, Braedon, to put it plainly, the government has authorized each male with reproductive status to be provided a new home. The government housing allowance that comes out of your budget also covered my services today."
"Uh, Daisy, no one has told me anything about a budget that I have. I've only been given belongings and assigned living quarters up to now."
"Oh, you need not be concerned about your budget, since that will be covered by a financial planner before you leave for the new home we are designing today. So, when I brought up your housing allowance a few minutes ago, I saw you were given a temporary A rating which entitles you to a 150-250,000 square foot home with a maximum of five above ground floors and up to three basement levels situated on up to twenty acres of contiguous land."
"250,000? I can't even picture how big that would be! My wife and child and I lived in a basically 1,000 square foot home, basement not included in that size, of course."
"Well, let's keep in mind that not all of your home will be dedicated to living areas. You'll have the utility room, laundry room, onsite laboratory, onsite medical with surgical bay, building maintenance, warehouse and several other areas necessary to maintain the home and care for the needs of the residents," replied Daisy.
"Oh, I guess it hadn't occurred to me that this would be so expansive in terms of the support for my family. I guess it makes sense, though, that the government probably won't want me exposing myself to any hazards around the house."
"Well, not only do they not want you exposed to hazards, but in time, you'll have an extensive family. Much larger than any family that existed before today, unless you consider Abraham from the bible, who it's said was father to roughly 500 million descendants before the plague. So, let's start with the basics... what type of location would you prefer for your forever home?"
Braedon thought for a moment. "Well, I don't want to live in the desert or in the middle of a frozen wasteland. Maybe something in the middle where I get all four seasons. I always enjoyed the snow as a child, building forts and snowmen, so perhaps somewhere in the northern states. I've never been a huge fan of city life though, so if I can choose a location that's more suburban or even rural, that would be best."
"Alright, so more of a country living theme then, am I right?" Daisy confirmed.
"Yeah, that sounds about right. I don't want just a boring ranch, though. Something with a good size lake to go fishing and boating on. Gently sloping hills with the property backing up to a tall hill, good for sledding and a water slide and a flat level area, good for volleyball and picnics and such. That's what I've always dreamed of having."
Daisy smiled. "Oh, I think we can definitely give you those items. Looking at available property sites, I see your hometown of Plainfield isn't reserved yet."
"That would be great Daisy!"
"So, for the house, for practicality, I recommend going with a multi-story home to preserve more of the landscaping. I'm thinking something with a more traditional exterior, with a front porch and a deck in back that runs out to a dock for the boat. Some trees for shade on the east and west sides of the house with a small cluster of partial shade trees in back for those hot days. How does that sound?"
"That sounds amazing!" Braedon replied. "Can we do one of those cool wrap-around porches and make it connect to the deck in back? Oh, and I'd definitely need the porch screened in with my sweet blood. The mosquitos always want to eat me alive!"
Daisy suggested, "How about we do one better and design the porch ceiling to include chemical aerosolizer nozzles so they can spray citronella to repel mosquitos or release a gentle mist of soothing fragrance? I'm thinking fiber optic indirect lighting running the perimeter of the porch that can change color. We can also put in outdoor speakers in the same ceiling along with wireless access points to give you fast internet access anywhere inside and out."
"Okay, so what about the insides of the house? Do you have some ideas on where we're going to fit all the bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, living rooms and all those other rooms like the clinic and laundry and such that you mentioned?"
"Sure have Braedon! Like any large-scale building, as an architect I also recommend centralizing all utilities and support facilities in a building to simplify the routes that piping, wiring, air flow and other stuff like that runs. They can basically follow the same path and only sometimes require a minimum spacing between them, like gas and electric, to meet building codes. It also helps the support staff to do their job more efficiently since they only have to ever go half of the building's largest distance. Plus, they can have their own dedicated service transit and transport system to not inconvenience the other people in the building."
...
Daisy and Braedon continued to go over the details of the new home for the next three hours. At the end of their session, Braedon left to go to his next appointment for the day and Daisy began generating a landscape and basic home elements for tomorrow's follow-up meeting. After a short walk, Braedon reached a room with a door labeled Family Building. Taking a deep breath, Braedon reached out and turned the door handle, pushing the door open to take the first steps into his new life.
Walking into the office, Braedon didn't know what to think since it looked more like a bunch of voting booths. Next to the door sat a woman wearing a blouse with a vibrant floral print, the shoulders having a frilly look to them, extending down her arms with a colorful spiral mosaic pattern down to her forearms.
"Welcome to Family Building, Braedon. You can call me Bernadette. We have a busy four hours ahead of us, so I hope you came rested. We'll be selecting the women that will become your wives when you move into your new home. I expect this will be an uncomfortable task for you, given that you have been married with children for the past five years. Just remember that this is now the law, so the outcome will undoubtedly be better if you choose your wives, instead of being medically forced to inseminate government selected women."
Bernadette led Braedon over to a large white oval table off to one side of the room and had him take a seat while she brought over a tablet. When she set the tablet down on the table, an LED display covering the entire top of the table lit up.