Summer 2099, Bella was pacing around anxiously at home. Thousands of students just like her were doing the same, as they refreshed the screen of their holophones over and over awaiting results from the exams which they had recently completed. Any minute now they would receive not only their scores, but also the analysis from CAPA -- the Career Aptitude Placement Algorithm. This was the latest version of a very sophisticated machine learning algorithm trained on nearly a century of employment data to determine the role for which an applicant was most suited. Each student would receive a percentile score for a range of subjects indicating that they were a better fit for that type of work than that percentage of the population. This had been standard practice for decades and the accuracy of the algorithm was really quite astounding.
Bella was confident in her test results, she knew she had aced the physics and mathematics portions and was sure she would be a shoe in for a scientific research role. Well paid, respected and engaging work which would challenge her mind and allow her to continue her studies with a full ride to a specialized STEM university.
Then she saw it. It just popped up and with a wave of her finger it was open. The results left her speechless. Her 2nd and 3rd best matches were not a big surprise;
'#3 most suitable match: Financial Analyst, 96th percentile.'
'#2 most suitable match: Scientific Researcher, 98th percentile.'
Ordinarily a 98th percentile score would have easily topped the sheet, but the top spot was an even better match.
'#1 most suitable match: Milk Production/Cattle, 99.9th percentile. [Auto-Enrollment Threshold met]'
What the hell? Bella was familiar with the concept; in the modern day it was considered barbaric to consume milk from an animal. However, the consumption of milk had not decreased, it simply shifted sources. Almonds, coconuts and other non-dairy substitutes were still popular, but one of the best selling products was human breast milk. Typically it was a role associated with the mentally slow, ditzes and other stupid girls who flunked their exams might find that, because their aptitude for any serious career was so low, Cattle ended up at the top.
But Bella wasn't some brainless bimbo who had screwed herself into a life of pumping out milk like some cow! She was clever and driven. This didn't make sense. The Auto-Enrollment clause had been triggered too. Due to her incredibly high percentile, the analysis had disregarded her 2nd and 3rd choices and automatically placed her into the role of Cattle. This rarely happened, but she knew it would be practically impossible to reverse. She broke down in tears as she realized that her world had been turned upon its head.
Later that same day, she received her first update pack. This would contain advice and first steps for her future life. Of course, instead of the textbook files and university pamphlets she had been expecting before this whole mess, what she got was an extremely demeaning and degrading video which walked her through the concept of Milk production as if she were a total moron. Complete with diagrams and lengthy explanations of basic biology and concepts like suction. Images were shown of some of the 'Cattle' girls at work and Bella was gobsmacked. They looked so utterly pathetic. Dopey grazing animals with little semblance of human intellect. Their bodies were swollen, especially their breasts which looked like they would make standing impossible with just their weight. The constant flow of white liquid pumped out of them and complete lack of any clothing didn't help. Would she really end up like that?
Though she did learn some things from the video. Apparently it would take around one year for her to go through the preparatory process before she would be carted off to one of these farms. One year was plenty of time to challenge this decision and make a case for herself. She immediately set about raising a formal complaint with the board that oversaw the placement algorithm. A machine could always make stupid mistakes, but surely once her case was looked over by a human they would see what a waste it was to turn a promising young mind like her into some perverse piece of livestock!
It would be several weeks before anyone got back to her about her case. In the meantime, she received a rather disconcerting package in the mail. It was very heavy, and contained around 20kg of 'feed'. This was something like what the Cattle on the farms would eat, the info pack which came with the package explained. It was similar to rolled oats, though it was apparently designed to increase fat build up and promote lactation. She could eat it as is, but it was best mixed with milk to form a sort of porridge.
Fuck that! Bella couldn't even touch the stuff, and she certainly wouldn't bring herself to drink milk at this point. The very idea started to disgust her, given her supposed fate. She stashed the package in a cupboard under the stairs and decided not to change her regular diet. She would soon have this case cleared up anyway, no point putting that messed up cocktail they called 'feed' into her body.
The next insult came around the same time she was finally progressing with her appeal case. She had been assigned a case assistant to help with her appeal and had scheduled to meet with him just after lunch that Monday. However, she received an unwanted appointment from her career service around the same time. It was an all-day session at the nearest medical and bovine processing facility. She wasn't exactly sure what they would be doing to her there, but she decided that she was not re-scheduling her other appointment. She simply wouldn't go to this facility. She wouldn't have them examine her like a piece of meat. Wouldn't have them do anything that would make her feel more insulted than they already had.
Then the appointment with her case assistant came and she didn't exactly hear what she wanted.
The assistant was a middle-aged man with stubble and glasses and generally had a tired look, as if he had been through all of this far too many times to count.
"So, have you looked over my case? How soon can I get my career switched over?" she inquired eagerly before he could even sit down.
"I have looked over your case, and firstly lets get your expectations in check here. 99.9th percentile doesn't come up often. Physically, you are basically a perfect fit for this position. Your compatibility with the technology that remolds the human body for milk production is perfect. Since this is the main component and no intellectual requirements exist, its basically the only qualifier. Compared to that, 98th percentile isn't so impressive. We will need to make a strong case here."
"Are you serious? But surely I can do more as a researcher than a brainless animal who lives to produce milk..." Bella argued.
"Well, the board won't necessarily see it that way. Milk is a staple food, so its production is critical to the functioning of society. There have been recent slumps in production and enrollment of women into the program as education standards improve, so they are quite intent on ensuring that as many suitable applicants get enrolled."
"Oh god. Please, I just want this nightmare to end as soon as possible. Even if its not guaranteed, can I plead my case with the board at least? If I'm going to be condemned to this, better to find out sooner rather than later."
"Again, that's not so easy. The board has a lot of cases on their hands. Typically it can take upwards of 6 months to get your case heard by the board, and its not unheard of for it to take a year or more."
"What! You've got to be kidding! But I will be...I'll be...livestock by then." she sobbed.
"Technically you are already considered livestock." he corrected her.
"Well...is there anything I can do? Anything to increase my chances and get my case seen sooner? Please, anything at all?" she begged.
"Yes. In fact I did want to talk to you about this. I understand that you had a conflicting appointment with the career service today?" he asked sternly.
"Um, yes...but I thought this was more important." she reasoned.
"You absolutely must take these things seriously and not miss such appointments." he raised his voice slightly. "The one thing that will harm your case the most is if you are seen by the board to be actively subverting your prescribed career. Yes, you are making an appeal. But you must continue to follow career service guidelines and processes to the letter until the verdict is reached. Just missing this one appointment will have seriously lowered your chances and set your case back."
"Oh fuck! I'm so sorry I didn't realize. I...I don't want to but, if it helps my appeal I suppose I will. I will follow the guidance." she promised.
"That's good to hear, but we are already underwater here. It will be hard to convince the board that you have actually been following all of the guidance. Just attending appointments isn't really enough at this point." he sighed.
"Uh...what can I do then?" she trembled.
"From now on, I want you to document and record everything you do for the career service. It can be on your holophone or some other device, but you must do so and send me the files so that I have a record which I can share with the board as evidence that you are following their process obediently."
Bella's heart sank. If she had to record everything, there was no way she could get away with skipping even the smallest steps. She supposed that was the point. At least it would help her build a strong case that she was a productive and cooperative member of society who was willing to do what was asked of her. Surely then they would see what a valuable and dedicated asset she could be for the scientific community.
"Okay. I will do it."
"You should reschedule the appointment at the bovine facility for as soon as possible. And make sure you are following any other instructions." he reminded her.
The rest of the meeting was fairly unproductive. Once the man had left, Bella did as she was advised. The appointment at the facility was scheduled for the next day. She was dreading it, but she had more to worry about.
The feed. It was still sitting below her stairs unopened. This was another instruction that she had blatantly disregarded. So, determined to set herself and her case on the right track, she pulled out a 2kg bag of feed and tore open the top. Honestly, it was hard to tell the difference between it and regular oats. She read the bag and began to understand just how screwed she was. Included in the box was a large scoop, the size of a typical mug. The bag instructed, in very clear terms which even a moron could understand, that she was to eat 3 meals of 3 scoops per day. This was much more than she was used to eating, but she carefully scooped it out and set her holophone to record as she got ready to eat. She gave a brief introduction for the recording.
"This is Bella...okay probably don't need to say that. Erm...date is August 16th and I am about to eat lunch...feed...whatever you call it. Bon Appetit I guess..." and with that she began to spoon the stuff down.
It wasn't unpleasant by any means. Quite bland and dry without milk, but she worked her way through it until she was left feeling full and lethargic. She groaned, turned off the recording and collapsed onto the couch for a nap.
Of course, after she awoke from her nap she realized that several hours had passed and since she started at lunch, she still had two meals to eat. She decided that she had recovered enough to eat her second meal, though since she had called her first one lunch she would be best off calling this 'breakfast'. She made a mental not to simply switch to numbers in future to avoid this mistake again.
