A Horror Story of the future of human kind.
PROLOGUE.
The year is 2045.To combat global warming coupled with population being expanding and out of control, the British Government has implemented radical, unpopular and unwelcome methods.
No beef cattle are now slaughtered; dairy cows being only allowed for milk production with pigs of heritage breeds the only ones allowed to eat waste food. Sheep are allowed only for wool and to graze in areas needing them. Vegan and vegetarianism are of course also encouraged.
The method of keeping the population under control and provide meat where needed by the population, a system of restricting families to children of either sex and a number of girls between 18 and 30 years of age, who are single will be culled. This will be achieved by registration for meat production, selection being by a computer draw using social security numbers as a lottery. Compensation is paid where appropriate, to a benefactor often a parent, and also if the girl is in employment an amount will be due to the employer to cover loss of that employee pending replacement.
There is also running alongside that scheme a system of tagging where if in a relationship, the male partner is issued one tag to be used with a girlfriend or unmarried partner. The girl in that case once tagged has to report to a processing centre, but a different one to the process mentioned above.
Once in either system once the girl has reached 30 years of age, she is released from either system to continue their lives without the threat of culling.
Klara has had a really bad day, at the bank where she is a data analyst, and has arrived home to her flat which she maintains with her mother Sarah, and she sees letters on the dining table which she supposes are bills as usual. Sarah has not yet arrived home from her job as a consultant at the Processing centres, where the girl meat is processed. They both live in a flat in West London at Hammersmith and get on well together. Sarah is divorced from her husband Bob, who is not Klara's father as that husband passed away not long after Klara was born, who works at the Processing centre as well but is one of the butchers there along with his brother Bryan.
Sitting down Klara takes off her shoes and feeling like a drink she opens a bottle of red wine, from Australia. This has been recommended to her by her work colleague Amanda, with whom she has worked for some years enjoying their time together. Her feet ache after a long journey home on the Circle line and starts, sipping her wine, to think about starting on their dinner. She looks in the freezer and finds a couple of girl steaks which she thinks will fit the bill as she doesn't fancy lamb tonight. She will wait until her mother gets home before dealing with the air fryer which they both use, although this method of cooking is largely becoming redundant as lasers are used increasingly to cook the meat. In the main girl meat is not marketed as such but is simply "meat" with the cuts therefore offered to choice. But of course, everyone knows how it is sourced.
She feels she had better look at her mail and an envelope has now come to her attention addressed to her and not her mother as usually is the case being responsible for the bills.
The post mark is that of an area nearby but she is intrigued by the description on the top of the envelope.
A long time ago having reached the age of 18 Klara was compelled to register to become meat if required by lottery to do so. Although like many of those thought it more likely they would get money from the Lottery numbers coming up, than to be selected for the scheme, which of course would involve a person's death.
Her mother at that moment walked through the door and greeted Klara warmly with a hug, "what kind of day have you had," Klara replied "a lousy one we lost a great deal of credits on a reckless investment made by my colleague which I then had to sort out, which took up most of my afternoon, so no I am not in the best of moods"
"We have some mail and there is something from the Ministry of Meat. Any ideas?"
Her mother blanched and suggested to Klara that she should sit down. "I am hoping it isn't what I think it is, but I guess we will still need to open it."
As the envelope was addressed to her Klara slit the top to get at the contents. She unfolded it carefully and starting to read saw it was from the Ministry of Population and Meat. She screamed as she read on that her social security number had been drawn a few days before and she would now be required to report on the 8
th
April 2045 to the Glenville Processing Centre in Bury St Edmunds for processing.
She sat with the letter in her hands and passed it to her mother who started crying. "I see the results of these letters every day when I am called to protest on the recipient's behalf usually to no avail." "You mean there's no way out from this, I'm doomed." shouted Klara.
"Do I have to go? What are the penalties for non-compliance Mum?"
"Severe I am afraid to say, they do have the right to come after the family which could mean me being executed and any family, we have close to us, they really want you to go. It also doesn't matter how useful the girl is to the job she does and the nation as a whole, and I rather think that whilst your job is important to the bank, there are others to replace you."
"It says I will need to get my affairs in order which I guess involves a will, and contacting banks etc to tell them of the situation I am now in."
"No appeal ever has been successful so we will need to do as suggested and which I advise girls to do every day, in my consultant capacity to the centre."
"So that's it I'm done for to be butchered, killed and chopped up into meat cuts to be sent to supermarkets for the population to eat. I think I really don't fancy my dinner now put the steaks back in the freezer you can have them after I go."
"We can deal with this together and I will help pay for a holiday for you and your boyfriend to go to somewhere hedonistic where you can have sex as often as possible for your final couple of weeks alive. I am sorry to be matter of fact about this, but everyone know they have to live with the risk that you could be selected so it has always been there at the back of our minds, although not thought about nor talked about."
"Yes, I will phone Mark to tell him but I won't see him tonight, I need to get my head round all this and just want to curl up with you, in a few last moments we'll have together."
*********
The fateful day dawned cloudy but dry so Klara wore the least amount of clothing possible to the Processing centre. She faced a long Tube journey to Liverpool St station where she boarded a train for Bury St Edmunds. Although her mother had offered to take her on one of her days at the centre Klara felt that wasn't fair on her mother, and had said her goodbyes to her and other relatives and friends, since her holiday with Mark. That had been amazing the sex had been as hoped for and she had had several multiple orgasms which she had not previously experienced, maybe the urgency of the circumstances was to blame. She had told Mark to ensure he found a 30-year-old girlfriend so this would not happen to him again, and he had someone in mind at his work, Klara did not wish to know more but was comforted, as she loved Mark that he would be ok for sex once she had gone.
She made her ponderous way from the station through the car park, thinking it a bit like going to the doctors really, before finding the entrance. An attractive girl in a blue and white dress, was hovering outside the doors clutching what appeared to be her letter, as Klara followed a girl in jeans and a white top. She got to behind this girl who waited patiently in the queue. Other girls went up to the desk clerk to register their attendance and eventually it was Klara's turn. She produced the letter and identification and was asked to confirm her beneficiary of the monies that were paid for the sacrifice the girls were making.
All the formalities over she was asked to take a seat in the waiting area, which she did. She noticed that as she approached it a no entry sign which said no one was allowed apart from similar girls like herself to gain admission. She found a seat; after clocking she was in company with about 7 other girls. She sat next to a girl who was quiet, but perked up when she saw Klara, and introduced herself as Laura, and Klara replied with her name.