Prologue
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The year was 2151. The era of dazzling technological breakthroughs that had catapulted mankind into an unimaginable life of prosperity had come to an end. The insatiable need for more and more of mother Earth's finite resources presented the backdrop from which conflict grew amongst the world's great powers to an unprecedented scale. World leaders publicly pledged to avoid conflict while quietly prepared for the inevitable breakout of hostilities. No one was sure who started the war or how it began, but the devastating carnage left afterwards showed how far the human race had come in the perpetuating the science of its destruction.
During the height of the conflict, a genetic virus swept across the globe devastating the male population reducing their numbers to a mere fraction of what they once were. After the war, surviving governments quickly realized the gross gender imbalances within their populations. An interim forum at the newly christened United Nations General Assembly building in Switzerland was set up to address the immediate problems stemming from the aftermath of the war as well as reconstitute an international framework.
Surviving governments which had weathered the terrible conflict immediately saw the gross gender balances within their populations. The enormous value of males who had survived was quickly seen and a pragmatic decision was made in every government to use them to repopulate the species. In spite of heated controversy, surviving males across the world were immediately rounded up by their governments and forced into camps. They were trained as breeders; a valuable commodity that could be put to work repopulating whatever settlement had been lucky enough to capture them.
Chapter 1
Karen sat at the breakfast table and quietly ate her fresh fruit while she attached a small disc to her temple and began mentally interfacing with her digital assistant. Every day it provided her with updates on relevant daily news stories and reminded her about her schedule for the upcoming day. Karen went over in her mind how her schedule would look as she glossed over the images in her head; a note that read "The Eden Center's Orientation session for Mothers" caught her eye:
The Eden Center is pleased to formally invite all mothers of males nearing breeding age to an orientation session at its island facility. Mothers who have not yet received an invitation but are still curious are also invited to come and understand the goals and missions of the Global Seed Initiative. For mothers that have received an invitation, please keep in mind that this meeting is mandatory and that you must contact the appropriate officials if you cannot make the session for any reason. Lunch will be provided and the session is expected to go for several hours. We look forward to seeing you there!
"That's today?" Karen thought to herself. She hadn't noticed any significant physical changes in her son Michael lately but perhaps she was still seeing him through the lens as her little boy that she hoped would never grow up.
"Hi, mom!" exclaimed Michael as he shocked Karen, still engrossed by her interfacing.
"Oh, hi! You scared me," said Karen as she turned her attention to Michael.
Michael went and ordered his breakfast out of the replicator. Karen watched as he playfully decided what he should choose this morning for breakfast and wondered how the institute could start these boys so early. She simply couldn't imagine Michael at his age becoming one of those large aggressive male breeders that were shown in those promotional videos released by the Institute.
Karen went back to interfacing with her digital assistant as Michael sat down across from her and started eating his breakfast.
"Mom, I'm going early today to meet Jimmy to finish a project that we have to do," said Michael as he quickly finished his breakfast and got ready to leave the apartment.
"Ok, I think I'm going to be late getting back tonight, if you are hungry don't wait for me" yelled Karen as Michael walked out of the flat.
Karen checked her watch and decided to get going for the day. She would have to cut a few of her activities if she was going to be in time for the meeting at the center in the afternoon...
After cleaning the house and organizing a festival with some of the other mothers next week for the children's graduation, Karen took the public rapid transit downtown to the harbor. She would take one of the small hover boats over to the nearby resort island that was home to the giant breeding center complex.
"Hi, I'm here for the trip to the Institute," she politely said to the ticket attendant.
"It's the boat down onto your left," motioned the young girl.
"Thanks," said Karen as she walked down the rails to the appropriate pier.
"Welcome aboard," said an attendant as she helped Karen onto the water taxi.
Karen looked around and saw about two dozen other women sitting patiently as the boat waited to be filled. She figured they must all be mothers too whose sons were reaching the age the Institute deemed "sexually appropriate". She sat near an open aired window and looked at the beautiful tropical waters and watched as the boat slowly left the city of Singapore.
After an uneventful half hour ride, the boat reached the restricted island. Karen watched as the taxi was waved past several maritime military checkpoints and then sped towards the shore. She looked with curiosity as details began to manifest themselves on shore. Soldiers patrolled the beaches with automatic weapons and high fences with lush jungle prevented a view of what lay beyond. From her viewpoint, all Karen could see was the massive dome arising above the tree line in the interior.