Prologue
:
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.
The boat reached a pier where it docked and a board was laid down connecting the two platforms for the women to get off.
"Identification cards please," ordered a stern sergeant as the mothers came off the boat.
Karen presented her identification card and was waved through and motioned towards a bus. In single file, the women boarded the bus and were transported from the beach, past the front gate along a narrow road deep into the interior of the island. Karen and the other women looked outside with awe as they admired the natural scenery of the island, still unspoiled by either war or urban development.
"Oh my God! I see one of them!" exclaimed an excited mother as the women on the other side on of the bus stood up to look through the opposing side of the glass.
Karen looked out the window and saw through the trees a large male sun tanning nude on a flat rock beside a waterfall while another male beside him was involved in a passionate kiss with a leggy woman wearing a bikini.
"We'll be there momentarily" announced the bus driver as the women regained their seats. The bus drove past one final checkpoint before hovering into a parking spot.
The door opened and the women got out and gathered around an older woman wearing a white uniform motioning them to come closer.
"Hi, my name is Mary, I'm a sub-administrator here and I'll be your orientation guide for the day, my plan is to take you on a tour of our facility, get you acquainted with what we do, then after the tour we can relax in the conference room where I will each get you an information package you can take home while we serve you lunch."
"Sound good?" she asked the crowd to several nods of approval.
"Ok great, let's go!" exclaimed the woman as she eagerly led the pack of women through the lobby and into giant elevator.
"We here at the Seed Center believe in providing the absolute best care for our males as they strive to fulfill the enormous goals laid out in the UN Declaration on Human Repopulation signed by our government in 2151. Here at the center, we strive to help nurture our males to their peak mental and physical potential and then help them maintain that state of fitness while we uniquely tailor our breeding environments for each male to ensure maximum impregnation efficiency," calmly explained the woman as the glass elevator rose to the observation deck.
Gasp after gasp occurred as the women stepped out onto the observation deck and took in just how large the bio dome was. Leaning out on the observation rails, the mothers took in the gigantic indoor scenery from above as they observed nearly naked men and women stroll leisurely.