Prologue
It started slowly, the male sperm count in the world's population had been in slow decline for hundreds of years before it suddenly accelerated at an alarming rate. Scientists put this decline down to a variety of reasons, pollution, lifestyle choices such as tight-fitting clothing, diet, and general health in particular. Soon it was discovered that only one in every 500k men were fertile.
The result was that within a hundred years, the earth’s population plummeted, and countries worldwide struggled with how to react and halt the decline. The population decline saw countries' domestic productivity fall off a cliff. The wealthy countries relied on immigration to maintain their standards of living. Still, it soon became apparent that this was only a sticking plaster as the population continued to decline and with ageing populations to provide for, drastic measures were needed.
The solution began in a few countries but was quickly adopted by most.
At the age of eighteen, all males were tested. If they were discovered to have healthy swimmers, then the male was required to enter the breeding programme. Those entering the programme were required to serve from eighteen to forty-five living in large, purpose-built camps. Upon reaching the age of forty-five, they were allowed to leave the programme and could settle down and have families of their own.
Chapter 1
Mark looked at his e-mail, unsure how to feel. He felt pleased that he was fertile, but disappointed that this meant all his dreams and plans for the future were gone. He ran his hands through his hair and looked at his mum.
“What does it say, sweety?” she asked.
“It says I must report to the Elysian Fertility Solution office on Sunday morning. From there I will be transported to the area breeding clinic to start my service.”
“Sunday is only five days away, surely they give you more time.”
“It appears not,” was all Mark could say.
For the next five days, he prepared for his departure, saying goodbye to his friends and especially his girlfriend. That was an emotional goodbye, and they hugged one another and made love for the last time. Both made promises they knew they couldn’t and wouldn’t keep.
His five days were up, and Mark stood looking at the imposing large white building in front of him. Turning to face his family his mother, father and little sister all gave him a big hug before he slowly walked towards the main entrance.
Entering he was greeted by a tall imposing woman wearing a white coat and glasses.
“Name?” she asked.
“Mark Carter, I’m here for..”
“I know why you are here, you are the last one if you would just like to follow me.”
Without further ado, she turned and headed towards some double doors. Mark followed on behind gazing around him at the marbled statues which were dotted around the entrance area.
“Imposing are they not,” the woman said, seeing him looking at them, “they are of the best breeders we have ever had in our programme.”
Mark studied them. “They remind me of the Roman emperor statues you see in museums.”
"Close, I guess,” she responded, “but I would liken them to the gladiators, but without the violence. The combat those men were involved in was less violent and much more pleasurable.”
They were now walking down a long corridor with lots of closed doors. Stopping at the last door on the right she reached for the handle, “You are in here, take a seat and then we can begin.”
Mark walked through the door and was confronted by twenty to thirty other males who stopped talking and stared at him. Glancing around, he saw a vacant seat on the front row at the end and quickly hurried over and sat down.
“Hi, I’m Nick,” said the guy in the seat next to him, sticking out a hand.
“Mark,” he responded, shaking the hand before they were interrupted by the woman who was now standing at the front.
“Gentleman, if we could leave the introductions until after the briefing, I will begin.”
Nick raised an eyebrow but sat back in his seat and said nothing.
“Good,” she continued. “My name is Anabelle Delaney, and I am one of the councillors here at Elysian Fertility Solutions. My job is to provide assistance and counselling to ensure that your adjustment to life in the Prosperity program goes as smoothly as possible. More information will be provided later as to how we can help you but first a bit about what you will be doing here.”
Anabelle paused and stared around the room. It was always like this on the first day, quiet and meek young boys staring at her in wonderment. Within a month, those that adjusted best would be strutting around the camp like they owned it, but for now, they were putty in her hand. She preferred them like this as most would have egos the size of an enormous planet by the end of the first year and were insufferable.
“To continue. As you are aware, you have all been selected because you are fertile. I won’t bore you with the history, but you are part of a worldwide programme to ensure the survival of the human race. For the next twenty-seven years, you will be housed in one of the many breeding centres we have around the country and will be expected to provide samples of your sperm for the impregnation of women who wish to become pregnant. This can be done in one of two ways. Rather than me explain, please watch this short film which will explain all.”
Anabelle pressed a button on the side of the desk, and the lights dimmed and a film began to play.
The opening credit showed a tall office building taken from a camera drone which then swooped down towards the ground and then the scene changed to one of a large stately building set in well-tended gardens. A middle-aged voice with a strong presenting voice started to speak.
“Welcome to Elysian Fertility Solutions. We have been repopulating the country for over one hundred years, providing couples with families and helping them to fulfil their dreams.”
The scene switched to show the inside of the building where happy, smiling staff welcomed a young couple.
“We provide exclusive and high-quality sperm from only the best members of the male population who have all been tested and proved to have the highest sperm count, helping to ensure that pregnancy can occur as quickly as possible.”
As these words were spoken there was a graphic of sperm swimming fast and haphazardly around an egg until one sperm was shown to push through the egg wall.
“We are proud partners in the government’s repopulation programme offering two types of reproduction.”
The screen changed again to show a smiling young man being handed a small pot by a beautiful nurse and being directed to one of several doors. The young man went into the room and the door closed before opening again and the man was shown handing the pot back to the nurse, who was seen putting it into a large box with other small jars. The scene then changed to a young couple chatting to a medical professional and making choices on a screen.
The voice started up again, “The first method is for the artificial insemination of the sperm into the woman by medical professionals. The couple can choose from hundreds of male donors within our breeding system basing their choice on a wide range of parameters such as height, weight, eye colour and IQ of the donor.
“The second method of impregnation is in person with the female and the selected donor spending time together in one of our deluxe suites. Subject to the female passing health check we guarantee impregnation, the price you pay is fixed regardless of however many sessions are required.”
As these last lines were being spoken the screen showed a young couple choosing a donor from photos being shown on the screen and then meeting him. The young guy took hold of the woman's hand and led her along a corridor to a door. As the door opened the camera swept past him to show an opulent room with a huge king-size bed covered in ivory jacquard bedding and furnishing gold plated.
The final shot was of the young couple in an embrace with their hands resting on the pregnant stomach of the woman.
“We guarantee impregnation regardless of the length of time from only the highest quality donors. As a reputable high-class, high-quality company we provide an extensive aftercare service that will continue until your children reach the age of eighteen. We have not signed up to the government's female prisoner breeding programme.”
The screen changed to a shot of the young family of four smiling at the camera.
“We thank you for choosing Elysian Fertility Solutions and wish you every success in your impregnation.
The screen faded to black as the lights came back up.
“So,” said Anabelle, making Mike jump in surprise as he had been staring at the screen intently, “are there any questions?”
There was a long pause before a hand went up.
“Yes, it’s.” Anabelle looked down at her sleeve screen. “Steve, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is,” said Steve, puffing out his chest in pride that the beautiful woman at the front appeared to know his name. “Err, what happens now?”
“Good question. In a moment, you will receive your assignment notifications directly to your account. This will detail what fertility centre you have been allocated to. Once you leave here you will return to the foyer where you will be directed to the transport which will take you direct to the centre. I will warn you now, none of you will be staying local. It is the policy of Elysian not to allow breeders to remain in their hometown or near any members of their family.”
There was a collective groan from around the room.
“Once at your centre, you will begin a two-week induction programme where you will learn the daily routine, and basic impregnation techniques and generally be allowed to adjust to your new life in the centre. Upon completion of the induction weeks, you will then spend four weeks shadowing a veteran breeder to learn some of the finer details involved after which you will become a member of the breeding pool.”
Anabelle looked around the room at the faces of all the young men before taking a deep breath.
“Be under no illusion, gentlemen; you might have been chosen to join the elite program, but you are still required under law to be part of the repopulation programme. Those of you who were in relationships before you came here, forget about them. You will be with the company until reach the age of forty-five, you have no choice in this, and any refusal to partake in the programme will result in your prosecution by the state and a possible prison sentence, and that is no picnic.”
Again, Anabelle paused to allow her words to sink in before continuing, “As I said, prison is not a cushy number, if you go to prison as a fertile male, you will be subjected to approved experiments by government scientists to establish why you have healthy swimmers when most of the male population do not. What I can tell you is that whilst you do your service for the country, you will be treated as God by the company. Every whim will be catered to. The accommodation is like a five-star hotel with the best food and the well-maintained and stocked gyms with all the latest equipment, along with other things such as saunas and plenty of leisure facilities to occupy your downtime. For those who are interested, the company will also provide education in a variety of courses up to post-graduate level.”
A voice from the back of the room shouted out, “Any subject?”
“The list is very extensive, but should there be a subject that is currently not available, you can request it, and the company will source it and make it available. Any more questions?”
Mark raised his hand.
“Yes, Mark.”
“What happens when we get to forty-five, and what is the female prisoner breeding programme?”
“Upon reaching the age of forty-five, you will be retired from the breeding programme. This is to allow you the opportunity to start a family of your own. You will be provided with a gratuity and a monthly pension for your service. I don’t need to tell you, but as fertile ex-breeders with a guaranteed income, you will be highly desirable to a lot of women. In your last two years in the programme, you will enter a period of resettlement to prepare you for transition to life outside the company and to ensure that upon exiting the service, you are not open to abuse or scams.”
Anabelle paused as she thought about the second part of the question Mark had posed.
“The female prisoner breeding programme is exactly what it says. Those females who commit a crime and are sentenced to a lengthy prison sentence are available for breeding. I don’t know much about it but basically, from what I have been told by those who have worked for companies involved in that government initiative it is not pleasant for any involved. The women are selected based on their ability to carry children. They are then taken to a centre where they are herded into a large room, stripped naked, and placed in stocks.
"The male breeders are then marched into the room and placed behind one of the naked prisoners. Upon the sound of a bell or buzzer, they then penetrate the prisoner and, to be blunt, fuck her until they ejaculate into her and hopefully impregnate her. A prisoner will continue to be placed in the stocks until she is found to be pregnant, after which she will take the child to term and then it will be placed up for adoption. The prisoner will, after a period of recovery, be placed back in the breeding programme. For each child they carry to term, they are given a certain amount off their sentence. Those female prisoners with life sentences do not get any time off their sentence and are repeatedly put through the process until they reach thirty-five, after which they return to the general prison population. For male prisoners, they get a small deduction for each female they manage to impregnate.”
One of the guys in the back row sniggered.
“It is not funny or pleasant, we here at the Elysian believe in creating families. The prison programme creates babies, nothing more. These children go to large orphanages, where they are hopefully adopted. Many do, but there are still a number every year which are not.”
She paused and looked around the room.
“Now are there any further questions?”
She could see lots of head shaking.
“Ok then,” she reached down and pressed a key on the holographic keyboard, “you should in the next few seconds receive your centre assignment. Please proceed to the foyer where you will be directed to the correct transport. Gentlemen, you are dismissed.”
Everybody looked at their communicators. Mark had been assigned to the Lancashire district.
He hung back to allow most of the other recruits to leave before standing up and walking out of the door and back down the corridor to the main entrance. As he entered, a rather large and formidable man dressed in an all-black uniform with gold braiding on the shoulders and cuffs of the jacket shouted at him to move his arse.
“What district, sonny,” he commanded in a deep, booming voice.
“Lancashire district,” was all Mark could utter.
“Third bus from the left, it has the number 15 in the front window. Your bags have already been loaded, so just get the fuck on it and don’t hang about.”
Mark half walked, half ran out of the building, and quickly locating the bus climbed aboard. There was only one other person already sitting down, so he sat on the bank of two seats across from him.
Leaning over, Mark offered his hand. “I’m Mark, guess we are going to be buddies.”
“Hi Mark, my name is Nate. Do you know how long it will take to get there?”
“No idea,” responded Mark.
Just at that moment, a guy climbed the three steps, jumped into the front seat, and pressed a button on the centre console.
“Welcome. Take it we are all here.” The guy looked down at his pad and nodded. “We have two other pick-ups from centres on the way to your centre so sit back and enjoy the ride, the journey will take about two or three hours depending on how long we have to wait at the other two centres plus these buses are restricted to sixty miles an hour and the auto-driver is in control means that we are in its hands as to what route it decides to take.”
Michael smiled at Nate and then settled back and turned to look out of the window as the transport set off.
