"You mean to tell me," I said as we walked down the street, carrying the bundles of fabric, "that parents just don't exist in this world?"
"Well I guess you can say that we call parents caretaker here," Inata said. "But yeah, you need a license for that,"
"Oh, my god..."
Inata narrowed her eyes. "So, in the Old World, anyone could just make children whenever?" she asked, folding her arms. "That... I guess that explains why there were so many humans back then, huh?"
Sally led us to a bench overlooking a sculpture of a faceless man in hiking gear. "Can you tell us more about family, Viel? I'm curious. It sounds so different from what we have," she said.
"Well, you know, when a man and a woman like each other very much, they marry each other, have kids, and start a family."
"Marry?"
I blinked slowly. "No fucking way."
"What?" Inata asked. "Why are you acting like we're savages?"
"There's no way... oh my god, hold on, culture shock is crashing down on me..." Fucking hell, I wasn't even sure if this was a dystopia or a utopia. "Okay, okay—how are babies actually made here?"
Sally's face reddened while Inata grinned. "Well..." the latter began, "if you want the details... boys and girls have—"
"Okay, so you guys fuck. Got it," I cut her off. "Anything else?"
Sally nodded. "I guess we also need fertility pills for it to count as... that," she added.
"What's that?"
"It's something you drink to have kids. Without it, it's practically impossible for someone to... well, to get pregnant."
...
Ah, so every human in this world is naturally infertile. "I'm guessing they don't hand out fertility pills just because you ask nicely?"
Sally narrowed her eyes. "Why would you?"
"What?"
"Why would anyone want to be pregnant?" Sally looked down a little. "I mean, people line up to be a caretaker, but absolutely no one lined up for a fertility pill,"
I blinked, slowly.
What the fuck? What in the name of fuck? What in the name of Jesus H. Christ on a Unicycle is going on???
"So... you don't want to be pregnant?"
Sally smiled sheepishly. "Well, I mean, some would say that the willingness to go through pregnancy is the hallmark of becoming a good caretaker," she began. "So I might have to, but it's because I... kinda want to be a caretaker,"
"And... Are there tests?"
Inata snickered and Sally's face fell. "Oh yeah, and she passed all of them with flying colors except for one,"
Okay, this is borderline eugenics now...
"So, what do they test to get this fertility pill?"
Sally shook her head. "Oh, no, the test is to test if you get to be a caretaker, not if you get the pill. The fertility pill is based on your genes, it's purely mechanical DNA test,"
"And the Caretaker Exam?"
Sally groaned a little. "So much background check, it feels like Grace Period all over again... I have to give them my entire Circle's income statement, there's an environmental check, a very strict parenting education and licensing you have to pass... Gods, it's so, so, strict! I keep failing!"
"You can't out-test a criminal record," Inata said.
"AND WHOSE FAULT WAS IT THAT I HAVE A CRIMINAL RECORD!?" Sally yelled at Inata. "WHOSE FAULT WAS IT HUH!?"
Inata smiled sheepishly and raised her hands. "Okay, okay, geez, look I apologize, okay? Let's not bring that up in front of Viel here, you're scaring her,"
Sally took a deep breath, as if trying to calm herself down and sighed. "In any case, yes, it's extremely hard to be a caretaker if you have a criminal background..." she muttered.
I'd always wondered what Sally was passionate about; now I knew. Also, was this not just fucking eugenics? This was textbook eugenics! Ingenuity had an actual eugenics policy?
"So then, after you bear children, you become a caretaker?" I thought back to the children from earlier, realizing they didn't have parents, only caretakers.
"Usually," Sally said. "But the most important part is taking care of children right?" She smiled and clasped her hands together. "Personally, I'd love to. Better if I can skip the whole gene part..."
"Then... is it really impossible to mass-produce these 'fertility pills'?" I asked.
Sally narrowed her eyes. "No, it's not impossible, but why should we?"
"What?"
"Yes, why should we?" Sally asked.
"So that everyone can have children without those strict gene scanning and background checks?"
"That's... awful, why would you ever do something like that?"
Wait, what the fuck? "Why the fuck not?" I walked up to her. "It's your body, your rights. Whether you have children or not should be your choice, not some government's!"
Sally tilted her head in genuine confusion. "Is... is that how it was in the Old World? Anyone could just have children?"
"Yes! It's a basic human right!"
A heavy silence followed. Slowly, Sally's expression turned into one of... fear? Or maybe confusion?
"Then... how do you make sure all children are taken care of?" she asked, glancing around. "What if you're unprepared? What if a child ends up... not being looked after properly?"
I froze at the question. "W-well... it's a risk that..."
Sally slapped my hand away, her expression now hurt and angry. "For what reason," she hissed, "would you ever risk that?!"
"Wh-what?"
"We have systems in place to make sure every child grows up happy, educated, and healthy. Why would anyone want to tear that down?"
"Because it's... it's about freedom..."
"I'm not so selfish as to risk a child's upbringing just because I fantasize about being a parent! What kind of monster would do something like that!?"
God damn it! No, I am not backing down on this. "Look, who manages these tests? How are you so sure these people aren't just selectively breeding humans for their own agenda? Do you realize how fucked up this is?" I stepped forward. "They measure your genes! This isn't right!"
"Why not? What's wrong with that? Why is gene so important?"
"What if they're trying to create a 'master race' or something?"
"What in the world is a 'race'? And what's wrong with selecting for desirable genetic traits?" Sally shook her head. "I want my children to be extremely healthy and has the highest quality trait, not my trait, I'm not that narcissistic,"
Right, of course. No concept of race, dynasty, or family... that was the whole point. Fuck!
"That's just your fantasy!" Sally retorted. "I don't understand how you or your people could think like this, but... it's just wrong to see a child as a trophy, something you have just because you want it. Is that how it works? You have children just because you want to?"
I looked down and shook my head. "No, but..." God, this is so wrong. It's eugenics. How is this being justified? "Okay, okay, calm down... Who even decides these test? These background checks and tests? What even are they testing?"
"The Council. It's transparent. It asks for living condition, financial stability, personal motivation to become a caretaker... There are documents, interviews, it's a system designed to protect children and you're proposing to tear it all down!?"
"What's stopping the system from gatekeeping someone who can potentially be a good parent!?"
"If you fail the test, they'll tell you where you fail and you can try again next month!!! The system is built to help you prepare a good home for a child! What makes you think we ban good people from ever becoming a caretaker!?"
"Well what about you!? Why can't you be a caretaker?"
"BECAUSE I WAS A TERRORIST!!!" Sally screamed.
I froze and the entire street went silent. Inata hissed a little and took a deep breath. "Okay, you went there," she hugged Sally from behind. "Okay Sally calm down, she didn't mean what you she means," she looked at me behind Sally's shoulder. "Look, if you wanna talk about this, don't talk about it with Sally, it'll... get messy,"
I shrunk a little. "Y-yeah... sorry... I... I went too far..."
"Look," Inata looked back at Sally who's clutching her chest, taking deep breaths. "Bestie, calm down, okay?"
Sally nodded slowly. "Sorry..."
"Yeah, I know, I know," Inata sighed a little. "Anyway..." she looked back at me. "Don't go around advocating slavery now, it's... it's a third rail,"
WHAT THE FUCK!!?!?
I flinched, hard, and took a step back. "What the fuck do you mean by slavery???" I asked her. "I am not advocating slavery!!!"
Inata held up her hands, then grinned. "See?" she looked back at Sally. "That's not what Viel meant at all, okay??? Chill,"
"YEAH! That's not what I meant, how the FUCK do you get into that conclusion!?" I shook my head. "God, feels like I'm driving 200 miles an hour head first into a cultural brick wall, because how the fuck do you go from parenting to... THAT?!"
Inata bit her lip. "Yeah, I..." she glanced back at Sally. "Okay, how about this, we just... continue on our way, forget this conversation ever happened," she winked at me. "Then we can talk more about this, because goddamn, this is a very fun topic to talk about, well to me, not to her,"
Sally finally sighed a little. "Yes, let's... forget we had this conversation," she took Inata's hand and squeezed it. "Sorry," she muttered. "Anyway, let's talk about something else. Viel, show me your card."
I handed her my ID. It had my face, my name, Viel Paradox, and a code below it. Probably this world's equivalent of a barcode. "What can I actually use this for?"
"Well, you need it to purchase things," Sally explained. "When you get paid, the credits get transferred to your account." She tilted her head. "That makes sense, right?"
"Right. Like a bank account, but controlled by the government." This feels very, very authoritarian. A socialist paradise? I told myself to stop trying to map Old World politics onto this place. It just didn't work. "Do private companies exist?"
"Of course. Pandora Logistics is one of them," Sally replied. "There are also construction firms and such. But most industries are dominated by Circles."
"Circles?"
"A group of like-minded people who live together and strive together. They usually submit proposals to the city for various projects." Sally pointed toward a building we'd passed. "Those long lines we saw earlier? Those were Circles lining up to bid on the renovation of the South Corridor."
"Ohhh..." Again, I shouldn't compare, but this is like a socialist utopia. If people could just 3D print their own food, why would they ever need a McDonald's?
I looked from Inata to Sally. Both were so different, yet they almost felt... perfect? Okay, okay, you're gonna cancel the fuck out of me, but there was something about them that felt unreal. They had "main character" energy. Everyone I'd met so far had that same 'spark.' Unlike the people in my simulations, who behaved like NPCs ninety percent of the time.
Is this the benefit of eugenics?
Don't quote me on that.
"There you are," Deva called out. He hopped over a railing and landed right in front of us. "I've been looking for you." He glanced at my card. "Looks like your Proof of Citizenship is ready." He folded his arms and turned to Sally and Inata. "You two, enough playing around. New mission at the Farm. I have something private to discuss with Viel."
Inata groaned while Sally nodded. "Understood. See you later, Viel."