Breeding Boom

Daily life in the Breeding Boom - Rachel

Samantha liked to waddle up to the unused upstairs office. She let out a sigh as the early morning light streamed in through the south bay window. This was the only time of day that the 35 year old mother of 13 could get anything resembling peace and quiet.

Giving her triplet-filled belly a soft pat, Samantha turned her eyes to the bookshelf on the east end of the room. The books were Samantha's old engineering books, from a life she had long left behind.

"Looks like I'm finally going to have to get rid of you guys. These triplets are gonna need a room," Samantha said as she wiped the thick coat of dust off one of the books and opened it to a random page. Despite being from her freshman year of college, years of pregnancy and being a full time mommy had so fired her brain that even simple equations were difficult to understand

The event known as the breeding boom has its origins early in Samantha's life. Not long after she was born, a right wing government was elected and began to crack down on abortion and contraceptives. Before long, they had consolidated power and would never let go of it. Samantha and her peers grew up in a nation that was increasingly misogynistic. Samantha's own parents ended up having more children than they had initially planned, Samantha was one of nine siblings. As families grew rapidly across the country, schools swelled in size and girls were encouraged to drop out. By graduation, Samantha was one of the only girls of her generation who was preparing to go to college and not the maternity ward.

Samantha, however, was undaunted. She pursued her engineering degree with vigor, even after her college stopped admitting new female students within a year of her arrival. After graduation, Samantha managed to get a job at a small engineering firm. Even though she received almost no respect from her male coworkers, serving as a glorified secretary and coffee fetcher, at least it was a job.

Then, Ten years ago, right as Samantha's career was really getting started, the breeding boom really took off. The final vestiges of women's rights were finally done away with, including the right of women to hold any 'non-feminine' jobs or engage in any activities, including education, that were deemed 'anti-family.' Samantha had to leave her job, marrying an old friend from school just to keep a roof over her head. The first pregnancy was agony, watching as her abdomen inflated into a mockery of its once-toned form. As the years and the pregnancies wore on, however, Samantha's resistance began to falter. Being pregnant constantly and being a fulltime caregiver to her massive brood meant that by pregnancy number five or so, Samantha had fully accepted this new lifestyle.

"Uughh pregnant again?? This is like, my sixth one!"

A typical sight at a public pool in post-breeding boom America.

Birth control and abortion have been banned for decades.