Procreation

Procreation

Birth characteristics are no longer a matter of chance in the 2070s. In these days of manipulation of the human genome, bad DNA has been filtered out, and better or different DNA added to embryos so that the Government HR (Human Resources) Administration can ensure the appropriate mix of people to keep the country running at full efficiency. The HRA can create just the right number of scientists, athletes, drone workers, and artists by clicking on a few icons and sending algorithms to the many cloning and embryo development centers around the country.

To the dismay of many who knew how to read and were motivated to do so, sex was no longer necessary to have the child you wanted. Today you could order a child online and HR would advise you as to what models were available and when. Delivery, instead of requiring a doctor, now only required one of Amazon's self-driving medical transport vehicles.

Tony and Patricia lived together in the Maryland suburbs of Washington D.C., and they both had entry level administrative jobs at the Food and Drug Administration in Silver Spring. Patricia, being one of the lucky ones, had inherited a single family home from her grandmother along with a modest but useful bank account sufficient to maintain the home and pay the taxes. Tony, not as lucky, brought only himself and his undying loyalty to Patricia to the relationship.

Buddies since grade school, it seemed natural that they would end up together, although the only sparks in the relationship were from pressing the lighter button on the grill Patricia had inherited with the house.

Despite the absence of a romantic relationship, Patricia, initially, but followed quickly by Tony, began to think that having a child would enhance their otherwise ordered and mundane existence. And so, in their early 20s, and clueless, they decided to add a child to the household.

They celebrated their decision to order a baby with a bottle of Zinfandel, and started discussing what kind of child they wanted. Tony suggested a male athlete, but only got raised eyebrows in response. His ideas for an entertainer and a chef were similarly rejected before he realized that his best move was to defer to Patricia and support any decision she might make.

"I think I would like to have a girl," she wondered aloud. "One all giggly and cuddly. One that could be my buddy. One that I could pass Granny's heart shaped silver locket to. Of course, she paused for a slight moment, I want her to be bright and pretty, but most of all she should be loving. What do you think,Tony?"

What Tony thought was, "That was easy," What Tony said was, "That sounds wonderful. I totally agree."

Although they both worked for the government, neither had experience at being citizens trying to get something done through a large unwieldy bureaucracy. Facing the largest bureaucracy in the world exponentially complicated their quest.

There were many many forms, although Auto-fill helped immensely. They would call one office only to be referred to another office, and then sent back to the original office. Despite their entire lives already being on file, they were asked to find and submit original documents. They encountered hurdle after hurdle, until finally they were approved to be given a child.

“Finally!” they both gasped in relief.

“Let’s share a merlot to celebrate getting approved. When we get the baby, we can celebrate with champagne.”

Patricia nodded in agreement, and Tony did the honors.

Selecting the baby turned out to be harder than getting approved. Patricia clicked on all the attributes she wanted. Girl, bright, pretty, slim, social, color (no preference), good teeth, etc.

The computer showed signs of thinking, and then responded “No match found” with an asterisk. It then informed her that Montgomery County already had its allotment of that category, and that there was a ten year waiting list and low probability of that child ever being available in her county.

There was however, only a three month waiting list for a male laborer child. Were they interested?

Three days, several bottles of wine, and a bucket of tears later, Patricia announced,” I’ve made up my mind.”

She left work early that day, and that evening hours later than normal, she came home. In her arms she cuddled a border collie puppy. “Tony, meet Scotty”, she beamed. “Hi Scotty”, Tony said to the puppy. To Patricia he said, “I’ll get the champagne.”