Fertility
“What’s up, Mother? You seem like you are in a grouch!”
“It is all very well to think of certain things in the abstract,” Mother said. “Quite another to face them in person, as it were.”
“What are you talking about?”
“We have an appointment with the ship’s surgeon in an hour,” she said. “No, I’m not sick. I’m fine. But in order to emigrate to Libertas I am required to have my fertility ‘restored’. Which will not only involve some rather unpleasant surgery, but will mean that I will begin having my female times.”
There was a rather awkward pause. “And me?” Jellia asked.
“Oh, you. Yes, you will need to see him too, but it will be trivial for you. What I had done was a bit more permanent. You will come with me but it shouldn’t take you more than a few seconds.”
—
Jellia stared down at her leg. A doctor had implanted the anti-preg months ago, before she had been allowed to have her first kissing session with Austin. She could still see the tiny shadow where it was under her skin.
“The young lady is ready?” the doctor asked. He had a very funny accent.
He wiped something on her leg and then waved a sonic stunner over it, and Jellia felt her entire leg go numb. Then, quick as a wink, he carved a quick X with a laser scalpel and reached in with some kind of probe and slid the anti-preg out. Then he wiped the ‘sticky wound paste’ on her leg and put a patch on.
“This good anti-infection patch,” he said. “The young lady will see it fall off in a few days. No problem. Don’t scratch.”
Jellia wanted to pull her jump suit back on but she didn’t dare try with her leg numb, so she just watched as the doctor hovering over Mother. “And now we restore to the other young woman. First we pause the nerves,” he said, and he played with some controls and a line lit up on the table. “Right here I think,” he said, having slid the light up to a point just at the bottom of her ribs. Pause now!”
“Oh!” Mother said.
“Funny feeling, having half body go to sleep,” the doctor said. “Everyone say so. Now hold still.”
Again he wiped the area, this time just above Mother’s pelvis, and made his little X. However after that his little probe stayed down inside Mother for quite a while while the doctor mumbled to himself.
“Little bots do your work to restore little tube,” he said. “They go up and down and clean, because tube long not used gets dirty. Must have clean tube for full fertility. Oh, yes, bad blockage. Bots will open. Good bots.”
“Not frequent that I do this,” he said. “Usually the other way. Women come to me for closing of tubes, not opening. This much more interesting.”
It took quite a while and then, after removing his probe and sealing up the hole, he made another hole on the other side. “You interest doctoring?” he asked Jellia, who shook her head.
“I like math,” she said. “And art.”
“This some of both,” he said. “Body is beautiful, and all little parts working together is like math.”
“What are you doing?” she asked, coming over and looking at his screen.
“Making fertile,” he said. “You see, these tubes closed so that eggs could not get from up here,” he said, pointing up where the probe was, “To down here,” he said, pointing into Mother’s pelvis. “Doctor close tubes, no can have baby.”
“Then,” he said, “We will go and clean lower, where baby will grow. Often women have problem there, cannot have child.”
Jellia stared at the doctor. His language was atrocious! “Where are you from?” she asked.
“Jellia!” Mother said, but the doctor laughed.
“You worried I no can speak good?” he asked. “So maybe no good doctor? You no worry. This language my fifth language. I learn to doctor in my first language. If I have problem we use computer to translate.”
He touched his wrist comp and said something utterly incomprehensible. “Is this better, young lady? You need have no fear. I have only been learning your language for six weeks, and have spent much of my time on my doctoring duties. I grew up on Ixthus, and we have very good programs in medicine, but a very obscure language.”
“Oh, my,” she said. “I have never learned a new language, but I am having to learn some new words to use on Libertas.”
“That is very interesting,” the doctor said, finally removing the probe and sealing that wound. He quickly made an incision lower and inserted the probe again. “So they speak the same language but with some different words?”
“Oh, yes. They have words like ‘Endrek’, which means…”
“My comp translated it,” he said, interrupting her. “You don’t have that word in your language?”
“Well, we have it,” she said, “but no one uses it, because we don’t have that relationship. Do they have it at your home?”
“Well, yes and no,” the doctor said, making some adjustment with his probe. “The word is rather generic. We have en-drek relationships, but we don’t call them ‘contracts’ they way they do on Libertas. You might call it more of a commitment. A man will ask a woman to spend the rest of her life with him…”
“Surely not!” Mother said.
“That is our custom,” the doctor said.
“But surely they would get tired of each other.”
“Some do, I suppose.”
“But... Their whole life?”
“We consider it a binding relationship. I’m sorry if that offends you.”
Mother blanched, “Oh, no, I’m sorry. I mean, I am a trader, so I need to be able to get along and understand all sorts of cultures. Jellia, did you have any questions?”
“What are you doing?” Jellia asked.
“We are making your mother fertile again. The surgery that she had and the drugs that she has been using for the last few years have done a lot of damage to her female organs. But our modern nanites can take care of pretty much all of that. Do you know your basic biology?”
“Umm, sort of. I mean, we studied it a bit but… everyone was pretty embarrassed. When they inserted my anti-fertility plug, they said that I would still have my courses but probably couldn’t get pregnant. And that after I’d had my child, they would go further.”
“Exactly. So your mother had you, and then the doctor did some surgery and prescribed some drugs so she couldn’t get pregnant and wouldn’t have her courses. Now that I am taking them out, and with normal medical care, your mother will be fertile for many more years yet. On Libertas, well, I think you can expect many more brother’s and sisters.”
“Now, this next part is maybe a bit more than you want to see, and I think the numbing has worn off.”
Jellia tried her leg and quickly dressed. She hadn’t really wanted to see any of it!
Thank you for reading Von’s Substack. I would love it if you commented! I love hearing from readers, especially critical comments. I would love to start more letter exchanges, so if there’s a subject you’re interested in, get writing and tag me!
Being ‘restacked’ and mentioned in ‘notes’ is very important for lesser-known stacks so… feel free! I’m semi-retired and write as a ministry (and for fun) so you don’t need to feel guilty you aren’t paying for anything, but if you enjoy my writing (even if you dramatically disagree with it), then restack, please! Or mention me in one of your own posts.
If I don’t write you back it is almost certain that I didn’t see it, so please feel free to comment and link to your post. Or if you just think I would be interested in your post!
Thanks again, God Bless, Soli Deo gloria,
Von
Links
Contract Marriage
Contract marriage is an adult dystopia examining the issues of marriage. Like 1984 and Brave New World, Contract Marriage treats the relations between the sexes as a fundamental aspect of how a society is formed and, thus, how a society can go wrong.
Unlike those dystopias, Contract Marriage isn’t all horrible all of the time. The characters for the most part have a good time and get along in their society. But the issues of sexuality, of marriage or not, monogamy or not, faithfulness or not, and gender roles… keep coming up and causing tension and conflict and joy and pain.
My desire is that my readers would be thinking along with my characters about these issues and perhaps even arrive at the same place (minus the flying cars).
Introduction
In which I lay out the themes that I intend to explore in this light Dystopia, and ask others to participate.
Trade Master: First Chapter
In which Fenestra, our heroine’s mother, puts in her application for the job of 'Trade Master’ on the planet Libertas, and finds out that it isn’t that easy.
En-Drek Contract
In which Fenestra finds out that, on Libertas, everyone must be in an ‘En-drek’ contract… a long-term, live-in, heavy date between a man and a woman for the purpose of producing one child after the other with one date after the other.
Disappointment and Meditation
In which Jellia, the daughter and our heroine, finds out about her mother’s job opportunity, including its difficulties, and commits herself to meditating on the situation. (And internally commits herself to encouraging her mother to take the job.)
Decision Reached
Jellia tells her mother that she thinks she should take the job, and so her mother puts in her application… and gets the job!
First School
Jellia goes to school and gets to tell everyone about her new adventure.
First Work
Fenestra goes to work, and tells her coworker about her new opportunity.
Writing Class
Jellia writes a poem (a limerick) and tells her classmates more about her new adventure.
Trader Galloway
In which a man comes over for a ‘date’ (Ie to sleep over with her mother) and to tell them all about his time as Trade Master for their company on Libertas. And as how he was almost executed for asking a woman out on a date.
Shopping
In which Jellia and her mother go shopping for the last time, and we explore some of the nature of the planet she is leaving.
Language
In which Jellia starts using some new words at school, and everyone gathers round to find out what they mean.
Kesh-i Cooking Class
In which Jellia finds out that children (Kesh-i) on Libertas are expected to cook.
Trade Master Training
In which Fenestra begins her training for her new role, with an old enemy.
Two Week Date
In which Fenestra and Alex decide to date for the next two weeks.
The Facts of Life
In which Fenestra brings Alex home, and Jellia isn’t impressed. Although she is interested in how dating works for boys.
Snips
In which Jellia spends time snipping with a boy, and brings him home.
Kissing
In which Jellia and her mother both have a sexual ‘last fling’ before they leave, and Jellia practices the new kisses she will need for her new planet.
Off Ephemera // Podcast Version
In which Jellia and her mother arrive at the shuttle port, go through some annoying formalities, and take off!
And Fly!
In which Jellia and her mother board their spaceship, and Jellia starts doing her homework.
Abstinate // Podcast Version
In which Jellia gets bored, rejects an older gentleman, and rejects her mother’s idea of dating.
Older Kesh-u
In which Jellia learns more about what Kesh-u (children) are allowed to do on Libertas.
Article 17
Intro // Podcast Version
She was pretty, popular, snobby, and a planetary governor’s daughter. He was the son of shopkeepers, a social misfit, and a decorated hero. She thought she was there to dance. He had other ideas.
A Dance // Podcast Version
As a governor’s daughter, Illoia usually avoided such events, but when the captain made the announcement that there was to be an Article 17 dance, she, too, was forced to attend. If only the scum hadn’t been there too.
The Unbridgeable Chasm // Podcast Version
Eukles and Meriones, brave military leaders, quail at cross the gulf between themselves and asking a lass to dance.
There He Is // Podcast Version
The young hero comes in, and Aleshia and Illoyia gossip about him.