Breeders (Breeders #1)

Breeders

By
Ashley Quigley

Copyright © 2014 by Ashley
Quigley

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Durban, SA 4320
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ISBN
978-0-620-61082-7  

First Edition

I dedicate this to my husband, family and friends;
 

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect
before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.

Preface

Having
been trained as a biological scientist, I became interested in the ethical
issues and controversies surrounding genetic breeding and designer babies. I
started to wonder what would happen if your genetic prowess was the new
currency and determined your place in this world. Would our interference of
natural selection by genetic breeding create super humans? This book has
inspired me to investigate further the human reaction to a situation which
could threaten our entire existence.  Although the book centre’s around science
fiction, the scientific terms and genetic references are factual and make
reference to studies performed worldwide, where researchers are trying to
select for genetically favorable characteristics and disease free humans.

Chapter
1

Mondays
are happy days for us, good family days. Most days are the same, mundane even,
but Mondays add some variety to the week. Not only is it the first rest day for
Superiors, but it is also the day we get our full medical, the results of which
determine our supplies and rations for the week. Lying in bed, I can hear the
birds chirping outside. They signal the start of spring, letting us know the
sun is rising. Mother is up and shuffling in the kitchen, starting the preparations
for today.

Food
is abundant in Quadrant Four, provided your medical goes well. Some families
have not been as lucky as us, but still they have more than they need. Our
genetic viability has been solid for generations. Disease free, we obtain
points each week which are uploaded onto our individual databases. Points can be
used to obtain toiletries, clothing, anything at all really. Food rations are determined
according to the cumulative number of points obtained by an entire family. Last
week our points had been good, and provided a few rarities from Centre Market, which
we used to spoil ourselves. The perusal of the market after the weekly medical makes
the whole trip just that little bit less daunting. Beach Town has its own
market, but Centre Market is more vibrant and has many things that we can’t get
back home: honey and brown sugar for example, and lavender soap and such.

Every
medical day, Mother and I wake early and prepare the last of the previous
week’s rations for breakfast. Father and Alec get to rest in for a bit as we
potter around. Men are not expected to work on medical days and have come to
see it as a free day, a day where they do not have to report for duty in their
various Sectors. Father is in the Agriculture Sector, having descended from a
long line of botanists and growers. My brother Alec has reached the age where
he is being taught the knowledge that has been passed down from generation to
generation; expected to join the Sector full time.

I
swing my legs off the bed, yawning slightly and stretching. The first rays of
sun glint off a mirrored doorway leading to the lavatory area. I walk slowly
over to the mirror and observe myself. Having reached twenty years of age I am fully
developed, thanks to a combination of good genes from my familial line of descendants
and a healthy and active lifestyle. Long auburn hair cascades down my back in
soft curls. I am slender, but not to the point that I look starved. Medium
height and medium build, the perfect average, or so I have been told during the
weekly medicals. Holding out my arm I insert my wrist into a small opening in
the mirror. A whirring mechanical sound indicates the implantation device in my
wrist is being scanned.

‘Good
morning, Ariet’.

“Good
morning,” I reply, but it’s not as if the machine or the Creators can hear me.
It’s more out of a silly habit which often makes me giggle to myself.

‘Please
complete your morning analysis.’

It’s
the same routine every morning and has been all my life, yet every day that one
instruction frustrates me.
What if I don’t need to ‘go’ straight away?
Tea before bed, my favorite luxury, has resolved this issue for me, but the
annoyance of constantly making sure I am sufficiently hydrated before bed, so I
may wake up with enough fluid to provide for my daily testing, tests my
patience. After finishing, the automated response sounds.

‘Thank
you, Ariet, have a prosperous day.’

The
green light above the unit flashes, indicating that a urine sample has been
successfully obtained and analyzed. The information gets sent to the Creators
who will alert us of any issues at the weekly medicals. Splashing cold water on
my face, I walk back to the window in my bedroom to watch the sun rise, my
favorite part of the day. I fail to see the green light stop flashing and turn to
yellow.

Mother
hums softly to herself whilst preparing hard boiled eggs on the cooker. She is
beautiful. They say I get my aesthetics from her. I have her milky, unblemished
skin, petite frame and auburn hair. But I can only aspire to be as loving and
nurturing a mother as she has been. Without turning her back, “Coffee is on the
counter, freshly brewed.” She has this uncanny ability to know when her
children are around her, and we have spent our childhood trying to surprise or startle
her, but to no avail. She smiles sweetly at me, “Did you scan, Ariet?”

“Yeeeesss
Mother, same as I do every morning.”

“Don’t
yeeessss me. You know what happened when you missed your morning scan last
year. I’m just making sure you don’t forget again.”

I
shudder as I recall the incident. I had woken up earlier than usual and wanted
to go for a run. Not needing to use the lavatory straight away, I headed down
into the woods, finding the path that lead straight to the beach, my secret
place. After a five mile run, with the waves lapping at my feet, I turned and
decided to head back. A beating sound raised my suspicions that something was
wrong, and I hurried back to the house. The sound got closer and closer, blasts
of sand and salt air caught me, whipping around my face like tiny insects
attacking me.

All
I could think was,
I didn’t scan, I didn’t scan, I didn’t scan
.
Adrenaline mixed with panic propelled me as fast as possible back toward the
house. Three hovercrafts had found my location and continued to monitor me as I
headed home. It was the automated message from the hovercraft that had
terrified me the most: ‘Ms. Ariet Langley, please return immediately for your
morning scan. Failing to do so will result in severe disciplinary measures.’

As
I had made my way up the slope towards our dwelling, the hovercrafts continued
to keep track of my every move. Mother had been pacing frantically in front of
the window, and I’ll never forget the look of fear on her face as she caught
sight of me propelling along the pathway. It was only when the green light had
signaled a successfully completed scan that I heard the hovercrafts move off
into the distance that I breathed again.

House
arrest followed for the next month as punishment from the Creators, and my
portion of the weekly ration contributions had been restricted to the bare
minimum. That mistake had cost my family. A mistake I had never repeated again,
but it was a constant reminder to us of how the rules have to be strictly
adhered to.

Father’s
twirling of Mother around the kitchen to the angelic tune she was humming
snapped me back to the present. My parents are happy. After twenty-two years of
being together they are still in love. They had been lucky enough to have found
each other at the age of twenty-one, the pairing age. A pairing is arranged by
the Creators if you have not selected a mate during this period. Superiors have
two options when it comes to pairing with your life partner. Find a mate before
you turn twenty-one, or a pairing will be arranged for you. You are expected to
produce two offspring in the first three years of marriage. No more, no less.

My
parents met when Mother had attended a medical in Quadrant Four whilst she was visiting
family. Love at first sight saved them from what could have been an unhappy existence.
“We better start getting a move on if we want to get the good seats on the train,”
Father turned to me. “Morning, my Ariet.” It is his term of endearment for me.
I am always ‘His Ariet’.

“Morning,
Father. I’ll go and get Alec up.” Kissing him on the cheek, I go to wake my
twin brother.

I
nudge Alec with the ball of my foot. He detests it. “Get up. Father wants to
leave in 30 minutes. Make sure to bring your supply bag down with you. We’ll need
help carrying the rations back.”

Alec
is not a morning person, especially not on these mornings. He hates needles,
and the weekly medicals are always an issue for him.

“Ok,
Ok. I’m coming. You know, it won’t be the worst thing in the world if we get to
sit in the middle of the train, might spice things up a little.” I laughed. His
auburn hair shone in the rays peeking through his curtains.

“You
know how Father is. First in to the medical, first out. Hurry up, I’m going to
change.”

Chapter
2

The
walk to the train station was my favorite part of the journey. We lived in the
uppermost corner of Quadrant Four, which lay parallel to the sea. The population
was fifty thousand and rising steadily. It was the smallest of the four
Quadrants, but was doing well. We were making advances in the Biotechnology and
Agricultural sectors. Some of the Superiors had been selected to work with the
Creators on certain projects, which was a great honor, as Superiors and
Creators rarely crossed paths. We were slowly rebuilding the world after a
devastating illness that almost wiped us out over a century ago now. All
dwellings in the New World are similar in shape and design. Your dwelling is
assigned to you by the Creators when you have successfully paired.

All
families in Quadrant Four had their medicals on the same day, and the walk to
the station was filled with laughter and catching up. Although the station was
jammed with Superior families, it never ceased to amaze me how organized the
chaos was. People simply filed in line with their families. Neighbors waved and
greeted each other. We stood in line patiently, slowly shuffling forward. Only
one family was allowed on the train at a time, where each family member was
scanned and allocated seats. The travelling fee for the medical was, thankfully,
largely reduced in comparison to regular travelling fees and was deducted from
an individual’s total number of points accumulated.

There
had been an instance, when I was younger, where a Superior had travelled
extensively, using up all their points and had not allowed enough for the train
ride to the medical. A harsh punishment was bestowed on him, the details of
which I had never learned, but it had been instilled in me from an early age
that our survival depended on the weekly Medical.  

The
train moved slowly out of the station. I loved to watch the residents of
neighboring towns boarding, taking in new faces and surroundings. Our little
town was aptly named Beach Town. All Quadrants radiated out from Centre Town and
were made up of locational sub-divisions. I had learned over time, from people
who had travelled and returned to the other three quadrants, that sub-divisions
in all Quadrants were much the same as ours.

Our
population consisted of survivors of the Great Illness that destroyed the Old
World; who were genetically Superior to those that had succumbed to the
disease. As the train moved towards Centre Town, slowly dipping and gliding
through the hills and mountains around us, Father swiveled around in his seat leaning
towards Alec and me, a serious look on his face. “You two need to keep your
eyes open at the medical. This can be an opportunity for you both to find a
mate. You have one year to select a partner or one will be provided for you.”

Alec
and I looked at each other nervously. I got it; I got the importance of what Father
was saying to me. But I wasn’t ready for this. I was still enjoying life, young
and free. Looking at Alec, I could tell he felt the same way, although his
pairing situation was not as dire as mine. He had already developed feelings
for another Superior, their family resided in Beach Town as well. How serious
it was for them we were not yet certain as he kept his silence strong on this
matter. All I knew, at this point with absolute certainty and had known for a
very long time was that I did not want a mate selected for me.

Some
arranged pairings were happy, and life partners had eventually learned to love
each other, but for many this was not the case. Arranged life partners, Selecteds
as they had been termed, were paired according to genetic variability in order to
prolong human life and maintain diversity. Genetic in-breeding between
bloodlines was of huge concern to the Creators, and we were strongly encouraged
to diversify and look for mates in Quadrants that were not our own. We only had
to abide by one simple rule: Superiors could not pair with Creators, a small
population responsible for our survival and our current state of existence. A
few of the Creators known as Elders had formed a new Government based on
medical necessity and were the highest accumulative point’s earners in the New
World.

The
train slowed as we approached the edge of Centre Town, the walls enclosing the Great
Tower looming before us with tall trees shrouding our view. No Superior had
seen beyond the walls of the Great Tower. It was arranged that our Medicals were
performed at different stations around the edge of Centre Town. We were
forbidden to cross into the forest, to get in any proximity to the boundary wall
and, ultimately, the Great Tower.

As
we approached the platform, I sighed inwardly, knowing this was to be my
brother’s and my last medical before we reached pairing age. We filed off the
train into separate lines of male and female. Medicals included weekly
psychological monitoring and evaluation to maintain a successful genetic pairing.
Happy but nervous faces peered around and waited for the barriers to the medical
stations to be lifted.

Father
gave me a quick wave as his line started to move forward, beyond our sight,
“See you back at the market.”

Alec
winked and stuck his tongue out as he filed in behind my father. “I can help
you find a mate if you like. What about that one, that one or that one?” he
pointed around aimlessly.

Laughter
broke out at my expense, drawing unwanted attention from the male line of
Superiors. He grinned ridiculously at me. I rolled my eyes in retaliation,
making a mental note that I owed him a sibling rivalry comeback at some point.
Standing in line behind Mother, our queue moved forward slowly; our wrists out
in preparation for scanning.

As
we got closer to the gates, Carers greeted us in full-length white jumpsuits, their
cheerful but professional voices guiding us to our testing stations. Their
pristine uniform sets them apart from the drab brown and grey clothing that Superiors
were allowed to wear. I moved forward on autopilot. Scanning the crowd, dark
hair and steel blue eyes caught my attention. A jolt of electricity surged
through my veins as I realized I was being watched. Grabbing Mother’s arm
tightly in panic, my voice barely a whisper, “Mother, there is a Creator,
staring directly at me. To the right, by the archway. There, look!”

She
turned hesitantly in the direction of the Creator, pretending to scan the crowd
further than the area he was standing in. Turning back to me she whispered
through clenched teeth, “Stay calm, and don’t draw any attention to yourself. I’m
sure it’s nothing.” Her face and voice were reassuring, but her eyes glinted
with concern.

“Ladies
above thirty-five years of age please proceed this way; ladies below thirty-five
years of age please proceed this way.”

The
separation of female Superiors into age groups was normal as the tests
performed were dependent on age; however, I couldn’t get rid of the nervous pit
forming in my stomach. Turning to look away from the icy glare of the Creator,
Mother gently squeezed my hand as she moved towards Phase One of the testing
stations. “Bye, I love you. See you at the market.” I nodded silently. Glancing
around nervously, I noticed that the Creator who had locked eyes with me
moments ago was no longer there.