Fertiles

Humanity was in a state of flux. It began with a small viral outbreak, causing sterility in women. The local government swore that the infection was contained, that there was nothing to worry about. That bold lie was quickly exposed as the infections quickly turned into a pandemic, then epidemic

The infection, and resulting sterility, was resistant to all known treatments. Once a woman was infected by the virus, she was unable to conceive a child by any known means. The infection soon became much more widespread, with more and more women becoming sterile, the outbreak spread worldwide in short order. A state of emergency was soon declared around the globe as the birth rates fell, and with it, so went the fate of humanity.

The amount of fertile women worldwide now only accounted for less than 0.01% of the female population capable of reproduction. The race for a cure focused on two fronts: develop a vaccine/cure to the plague and to secure fertile women to ensure the survival of humanity. As the cure was proving to be a long and tedious effort, identifying fertile women who were apparently resistant to the plague became a necessity. Governments world-wide declared that it was the duty of the “fertiles” to have as many children as possible.

The realization soon hit that this declaration wasn't enough. More drastic steps were needed to ensure the human race’s survival.

It didn't take long for the rich and powerful, the “ripo,” to begin proclaiming that the fertiles must be protected, then to start buying the rights to impregnate women, to the outright sale of the fertiles. It became a status symbol for the ripo to “collect” fertiles, to show them off, to have a large, and pregnant, harem. They became show pieces, companions for social appearances, and eye candy for public consumption.

Fertiles were, in short order pressed into servitude, both as guinea pigs for researching a cure as well as becoming broodmares, usually kept pregnant. As such, many women who were luckily still capable of childbirth tended to keep that information quiet. Infertile women were much less desired. The best they could hope for was being servants for the upper class, who were the ones sponsoring research and being deemed the most important population to procreate.

The lower class was populated by the “normal” males, infertiles (although infertile daughters of the ripo still wielded some power) as well as the third (and on) males born to the rich and powerful people in the world. After an heir, and a backup, sons weren't worth much and were disowned, becoming part of the lower class. The sons remaining in the rich and powerful families knew they were important, they were arrogant and demanding for the most part.

Processing centers were set up to prepare the fertiles for sale. Any woman even suspected of being a fertile was captured and shipped off to a processing center. An infertile woman who underwent processing, discovered later, typically wound up as a servant for the ripo. The cost of accidentally processing a sterile was seen as an unfortunate necessity in order to provide for the future of humanity.

The costs of the preparation and fertility , to ensure pregnancy, were covered by the occasional auction of fertiles. The marketers soon realized that, with just the right preparations, the women could be presented to the ripo to maximize profit. Conversion centers soon popped up, where discovered fertiles were sent, to be prepared for auction. Preparation included both physical appearance as well as mental conditioning, to make sure they were submissive and eager, something that the ripo soon became to expect from the fertiles.