Love Not Required

In ancient times, a horrific virus spread over the world bringing and suffering with it. The surviving population became carriers of the virus, passing it onto their children. While most were immune to the more horrific aspects of the virus that caused the of its host, the virus brought significant change to those born with it. Child mortality rates, already high for the time, spiked. Male children were especially affected. Nearly all were born in a weakened state, with nearly thirty percent succumbing to illnesses amplified by a weakened immune system before the age of eight.

The boys that survived to adolescence faced another hurdle. Infertility rates among men had skyrocketed. Nearly half of adolescent men found themselves effectively sterile. The remaining half were on a spectrum of barely viable, to the rare previral sperm count. At sixteen, all male teenagers undergo testing to determine their ability to produce children. Based on that score, they are given a ranking. Created as a means to help keep track of viable men, the ranking system evolved to determine many men’s life choices.

Society had undergone drastic changes after the virus decimated much of the population. Even after the population numbers recovered, sex ratios remained skewed. With nearly seventy percent of the population women, they controlled many of the levers of power. Political, business, even households were dominated by women, even if recent times have had a gradual increase in male participation. Thanks to modern medicine, sex ratios have improved with women accounting for approximately sixty-five percent of the total population.

Societal taboos around sex fell away as frequent pairings with numerous partners became necessary to create children. Even as medical advances eliminated the guesswork of finding fertile male partners, the practice continued. Marriage shifted to a luxury enjoyed by upper classes as the availability of men decreased. Male-female relationships lost fidelity expectations, instead morphing to signify emotional support and intimacy rather than sexual exclusiveness. Children grow up in an environment that preaches the importance of sex. Modern high school programs teach how it is an individual's civic duty to have sex often, and with numerous people. Attachment to fertile men is vigorously discouraged.

As medical technology advanced to determine fertility rates of individuals, laws were passed restricting certain rights of fertile men. The result was men with lower potency found themselves with far more freedoms than men who ranked higher. They are free to marry and pursue any type of career and schooling they desire. Fertile men are encouraged not to form attachments and laws regulate partner requirements. The higher a man’s ranking, the tighter the restrictions the law place on the man.

Rankings:

S rank: Sperm count equal to average previral man. Additional S added for every 25% above that average. Men in this category are sequestered from public.

A rank: Sperm count 25% less than average previral man. Men in this ranking are forbidden from relationships and are forcibly relocated as needed.

B rank: Sperm count 50% less than average previral man. Men in this ranking are discouraged from relationships and can be relocated as needed.

C rank: Sperm count 75% less than average previral man. Government incentives to voluntarily relocate. Majority of fertile men fall in this category.

D rank: Sperm count deemed too low for viable impregnation. Cutting edge fertility treatments might make these men viable in near future.

E rank: Sperm count deemed too low for viable impregnation. Medical community has hope to make these men viable in next century.

F rank: Sperm count non-existent.