Page 272 of Dirty Discipline, Vol. 1

“Oh please, like you want to be an Auntie. They get all the boring assignments, and everyone avoids them. Don’t you want our babies to grow up together? They’re going to be so cute!” she said.

Alixie had no doubts. In a way, Mara envied her. It would be nice to want the things that were being forced on her. It would certainly make it easier anyway. Her wrist-com beeped, and she looked down to see that she was being summoned to her advocate’s office. She sighed. “I’ve got to go. Advocate Jesk wants me.”

“Probably because you haven’t filled out your forms. Just pick breeding, Mara. For me? I always dreamed about us having kids together. My birthday’s only three days after yours. You know what that means?” Alixie demanded.

Mara sighed. “What?” She knew exactly what Alixie was going to say. She’d been saying the same thing since they were both ten years old and had been told the grand scheme of their future.

“It means we could even give birth on the same day! Wouldn’t that be amazing? We could hold each other’s hands during the labor!” Alixie’s eyes sparkled with happiness.

Mara’s stomach twisted. “Yeah. Amazing. Listen, I better go,” she said as she hurried away. It was probably the first time she’d ever been in a hurry to get to Advocate Jesk’s office.

Chapter Three

She’d known what the meeting was about, and Alixie was right, of course.

The older woman made a show of swiping through Mara’s file and frowning. “Mara, I don’t understand why you haven’t submitted your forms yet. You do realize you only have three days left?”

Did the advocate think she’d forgotten her own birthday? “Yes, Advocate Jesk, I know. I just haven’t… decided yet,” Mara said. She kept her voice as neutral as possible. Any emotion and her words would immediately be given less credit.

“What is there to decide? Forgive me, Mara, but no one wants to be an Auntie by choice. They get the worst jobs and no family.” She tsk’d and shook her head. “Those who are infertile can’t be blamed, but if you choose the role then it can be unpleasant.”

“I just—I feel like neither of them are really what I want to do with my life. I mean kids are great, but I don’t think I’m ready for them yet. What I’d really like is …” The words trailed off as she looked up to find her Advocate staring at her. She shifted in her seat and tried to control her nerves. Was it really that weird?

The older woman carefully put her digital reader down and folded her hands. “Mara, you realize that as a colony we’re still very small and every life matters right now. Five years ago, we lost almost a tenth of our population to the Green Flu and something like that could happen again. You have a duty to the colony.” The lecture was delivered in a stern tone that occasionally tried, and failed, to sound encouraging.

“But I want to continue to study botany. I’m so close to finishing my Master’s research thesis and then I can start working on new plants for the gardens. Isn’t that important too?” She sat back in her seat and folded her arms across her chest.

She was tired of being told that her only value was as an incubator when she had so many wonderful plans that could benefit the entire colony. Suddenly the idea of taking her place at the breeding center was intolerable.

“Of course, it’s important,” the advocate said, trying to soothe her. “And you will do those things as soon as you carry out your reproductive duties. That’s why we have the Aunties. As soon as your children are weaned and can be dropped off at the creche you’ll be able to go back to your research. It will be eight years tops and then you’ll be free to take on other duties.”

“Eight years? Eight?” She blew out a frustrated breath. “You mean eight years if they don’t double the breeding quota, right?” There was no denial and after a long moment of silence she continued, “Why can’t I choose to be an Auntie and still continue my research? It makes no sense to punish people for not wanting kids.”

“You know why, Mara. People need encouragement to procreate and the best way to do that is to make it unpleasant to refuse. Infertile Aunties and breeding women have a place here, but those who refuse their natural roles selfishly are a burden on society. They can only make it up by taking on the worst jobs. You’re a smart girl and I know you’ll make the correct choice.”

“Could… could I at least continue to work after the birth? I’m sure I could handle it.” Mara hated the pleading tone in her voice, but she couldn’t help it. She loved her work and didn’t want to lose it.

“Mara, even if you were to have only one baby to care for, which is unlikely, the demands of an infant should be your focus during these years,” Jesk said in an admonishing tone.

Their people tended towards multiple births, usually two, but sometimes as many as four. It made doing anything but caring for the offspring difficult, but Mara had been a rare single. There was always the chance that her child would be too. At least her advocate could have left her with that hope. Her eyes filled with tears and she looked down.

Jesk picked up the file-reader, tapped a few times to bring up the correct document and then slid it across the desk. “Since you’re here now, let’s just get this out of the way. Sign and apply your fingerprint please.”

Mara looked down and read the form, even though she knew what it was. Her wishes were being ignored as she was shoved against her will into a role she didn’t want. She knew what would happen if she refused to sign and it shook her. She obeyed with numb fingers.

“Good girl!” Advocate Jesk smiled with nova-brightness, pleased she’d capitulated. “I knew you’d make the right choice. Now, I’ll escort you right over to the center and we’ll get started.”

Mara was struck with a feeling of panic. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to sound calm. “But I still have three days. We’re not supposed to be impregnated before our birthday.”

The older woman smiled at her, but there was just a touch of coldness to it. “Oh, I think we’ll make an exception in this case. We find that women who are struggling with the idea do better once it’s over. It will be easier once the hormones kick in.”

Mara was pulled to her feet and hustled towards the door, while the advocate continued to talk in a reassuring tone. “I enjoyed every one of my pregnancies. They went so well, I even had a bonus baby past my quota.” She said the last in an air of confiding a secret, but everyone knew that advocates got their jobs by having extra children.

Mara didn’t care about any of that. She was too busy struggling with the rising urge to run, to escape, to get away. The wild urge to flee was beating at the inside of her chest like a caged animal, but she couldn’t get past the feeling of shock that had frozen her into this numb passive place, and she let herself be dragged without a fuss.

It wasn’t until she saw the doors of the breeding center that everything came crashing down. She dug her heels in and pulled to a stop. “No. I can’t. I don’t want this,” she blurted. Her wide eyes darted left and right looking for an escape route and the Advocate’s expression tightened.

“Mara, stop this now. You’re acting like a child. You’ve already signed the papers so there’s nothing you can do now but go through with it.”

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