“No, luckily we still have men capable of reproducing, although over the years the fertility among our men has dropped alarmingly, to the point where only one percent of our men can reproduce and only with help from specialists. We prefer genes from our own men, but there’s simply not enough.”
“That’s insulting,” Khan bit out. “You should be fucking honored to get our strong genes.”
“Who else knows about this?” I asked, my heart pounding in aggravation.
“Only a selected few. For the most part, everyone thinks the core of the sex-bots are being changed constantly for hygiene purposes. There’s a man in charge of collecting and shipping the sperm and he and his team obviously know, but they’ve signed non-disclosure agreements.”
“And the women?” I asked Pearl. “Do they know Nmen are fathering their children?”
“Of course not,” she said.
“And you?” I looked to Khan. “Have you donated too, or did you stay clear of coming inside the sex-bots?”
His eyes shot to Pearl and she folded her arms across her chest with an expectant smile.
“That’s none of your business,” he bit out.
“Did you donate?” I asked again and pinned him with a challenging glare.
“Of course I did,” he said. “I have excellent genes, and who wouldn’t want to father as many children as possible?”
“And not see them? Not know what became of them?” I asked incredulously.
Khan shifted his balance. “Don’t be so melodramatic. I would much rather thatmygenes got spread than those of some Momsiboy who is more woman than man.”
“Oh, please.” Pearl shook her head. “Enough of this name-calling; our men are highly intelligent and wonderful men.”
All she got was snorts from both me and Khan.
“Boulder, listen.” Pearl drew back my attention. “It’s unlikely that Christina is pregnant. Many women are sterile too. But in case she is, think of how wonderful it will be for her to know the father of her child. That’s very rare.”
“You don’t get it,” I said. “That baby and Christina – they’re my family. My responsibility.”
“Family.” Pearl gave a small laugh. “What an odd thing to say. We’re all family.”
“No.” I cut an arm through the air. “A family is a man, his wife, and their children.”
“You Nmen are so unbelievably old-fashioned,” she said and threw her hands up in the air. “It’s not about that. It’s about forming a bond and a community with people you care about. If you could look beyond the traditions and challenge your minds to find beauty in other configurations you would understand why the Motherlands is such a success.”
“A success?” I gaped at her. “You limit your people and control them like children. I’m done listening to your shit.” I walked off determined to find Magni, and I didn’t stop to take part in the argument that Pearl and Khan continued as I left.
CHAPTER 30
Papa Hunt
Boulder
I found Magni at a bar in the nearest town. He was sitting with his head drooping and an almost empty beer.
“Hey,” I said and took a seat next to him. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“Oh, yeah?” His voice sounded so unlike the old Magni I knew.
“Can we talk?” I asked quietly and signaled to the bar-bot that I wanted what Magni was having.
The bar-bot had the design of a pretty female bartender and was quick to deliver me my beer with a smile and a wink. “Here you go, handsome, a well poured lager, never goes out of fashion.”
“What do you wanna talk about?” Magni asked without lifting his head.
