Myself, I was a bit of a rogue soul for a little bit. I had some coin left over from the Returners after we split the earnings among everyone. Not to mention I was still getting royalty checks from the "Batty Blade" series. How they got that show to still air on public TV is beyond me. But I digress. I had saved up a pretty penny for a reason. With the coin in hand and my last life goal in front of me, I headed east.
Several years ago, prior to the Robot Revolution, Mobius was suffering from a population problem. To counter this, the king created the "Population Control Act" and subsequently the "Population Control Agency", a government funded center which provides only the best care for newborns, and in some cases, the creation of them. They accomplish this by hiring breeders. The breeders are tested and categorized by different factors including chance of genetic defect during birth, chances of getting pregnant, chances of successful birth, etc. To be qualified to use their breeder services, not only is there a lot of certification paperwork to fill out, but testing down to a genetic level to ensure maximum compatibility. Once the testing and paperwork is complete, the now certified partner can choose the breeder that they want from a list, pay the agency for the breeder services and the breeder is theirs.
However, the downside of this is that once the child is born they are PCA custody. The child stays with the breeder for one year so they can nurse, but on the child's one year anniversary, the PCA takes over before the infant can make memories of the breeder and partner, and is put up for adoption. And per the agreement, the child can never know who their birth parents are.
I didn't like that part of the agreement when I first heard it. Still don't. I would've loved to raise my own kids. But sadly I can't. But the reason I ultimately agreed to it was because the PCA's breeders were the best of the best. And I wanted to make sure that my bloodline would stay alive, no matter what.
Before the Robot Revolution ended, there was a final battle. The Great War, it was called. It was Dr. Cael's last stand. We knew when she planned to attack and had planned accordingly. However, days before the first shot was fired, I went to the PCA for the first time and got myself certified. They tried to show me the list, but I immediately pushed it away and demanded the best breeder they had. They obliged and called her in, a golden bat by the name of Glimmer. She was a beautiful woman and had the distinction of being a "Gold SSS" rank, which was the highest rank the PCA could give. At the time, she was already carrying a child, but even with her expanded belly, she was absolutely radiant. The worker told me she should be giving birth very soon and then would go into the year nursing period. She would be fully available after that. I looked into her beautiful eyes and told the worker that I would be back for her. I signed a holding contract to make sure I was the next in line and I left the beautiful bat behind.
2 days later... the war broke out. It was an all out battle, there were many casualties, and at times it did seem dire, but knowing that the possibility that I could rebuild my bloodline was there kept me going and ultimately we emerged victorious.
Seeing the PCA facility still standing was a breath of relief though it shouldn't have been a surprise. The king had made sure to have it isolated from the mainland to protect the children and breeders from any hostility. I walked in and asked about Glimmer. She had successfully given birth and completed her nursing period. I gave the workers the money, which was ten times more than what Glimmer's price was, which was already pricey to begin with. 10 kids. Back to Back. Those were my terms. That would mean Glimmer would be with me for over a decade. They called her in for me. Her belly was normal sized, but there was no signs of pregnancy. She looked like she never had a kid in her life. The worker noted my surprise and told me that she had given birth to so many children that she always takes measures to minimize the stretch marks. She's gotten so good at it, that she can look like she's never birthed once. I looked into her eyes. They were as beautiful as I remembered. At this moment, Glimmer had to make a decision. When someone hires her services, she has to make a choice of either living with the assigned partner or living on her own. I looked into her eyes again. We had never really spoken to each other. So I couldn't really try to convince her to live with me. But all I could do was hope.
The room went quiet for what seemed like an eternity, but was only 5 minutes. And to my utter relief, she chose to live with me.
The next few years were very eventful. I would like to say my time with Glimmer was amazing, but amazing is an understatement. There were actually times were I would forget we weren't married. I grew attracted to her very much and whenever her belly was large it would drive me insane. I made it a point to still have sex with her, even when she was pregnant, because I wanted to help her ease the contractions and pains. At first she was taken aback by it, because none of her previous partners had ever done that for her before, but soon she warmed up to the idea and even grew to love it. I loved holding her full belly as I made love to her. It made me feel like I still had something to protect. I really enjoyed that feeling.
After the first year, we started to receive monthly visits from a PCA worker who would check up on the babies regularly. Glimmer was already good friends with this worker, and over time, I became friends with him too.
A few have passed since and we've already had to let go of a few of the pups. It's never easy, but I know that a great future awaits them. I hope that maybe, just maybe, I'll cross paths with them someday, even if they won't know who I am. And I still live happily with Glimmer. We've grown quite fond of each other.
To be honest, and don't tell her this, but I'm actually secretly scraping up more coin to have 10 more kids with her. And if you all think I'm throwing away my money just for a woman, let it be known that the money that I paid is actually going to the kids. It covers their life expenses and sets them for life.
And unbeknownst to the PCA, I may or may not have left some secret clues amongst the money so the kids could find me when they're old enough. Like I said, I hated the PCA's rule that I couldn't see the kids after the first year of birth. But rather than try to fight it, I made the system work for me. Something you learn as a mercenary.
Yep, the future's looking bright for me. I think I'm gonna enjoy retirement.
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A sketch made for me by \r\n\t\t\t\t\t
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