The red door opens, releasing you back into the sterile white corridor of the testing facility. The transition from the warm, dimly lit apartment pod to the harsh fluorescent lights always leaves you momentarily disoriented.
A lab-coated attendant, face obscured behind a tinted visor, hands you a sanitized robe without a word. You shrug it on, the fabric cool against your sweat-slicked skin.
"Tester 387ab, report to extraction."
You nod, falling into step behind the attendant as they lead you down the winding halls. The walls are lined with identical red doors, each hiding its own fabricated reality. Somewhere behind them, other testers were going through the same motions of sampling milk, evaluating pleasure protocols, or, like you, fulfilling the newly introduced breeding directive.
Stepping inside you enter the familiar extraction room. It's small and clinical with a single chair facing a wall-sized screen. You sit, and the screen flickers to life, displaying a faceless AI representative.
"Tester 387ab, your performance has been logged." The voice is genderless, toneless. "Rate your experience with Model HX-9 'Nurture Series' on a scale of 1 to 10."
You lean back, considering that for a moment.... "Nine."
A pregnant pause leads to the AI saying, "Elaborate."
"She was responsive. Milk production was optimal. The breeding protocol... was efficient." You smirked, despite yourself. "It all felt real."
Another pause, longer this time. The screen flickers, processing your answers.
"Acknowledged. Your biological sample will be analyzed for viability. If approved, your genetic material may be selected for Imperium propagation."
You stiffen.
"Wait--selected for what?"
"The Imperium requires strong genetic stock. High-performing testers may be chosen as donors for mass incubation."
A cold knot forms in your stomach. When you signed your contract, you figured, sure there were probably waivers about testing, data collection and other stuff like that, but... you wonder if there was anything about mass incubation.
"Do you object?" The AI's voice remains neutral, but something in the question feels like a trap.
You exhale slowly. "... No."
"Compliance is appreciated. Proceed to compensation disbursement."
The screen goes dark.
You approach the door to leave the extraction room, stopping at a sleek box to the side of the door to place your hand under its sensor. The credit chit lands in your hand glowing faintly. It was symbolic, your actual payment was deposited instantly into your account with a number larger than usual. Breeding protocol bonus, you guessed. The chit was just to remind you of the hand that feeds you.
The work always paid, you remind yourself.
You make your way out of the facility through the elevator of the lower floors, and out into the neon-drenched sprawl of the lower city. The air is thick with the scent of artificial rain and fried synth-meat from the vendor stalls lining the filthy streets.
A familiar figure leans against the wall nearby. Jax, another tester from your block who you've been getting to know. His smirk is sharp under the flickering streetlights.
"Hey stranger," he says, pushing off the wall to fall into step beside you. "How was today's cow?"
You roll your eyes. "Better than your last, I bet."
He laughed, clapping you on the shoulder. "Well I've never been promoted so, probably. But seriously... they're pushing the incubation thing hard now. Rumor is, the upper tiers want a large new batch of laborers. And they're picky about the gene pool. We're about to be overworked in the best way possible!"
You frown. "What happened to the last batch?"