They come off the line like this. You have to wear gloves, a special uniform. I cover my hair in plastic, and I scrub when I get home. But I still smell metallic, somehow, under the soap and perfume.

Everyone knows where I work. It weirds a lot of people out, especially guys, when I tell them what I do.

There were all kinds of arguments and court cases, back in the day, about whether they should let people do what  I do. A lot of people thought it was unethical- you know, the religious types- and a lot of other people thought it was the best hope we had for survival. Resources being what they are, we need to make sure we’re not allowing anyone to be an unnecessary drain on them. Of course, back when the debates were happening, the majority of folks didn’t really care one way or the other, and so the protests were overruled, and people like me finally found paid work.

Right. Sorry- it’s a busy day today, I’d better get on.

After they come off the line, we run the newbs through the scanner and carry out the checks for Potential. It’ll identify most of the problems they could have, and will usually flag up if they need a full scan. It happens a lot less often now.

Just wait a second, and I’ll show you. See this one? That red blip on the line- ah, no, that’s just the heart beat- that one there. Yeah. It’s an addictive personality. Well, no, that’s not a trashing, but it does limit them to a particular set of employment paths. It’s only things like 4.48 psychosis and, y’know, disabilities where we’d have to pass this little guy on to the medics.

After the scan… Well, he’s just fine, limited, but fine. Now he gets taken out of the sac, one of the attendants will clean him and dress him, and give him to his new parents. The computer will select one of the couples from the list. With an AP, probably one of the Blue Class families, unless- oh, no, look- see? That’s his IQ. With a score that high…academics, probably. He’ll still be useful, whatever he ends up hooked on. Oh, I’m sorry- I was distracted, what was the question? Oh. Right. Yeah, I can see why you asked that.

Know what? Yeah, I probably would still donate to the programme. I mean, it is kind of horrible sometimes. But what other choice do we have?

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• Bio
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Ellen Boucher

Writer of mainly spec-fic, I also play roleplaying games, particularly enjoying the shared storytelling.

Latest posts by Ellen Boucher (see all)

• The Obvious - 01/01/16
• A tragic tale for poor dear Pip - 25/09/13
• The World That Is - 19/09/13
• Person of Interest - 13/09/13
• Late Running - 01/09/13