Hi,

Hope you enjoy this new story, it is a short one and will be around 10 chapters. I have it completely written so will update daily and see what people think of it. Chapter one is a small one, the others will be longer but not huge.

It's a bit of an odd idea, set in the future but with a slightly medieval feel to the society and class system so bear that in mind.

Also, I have done ZERO research on anything medical so please don't shout at me if I have anything medical-sounding completely wrong. Its just a bit of fun, not to be taken too seriously!

Enjoy & let me know what you think.

Building New York

Chapter One

In the year 2067 the global war began. It continued for over 50 years.

Whole countries were annihilated and much of the earth destroyed beyond repair. No one knows for sure who unleashed the virus that wiped out most of the population who survived the war, the only thing the theorists agree upon is that it was a deadly chemical weapon gone wrong. It was released into the water system of all the major remaining countries – on all sides of the war – and almost the entire population of the planet were killed immediately upon becoming infected.

No one living now was alive at the time to witness such horror but it is something that has remained a cautionary tale to all, to help those in power keep the peace. To start another war could see a return of that time – men, women and children burning from the inside out from the vicious infection overtaking their bodies. Internal organs failing as the body scorched itself and the agony of those who had to watch their families, their friends, their children die, all the while knowing that they would inevitably be next.

Within 6 months the virus had run its course. Less than 1% of the population that survived the war proved to be immune to the virus. Many of those were lost to famine, violence amongst survivors and suicide as people lost hope. As a last step to save the human race, an Alliance was formed between a group of survivors from the remaining countries – America, England, France, China and Australia. With less than 500,000 humans surviving and much of the earth now uninhabitable, many people gratefully looked to these few individuals for guidance and followed them gladly when a new super city was decided upon in what remained of New York, one of the few cities that had survived the war relatively unscathed. A global relocation process was arranged and within 6 months most remaining humans were moved to New York where tireless work was underway to clear the city and begin building work to make it the great stronghold it would become. A huge wall was erected around the perimeter of the city to keep inhabitants safe from areas which had become eradiated due to the horrific weapons that had been used in the war, as well as secure from the possibility of attack from those remaining people who had refused to be relocated. Most of the existing buildings were torn down and over the years of hard work from those first settlers, the great paradise that is now New York was created.

There was, however, an unfortunate side-effect of the virus that no one had anticipated, and it threatened the very existence of humanity.

In the years following the formation of the Alliance, it was noticed that very few children were being born into the community. Nature had taken over and many of the settlers had found their mates, but the population was dwindling instead of increasing as the people prospered. Much effort was put into the research of this and the group of scientists tasked with finding the solution came upon an alarming discovery. The virus, whilst not deadly to those within the Alliance community who were all infected, it had irreversibly altered the DNA of those people. This alteration had some interesting characteristics – it seemed to make people stronger, more mellow and amenable to being ruled, but also it had made all but a very small number of the male population infertile. Whilst the percentage of fertile women was significantly higher than that of the men, it was still an alarmingly low number. Coupled with the inability of the majority of males to produce healthy sperm the population was thrown into crisis.

Scientists attempted to recreate health sperm chemically but with the devastation the war had caused, much of the technology of the previous world was lost, as well as the expertise to be able to undertake such a task. After nearly a decade of trying and with only a handful of children born in this time, drastic measures had to be taken.

In a controversial move, the Alliance leaders ordered the construction of a "Population Research Facility", and under the guise of obtaining samples for study, all human males were brought there for testing where results were logged onto the Genetic Database. More than 300,000 males were tested and less than 1000 were proven to be fertile. This shocking discovery led to the formation of what has become known as the Human Extinction Programme where the fertile males within the acceptable age range of 18 to 45 were held at the facility. What began as a program to test and research to try to eradicate the infertility problem, became something very different over the years.

Nearly one hundred years has passed since those early days. And the population is still fighting the battle it had started against the virus.

The modern New York is ruled by the elite member of The Alliance. Run as an all-encompassing governing body overseeing the welfare of the population and the running of the enormous city of New York, certain members of the high ranking families are awarded places on the Governing Boards. Those holding these places earn great wealth as well as status and respect amongst the other citizens. Board places are held only by men and handed down to their sons. When there is no heir, the place will be filled by a nominated candidate subject to an electoral vote of all of the population above the age of 16.

All men working within the society are infertile.

Fertility testing for all members of society, male and female, takes place at 16 at the Population Research Facility and those males found to be fertile are immediately held at what has become known as The Facility. Infertile men return to society and, based on their families rank, can hope to find employment. Women who are proven to be fertile become a very valuable asset to the high ranking families of position who wish to further their own name. Men, and their families on their behalf, are invited to apply to the father of the fertile woman from the day of her 16th birthday when an announcement is made. It is the fathers responsibility to secure a suitable husband for his daughter in order for her to marry on, or after, her 18th birthday. Marriages are usually arranged by large amounts of money changing hands.

Infertile women are returned to their families where, having no value regardless of their family's position, they often find themselves homeless. Many women will find husbands amongst the lower ranking men who will have no chance at securing a fertile wife.

Couples with a fertile female can apply to The Alliance "Genetic Screening Board" where approval will be granted for them to be able to conceive a child and the woman will be matched to a potential list of suitable fertile males within The Facility which the couple will be able to choose from to father the child. Men and women are matched based on a number of factors, but due to the relatively small number of fertile humans, a lot of emphasis in put on the inbreed coefficiency percentage to ensure a healthy bloodline is continued in further generations.

The Alliance have managed to keep the population of New York steady at around 500,000 people for the last hundred years and their efforts have managed to avoid the extinction of the human race.