Page 1 of Chloe

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CHLOE

Chloe McGuinty looked up from her knitting with the feeling that something different was in the air.

Of course, that was impossible.

She had spent the last ten days living in a simulated environment where the air was literally pumped in from a mountain village or something.

The room around her was the same as before, a clever AI’s imagining of the gorgeous loft apartment she had fantasized about as a kid. Of course, that fantasy was from before she learned what a teacher’s salary could swing as far as living arrangements.

Even if it was a simulation, it was still lovely. She was curled up on a fluffy sofa, looking out floor to ceiling windows at snow falling on a peaceful city.

“This is sophisticated as your life is going to get,” she murmured to herself with a smile. “Enjoy it.”

Chloe had arrived at the Midsummer Fertility Center with hope in her heart and a lot of pent-up energy she didn’t know what to do with. After getting up at four in the morning every day for years to be ready for a class of unruly kindergarteners, she had no idea what to do with herself here.

Oberon, the AI creator of the center, had encouraged her to indulge in daily pampering at the spa. But there were only so many heated stone massages and mani-pedis you could have in ten days.

Her nails had been so many different colors this week, she hardly recognized her own hands.

This morning, she had finally thought to ask Oberon for knitting needles and yarn. She had knitted to keep her mind occupied while sitting in the fertility clinic waiting rooms at home, so why not here?

Even if the luxurious center was made to feel like anything but a waiting room, she knew what it was.

Back home, she was extraordinarily lucky to live on Terra-58 - one of the few Terras that was well-respected by other planets. There was fresh air, plenty to eat, and enough access to technology to make life easier.

The matriarchal society adopted by all who chose to live in this paradise was protected by a special custom. Before becoming eligible for marriage, each woman of Terra-58 had to bear a child of her own. As the eldest, the primary heir would inherit the lion’s share of the mother’s assets, ensuring that all wealth passed through the maternal line.

So of course, families of means paid for the best genetic materials for their daughters’ primary pregnancy. A baby with luxury modifications could help a woman land the most desirable and attentive of males.

It was a system that worked well. Terra-58 had a low divorce rate, and a high marriage satisfaction rate. They had trade agreements with nearly every local system. And their children were adored and well-educated - all of them, not just the primary heirs.

But for an infertile woman like Chloe, the system could be cruel and unjust.

Luckily for her, Chloe’s family decided to splurge and indulge her in a round of treatment at a fancy high-end clinic back on Terra-58.

She had tried to hide her excitement when she found out, because a woman wasn’t supposed to date until she had birthed her primary heir. But she had been half in love with the vice-principal at the school where she taught since the day she was hired.

Vax Dolors was handsome and kind, with a gentle voice and a way of convincing small children that maybe they would like to behave themselves for Miss McGuinty after all.

It was easy to fall for him. And she could tell by the way he looked at her that he felt the same.

He had even been so bold as to whisper to her in the hallway after school once or twice, wondering how her treatment was going.

She would never forget the shiver of awareness that went down her spine as he whispered his questions in her ear.

But the cycle at the fancy clinic hadn’t worked.

Her parents moved her down to a middle-of-the-line clinic for another try.

And another.

Then her mother had pulled her aside.

“Chloe, you have two younger sisters,” her mother told her sadly. “I have to save for their treatments, too.”

Chloe had reassured her mother that she understood there would be no more help.

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