Who Knew My Assigned Mechanic Husband Was a Big Shot? novel Chapter 1

Sloane Sutton decided it was time to head to the registration bureau and claim a husband!

In the year 2056, the global fertility rate had plummeted past the point of no return. The number of newborns could no longer sustain society, making the continuation of the human race the absolute highest priority for the Federation!

To combat this, the Global Fertility Association was established, rolling out the following strict mandates:

First: Anyone over the age of twenty-eight who remained unmarried, regardless of gender, would be subjected to a hefty singles tax of $200,000 annually.

Second: Young adults unable to find a partner could draw lots at the registration bureau to be assigned one. They would choose from ten candidates, and the selected partner could not object.

Third: Upon a successful match, the marriage was immediately legally binding, and the couple was required to move into state-assigned housing.

Fourth: If either party was dissatisfied with the marriage after successfully having a child, they could file for divorce once the child turned one, at which point the state would assume full guardianship.

...

Sloane had just turned twenty-eight. As a surgical resident who had barely finished her grueling training, paying a six-figure tax meant she would literally starve.

Left with no other choice, she dragged herself down here to pick up a husband.

The registration bureau was plastered with aggressive propaganda posters from the Global Fertility Association:

[Procreation is Everyone's Obligation!]

[You Have the Baby, The Federation Foots the Bill!]

[Breed Your Way to Wealth! A Million-Dollar Bonus per Child!]

Despite the aggressive marketing, the young people lined up ahead of her were doing nothing but complaining.

"I joined the anti-marriage resistance two years ago. I can't believe the Global Fertility Association finally caught me."

"They're cracking down hard now. Unless you disappear into the mountains, you're screwed."

"That doesn't even work! My cousin tried hiding out in the wilderness to avoid the draft, and guess what? The association's drones sniffed him out in weeks."

"..."

Sloane's stomach tied itself into anxious knots.

For her generation, marriage was a prison sentence, and having children meant kissing your freedom goodbye forever.

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