Children of the Artificial Womb: A Cyberpunk Story

By Edward Punales

Hector, a member of the Plasmid street gang and product of the artificial womb, is not doing well. His girlfriend is pregnant, his best friend is a murderous, technological genius and his gang boss is a violent bully. But when a once in a lifetime opportunity comes his way, Hector will have to choose between safety and freedom, in the dangerous world of gang warfare.

This story can also be found in the short fiction collection, Symphony of Humanity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Edward Punales
• Release date: Aug 11, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311423627

Edward Punales

I’m a writer, poet, filmmaker, and lover of mythology, science fiction, art, and cheeseburgers.  I’ve published three short story collections, written and/or directed a handful of short films, regularly publish new work on my Medium page, and have spent way too much time on the internet watching old vine complications. I used to write under the pen name Edward Lange, but I switched to my real name in 2015. I live in South Florida.

Book preview

CHILDREN OF THE ARTIFICIAL WOMB

EDWARD LANGE

Children of the Artificial Womb

Written By: Edward Lange

©2014 Edward Lange / All Rights Reserved

Smashwords Edition

Cover: Detail from Skyline by Bobby Mikul

This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of the copyright holder.

All characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to any persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

The artificial womb had made abortion obsolete.

The abortion debate had continued much along the same lines without much variation over the passing decades; pro-choice advocates defending a woman’s right to choose whether or not she’d want to carry a baby, and pro-life advocates condemning abortion because of its disregard for the human life that was growing inside the mother.

But the invention of the artificial womb in 2075 completely changed the paradigm. Now, a pregnant woman could end her pregnancy, without causing any harm to the child. The fetus would simply be put into an artificial womb, where it would be grown and taken care of, until its gestation period was complete.

Within a few years of its creation, the artificial womb became a staple in every hospital in America, alongside the MRI and X-ray machines. In addition, advocates on both sides of the debate unanimously voted for the creation of tax-payer supported, government-run clinics, where women could end their pregnancies free of charge.

With that, one of the most controversial and heated debates in American history had finally come to an end. The only question left was this: what do you do with all the unwanted children?

Hector and his friends executed a rival gang member.

It'd been a fun kill too. This redheaded kid had walked into Plasmid turf, wearing a green baseball cap and green shirt; the colors of the Handis.

Hector was part of the Plasmids. They wore purple, and were at war with the Handis. The kid in the green was either stupid, or crazy. Either way, they felt obligated to kill him.

The redhead Handi tried to put up a fight, but it didn't last. Even the strongest person on the planet couldn't hold his own against six guys. It wasn't long before he'd dropped the tough guy act. He cried and begged and pleaded, but a plasmid’s gotta do what a plasmid’s gotta do.

They took him to an old apartment building. The landlord had been killed in the crossfire of a gang war shootout, and the building was abandoned. Many plasmids used it as a hideout.

The boys took the Handi into one of the apartments on the ground floor, and strapped him down. In the bathroom of the apartment, Hector's best friend Carlos readied the syringe. It had been filled with the chemical solution, a red, vaguely luminescent liquid with explosive properties.

Its proper name was something that Hector had trouble remembering, but the