Don't Get Pregnant.: A Response To A Tyrannical Oligarch Regime

By Ginger Tallchief

In response to the declining birthrates throughout the country, the United States Supreme Court collectively ruled to completely overturn its 1973 decision regarding Roe vs. Wade. Unbeknownst to her, a secret governing oligarchy known as "The Five Families" employs prominent film director Bridgetta Greene to release, 'Protect the Ch

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ginger Tallchief
• Release date: Jul 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9781087891989

Book preview

1

DON'T GET PREGNANT.

DON'T

GET

PREGNANT.

GINGER TALLCHIEF

Copyright @gingertallchief

All rights reserved. This story is published subject to the condition that it should not be reproduced or used, in any manner, without the consent of the publisher. Any infringement of this is a violation of the publisher. Any infringement of this is a violation of copyright law and will be subject to fine. This is a work of fiction. Any character, names, businesses, place, event, or incidents are used in a fictions manner or of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual person's living or dead or any factual events are purely coincidental. I do not own any images or songs referenced throughout this book. The image of G. Tallchief is a borrowed image and not of the author themself. If the rightful owners to said images, songs, or videos would like their work removed from the story they will be removed upon request. Strong language and/or mature content such as sex and violence will happen throughout this book. Reader discretion is advised.

…and for once bravery looked a-lot like running away.

-Kat Savage

Prologue

Outside of a single chair, the gleaming white room was void of any additional furniture.

James had arrived early and was alone.

He had been waiting to conduct an interview in response to the staggering decrease in childbirths all over the country.

The proposed ‘Reproduction Strike’ in response to the newly released film by Bridgetta Green had struck a chord nationwide.

Women everywhere stopped having children, and it was said that the proposed ‘Reproduction Strike’ was a direct threat to the country’s future workforce and military presence.

A booming voice came from above him.

Yes? The voice bellowed, addressing James.

James jumped in his seat and turned around in the chair.

Yes? The voice bellowed again.

Uh…my name is James, he stated, "I’m a reporter from ‘The Blue Elephant,’ and I just wanted to ask you a few questions," he ended, still turning around in circles in the chair to locate the voice.

He was now standing as the room darkened around him.

He then reached out his arms to see if he could make contact with a wall or at least a door handle.

Nothing.

Yes? The voice above him said again.

Ughhh…lights, please. I can’t see, James panicked.

What is your question? The voice in the darkness persisted.

Uh…Ummm, James muttered, still reaching out into the darkness, now looking for the chair he was sitting on.

There was no use.

His heart began to race.

He lowered himself to the ground.

The ground was familiar.

I just have one question; we all have one question, sir, James said, now sitting on the ground in the middle of the dark.

Yes? The voice offered once more.

James let out a despondent sigh.

His shirt was slightly drenched with his sweat.

Can …can you tell me, if you can, James was now stuttering, can you tell me, I mean tell us…why? We just want to know why, James ended and then laid on his back.

He didn’t sign up for this shit.

A loud reeling sound suddenly came from above him.

James sat up in the darkness with his eyes closed.

It was a projector screen.

A film had started.

The screen's brightness had now blinded him.

It was a slight relief.

His eyes finally adjusted to the light.

He was now aware of his position in the room and crawled back to the chair.

He turned his attention to the projector in front of him.

James could see the back of two heads on the screen.

The head belonging to the person to the right was slightly higher than the person to the left.

The person to the left appeared to be a woman sweating and panting.

The image circled the two heads to present their two bodies. They had been talking to one another indistinctly.

The film was silent and continued.

The person on the left was emerged in a blue kiddie pool.

The head to the right appeared to be offering comfort.

The woman to the left was breathing heavily and sweating. Her breasts were exposed, and her legs were sprawled open in preparation for her child’s arrival.

The woman in the bathtub inhaled and bore down.

This didn’t work.

The woman in the kiddie pool then turned over on all fours. The film's silence could not negate the loudness of what was happening.

Her facial expression was in agony.

She had placed one hand between her legs to feel her infant's head waiting to be moved further out of her vaginal canal.

She inhaled for the third time, bore down, and then pushed.

Another woman appeared from behind the woman to the right. There was more indistinct talking.

She walked around the woman in the kiddie pool and turned on a mini flashlight.

She pushed once more and rested her head on the side of the kiddie pool, now moving both of her hands between her legs. The sound of the infant crying was the only sound that the film provided.

The cry was alive, promising, and persistent.

The picture then faded to black.

The following silent film opens with what looks like a wedding reception.

Location: India.

The bridal reception had been saturated in the most beautiful red he had ever seen.

There had to be hundreds of people in attendance.

The video then pans on the bride.

Her feet were so small.

The gray-haired man sitting next to her was the groom.

He was apparently overjoyed with his new wife-to-be.

The mother of the bride lifted the bride's red veil.

James’s heart sank.

The bride was a child.

The video proceeded to pan closer and closer to the child’s eyes.

Tears had fallen to her cheeks.

She then gently touched the side of her veil and looked to the left.

There was no one to save her.

The screen then faded to black.

James put his head down.

He didn’t understand what he was watching and certainly was not prepared to be entertained.

He had had enough and now stood to his feet to leave.

The following silent film had started.

James’s back was now turned to the screen.

He was in preparation to walk out.

The screams from a 911 call startled him.

911. What is your emergency? the dispatcher said.

Please send someone, the woman on the other line pleaded.

She had been sobbing.

Ma’am, what is your emergency? The dispatcher continued.

My boyfriend shot our son. I came here to pick him up, and I found him dead. He’s still breathing, the woman screamed, please help me. she continued to yell.

What is your address and location? the dispatcher requested.

Who the fuck are you on the phone with? a man’s voice appeared in the background.

Jeff, we need help. Please, Jeff, please put the gun down the woman pleaded.

The next sound was a shot and then silence.

The next sound was another shot and more silence.

"Ma’am? Ma’am? MA’AM? the dispatcher yelled, Oh my God. All units, all possible units, double or triple 187 in the Bedford Stuyvesant Brevoort Housing Projects. All units proceed with caution, all units proceed with caution, all units proceed with caution…" the phone call then fades.

James turns to face the screen.

The pictures that flashed before him were of the mother, child, and boyfriend, all dead.

James saw the images of the mother and child shot.

He burst into tears and then ran to the nearest corner of the room and vomited.

Jesus Christ, he yelled, wiping his mouth, and repeatedly retching, enough, he cried, getting up off the ground, grabbing his coat, and heading to the door.

Lemme out. Lemme out, he said, now banging the door to leave.

The lights in the room suddenly turned on.

Sit, said the booming voice from the ceiling.

James stopped banging on the door.

He paused and then turned around to the chair.

He walked towards it and sat down.

He was now annoyed and wanted to leave.

His shirt was drenched in sweat, and he smelled of vomit. Now exhausted, he sat down. He leaned back in the chair, put his things on the ground and his head in his hands.

The sinister monotone voice from the ceiling started:

"You know, we never really needed the mothers.

Outside of actual reproduction and consumerism, they were useless.

Our goal was to separate the two.

Child and mother.

Mother and child.

Some studies suggested that this connection was by far the strongest universally.

We aimed to discourage this connection.

If we could get children removed from their mothers legally, the overall goal would become much more accessible.

We would have our teams place the children with the most volatile party.

Children in those situations eventually ended up on the street, abandoned, or worse.

The child would eventually end up in our throes, which was the whole point.

The more destitute, the better.

Their desperation was our encouragement.

Unions had to be separated, healthy ones especially.

At one point, people no longer trusted each other.

Our film instigated parents to no longer be trusted.

Despite the circumstances, women at one point kept having children.

That showed our scientists that regardless of what women probably knew to be accurate, the embedded ideology of motherhood and its rite of passage if you will, have not left them. We needed to ensure this factor as well.

The entire world could be falling apart, and we could always count on one idiot getting pregnant.

The Goddamn world was in disarray, and childbirths skyrocketed.

We needed it to stay this way.

The Reproduction Strike was something we never planned for.

You know, we never really needed mothers.

We needed the children.

We always needed the children, and this strike put a dent in our plans.

The more children we had at our disposal, the better, and the strike slowed down admissions considerably.

Abortions and the right to birth control had to be annihilated.

The mothers and some of the fathers were in the way.

That had to be fixed.

Our Networks helped.

Our Networks were kept abreast of the agenda despite the strike.

We still needed distinct visuals.

Any division had to be seen.

We needed that broadcasted daily.

We just needed it.

Any perversion, anything vile, any low thought best not worded, we put it out there.

It started with the concept of family first…and once that was broken, things on our end became much more manageable.

We had to do away with the mothers.

Once we orchestrated divisions on the main stage, they digested it.

They all did.

The numbers showed that our observations were correct.

Our scientists came on board here.

Everyone.

We had worked for 30 years getting the agenda to crystalize.

30 years.

We had all our Corporations, Politicians, Judges, Lawyers, Doctors, and Nurses on board.

Our Networks were critical to us.

The Networks were critical here.

We paid close to a trillion dollars to have them deliver the best subliminal messages constructed.

It worked.

Everything had gotten so visual, so fast.

All the network platforms rushed, and it was hard to keep up at first.

We then got them all on board.

We had no choice.

More children were needed.

The mothers and fathers were not.

We had our corporations make things harder, Politicians made things harder, and the Legal system was a fantastic help.

Our Judges were very expensive.

We had full cooperation from that sector.

There were some scattered families, and the Corporations and Networks helped dissolve those unions, but we needed more.

We needed more children.

We didn’t plan for the mothers to stop having them.

We just didn’t plan for that, so today, our new focus is the children that are left.

—The 5."

The entire statement had been so matter of fact that James could not comprehend what he was hearing. He quickly grabbed his things, got up, and ran to the door and banged repeatedly. The door now opened. He wildly ran out of the building and to his car. He started the ignition and violently pulled away from the curb. He finally made it to the expressway. He reached down to the leg of his right pants. While driving, he used his left hand to steer and his right hand to lift his pant leg. He pushed two fingers down the tube of his sock and pulled out a mini tape recorder. He threw the tape recorder on the passenger seat and continued his way home.

************

She didn’t mean to steal the phone.

She was told to destroy it.

But she didn’t have much choice.

It was the closest thing to heaven that she could get her hands-on, and because of this, she didn’t have time to bullshit. Her organization had given her explicit directions to execute a mission regarding their operation.

The hacker she was dealing with was more concerned with her breast size than giving her what she wanted.

Stephanie was annoyed.

The payment had already been sent, and the phone that she needed to be hacked was delivered more than a week prior.

The potential contents of the stolen phone would be used to dismantle her boss's life.

It’s not that she didn’t like her boss, ‘Big Bridgetta’, as she was so affectionately called all over the world; on the contrary, she adored her.

Stephanie just needed this operation to be a success, and her relationship with her boss, Bridgetta, was mere collateral. Business, she thought.

Bridgetta, one of the most sought-after directors in Europe and the United States, had flown her to Italy to work on her latest film.

A worldwide semi-public service announcement on protecting children from their parents.

The direct and collective forfeit of parental rights, in the movie, would then leave the powers that be to obtain complete control of these same children.

No longer could parents make decisions regarding their offspring.

In the film, that was now the government’s job and everyone needed to be in alignment with that agenda.

Doctors, Nurses, Policemen, Lawyers, and especially Judges were the target audience of this film’s release.

‘Protect The Children’ would become a new motto worldwide, and parents were to be displayed as individuals, not to be trusted.

The public would also be subjected to watching this film, and the message had to be relayed with complete clarity.

The film was to be used to usher in a new train of thought, and they had worked for an entire year on the subliminal messages that would be used as a back sound to the original score.

Everything was almost perfect.

It was a potentially damaging film that threatened the presence of The Nuclear Family in the world as she knew it. Tyranny was on the horizon, and Stephanie had a job to do.

This film was highly unique in that it would also be the first project in history with a direct governmental agenda.

No longer would art imitate life.

Art, in this format, would govern life, and officials had prepared countless Americans and Europeans that its message wasn’t just a message but an indirect order that would essentially have to be followed.

Those individuals who worked in the Educational, Healthcare, and Judicial systems would all have to comply with the overall message, and their cooperation would be financially stimulated. Parents could no longer be trusted, and the government would need the public's full cooperation to ‘Protect the Children.’

A first in American and European history indeed.

Stephanie was picked to work on the project, and at first, she didn’t have any qualms about her new assignment; that wasn’t until she read the script and was utterly disgusted.

She had worked with Bridgetta on her last two films, and this time's pay was exceptionally exorbitant.

The payment was almost too much for the project at hand, which made her do some further investigating.

At times she reasoned, who wouldn’t want to live in Milan and get paid more than what some American professionals make in a year every month?

The price was just too high for her, however.

Something was off.

She had stolen a copy of the pink script and sent it to her organization. She had no idea why Bridgetta had ordered each document to be printed on pink paper; she just did as instructed.

More than controversial, the script and its underlying pretense didn’t sit well with her repetitive and inquisitive mind.

There had to be something underneath it all, and she wanted to find out.

The film was being pre-released to governmental sectors, such as Child Protective Services (CPS), law enforcement, the healthcare industry, and high government cabinets before the public just didn’t sit right with her.

What is the gear up for?

She wanted to know.

Her organization, ‘Lavender’s Gun,’ also wanted to infiltrate the inception of the film’s impact immediately. If that could not be done, it would counteract its release by exposing the truth and inciting public outrage.

The hidden masters of the government had to be stopped, they reasoned, and she would be used as the primary instrument in carrying out their agenda.

The price for mothers, fathers, and children was too high. Access to safe abortions and adequate birth control were also on the line.

A secret government was systematically attacking women and their bodies, and they had to be stopped.

There was nothing she could do but infect this film from the inside out, but she needed a bloody phone hacked for right now.

Look, I already sent you the fucking money, she yelled at the glass divider.

She was sent to the location by a friend of her organization.

It's another $5,000 for this phone, Stephanie. We already went over this, sweetie, the guy from behind the glass, standing up from his stool and now taking off his glasses, said.

You know what? Fine. Fucking fine, Stephanie growled, taking her credit card out of her wallet.

Here, she said, throwing the card on the silver plate on her side of the glass, and I am not your fucking sweetie.

The tech winked, smiled, and swiped her card.

He picked up the silver plate that Stephanie had slid to him. The sound of the registered printing out her paper receipt broke the silence between them.

He ripped the receipt from the register and put it, two peppermints, and a pen on the silver plate for her to sign.

He then slides the silver plate back to Stephanie for her signature.

Stephanie signed, grabbed her receipt, and flicked the two peppermints back to him.

48 hours, he shot back through the glass, we’ll call you, he said with another wink.

Stephanie scoffed, shoved the receipt in her pocket, and left. Whatever was on that phone better be good.

Chapter 1

#dontgetpregnant

Abortions and the right to birth control had to be annihilated.

-The 5

Roe vs. Wade had just been officially overturned in the United States, making it a federal crime a woman to have an abortion.

The film’s pre-screening was a success.

Stephanie had stayed in Italy for the remainder of the year and was now back in New York.

Lavender’s Gun needed her presence on the ground, and she was glad to be back in the city. She managed to leave Italy without being found out.

The phone that she had stolen was on its way back to her, and the script was already sent to her team.

She had to be at the ‘Lavenders GUN’ headquarters in less than an hour, and she wasn’t even ready.

She took off her robe and hopped in the shower.

She had 23 minutes to get downtown.

‘Protect the Children’ was on its way to being fully released to the public, and something had to be done.

The film was wildly accepted by her boss Bridgetta’s peers, but that acceptance has yet to be seen by the public for which it was intended.

The release date was less than six weeks away, and a plan was needed to help the public, especially young women, reject the message.

They didn’t have much time.

Stephanie was out of the shower and halfway dressed. Her cellphone rang in her kitchen.

It was Bobbi, one of the organizers at 'Lavenders GUN’. Where are you? he asked.

I’m on my way, Stephanie said, spitting toothpaste into the bathroom sink.

Okay, great. Get here. Bobbi disconnected the call.

Stephanie found a pair of mismatched socks, shoved her feet in her boots, grabbed her bag, and was out of the door. 7 minutes.

She decided to hail a taxi instead of taking the four stops train.

It was still early, and the traffic was not as bad as it would have been if she had spent another minute in her apartment.

The taxi pulled up to the front of the organization’s building. The elevator couldn’t get to her floor fast enough.

The doors opened.

The boardroom table was filled with a plethora of individuals from various backgrounds. In this room, the difference was accepted. Every one of them had become concerned with the war waged against women and their bodies. Husbands, Wives, Binary, Non-binary men, women, teenagers, and even a breastfeeding toddler were also in attendance. She had seen that everyone was already in the meeting, drinking coffee and talking amongst themselves. It was a packed room, and everyone was waiting on her. She pushed the glass doors open.

Sorry that I’m late, Stephanie smiled towards the mini crowd in the boardroom, let’s get to work, she said, taking out her laptop and grabbing one of the black folding chairs in the corner of the room.

Bobbi stood up at the head of the boardroom table, and everyone turned their attention to him.

Good morning, all, he waved, I wanted to take this time to thank every one of you for getting up this early to head down here for this meeting. I know some of you live in Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn, and I just wanted to thank you for your dedication. We have a lot of work to do, so please have your laptops handy. The VPN password is circulating, so please ensure that you’re signed into that. Umm, we have Stephanie here, and to update those who were not present at the last meeting, ‘Protect The Children’ was already pre-screed in Europe and is on its way to be released to the public in 6 to 8 weeks or so. The film is set to be released to Child Protective Services soon, and it then gets distributed to the New York Police Department and then all City hospitals and their staff thereafter. So, this is happening."

There was a collective despondent sigh.

Yeah, I feel you, Bobbi started again, Luckily, Stephanie has just arrived from Europe and can give us the inside scoop regarding the film and what we can do to prepare for its release. So, I would like you all to welcome Stephanie, and please give her your full undivided attention. Bobbi stretched out one arm and motioned for Stephanie to come to the front of the room. Stephanie was not prepared to speak but jumped to the occasion.

Thank you so much, Bobbi, Stephanie said, walking towards the front of the room and through the crowd. Everyone shifted and moved to give her space to get to the front. I wasn’t expecting to give a formal presentation today, my hair is still wet, and I look like shit, she laughed. The crowd laughed with her.

Thanks again, Bobbi, for organizing this, and I just wanted to get right into it and ask that you all pull out the script if you have it. I sent it to Bobbi some time ago and can resend it to anyone who needs it. Stephanie’s phone rang in her bag. Oh, that reminds me, Bobbi said, standing up once more, please silence all cell phones for the remainder of this meeting."

Sorry, Bobbi. That was my phone, Stephanie admitted.

Someone had passed her handbag.

She took her phone out to silence it and saw a message appear on her screen.

It read, the phone’s ready. Stephanie paused, put her phone back in her bag, and continued with the meeting.

So, what is the overall goal here? Rabbi Yaakov asked aloud. I read the script in its entirety, and I have to say that it’s extremely troubling, he continued.

Rabbi, I'm so glad that you asked that question, Stephanie started, "and from what I experienced in Europe, I have to say that there seems to be this notion that parents are not capable of raising their children. This presumed incapability is more solidified if they so question any authoritative rule, law, or legislation. That, ladies, and gentlemen, is the film's entire premise. So, it appears here that the message is that they are more invested in the safety of our children. Their scientists’ suggested initiatives that we as a people must follow. Any deviations or questions regarding their recommendations would be deemed as neglectful and a powerful enough clause to have your children removed from their homes. So, for example, Stephanie continued, "if you were a parent who decided that you didn’t want to give your child a certain vaccination, this would be seen as neglect. Neglect in this context is just as much a ground for having your child taken away than actual abuse and actual real neglect."

"What do you mean by actual neglect? Tiffany asked.

Well, we all have seen neglect and what it looks like in children, right? Matted hair, dirty clothes, lice, failure to thrive, dental caries, etc., but this film defines neglect of children as simply not doing what you’ve been told to do and asking too many questions.

Such bullshit, Bobbi stated with his arms folded and shaking his head, why would they even want to produce a film like this? It’s dangerous and will suggest that autonomy be taken away from well-meaning parents. The entire room nodded their heads in agreement with Bobbi.

"Yes, Bobbi, you are right. So, what we have here is that instead of Big Brother, we have Big Grandparents. You know, the parents of the parents who are not parents but have their nose in what the parents do," Stephanie said.

The entire room laughed.

I agree with Bobbi, Donghai said, there must be a reason for this. There must be another agenda here that we are not putting our fingers on.

The script is also odd to me, Sterling stated, it's like they don’t want you to have control of your children but want you to keep having them if that makes any sense.

EXACTLY, Stephanie confirmed.

I kept reading it, and it's like they want women to reproduce but do nothing to ensure that reproduction is a welcomed and supported construct, well…. not construct because I'm not a woman, but you know what I mean. It's a very farm-like operation that they are presenting here. Have children, and we will control them, Sterling ended.

No access to abortions or birth control is just sick, another added.

Yeah, everyone agreed.

"You are right, Donghai and Sterling. We are now researching what that hidden agenda is and have been in contact with our hackers and other people to help, but for now, we need to come up with a solution to give to the public before this release. Bobbi mentioned that the film would be pre-released to governmental sectors, which is my main concern. Why are they showing this film to Child Protective Service employees, cops, and nurses? I just find this so odd. The buzz surrounding this film is enormous, and we need to infiltrate all avenues to give the power back to men, women, children, and families.

Any thoughts? Bobbi said, swirling around in his chair.

There was silence.

The entire boardroom had their laptops open, took notes on the script, and wrote down ideas.

If I knew that this would be my reality of motherhood in this country, I would have never gotten pregnant, Mia started, "I would have waited or at least gone elsewhere, where being a mother didn’t categorize me as a target or even a criminal because I wanted to do things my way for my child. Do you know what I mean?`` Mia ended.

I just would not have gotten pregnant, she laughed.

Same here, Sharmaine chimed in, If I knew that I would be criminalized for not following their laws, I would not have gotten pregnant either. I would have left with Sterling, and we would have started elsewhere. I feel like a criminal now. Everything is connected. They report you for everything, and there are real children out there who are being abused, and they never target those families. They target the ones who think and do their research. I would have never gotten pregnant, either. So, Mia, I agree with you she ended.

They also make it so hard, though, Rocky started.

What do they make hard? Bobbi asked Rocky.

They make it like you gotta have kids, you know? If you don’t want kids, that means that something is wrong with you and you’re not a woman. Like I went to get my tubes tied, and there wasn’t a doctor in town that wanted to fucking do it. They wanted me to get this psych evaluation, and they all insisted that I would eventually change my mind. It was like they were all programmed to say that to me, Rocky ended.

Yeah, I've been through that too, Tisha from across the room added, I told the doctor that I was certain that I didn’t want children, and they told me that I would change my mind and refused to tie my tubes.

And the birth control is shit, Tiffany added, It's like you get fat, grow a beard, get anxiety and the only benefit is that you won’t get pregnant, but now it’s like they are making them weaker and weaker. I got pregnant twice last year, and it was a pain to get an abortion. I had to travel upstate and empty my life savings. It's like they don’t want women to enjoy sex without the fear of getting pregnant. I am beginning to think this is all connected, Tiffany stated.

The whole room was now talking amongst themselves. Stephanie held up her hand. We still need a solution, folks.

Maybe what Mia and Sharmaine said is right, Arshpreet said, breaking the second silence in the room.

Stephanie turned to Arshpreet, and what was that, Arshpreet?

Mia and Sharmaine stated that if they knew back then what they knew to be true now, they would have never gotten pregnant. Maybe that's it. Maybe we can tell women not to get pregnant now or here or…I am not sure Arshpreet blushed.

Stephanie and Bobbi made eye contact with raised eyebrows.

That’s an amazing idea, Stephanie beamed.

Really, Arshpreet shot back, pushing her glasses back up on her nose.

YES, Bobbi agreed, it’s brilliant, an actual reproduction strike.

Everyone looked at each other and nodded their heads in agreement.

It's just as an idea, Arshpreet continued, but I feel that this is a great way to take power back. Until things change to support mothers and their children, women will stop becoming mothers, and if the urge were too great, they would be encouraged to become mothers outside of the country where they could raise their children in peace.

Wow, Tiffany said, we can also expose the hidden subliminal messages that urge women to have more children even though most don’t see its benefits anymore, Sharmaine added.

They don’t see the benefits because there are none, and most women who now choose to have children do so out of peer pressure and religious scrutiny, Rocky ended. I am much older than most of you, and when I was younger, some women did have children for financial security. But those days are over. Some men have become savvier in figuring out ways not to be financially responsible for children. I know this is off topic, but things are not like before Arshpreet ended.

Yeah, I read somewhere that men will file for custody not to have to pay an ex. Men don’t ask for custody often, but they are awarded custody in many cases when they do, Tiffany added.

Is that a real statistic? Sharmaine asked.

Yes, Arshpreet stated, it happened to me. My husband and I divorced, but he was the main breadwinner. He had never paid our children any attention before the divorce, but once he got it that a judge would award me child support, he went for full custody to avoid paying me. It was like a punishment for the divorce I initiated. He was abusive. He was awarded custody, and I was awarded visitation. But I prayed to God. I didn’t have money to fight him. I just prayed over my children, and eventually, he realized that he couldn’t make the money he was making with three small children at home. They gave him hell, and he dropped them off one morning, she laughed.

But this was 20 years ago. My children are all grown, and he has passed on, but what Sharmaine and Mia said was right. If I knew that he would have put me through that, I would have never had children. I would have stayed single and focused on my career. But in my culture, marriage is a big thing, and I was kind of forced into that, Arshpreet ended.

We need a hashtag, Rabbi Yaakov suggested.

Yeah, that’s true, Mark added, we need a hashtag to start with. I can develop a webpage in a few hours and take care of all social media platforms, he stated.

What would be a great hashtag for this? Stephanie asked, Any ideas?" She went to the dry erase board and uncapped a black marker. She drew a question mark on the board and turned back to face the crowd.

No babies, Tiffany shouted to the front of the room.

Okay, ‘no babies,’ Stephanie wrote on the board with a hashtag in front of it.

Take the power back, Sterling also yelled, hashtag take power back he suggested.

Stephanie turned to the dry-erase board and wrote down Sterling's hashtag.

FreeWOMB, Hands Off My Uterus, My Children, My Choice others in the room shouted at her. Stephanie now had more than 23 potential hashtags on the board. None of them stood out and the room now became silent.

Everyone was writing on paper tablets and random sheets—still nothing.

More silence.

How about simply, don’t get pregnant," Arshpreet whispered from her corner.

Everyone smiled.

Stephanie turned back to the dry-erase board and grabbed a hot pink marker. In the middle of the board, she wrote, #dontgetpregnant in all capital letters.

I think that's the one, Stephanie said. Bobbi now walked to the front of the room and directed everyone to get their phone out.

We need lists, Bobbi said, "Graphics. I need you guys to come up with something catchy. I'm thinking, pink graphics depicting the 1950’s American housewife. I want posters made with reasons on why not to have children. There is a book called ‘The Joys of Motherhood.’ See if we can get excerpts from that book, because it ends with no such joys, Bobbi laughed and continued, we have this room for about ten more minutes. I need all of this to be executed by close of business. Jessie And Mark, I need you guys in the media. Instigate this and see what network will pick up this story. This must be done before the release of this film. We have a lot to do here; please email me with any questions," Bobbie ended.

The boardroom started to clear out. Everyone went to work on the new #dontgetpregnant hashtag and the spreading of their message. Stephanie stayed behind and motioned for Bobbi to wait back with her. One by one, the boardroom emptied. Stephanie pulled out her cellphone.

Look, she said to Bobbi, holding up her cell phone to Bobbi’s nose, he texted me back; the phone is ready.

Bobby took Stephanie’s phone in his hands, That didn't take long at all he stated.

Yeah, Stephanie said, he told me it was 48 hours, and this was after I gave him another $5,000.

$5,000? Bobbi said, what exactly was on this phone?

I'm not sure, Stephanie answered, but I know that he wanted an extra $5000, and this was after the payment we had already made. He said he needed 48 hours more when I got there because of the phone we sent him, Stephanie ended.

There has to be something interesting on that phone, Bobbi said.

Yeah, Stephanie agreed, so what are we doing now? Are we going to pick it up?

I guess we have to go pick it up, but I think I have to stay here for the team to get this hashtag off the ground, Bobbi stated now standing up.

Can you have a messenger pick it up? Bobbi suggested?

I can have a messenger go get it, but didn't want something this sensitive to be in the hands of just anyone you know? Stephanie said, gathering her things.

Bobbi paused, Yeah, great point he agreed, pick it up and get back here as soon as you can he then suggested.

All right, Stephanie said, I'll go pick up the phone, get back here, and we can get into it. Do you have your tech guys here today? she asked.

Yeah, my tech guys are here, but we just needed the phone to see what's happening.

Okay, cool, Stephanie said, I'm gonna go get it.

Stephanie closed her laptop, picked up her jacket, and put her cell phone back in her bag. She walked out of the board room, shoulder to shoulder with Bobbi. Bobbi pressed the button to call the elevator.

All right, I'll see you later, Bobbi said.

Stephanie got into the elevator and the doors closed. She went back down into the lobby, hailed a taxi, and was headed to pick up the phone.

***********

Stephanie hailed a taxi to the warehouse where she had initially dropped off the stolen phone to be hacked.

She walked into the warehouse. The bell behind the door alerted the guy sitting behind the counter.

Can I help you? the guy said, approaching the central service glass.

Hi, my name is Stephanie. I’m here to pick up my phone, she said, now leaning on the counter. She was so glad that it wasn't the other guy that she had given the phone to.

Oh, okay. My uncle said you were coming, the guy said. He turned and left the counter to retrieve Stephanie's order. He briefly disappeared from her sight, and she turned her attention to the soccer game playing on the small flatscreen behind the counter.

Here we are, the man said, coming from the back room with a brown package in his hand. He was now standing opposite Stephanie with the glass still separating them. The box had a pink ribbon wrapped around it.

It says here that you already paid, so you just have to sign. Here you go. He put th3 brown package, a receipt slip, and a pen on the silver plate and slid the plate over to Stephanie.

Thank you, Stephanie said, drawing the plate near her and signing the receipt. She picked up the package, turned it over, and gently touched the pink ribbon.

What's up with the pink ribbon? Stephanie asked with a slight chuckle.

Oh, the pink ribbon, the guy smiled slightly, "a pink ribbon is what we use to alert us to The Pink Heart and its equipment or affiliates. Any mention of them corrupts the software and they lock it from their headquarters. This was the eighth device we hacked or attempted to hack this week."

"What do you mean ‘The Pink Heart’" Stephanie asked, putting the package in her bag.

"Well, this is a burner phone and the person who owned it knew of 'The Pink Heart.' One of their locations is out in Nevada," he said.

"What do you mean a 'Pink Heart' device? Does it have something in it?" Stephanie questioned.

Well, not exactly, the man behind the counter laughed, it’s a little more to it than that, he said, now stepping away from the counter and folding his arms.

The guy who is usually here knows more about it, he said nervously.

Stephanie was still confused.

Her facial expression indirectly encouraged him to continue.

He sighed, whoever owned this device was in contact with members of that organization he continued, "I didn’t want to get into it, but the messages on this phone indicate that someone who owned the phone knows of their presence," he ended.

Their presence? Stephanie repeated.

She was now baffled.

Yeah, their presence, the guy reiterated, "it's hard to get into, but the messages in this phone are linked to another hacker who knows about those responsible for The Pink Heart."

"You keep saying pink heart this and pink heart that Stephanie stated. She was getting frustrated with the secrecy, what is this pink heart?"

I'm wary about going into it, the man behind the counter started, but everything you need should be right there. It says here that there wasn’t much on the phone because it was erased, but we could get some information out of the phone. We retrieved a contact list, and it's all there, he said, looking down at Stephanie’s paperwork.

Stephanie still looked confused.

"You know, we don't want to get into anything that isn’t our business. Just letting you know again that the connects in this cell phone may be associated or know individuals within that group."

Oh, okay, Stephanie took out her phone and immediately searched, The Pink Heart. The only thing that came up was actual pink hearts.

"Yeah, but I don't see that online. I don’t see The Pink Heart here. I mean, I see pink hearts, like actual hearts that are pink, Stephanie laughed, turning her phone with the web search to the man. Is the Pink Heart some kind of organization? Stephanie continued to ask, not wanting to let the man behind the counter off so quickly.

"Umm, I wouldn't say that it was an organization, per se," he started again, it's like a power from what we know. There is way more to it than that for sure. Way more.

Stephanie was still confused.

I mean, it sounds like you're talking in circles to me here. Can you just let me have what you know? she exclaimed, slightly pissed off at this point.

I really can't do that. I can't divulge any information. The only person who would be able to do that would be the guy you gave the phone to. He knows everything you need to know about this phone and the powers associated with it, he ended.

Oh, you mean the creepy guy with the glasses? Stephanie asked.

Yeah, him, he laughed. Some find him creepy, but he’s my uncle, brilliant and means well."

I see, Stephanie said, so when will he be back at this facility? she asked.

I'm not sure; he kinda makes his own schedule. He's off the grid, so it's not like I can call him to see when he'll be back. He pops up when he wants to pop up, you know?

"Yeah, I hear you. Can you tell him that I would like to talk to him? Stephanie asked.

Okay, no problem. I’m Rick, the guy behind the counter said.

Nice to meet you, Rick. I may have offended him the last time I was here, but I'm looking to apologize for more information, she laughed.

I’m not sure when I’ll see him, but I’ll deliver the message, Rick said.

Thanks, Stephanie responded

A word of advice? Rick said, walking closer towards the glass.

Of course. What is it? Stephanie questioned.

If you can avoid it, just leave it alone, he warned.

Rick had a look of concern on his face.

Hmmm…What do you mean just leave it alone? Stephanie said, before turning to leave.

"Exactly what I said, this phone and whoever is associated with it knows something about The Pink Heart. If I were you, I mean if you can, I would avoid it," Rick warned.

She looked down at the package in her bag and then back up at Rick.

I’ll consider that. Give my number to your uncle and have a good one, Stephanie said, leaving the building.

She closed the door behind her, walked out to the sidewalk, and hailed another taxi.

She had to be back at her organization's headquarters to help with the launch.

She got into a taxi and immediately pulled out the brown package. She caressed the pink ribbon between her fingertips, leaned her head back and sighed.

*********

She gets back to the office, and everyone in the meeting that morning was now hunched over in their respective corners eating lunch. The television in the main lobby blared updates regarding the film's release. Stephanie had work to do.

Bobbi had taken the liberty to order lunch for Stephanie and went back into the boardroom to get ready for another meeting. Stephanie checked her cell phone.

In a short 3-hour period, they made great strides in developing a page dedicated to encouraging women not to get pregnant. The graphic team had already come up with two designs, which had already been sent to print. The team had wanted to tackle their agenda from various sides.

She now had the phone and another contact that could give her more information. Encouraging women not to get pregnant was not merely as easy as having them mindlessly reproduce. Reproduction, despite stability and adequate financial means, was the norm. A woman, Stephanie thought, could live in a shoebox, get pregnant, and still be encouraged to give birth despite the ever-so-mounting odds against her. To think that this was a factor that was purposely designed or even subliminally suggested, made her blood boil.

The more sobering blow was that there was now a film generated to encourage parents not to be trusted. Her thoughts about the whole scenario plagued her. Women were good enough to have children but not exactly good enough to have complete autonomy over them. That was the message she got from watching and being a part of the film. This would be a challenge if they were not careful.

She thought there was no fluff for not getting pregnant, no end-prize-cute baby, and no reward. There is no one to offer you a seat on the train and no perpetual sympathy.

This operation’s only reward was the potential hope that if women around the country collectively stopped having children, then laws would change for the better regarding their overall reproductive freedom, and that included abortions as well as adequate health care surrounding full-term births. They had to get creative, and the only way they could have their agenda penetrate the psyche of young women was to point out the negative aspects of becoming a mother. This had to be directly.

If those aspects could be pointed out by taking the veil off some secret agenda, women, they believe, would now say that they had been had. Stephanie and her team reasoned that it was more important to target younger women. They were the next generation to be exploited.

Wild thoughts.

Wild actions indeed.

There were many factors here.

They all knew that teenage girls from low-income families were more prone to getting pregnant than girls in different economic groups. Never having been on the receiving end of anything remotely optimistic, a pregnancy would present itself in the lives of one of these teenage girls as something positive. While pregnant, they were on the receiving end of probably the first acts of kindness they had ever received in their lives. This was also troubling, and the teenagers at 'Lavender's Gun' were attempting to brainstorm ways to remove the rose-colored lenses surrounding unplanned pregnancy.

They had to perpetuate their version of their truth backed by statistical data and fellow convictions. It had never been about the beauty of childbirth, carrying on one’s name, or any carefully delivered train of thought like that. They had to show women that a secret oligarch regime explicitly exploited their biological reproduction capabilities and employed a prominent movie director to solidify their agenda.

BRIDGETTA GREENE.

They had to prove that there was a reason why the pregnancy and childbirth industry was a trillion-dollar force. The also had to reconfirm what some women already knew but were scared to verbalize. To fund a film that would criminalize parenthood after being aggressively encouraged to become parents felt like they were all in ‘The Twilight Zone.’ The film and its release to the public and younger women were problematic. They had been conditioned, and their conditioning was conditioned.

Stephanie knew that there were still complications for women who loved the idea of pregnancy and childbirth. Still, these complications would be leveled because, while pregnancy and childbirth were enjoyed, not having complete control over that offspring would be too much risk to bear. ‘Why have a baby if the baby belongs to your government anyway?’ Stephanie and her team reasoned. This was the angle Stephanie wanted to focus on.

Tiffany had come running into the boardroom with her laptop. Panting, she asked Bobbi if she could start a poll asking women to discuss their experiences with governmental entities like Child Protective Services.

Post the pole and leave an open comment section. Hashtag it and try to respond to as many comments as possible, Bobbi instructed.

Sure thing, Tiffany said, running back out of the boardroom.

What could be suggested here? The only tangible weapon that they had were actual women’s voices. Women were the perfect candidates to speak of their experiences regarding pregnancy, childbirth, labor, and motherhood. They needed a way for women to voice their experiences and for those experiences to reach other women collectively. Pregnancy and children were sensitive topics, Stephanie thought. Was this an attempt to get women to abandon their children? No. This was an attempt to get women to verbalize the why's surrounding their pregnancies, and if they had to do it all over again, would they?

These discussions were so important because women were often chastised for speaking on issues regarding child-rearing. Stephanie reasoned that a woman who voiced that she never really wanted children, but had them because of societal pressure, would be the end of all humanity the minute the words fell from her lips.

Lunch was now over.

Her team had already gained traction on social media. They needed this traction.

They welcomed the press, both good and bad.

They knew that the Conservatives would chime in, the Christians would chime in, and even some Pro-Lifers would sound in regardless of the circumstances. They were all ready. Tisha, Mark, and Tiffany came back into the room. The response that they were receiving was overwhelming.

*********************

The hashtag ‘#don’tgetpregnant’ spread.

It was a wildfire.

Her team had connections to various media outlets, and a cover story was already brewing on the six o’clock news. There was a celebratory howl in the office once they confirmed that the hashtag was causing a stir.

They could always rely on fluff media to cover anything they put out there. Staff had slowly crept back into the boardroom. The ‘#dontgetpregnant’ hashtag already had 3 million shares, and mothers and fathers worldwide shared their stories regarding pregnancy and how they felt about the suggestive intrusion.

My boyfriend broke my jaw, and the judge awarded him unsupervised visitation, and he killed my son, one woman wrote, the system is rigged, she ended. The responses were heartbreaking.

"I fled the country because I was being abused, and my ex Hauged us back to the United States all to move to another jurisdiction with his new girlfriend, and not see my daughter in a year," another woman wrote.

What is Hauge? Tisha asked.

"Oh, Hauge is the Hauge Convention. These white men in Europe made a set of laws. It was originally constructed to curb men from kidnapping their children and leaving the country but is now a tool to extradite women who flee from abuse," Mark answered.

Can they do that? Tiffany asked.

Oh yes, Arshpreet answered, "there was a time when things were so bad for me here in the States, and my husband was awful. In front of the kids, he had struck me. When I went to the police, they told me that I could divorce him or leave. They told me that I could leave, but the kids would have to stay. When I told the judge of the abuse, they told me I was lying to keep him away from the children. Talking about the abuse I endured in court made, the judge side with him and give him everything he wanted. I was so sick. I lost weight, and my hair started to fall out. It was a very traumatic time. They said I was a parental alienator and in danger of never seeing my kids again. At this point, I gave in because I couldn’t afford the war. After it was all over, he dropped the kids off to me," Arshpreet ended.

My daughter told me that her father was touching her. I reported it to the police, and I lost custody, another woman wrote.

"Child Protective Services is an underground child-trafficking ring that gets financial incentives for every child they usher into ‘The Pink Heart,’ " another father wrote. Stephanie had been eating Wonton Soup and nearly choked on a Wonton when Sharmaine read that comment aloud.

"What is ‘The Pink Heart’? Bobbi asked and turned her attention to coughing Stephanie, who turned bright red for lack of air in the corner.

Stephanie, are you all right? Sterling asked, walking over to her to pound on her back.

Pull..pull. Please pull that comment up, Stephanie said in between coughing her lungs out. Pull that comment up now, she said, coughing.

Here, drink this, Bobbi said, twisting off a cap to a water bottle and handing it to her. Stephanie sat on the edge of her seat and gulped the water. She had one hand on her chest and coughed one more time to clear her throat.

Mmm, mmm, no. Stop. Please. I need that comment. I need it now. Stephanie said with the water bottle in her hand. Sharmaine had run over to Stephanie and put her laptop in front of her. She scrolled down to where she had originally seen the comment and refreshed the page. The person who commented did not have a profile. It looks like a random comment," Sharmaine stated, still bent over, and scrolling on her laptop in front of Stephanie and Bobbi.

Stephanie was now able to breathe.

She had caught her breath and coughed once. She finished off the water bottle and placed it on the ground.

She then got up from her seat and ran to her handbag. She took out the brown package with the pink ribbon around it. She brought the box back to her seat and put it next to Sharmaine's laptop.

"Bobbi, the guy who gave me the phone today mentioned The Pink Heart earlier. He said that this phone was associated with them, or someone who knew them, and that he couldn’t salvage much outside of a few saved contacts", Stephanie ended. You could hear a pin drop in the room. The sound of random fingers slamming away at their keyboards had paused. Everyone’s attention was now focused on the brown package on the table with the bright pink ribbon. Everyone stood still.

The evening news theme music came blaring through the boardroom walls. Everyone was still shocked by what Stephanie had just disclosed. They turned their attention to the reporter.

"The new and trending #dontgetpregnant hashtag is now sweeping the nation tonight, with more than 12 million Americans rethinking childbirth and parenting altogether. The majority is heavily concerned with the government’s interference in raising their children and required mandates. Lack of support, Child Protective Services, to name a few, were some of the topics mentioned in what is now becoming a potential movement. Women and Men alike are participating in the discussion regarding the benefits or lack thereof of, well, you guessed it, becoming parents.

Is America ready for the looming Reproduction Strike? We’ll cover that and more live at 6. In the studio with CFG News, this is Brittany Washington...."

Travis Strong was now on the television and reporting on a traffic accident in lower Manhattan.

"Thanks, Brittany. If you're headed towards Chambers Street tonight, it would be wise to reconsider an alternative route," Travis, the reporter, said as his voice began to fade.

Bobbi went to the front of the boardroom and was beaming. Sterling went over to the package that was still sitting on the table. He opened it and turned it on. A few board members crowded behind him. The phone was on, and they were busy writing down the contacts in the phone and their phone numbers.

We still have a lot to do, Bobbie said.

Stephanie sat back in her chair in a daze.

She reached for the ribbon on the table and wrapped it around one finger and then the other.

Everyone was back to work, and Bobbi walked over to her.

Hey, you, okay? She asked Stephanie, sitting down next to her.

Yeah. I’m okay; I just want to know what this Pink Heart is, she answered.

I did some digging on The Black Web, Tisha said, "it says here that The Pink Heart is a facility out in Nevada used to house children that were deliberately abducted and ushered in this facility from Child Protective Services or other avenues." Tisha was leaning closer to her laptop. Mark came and sat on the floor next to her. They sat shoulder to shoulder, and he leaned closer to her to read.

What other avenues? he questioned.

That’s what I’m trying to find out, Tisha said, still scrolling. Mark took Tisha’s laptop from her and set it aside. He put her laptop in his lap, and she was now leaning closer to him. I think I can find out, he said. He opened a notebook that was close to him. Tisha handed him a pencil, and he wrote out a link that may help. He put the pencil back in his mouth and continued to type.

"What do