Forum: Story Ideas

It's amazing how in all these scenario's, nobody considers artificial insemination.

How did you know my nickname at work used to be nobody? But you're right, I considered artificial insemination. I thought it probably wouldn't work, and it probably wouldn't be available as society crumbles. Artificial inseminators aren't exactly 'key workers'.

AJ

and it probably wouldn't be available as society crumbles.

The worth of someone is calculated by their importance to society/individual at the time. In a time of war, soldiers are more important to society than accountants. When you have toothache, a dentist is of more value than an influencer. When there is a medical emergency, medical staff are more important than politicians. When your house is on fire, firemen are more important than medical staff...

How important people are when society crumbles, depends on their net effect on whatever caused society to crumble in the first place. If the problem is fertility, then all those involved in fertility, are going to be the heroes of the hour. Artificial insemination has been around for centuries in varying degrees of complexity.

Artificial insemination wouldn't fare any better than traditional insemination unless they could solve the biological incompatibility issue. We currently don't know why it happens and the premise included the virus making things worse.

AJ

Yes, but the world is ruled by money and expedience. The former often controlling the later. Given enough 'encouragement' it's amazing what people can achieve when their lives are literarily in the balance. Death is quite the motivator.

Case in point was the little sniffle we all experienced a few years ago. The drug industry claims that it takes decades to research drugs, yet when there is proper motivation, that can be reduced to months.

Most jobs take longer on a Monday than they do on a Friday. Especially when attached with "When you do that, you can go home".

And yes, you could create a McGuffin to arrange the scenario to fuel the story, but then you risk alienating readers if it becomes too outlandish or the characters become unbelievable/unrelatable.

If you handwavium a solution to the biological incompatibility, you get a story about noble scientists working all hours in finding their solution to the slow car-crash of apocalypse.

If you don't handwavium a solution, you get an excuse for rampant orgies and gang-bangs. Which do you think the readers of a sex story site would rather read? :-)

AJ