Read Cracked Dagger, Book One of Allies and Adversaries Page 21

Conception through natural means became scarce after the cast-net became fully active. Novans spent more and more time on the cast-net, fulfilling every whim they desired, shunning physical contact. Fear for the extinction of the species became a palpable concern, and soon the Leviathan enacted legislation requiring every third woman to conceive a child, to be decided by lottery. At the same time cloning technology was dependable and inexpensive, and it became an increasingly popular alternative for women not interested in carrying a child to term.

  Novan became inundated with clones. In order to differentiate between those born by a woman, and those created in pods, the term ‘souman’ was created, meaning ‘source-human.’ At first an inconvenience, it soon became a term of pride, when eventually soumans and clones competed for the same jobs, the same possessions, the same mates. The term ‘souman’ eventually replaced the term ‘human,’ even after cloning for general use was prohibited.