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Book I

Before

One

The young girl cringed when they buckled the eyeless leather mask around the upper half of her face and blinded her It felt grotesque and unnecessary, but she didn’t object It was the procedure She knew that One of the other Vessels had described it to her at lunch a month before

“Mask?” she had asked in surprise, ale “What’s the mask for?”

“Well, it’s not really awoman seated on her left corrected herself, and took another bite of the crisp salad “It’s a blindfold, actually” She hispering They were not supposed to discuss this a themselves

“Blindfold?” she had asked in astonishetically “I don’t see what you say But: blindfold? Why?”

“They don’t want you to see the Product when it coirl pointed to her bulging belly

“You’ve produced already, right?” she asked her

The girl nodded “Twice”

“What’s it like?” Even asking it, she kneas a soraiven instructions Still, none of that was the sah the process And now that they were already disobeying the restriction about discussing it—well, why not ask?

“Easier the second time Didn’t hurt as much”

When she didn’t respond, the girl looked at her quizzically “Hasn’t anyone told you it hurts?”

“They said ‘discomfort’”

The other girl gave a sarcastic snort “Discomfort, then If that’s what they want to call it Not as ”

“Vessels? VESSELS!” The voice of the h the speaker, was stern “Monitor your conversations, please! You know the rules!”

The girl and her co they had been heard through theroouilty There was so little else to talk about The process—their job, theirthey had in co

She had taken another spoonful of soup Food in the Birthmothers’ Dormitory was always plentiful and delicious The Vessels were all beingup in the community, she had always been adequately fed Food had been delivered to her fa each day

But when she had been selected Birthed It had been gradual The acade for her group Fewer tests, less reading required The teachers paid little attention to her

Courses in nutrition and health had been added to her curriculum, and more time was spent on exercise in the outdoor air Special vitamins had been added to her diet Her body had been examined, tested, and prepared for her time here After that year had passed, and part of another, she was dee and move to the Birthmothers’ Dormitory

Relocating from one place to another within the co was distributed and laundered by the central clothing supply Her schoolbooks were requisitioned by the school and would be used for another student the following year The bicycle she had ridden to school throughout her earlier years was taken to be refurbished and given to a different, younger child

There was a celebratory dinner her last evening in the dwelling Her brother, older by six years, had already gone on to his own training in the Departs; he had becoer So the last dinner was just the three of them, she and the parental unit who had raised her They reminisced a bit; they recalled some funny incidents from her early childhood (a time she had thrown her shoes into the bushes and cohter, and she thanked the

“Were you embarrassed when I was selected for Birthmother?” she asked theious At her brother’s selection, when she had been just six, they had all been very proud Law and Justice was reserved for those of especially keen intelligence But she had not been a top student

“No,” her father said “We trust the coment They knehat you would do best”

“And Birthmother is very important,” Mother added “Without Birthmothers, none of us would be here!”

Then they wished her well in the future Their lives were changing too; parents no longer, they would move now into the place where Childless Adults lived

The next day, she walked alone to the dor Unit and ned From itsshe could see the school she had attended, and the recreation field beyond In the distance, there was a glimpse of the river that bordered the community

Finally, several weeks later, after she was settled in and beginning to irls, she was called in for insemination

Not knohat to expect, she had been nervous But when the procedure was complete, she felt relieved; it had been quick and painless