"[knock, knock, knock]".
A crisp, tension breaking knocking on the apartment door cut through the tense dinner silence like a knife. Everyone froze, including me. Cathy's spoon halted halfway to her mouth. Vera's protective gaze snapped toward the door, her body going rigid. Bella's hopeful smile vanished, replaced by pure fear. Emily finally looked up from her phone, her face pale. Natalia looked like she might be sick.
"I'll get it,". Cathy said, her voice a little too high. She stood up, smoothing her blouse nervously as she walked to the door. I turned in my chair to watch, curious.
'Aw Shit…'. The body's memories supplied the reason for their terror a second before the door opened.
Cathy opened the door, and Miss Reis stood there, a blast of cold, impersonal air from the hallway following her in. She was exactly as the memories described: severe haircut, a perfectly fitted government-issued pantsuit, and a demeanor as warm as a tax audit. She held a digital clipboard in one hand.
"Mrs. Hardcox,". Miss Reis said with a perfunctory nod.
"Miss Reis! This is... a surprise,". Cathy said, trying and failing to sound casual. She subtly shifted her body, trying to block the view into the apartment. "We weren't expecting a visit... Is everything alright?".
"I am here for a scheduled wellness check and obligation reminder for Sael Hardcox,". Miss Reis stated, her voice flat and professional. She glanced past Cathy, her eyes scanning the room and landing on me. "My records indicate an appointment was confirmed for this evening…"
"Oh! Oh, right, of course,". Cathy said, flustered. "It's just, we've had a bit of a... a sick day today... He's not quite himself.".
Miss Reis's expression did not change. She did not acknowledge the excuse. "That is quite unfortunate… But I will only take a moment of his time.".
She didn't wait for an invitation, stepping smoothly past a helpless-looking Cathy into the living area. Her heels clicked softly on the linoleum.
"Mr. Sael Hardcox,". she said, her voice cutting through the room's thick anxiety. She looked directly at me, her eyes assessing, noting my presence at the table.
"I am here to confirm your well-being and reiterate your scheduled obligations.".
She glanced at her clipboard, tapping the screen once. "The deadline for your mandated contribution remains one month from today… Please ensure you are prepared."
Her eyes lifted back to me, utterly devoid of any threat or warmth. It was just a fact. "Your compliance is vital for your family's continued status…. Do you have any questions?"
She didn't ask how I was. She didn't seem to notice or care about the pallor of my skin or the nervous energy of the women around me. This was a scheduled check-up, and I was the subject, that tone and her cold treatment was already a very clear statement just how 'Sael Hardcox' had messed up.
I just shook my head slowly. "No. No questions...Ma'am".
"Very well... then that is it for today, I will take my leave… enjoy your dinner," She made a note on her clipboard, offered a curt nod to the room at large, turned on her heel, and walked out, leaving Cathy to shut the door softly behind her.
"[Click.]"
The sound of the latch engaging seemed to break the spell. A collective, shaky exhale sounded around the table. The air they'd all been holding in was released, but the heavy weight of her visit remained, pressing down on everyone, including me. after that, the dinner continued, the air was heavy, but I just chow down everything, quickly. When the diner was over, I walked my body to my room, and stayed there. Alone.
I laid down on the ridiculously soft bed, and staring at the faint glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling. The faint, sweet smell of perfume was still in the air. Miss Reis's words played on a loop in my head. 'One month…. Vital for your family's continued status.'
I ran through the options, playing them out like scenarios.
Fight it? Rally against the system? I can picture myself giving some grand speech about freedom and morality. Then, Miss Reis's cold, bored expression as she called security. I'd be in a cell before lunch, and the family would lose their subsidies, their home, everything. A pointless, selfish gesture.
Run? Where? In this overcrowded, monitored mega-city? With what money? I'd last a day, maybe two. Same result.
Refuse? That was just a slower, more dramatic way of choosing the first two options. A million-dollar fine or five years in prison. A death sentence for this family.
'Nope, there is no good options with any good outcome… any refusal I made will turn against me and this family….'
There were no other moves on the board. The game was rigged, and the only way to play was to accept the hand I was dealt.
I brought up the memory of Natalia from dinner—the way she couldn't look at me, the guilt and shame rolling off her in waves. And beneath that, the memory of her appearance. The elegant blonde hair, the intense dark eyes, the kind of mature, voluptuous figure. that is something that I would always quietly appreciate, but never dared to act upon.
'It's... strange,' I admitted to myself. 'Logically, she's, my grandmother. Biologically, in this body, yes… But in my mind... to me, now…she's just Nadia. A beautiful, terrified woman who's as trapped in this convoluted situation like I am….'
At the moment I can feel and process a faint, lingering discomfort—a ghost of my old world's morals—tried to surface. But it was weak, washed away by a surge of new-world logic. No, my old morals were slowly being corrected, to adjust to this new world morality. Unlike on earth, this world extremely encouraged sexuality, not just lightly, but highly encouraged everyone to lean to erotically lifestyle. The governments, the society of the entire world, the tradition and cultured heavily emphasized of sexual freedom to the max.
In my old world where sexual relationship, has limitation and taboo. In this world there isn't, such things at all. Here gays, lesbian, incestual were not seen as taboo or disgraced, no. it is just, natural. A naturally progression of love and desires, in fact not loving your family more intimately were seen as sin, as weird and off putting. It was culture and promoted by the government, that a mother should be the one that teaching their sons or daughter to have sex properly. Marriage between family member, is not a matter of 'why' but a question of 'when'. This is why the old Sael conflicted so much, and for my mind to try really hard to process everything.
Because at this moment, and in this world, my 'normal' is no longer Normal. I admitted that I am a person with high sexual libido and fantasy, where in my old life I never acted on it, or even think too much about it. I have fantasy about incest, but it just remained that, 'a fantasy'. A thought where I think 'heh, nice' when reading a hentai and then moved on. It was the type of thing that any normal horny man has done at some point of their life but never acted on it.
But now, in this world, that logic, that thing that I used to think and not think about it for the next second, had become something that I had to do. That 'GRMD' case that made everyone in the house, felt like they were walking on a tight rope, is about me and Grandma Nadia. Government Mandated Reproduction Duty, and official duty issued by the government, which gave families many benefits, something that any person in this world wanted to do, and now I was expected to do it. and what was the duty was? Simple, impregnated my grandma.
'Ahhh… this is so complicated…. And also, quite simple at the same time…'
The old morality of mine, still lingers around. But I know that at the same time, I also cannot deny that I am quite excited by it as well. this world, permitted me to act upon my deepest and now no longer considered a darkest desire. And at the same time, this decision had to made, based on logical and pragmatic approached. We are struggling poor family, and we definitely need that government good grace, now more than ever. I am no longer a single orphan male who need to think about my own survival and lives. I have a family full of women, who clearly loved the old 'Sael' very much and since I am now living as him, that means the love and cared extended to me as well.
"… now that I think about it…. everything felt, so… natural…".
I muttered, now that everything has calmed down and I was able to think carefully, me being in this body, of my younger self, but in an alternate universe, who once belonged to an alternate me that recently died. it does not feel out of place, it felt like I always belonged here.
The only thing that jolted be again and again, is that his intrusive memory and feelings that triggered whenever I encountered something or someone new. Other than that, I feel absolutely fine. Decision had been made, so tomorrow morning, I would find Natalia, and talked to her about this, calmy and rationally.
'Hah~ at the end of the day… I was the one that had to be correcting everything… hah~ it is what it is I guess, get reborn like this already good enough… let's considered these, fair payments for my new lease on life….'