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"I'm a farm boy. It's very interesting; you can detect self-starting characteristics in this society and they are strongest among people who have had some kind of rural upbringing and a very impressionable stage."
- Frank Herbert
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| Parenthood Lottery | ||
| A means of restricting population growth. |
I'm not sure how old this idea is; here is a reference from Aldiss' story.
| He caught a glimpse of the heading on the photostat in her hand, still moist from the wall-receiver: Ministry of Population. He felt the color drain from his face in sudden shock and hope.
"Monica ... oh ... Don't tell me our number's come up!" "Yes, my darling, yes, we've won this week's parenthood lottery! We can go ahead and conceive a child at once!" He let out a yell of joy. They danced round the room. Pressure of population was such that reproduction had to be strict, controlled. Childbirth required government permission. For this moment, they had waited four years. Incoherently they cried their delight. |
| Technovelgy from Super-Toys Last All Summer Long,
by Brian Aldiss. Published by Harper's Bazaar in 1969 Additional resources -
|
Larry Niven also talks about this idea in his Known Space stories, but I can't think of any references earlier than 1969.
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