Post-post-apocalyptic Worldbuilding, Part 4
I know, it's been a long time since I wrote one of these. Work was harder than usual for a few weeks, but it's gotten better, so I have more energy again.
Today, I'm going to post about a part of the world I've been thinking about for a while: birthrate/birth defects. A part of the apocalypse that occurred in the past of this world was the extensive use of bioweapons, mostly engineered diseases. Some of these diseases were created to affect birthrate, to add to the victory of whoever used it. Unfortunately, since everyone fired off their weapons at the same time, everyone was hit with the diseases.
The diseases created for bioweapons came in two kinds, quick ones that killed a lot of people very fast but did not stick around and slower ones that became endemic in the population at large. By the time several centuries have passed, these diseases are part of life for people. Most of them expect to fall prey to wasting diseases or neurological disorders at some point in their lives.
Another affect of these widespread diseases is the widespread prevalence of birth defects. Most societies accept that these defects occur and do not really see them as defects, as long as the baby has a chance at life. If the baby has a severe defect, like missing skin or lungs only half formed, then people generally do all they can so the baby is comfortable until it dies, since they simply do not have the medical technology to repair these things. Otherwise, the baby is seen as hope for the future and is loved as much as any other.
Today, I'm going to post about a part of the world I've been thinking about for a while: birthrate/birth defects. A part of the apocalypse that occurred in the past of this world was the extensive use of bioweapons, mostly engineered diseases. Some of these diseases were created to affect birthrate, to add to the victory of whoever used it. Unfortunately, since everyone fired off their weapons at the same time, everyone was hit with the diseases.
The diseases created for bioweapons came in two kinds, quick ones that killed a lot of people very fast but did not stick around and slower ones that became endemic in the population at large. By the time several centuries have passed, these diseases are part of life for people. Most of them expect to fall prey to wasting diseases or neurological disorders at some point in their lives.
Another affect of these widespread diseases is the widespread prevalence of birth defects. Most societies accept that these defects occur and do not really see them as defects, as long as the baby has a chance at life. If the baby has a severe defect, like missing skin or lungs only half formed, then people generally do all they can so the baby is comfortable until it dies, since they simply do not have the medical technology to repair these things. Otherwise, the baby is seen as hope for the future and is loved as much as any other.