“During that time, the embryo in vitro culture technology wasn’t mature and children had to stay in their mother’s body for at least seven months. The base hoped for a large population so the uterine rest time shouldn’t exceed 15 days.” Madam Lu gazed up at the steel ceiling. “The task of childbearing was too heavy. The women’s entire lives were destroyed and life was passing by them. They hoped the base could relax the requirements but no one agreed.”

“The women who voluntarily signed the Rose Declaration and the girls who were born afterwards took dedication to this declaration as a matter of course. We need a large population too much. The Lighthouse and the military think so, most of the main city and the outer city think so and even the women managing other women think so.”

Her tone was so gentle that it evoked emotional resonance. An Zhe quietly listened and saw Lily sitting still on the edge of the flowerbed.

“To fight for the protection of basic human rights, some women launched a protest movement. 40 years ago, my mother was the initiator of that protest movement, even though she was one of the first initiators of the Rose Declaration.’ Madam Lu smiled. “However, all the images and texts of the protest were destroyed. I was too young to remember many things. I can only remember one night when the soldiers of the United Front broke in. My mother locked me in my room and then a gunshot was heard… I saw blood flowing through the door into my room. Later, I was sent to the Garden of Eden.”

“Later, they found the most effective way to keep reproductive resources firmly in their own hands and deleted a phrase in the declaration. The new generation of girls was gathered and not allowed to leave, only being taught about their responsibilities by the Garden of Eden, nothing else. In this way, the base doesn’t have to worry about the decline in fertility, nor do the girls know the pain of losing their human rights due to uninterrupted births.”

She looked at the surrounding walls and seemed to be seeing the entire human base through the walls. “I feel pain about this but I also know my pain is only a trivial part. In this place, someone dies every second. The only way for humans to survive in this era is to turn themselves into a creature. People with different responsibilities are different organs of this creature. The Lighthouse is the brain, the military is the claws and teeth, the people of the outer city are the flesh and blood, the building and walls are the skin and Eden is the womb.”

An Zhe glanced at her and she seemed to read An Zhe’s eyes. “I have never resented this place.”

She leaned over and picked up Lily, who buried her head in Madam Lu’s shoulder.