The Civilization Born of a Slap
What if the difference between birth and death amounted to just a few seconds? Imagine this: following a genetic catastrophe — a virus or nuclear war — babies on a distant planet began to be born dead. At first, they were stillborn, and no medical device or technology could help. Doctors recorded the date and time of birth and death as one and the same. Thousands of babies died before ever truly being born — or were born already dead. Those who hadn’t lost hope no longer cared whether they had a boy or a girl. They just wanted their child to be born alive. But the harsh reality was stronger than their hopes. This continued for many years. Cemeteries grew larger than cities, and cities turned into cemeteries. Death rates had long surpassed birth rates, and the few remaining survivors refused to start families or have children. Life on the planet had lost its meaning. People stopped trusting conventional medicine. Even IVF brought no results. They began to believe in magic. Medicin...