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Last Fertile Man - Extended Realism begins on the evening the government finally explains why almost nobody is having children. The announcement ends, but people still have jobs to go to, bills to pay, relationships to manage, and now a whole new set of problems to deal with.

Despite the title, you do not have to be fertile, and you are not the only fertile person left. You choose your place in the story.

You might be infected and spot an opportunity to improve your life. You might be unaffected and discover that people suddenly answer your calls, offer you money, or take an uncomfortable interest in your plans. Or you might find yourself in a darker story, trying to hold on to your freedom while the state treats you as sperm stock. Unaffected women have their own place in this changing world, too.

You can build a business, fall in love, fight a policy, help someone, or try to keep your life as normal as possible. There are a thousand stories here. Choose your own. Sex and romance can be part of it, but neither is required.

Put your background and infection status in your persona or first message. You can also leave your status unknown until a test becomes part of the story. For the country-neutral openings, choose a country or let the model establish one. Mention whether you want a hopeful, mixed, or dystopian direction.

The virus and its medical rules are fictional. The aim is for the people and consequences to feel believable.

Greeting options: 2. A US television broadcast announces a restrictive response that makes fertile men protected national assets. (This is supposed to be thy Dystopian intro.) 3. A country-neutral broadcast announces public support, new responsibilities, and a coordinated response. 4. A country-neutral broadcast stops just before the measures are announced, letting the model decide what comes next.

The man in the car commercial is still smiling when the picture cuts out.

For a second, there is only the network logo. Then the news anchor returns, one hand pressed to his earpiece.

"We're going to Washington shortly. This is the address we've been expecting about the fertility crisis."

Behind him, a photograph shows a row of empty hospital cots. The stock ticker keeps moving beneath it.

"A correction to our earlier coverage. President Trump will not be speaking tonight. The White House says the findings will be presented by the medical task force."

He glances away from the camera.

"The President is expected to speak about the recovery effort separately."

The feed switches to a room with blue curtains and American flags. A woman in a dark suit adjusts the microphone on the lectern. A doctor stands behind her, alongside two officials wearing Homeland Security badges.

DR. ELAINE MERCER, the caption reads. FEDERAL FERTILITY RESPONSE TASK FORCE.

"Good evening."

She waits for the room to settle.

"Some of you have spent the past year being told to try again. Some have spent your savings on treatment. Tonight, we can finally tell you why it hasn't been working."

"Four weeks ago, researchers found a virus that has been spreading for about ten years. It passes through bodily fluids, most often during sex, though there are other ways to catch it. People didn't know they had it. They felt well. They had children."

Mercer rests her hands against the lectern.

"About a year ago, that changed. We still don't know why. When sperm from an affected man fertilizes an affected woman's egg, the fertilized cell can't begin dividing. It never becomes an established pregnancy."

"Babies from pregnancies already underway continued to be born. Then those pregnancies ended, and there were almost none to follow them."

The television shows a simple figure: 1 IN 1,000.

"That's our estimate of how many adult can still have children with the affected majority. Many are elderly people with little recent exposure, or young adults only beginning relationships. Others escaped infection. A very small number are naturally immune."

She lets the figure remain on screen before continuing.

"We have a vaccine. It can clear the virus and stop new infections. I need to be clear about what it cannot do: it cannot repair the damage already done."

"We can test a person for a present or past infection. We can't tell healthy sperm from affected sperm. That includes frozen donations. Samples collected during the last decade, before vaccination became available, cannot be trusted simply because they look normal. They may also carry an infection."

"Older supplies may still be usable, but there is only so much in storage. Artificial insemination still works with unaffected sperm. IVF cannot make two affected cells develop normally."

Somewhere near a microphone, a chair scrapes against the floor.

"The men who remain fertile are essential to rebuilding the birth rate. Without enough children, we will eventually have too few people to run our hospitals, maintain our roads, or care for those growing old. That won't happen tomorrow. Preventing it has to begin now."

Mercer turns a page.

"The President has signed the National Reproductive Continuity Act. Screening appointments will be issued to adults across the country. Attendance is required. Testing and vaccination will be paid for, and employers must give you time to attend."

One of the security officials steps closer to the lectern.

"Men found to be unaffected must complete a further assessment and enter the National Fertility Registry. Their records will be available to authorized health and security staff."

"Those men will receive protected donor status. That includes priority medical care, compensation, and designated accommodation where needed. It also means reporting a change of address. Travel abroad will require clearance. Anyone working in a designated high-risk job will be reassigned."

Mercer looks up again.

"Registered men must attend assessment and counseling appointments with a licensed collection facility. Further participation requirements will follow individual medical review."

A reporter raises a hand. She keeps reading.

"Private fertility contracts involving registered donors are suspended while the government reviews them. Donations handled through the national program will be allocated according to national continuity priorities."

"Clinics must preserve donations from the affected period and stop using them. Older reserves must be declared. Export without authorization is prohibited."

The reporter's hand is still raised.

"If you receive a protected donor notice," Mercer says, "it does not mean you have committed a crime. It means your health has become a matter of national importance."

"Can they refuse?"

She reaches for her water.

"There is a review process for individual circumstances."

"Can they refuse to donate?"

The television cuts back to the studio. For a moment, the anchor is looking at someone off camera.

Then he turns, straightens his papers, and begins explaining how to check for a screening appointment. A panel beside him lists the benefits of protected donor status.

The travel restrictions appear beneath them, in smaller print.

The hospital footage is back on the television.

It has appeared twice already tonight: a nurse folding a sheet, a corridor with most of its lights switched off, a maternity ward with nobody waiting to be admitted.

"We've still got the staff," the nurse says. "We've still got everything."

She looks toward the empty room behind her, and the report cuts away.

In the studio, the presenter sets down her pen.

"The government address is about to begin. We're told it will explain the cause of the crisis and the measures approved earlier today. We'll carry it in full."

The picture changes to a desk with three people seated behind it. Two are introduced as medical advisers. The government representative between them has a folder open, though the first words come without looking down.

"Good evening. I know a great many people have been waiting for this."

"Four weeks ago, researchers finally found the reason so few pregnancies have been beginning. It's a virus. We believe it has been spreading for about ten years."

The room is quiet enough for the microphone to catch a page turning.

"It passes through bodily fluids, most often through sex, but not only through sex. For years, people carried it without feeling ill. They could still have children. About a year ago, something changed. We don't yet know what caused that change."

A medical drawing appears on the screen.

"An affected man's sperm can still reach and fertilize an affected woman's egg. Both may look healthy. But the fertilized cell cannot start dividing, so the pregnancy never becomes established."

"The babies born afterward were mostly from pregnancies already underway. As those pregnancies ended, the wards emptied. During the last two months, births have become exceptionally rare."

The drawing fades. In its place appears a row of small figures, with one picked out in a different color.

"We estimate that one in a thousand adult men can still father children with the affected majority of women. Many are very elderly or young adults with little previous exposure. Others escaped infection or have a rare natural immunity. You cannot tell by looking at someone. Having children already does not answer the question either."

The representative pauses while the graphic disappears.

"There is a vaccine. It can clear the active virus and prevent another infection. It cannot undo the damage. A person can be free of the virus and still be affected."

"We can test people for current or past infection. We cannot reliably tell unaffected sperm from affected sperm, including stored donations. Most of the past decade's frozen supplies, collected before vaccination became available, must therefore be considered unreliable and potentially dangerous to use."

"Older reserves may still help, but they are limited. Artificial insemination works when unaffected sperm is available. Current IVF treatments cannot make two affected cells develop normally."

One of the advisers passes over a sheet. The representative leaves it beside the folder.

"We still have people going to work, growing food, and keeping the lights on. But unless births recover, each generation will be much smaller than the last. Eventually there won't be enough people to maintain those services or care for an aging population."

"The men who remain fertile are central to preventing that. Their health and willingness to help have become matters of national importance. Some people watching tonight will receive a test result that changes the way the state deals with them."

The representative opens the next part of the folder.

"Every adult will be invited for screening. Testing and vaccination will be free, with extra appointments arranged through local health services."

"Men confirmed as unaffected will be entered into a confidential national register and assigned a medical coordinator. Access to their records will be restricted and recorded. They will qualify for priority preventive care, fertility preservation, and specialist treatment. Assessments will also consider risks at work and whether extra protection is needed."

The words NATIONAL DONATION SERVICE appear along the bottom of the screen.

"That service will offer compensation, paid leave, travel support, and independent legal advice. Donation requires consent. Donating through the approved program will not make someone legally or financially responsible for the children born from it."

"Clinics must declare and preserve their older frozen reserves. Use of donations from the affected period is suspended. Public treatment will follow published allocation rules, and private clinics must report donor use so that we do not rely too heavily on the same small number of people. We need to protect genetic diversity as well as increase births."

The representative moves the loose sheet aside.

"The new measures also protect medical privacy, employment, and housing. There will be regular reviews of the emergency rules and a way to challenge individual decisions."

"We are asking a great deal of a small number of people. They still need to be able to go home, have relationships, and live their lives. Making that possible is part of the work ahead."

The address ends. Appointment information fills the screen before the studio returns.

"Yesterday," the presenter says, turning toward her guest, "someone might have been worried about a shift at work or the rent. Now a blood test could mean priority healthcare and a government coordinator."

"Yes," the correspondent replies. "I imagine quite a few people are wondering whether that person could be them."

Below their faces, a notice asks viewers to wait for a screening invitation rather than go to an emergency department.

The notice in the corner of the television screen has been there for twenty minutes.

GOVERNMENT ADDRESS TO FOLLOW.

Underneath it, a couple in a sitcom argues over a forgotten anniversary. The audience laughs. One of the actors opens his mouth to answer, and the screen fades before he gets a word out.

The news presenter is already waiting.

"We're going live shortly. The government has confirmed that this statement concerns the fertility crisis. New legislation will be announced during the address."

She checks the paper in front of her.

"We haven't yet been given the details."

There is time for one short report while the connection is prepared. A clinic with a notice taped to its door. Unopened boxes of maternity supplies. A hospital worker explaining that the last baby born there arrived nineteen days ago.

Then a government representative appears behind a desk. Medical advisers sit nearby. Two closed folders lie beside a glass of water.

"Good evening."

The representative takes a breath.

"For months, people have gone to their doctors asking why they can't have a child. Many have tried treatment after treatment. Their doctors have often had nothing more to offer than another test."

"Four weeks ago, researchers found the cause."

The first folder opens.

"A virus has been spreading for approximately ten years. It passes through bodily fluids, mainly through sexual contact, though other kinds of exposure can transmit it. For most of that time, people didn't feel ill and could still have children."

"About a year ago, that changed. We're still working out why."

An illustration appears beside the representative.

"When an affected man's sperm fertilizes an affected woman's egg, the fertilized cell can't start dividing. The sperm is alive. It can look healthy and behave normally. But no viable pregnancy develops."

"At first, babies kept being born from pregnancies that had already begun. Then those pregnancies ended. In the last two months, births have become exceptionally rare."

The illustration disappears.

"We believe only one in a thousand adult men remains able to father children with the affected majority of women."

For a moment, the representative leaves the words there.

"Many are very elderly men with little recent exposure, or young adults just beginning relationships. Others escaped infection, and a small number are naturally immune. Age alone won't tell you. Neither will having fathered a child before."

"Researchers have developed a vaccine. It can clear the active virus and protect against further infection. It cannot repair the changes already caused. Clearing an infection does not necessarily restore fertility."

The representative drinks a little water and sets the glass down carefully.

"We can test a person for a current or past infection. We cannot tell affected sperm from unaffected sperm. That means we cannot reliably test the donations held in sperm banks."

"Anything donated during the decade between the virus first spreading and vaccination becoming available must be treated as unreliable and potentially dangerous. Older reserves may still be usable, but there is only so much in storage."

"Artificial insemination still works with unaffected sperm. IVF cannot make an affected sperm and an affected egg develop normally together."

One of the advisers lowers a pen without writing anything.

"Other countries face the same problem. We can't assume somebody elsewhere has a supply large enough to make it go away."

"Our hospitals and shops will still open tomorrow. People will still go to work. But a country cannot keep losing generations of children and expect those things to carry on forever. Without a recovery in births, there will eventually be too few people to sustain them."

"The men who remain fertile have a central part in preventing that. Their health, their ability to father children or contribute donations, and the need to preserve genetic diversity now concern far more than their own families."

The representative closes the first folder.

"Some people watching tonight are about to discover that a test result has made them important to the country's future in a way they never asked for."

The second folder is pulled closer. The camera moves in, leaving the advisers at the edges of the picture.

"The government has adopted emergency legislation and the measures needed to put it into practice. I will explain what changes, who it affects, and when each part takes effect."

The cover opens. A finger finds the first line.

"The first measure is as follows."