Author's Note:
I've written a background context to set the mood of the story, you can skip this part if you wish and get straight into the short story :)

Enjoy, and please tell me what you think!
- Lorraine
PS. The '* * * *' signifies a change in POV in the story
PSS. This is only roughly edited, feel free to point out any grammatical errors

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Set in the distant future, artificial intelligence has advanced and developed to the point that the world is on the brink of achieving 'singularity', 'a period of great technological change that is so rapid, and its impact so deep, that human life will be irreversibly transformed' (Ray Kurzweil).

With the help of artificial intelligence, diseases that were considered fatal before could now be easily and efficiently healed, and malfunctioning body parts, conveniently replaced. However, despite the advantages that this development provided to the human race - enabling humans to become 'healthy' immortals - the enticing notion had inflicted an imbalance in society.

The threat of overpopulation and the fight for resources continued to escalate, resulting to the government introducing mandatory birth control procedures - both vasectomy (male) and tubal ligation (female) - to reduce the need to fight to survive. Reproduction of children, an essence of being human, was made illegal.

Nonetheless, corruption persisted to exist, perhaps the final remaining sliver of humanity, as the cost of conducting the birth control procedure was created to be unachievable to those who weren't financially stable. Andthis is the case within this story.

A few years after the installment of the reproduction ban law, a couple, who were unable to pay for the procedure, 'accidentally' produces an illegal child. Unable to withstand the guilt of murdering their baby to save their life, they decide to raise him in secret, and in turn, experience spontaneous moments of humanity long since forgotten by society due to their interlacement with artificial intelligence.

Illegal births were not the only problem that resulted after the banning of reproduction. A bewildering project involving artificial intelligence was created to 'fix' the growing demand of humans for experiencing parenthood.

The ELII project (Early Learning Infant Intelligence) conceived an artificial child, complete with uncanny human features: skin, hair, eyes, teeth, etc. The only difference was that instead of veins coursing through the child's body, wires conducting electricity kept the 'child' alive. ELII was the ideal 'child' to the society for it did not breathe nor use the majority of the precious resources fought for by humans.

Despite the good intentions of the ELII project, ELII causes the obliteration of humanity as the concept of creating an artificial human becomes a reality.

The situation thrown upon Jace and his family as an ELII enters their neighbourhood portrays one of the many examples of the inevitable breakdown of morality in this society.

Jace, a lonely child longing for a friend, mistakes ELII as someone like him, therefore he attempts to befriend the artificial child.

As scientists examine the data recorded by ELII, they discover Jace - and this discovery, leads to the family's imprisonment and precarious journey through 'purgatory', where their death and the death in the morals of humanity will be determined.