Piecework

Pulphouse Short Story Paperbacks #23

by David Brin

In "Piecework," the most sophisticated "engineering" process on Earth is pregnancy among mammals -- especially among humans. There is already talk of using goats and cattle to produce industrial products instead of milk, and possibly bringing to term organic machines, programmed in eggs to develop in the womb. What if this happens... and continues? Might poor women earn a living by renting out their wombs for industrial "piecework" production of high-end organic machinery? In this chilling, award-nominated tale, a master of modern science fiction lets us glimpse an all-too possible near future when science, economics and individual dignity clash across the most intimate battlefield of all.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories

43 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

David Brin is a scientist, speaker, and world-known author. His novels have been New York Times Bestsellers, winning multiple Hugo, Nebula and other awards. At least a dozen have been translated into more than twenty languages.

Existence, his latest novel, offers an unusual scenario for first contact. His ecological thriller, Earth, foreshadowed global warming, cyberwarfare and near-future trends such as the World Wide Web. A movie, directed by Kevin Costner, was loosely based on his post-apocalyptic novel, The Postman. Startide Rising won the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novel. The Uplift War also won the Hugo Award.

His non-fiction book -- The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Freedom and Privacy? -- deals with secrecy in the modern world. It won the Freedom of Speech Prize from the American Library Association.

Brin serves on advisory committees dealing with subjects as diverse as national defense and homeland security, astronomy and space exploration, SETI, nanotechnology, and philanthropy.

David appears frequently on TV, including "The Universe" and on the History Channel's "Life After People."

Full and updated at:

http://www.davidbrin.com/biography.htm

Reviews

[Andrew Brooks]

So impressive

A really fine bit of near future fictional society that would have had five stars but for one, sadly rather serious flaw to the plot. Since I dislike spoilers, I won't list it, but can you guess?

[Christopher Matthias]

Five star because I've never read anything like this before. A tale of a future where women rent out their wombs to manufacture biotech...

[Kat]

For school

[Amy]

Another chilling pregnancy-related Brin novella, this one where women's wombs are used to incubate organic machines. Ick!