In the not-too-distant future...
 
Sweeping changes had occurred over the past few decades within society at large. Large reforms had been made in social policy, such as the legalisation of drugs and prostitution (rather synically done in order to turn former criminals into taxpayers), and the recognition of gay marriage (also polygamy, thanks to lobbying by certain religious pressure groups). The concept of the welfare state was still strong, however, and government debt was as high as ever, making it hard for the federal and various state and city governments to make ends meet while keeping voters happy.
 
Against this backdrop came one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs of all time, one which would have more profound impact on life and society than the contraceptive pill had decades before.
 
There was no one eureka moment, but the road to breakthrough began when scientists started toying with the idea that the human female body is not only an effective life-support system for the woman herself, but for others. Obvious, of course: childbirth had always been around, but what if a woman's gestative capacity could be expanded so that she could carry a full-sized adult human? As the black box that was the human genome yielded more and more of its secrets, it soon became apparent that this was not as ridiculous an idea as was first thought. As new understanding emerged of which genes governed what and how to turn them on and off, the way forward began to present itself.
 
First came the ability to stretch the uterus to accommodate almost any required volume. Then, ways of strengthening and expanding the various muscles and tendons that held it all in were found. Increasing the size of the birth canal and making the pelvis more flexible and better hinged for the passage of a large object were next, as were strengthening of the spine and the other bones and muscles upon which the added weight would bear down. Among the greater feats attained were the discovery of how to make a new placenta, umbilical cord and amniotic sac grow which could be entered from outside the body and which would seal itself up thereafter. Next came another hard part: making the system, which is geared to pushing a large object out when its time comes, work in reverse, or in other words, reversing the whole birthing process. Astute readers may remember a term that once used by the fantasy-fetish community: unbirthing. The term never came into common usage, though. Adult Surrogate Pregnancy or ASP became the official term, both as a noun and an adjective. A nickname (officially discouraged) for those participating in the process was "Aspie", which annoyed the Asperger's Syndrome community no end, but still, what are you going to do? The problem of attaching an umbilical cord to an adult through the navel had also been successfully solved, so it soon became time to attempt to make the whole thing work.
 
A major problem had become apparent during the course of this long voyage of discovery: the process would not work on a male. Considering the breathtaking scale of the science discovered during that time, it was rather frustrating that a reason why could never be adequately established. It simply became an immutable fact that there was no free ride in a womb for anyone with a y chromosome.
 
So the question became "Why would an adult woman want to carry an adult woman in her womb or be carried in another woman's womb"? The answer was mainly that the process was a virtual fountain of youth.
 
Testing soon established that the process worked beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Almost any adult woman could successfully live in another woman's womb for a number of years with no ill effect. In fact, just the opposite. ASP was found to be astonishingly beneficial for both "hostess" and "guest". For some reason the bodies of bost hostess and guest in an ASP situation became powerhouses of healing and rejuvenation. The body's enhanced immune system was able to attack and prevent almost all normal germ and virus caused diseases, and could prevent and heal many cancers and even heart disease, among onther chronic conditons. As for rejuvenation, while the total age regression to baby of much of the early fantasy literature never came to pass, there were definite regenertive effects for both hostess and guest. Women who were past menopause became fertile again and looked much younger. Sagging skin tightened, tired muscles strengthened, porous bones hardened and health overall improved. Overweight women who particpated in ASP generally found that the pounds melted off them and stayed at what would be considered close to an ideal weight. Of course, the hostess was large while pregnant, but once the guest had left and her body resumed normality, she would generally be a svelte and fighting fit specimen of femininity! It was discovered that the most beneficial period of time for an ASP for both participants was at least a year. Apart from that time limit, there was no reason an ASP couldn't last for many years or even decades, other than the wishes of the participants.
 
There were other benefits too, such as the general feeling of stresslessness and well-being brought about in both participants by the hormonal changes. Normal bans on use of medication and alcohol in pregnancy didn't apply because the guest was a fully grown adult. Therefore the few hostesses who suffered morning sickness or other side-effects were able to take medication to alleviate the condition. And alcohol not being banned meant that both hostess and guest could enjoy a night out on the town, or even a quiet night at home stretched out in front of the telly with a nice bottle of wine.
 
Okay, so there were definite benefits which seemed to be a win-win for both participants, but what about the guest's need for social interaction? Wouldn't a lot of time spent in a quiet lightless environment be both lonely and mind-numbingly boring? Strangely enough, this was one of the easiest problems to solve. It was discovered that hostess and guest had a natural empathic and almost telepathic ability to communicate, almost to the point of being able to engage in normal conversation. This ability was found to be enhanced for some reason when the hostess put her hand over her tummy, and the guest put her hand against the uterus wall at about the same point. It was then found that almost anyone could put their hand on the hostess's tummy and begin to develop empathy/telepathy with the guest. However, again it became apparent that the ASP process simply did not "like" the y chromosome. Communication with males via this method was at best rudimentary and generally difficult. However this was not a problem anyway. Fluid-proof wireless devices with almost limitless battery life were developed for the uterine environment. While a woman living in a liquid environment and having lungs full of fluid obviously couldn't talk on the phone, she could still text, email and otherwise "chat" normally in cyberspace. In fact it was discovered that a woman in a womb was no more restricted in access to the outside world than one who telecommuted or otherwise worked from home. Apart from "home" being physically smaller than what most were used to, it suited a lot of people.
 
So once ASP was generally available and officially approved for the public, it first began to appear, quite naturally, in the private sector. The process, at first, was somewhat expensive. A hostess had to spend three months having her body conditioned to receive an adult "passenger". The uterus needed to expand, the placenta and umbilical cord needed to grow, as did the amniotic sac, which needed to then be filled with fluid. And the birth canal and its mucles needed to be prepared for the reverse birth. All of this took time, energy, medication and of course, a lot of water and nutrition. And the guest needed some physical conditioning too, although no quite on the same scale. She needed to be prepared for the receiving of an umbilical cord and her lungs prepared to be filled with amniotic fluid. Her intestinal tract had to be emptied in the day before the procedure, but that is more an unpleasant necessary fact than an impediment. Once the guest had entered the hostess and their ASP relationship began, there was the harsh reality that in an ASP situation, the hostess really is genuinely "eating for two". So of course food bills were pretty well doubled.
 
At first it seemed like it would only become a fad among the well-to-do society set, but things moved from there at lightning speed. Female CEOs and managers soon began to host their personal assistants and assistant managers; the convenience of such a close physical proximity soon became apparent. Other female CEOs, thinking outside the box would do the reverse and move into their PAs and assistants; the quietness and stress-free environment was found to be super-conducive to executive decision making. Soon, all workplaces with large female workforces became populated with large, super-pregnant women who were carrying their co-workers. It made sense because it freed up space and meant there needed to be less office and other furniture for the same number of workers. Back-office types who had little public contact were encouraged to take up residence in those who did have speaking and customer contact roles. It then became apparent that up to twice the number of delegates could attend conventions, seminars and trade shows. Hotels generally charged a small surcharge for ASP hostesses due to the need for larger and stronger beds and other furniture, but by and large ASP worked out cheaper and more convenient for the two involved. There were other benefits too. Car sharing became a real plus because a car that once carried four people to work could carry up to eight. "ASP only" lanes began to appear on roads in areas where councils were fighting traffic problems. Female college dorms suddenly became twice as capacious while not actually enlarging physically. Likewise college classes were able to accommodate more students in the same space. Major social change and changes in previously held assumptions were on the way.
 
But what about the other half of the population? Although seemingly entirely left out of the equation, ASP proved beneficial to males as well. Married women who took in a guest found their sex-drives enhanced and their husbands soon found them to be every bit as sexy and fun to be with as when pregnant with a baby - the same bonding and pleasure hormones seemed to be there. Although you think males would have been dismayed by the sudden growth in the numbers of large women, they all seemed to have that pregnant glow about them, which most males seemed to find attractive. Perhaps there was a pheremonal environment being created by the proximity of so many pregnant women.
 
It was during this time that one of the key paradigms emerged: that the female womb was "real estate". All sorts of new approaches to old problems and entrepreneurial ideas began to emerge based upon that new understanding. We all know about those so it would be superfluous to reiterate them here. It just serves to remind ourselves that at that stage ASP was mainly affecting private lives and the private sector.
 
 
Then Government began to take an interest...