"Everybody knows there's a shortage of women [in Ceres]... They ought to be using artificial insemination. Men and women are born in Midas using artificial wombs, right? Natural birth is a fucking relic." (v3 p51)
see Zein
Ceres Eugenics[]
"Without genetic tinkering, males and females would be born in close to equal proportions. The only reason fewer females are born is that somebody's already been tweaking the basic biological factors. It's been going on for generations.... Tanagura is practicing population control. By making the slum mongrels disposable, the citizens of Midas feel better than the rest of us.... They can't live with us, but they can't kill us all off or the scales will tip too far in one direction. Women having kids right and left would pose a problem, so they engineered the game. Now, no matter which way the ball rolls, it'll always end up in the gutter." (V3 p118-9)
see Mongrels
Ceres Natural Birth[]
"Why do you think Ceres alone persevered in practicing natural birth? Did you ever take the time to figure that out?..." (V3 p118)
Females in Ceres, Treatment[]
9:1 male-female ratio in Ceres (V3 p50, V8 p10, 42)
"There's hardly a woman to be found [in Ceres], y'know?... Women only give birth to guys here. That's why the Midas harems give 'em the red carpet treatment. The slums stink with horny guys who are never gonna be with better than an old hag." (V3 p50)
"A woman being a rare commodity, I would think the men would take whatever they could get, even if it was old and well used." (V3 p51)
The fact was, [Kirie had] never even seen a dried-up old hag. In the slums, the chance to connect with the rare breed that was the female gender came possibly once in a lifetime. (V3 p51)
see Ceres
Females in Guardian, Treatment[]
The small number of girls were given preferential treatment over the boys, and those with any inclination to bear children could do so in an isolated and far more agreeable environment. Unlike the boys who were forced to become 'independent' of Guardian at the age of thirteen, to the extent that they were capable of giving birth, girls were under no obligation to live in the infested slum colonies. (V1 p83)
"Women who can have children are the assets of Ceres. [Manon Kuger] can't just sleep around with whoever I want." (V4 p146)
For the one bloodline in Ceres allowed to take a childbearing wife, there were unwritten rules that could not be violated.... Far from it. "The men of [the Kuger] family must follow the letter of the law and deport themselves as gentlemen." In front of the block mothers and sisters as well. (V4 p146)
see Guardian
Lineage and Names in Ceres[]
In Ceres, very few boasted both a first and last name. Under the pretext of preserving a lineage, taking a wife and having a family was permitted, but only by a special and privileged class. (V4 p107)
As things stood now, five clans enjoyed the privilege of keeping their last names. Of course, the privileges of lineage could cause no end of trouble if allowed to go on unabated, so their numbers were strictly regulated. (V4 p107)
see Guardian: Population Control
see Kuger Clan