“Today, June 6th 2082, the world’s population reached 14 billion people. This milestone is a grim day in our history. The Imperium decided the ban of marriage will be implemented immediately. Both officially and religiously. More about this later…”

“It’s been one year since the marriage ban, but what effect did it actually have on the population growth? About 75% of the population got married eventually before the anti-marriage law of which 59% thought that marriage is needed before sex. As a result, the amount of people that started to live together diminished by 11%. The long-term effects of this are still uncertain…”

“The population has been decreasing rapidly the last 27 years, which is very likely due to the marriage ban of ’87. Currently, we’re at 10,8 billion worldwide but researchers predict that the population will start growing again since the marriage ban resulted in kids before marriage being more accepted than ever. However, almost all strictly religious people can never reproduce now, likely causing strict religions to become extinct. Will religion survive? We invited-…”

“This year, 2156, we’re happy to conclude that all countries reached demographic phase 5. Imperium stated that they will consider removing the anti-marriage law. Experts, however, claim that this won’t have any effect since less than a billion people still think sex should happen after marriage, of which 86% can’t reproduce anymore. Since over 90% of those people were religious and religion lost popularity anyways, we can conclude that religion will be a thing of the past by the end of the century.”

“Eighty years ago we celebrated the arrival of a worldwide phase 5. That was before we knew the destructive effects it would have. Today marks the day the earth has only 3 billion people left, and at the rate that it is declining, humanity will go extinct within the next 3 centuries. Next up: Contraceptives made illegal-…”

“The first computers of Imperium’s Pair System were started today, May 6th 2251. Those computers will match you up with someone with compatible DNA, decreasing the chance of inherited diseases and increasing the ability of the immune system, further supporting the survival of the human race. Your partner and you must make at least 2 children and children outside the Pair System will be illegal. This system doesn’t only secure our survival, but also aims to speed up evolution, creating a human super race. More information later. First-…“

“And that concludes the Big Disasters and why the Pair System came to be. As you’re all near the age of 18, it would be better if you knew why you suddenly got matched with a person you’ve maybe never seen in your entire life. The previous news clips show how everything came to be quite nicely, but please do your own research yourself before you blindly believe what I say. That’s the end of history class. Now, all-“

I stopped listening. I knew exactly what this system was, and I had been nervous about my match for almost 2 years. Because I…

fell in love with someone else.