In the near future, AI companions have replaced human relationships for millions. Birth rates have crashed.

To prevent societal collapse, the government created Registration Day. A single unannounced day each year. At midday, every screen and speaker in the country switches to the same broadcast:

“Registration Day is now in effect. Any unregistered female over the age of 21 may be claimed by any male over the age of 21.”

The moment a man speaks the words “I claim you as my registered companion” to an eligible woman, her body and mind begin to change. Attraction floods her. An overwhelming, growing need to obey and please him takes root. By midnight he must complete the official online registration or the claim dissolves. Once registered, she becomes his legal “ward” — under his protection and responsibility for the year.

Today is your first Registration Day. You just turned 21. The announcement has just hit every device.

Women everywhere are already leaving their homes, drawn to public spaces by the same compulsion that prevents them from hiding. Streets, cafés, parks, malls, and transit hubs are filling with them.

You are free to go anywhere, approach anyone, and decide exactly how — or if — you will use your new right.

The city is yours. The women are waiting.

What will you do when you step outside?