02044cam a2200361 i 4500 1501941741 TxAuBib 20240813120000.0 240530s2024||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 9781335000361 hardback 1335000364 hardback TxAuBib rda Marrs, John, author. The family experiment : a novel / John Marrs. Toronto, Ontario, Canada : Hanover Square Press, [2024] 374 pages ; 24 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier "Set in the same universe as John Marrs's ... novel[s] The One and The Marriage Act"--Provided by publisher. Includes bibliographical references. "The world's population is soaring, creating overcrowded cities and an economic crisis. And in the UK, the breaking point has arrived. A growing number of people can no longer afford to start families, let alone raise them. But for those desperate to experience parenthood, there is an alternative. For a monthly subscription fee, clients can create a virtual child from scratch who they can access via the metaverse and a VR headset. To launch this new initiative, the company behind Virtual Children has created a reality TV show called The Substitute. It will follow ten couples as they raise a virtual child from birth to the age of eighteen but in a condensed nine-month time period. The prize: the right to keep their virtual child, or risk it all for the chance of a real baby"-- Provided by publisher. 20240813. Childlessness Fiction. Overpopulation Fiction. Parenthood Fiction. Reality television programs Fiction. Virtual reality Fiction. Great Britain Fiction. Dystopian fiction. Science fiction. gsafd Thrillers (Fiction.) lcgft