Federal Breeder's License

A Federal Breeder's License, or FBL, is an important form of government identification given to male Vespians citizens. The FBL is given to Vespian males who have legally sought out permission from the federal government to reproduce. Because of the unique manner in which the Vespians multiply–through male production of fertilized eggs by the hundreds of thousands, it has since become both necessary and mandatory for all Vespian men seeking to become fathers to have such a license in their possession at all times. The license itself indicates how many children a Vespian father may have each year, and the ratio of male to female Vespians he is allowed to have. The FBL is printed by the Bureau of Health and Reproduction, which keeps track of all the Vespians born and the number of licensed fathers in the Unified Vespian Directorate.

Origins
The Federal Breeder's License was originally designed to serve as a way of controlling the Vespian population in the pre-spaceflight era, when the lack of resources to support the billions of Vespians being born led to endless wars for the survival of the Great Houses which dominated Vespia in that time. So as to control the population effectively and bring some measure of peace to the homeworld, the Vespian patriarchs of that time came together to formulate an effective way in which to prevent further overpopulation. The answer came in two forms. The first was the mandatory implantation of an anti-reproductive device known as a paragus aperture, into every newborn male Vespian born, preventing them from having children without acquiring government permission first. The second to aid the first was the introduction of a license that would contain all of the reproductive information and history of the man it was licensed too. This form of identification would become known as the Father's Breeding License, a forerunner to the modern FBL.

At the time, the Father's Breeding License only had three levels; Level I for men seeking to have 10,000 children a year, Level II for those have 100,000 a year, and Level III for those have one million a year. Whereas the modern FBL had more levels with deeper forms of access and regulation, the older FBL had a far more stringent level of access, with only men officially patronized by a great house permitted to acquire an FBL. This was done to cut back on the number of men outside of the pool of sons directly affiliated with the household's patriarch, from gaining too much power and independence from the household's recognized leadership channels. While this angered many men who had aspirations of becoming leaders within their houses, the laws stood strong, and the enforcement of the FBL would help the governments of Vespia to get a hold of the overpopulation problems. However, the attempts to remove the regulation as an an affront to the freedom of reproduction many believed they possessed would continue for decades.

After unification
Following unification of the Vespian population under the Unified Vespian Directorate in 7984 NE, the new government moved to reorganize and standardize the government institutions and policies held by the different houses across the Vespian homeworld and the off-world colonies. Chief amoung the changes were the changes made to the old FBL. Renamed the "Federal Breeder's License", the new license had six levels to it, a series of tax and political benefits attached to them to make legal reproduction attractive to aspiring fathers, and penalties to those attempting to circumvent the federal laws regarding reproduction. The newly redesigned license also incorporated new digital technologies, which tracked the children born to the father through an electronic link to the reproductive control device surgically implanted into the father at birth, making it easier for the government to control the exact number of children he could have as well as make upgrading the license without removing and inserting a more advanced paragus aperture into his body.

Another very important change to the new license was the method a male could now acquire an FBL. Whereas becoming a father became a gauntlet of political bribes and favors, a man could now acquire a reproductive license through simple hard work and pay for one himself. Such a change in acquiring the license, added to the introduction of spaceflight, are regarded as the reasons for the formation of the new minor and major houses, which benefited from ease of FBL acquisition, and the ability to grow without the ever-present shadow of the great houses controlling their freedom of movement and independence. However, the licenses higher up the chain remained for many men, beyond their means to purchase from the federal government. The Level V and VI FBLs were unofficially reserved for the great house members, allowing them to maintain their population growth levels legally, and only within the range of a male Vespian patronized by a great house to afford.

Acquisition
Legally, every male Vespian is required to have a birth control device surgically implanted within their reproductive system at birth, to prevent a runaway population boom as was the case in the pre-industrial days of Vespian society. However, men are allowed to have up to five children in total without having an FBL. Though the government is keen to keep tabs on the number of children a Vespian father has, most men often opt to have an FBL as a guarantee that the government will stop spying on them and their family affairs. However, just as many men opt out of having an FBL altogether, most citing the financial, emotional, and psychological difficulties of maintaining a family of any size in Vespia. Additionally, the difficulty of acquiring a federal breeder's license in the first place is enough to keep men from getting one at all. A number of checks and balances have long been in effect to prevent misuse and over-saturation of FBLs in the public to keep the order of balance in Vespian society.

Often, an aspiring Vespian seeking to become a father must first have his own father's blessing, ensuring that he has been authorized to build a family of his own. Because more FBL-holding sons means more money, power, and influence for the household, as the father can only have so many children naturally, it is in the interest of the patriarch to assist his son in his endeavor. Typically, the patriarch will move first to pay for the costs of the license, calling upon contacts to deal with the bureaucracy clear the way for his son to gain his FBL. FBLs are often given as a gift by a particularly powerful father to his son, generally as a way to keep the son within the house as an asset rather than a liability, as sons with nothing to do often turn to activities such as organized crime or long-term military service, which rob the household of potential power and prestige, and more importantly manpower.

In poorer households, acquiring an FBL is simply out of the question, as the costs for a license often exceed what is within the means of the household to pay. This has led to allegations that the costs and heavy taxation for a federal breeder's license were intentionally set up to benefit the larger, wealthy households, who could just pay for the cost of the license upfront without having to worry about the stringent background checks. Given Vespia's history and society, this would not be too far from the truth, as the larger houses fear the threat a smaller house could pose to them if it were allowed to grow unchecked without any intervention on their behalf. The often crushing taxes, which stack with each level an FBL has acquired, prevents many houses from pursing a new FBL, as multiple holders within a small territory with limited resources can put a serious strain on the household's coffers, as new fathers struggle to find a source of income within their already poor household's territory.

Types
There are four types from Federal Breeder's Licenses; the family, house, military, and pioneer breeding license. Each serves a different purpose, and all require one meet the minimum standards of acceptance by the federal government before they are issued.

Family license
The family breeding license, known as the "General Offspring Allowance Permit", is the license issued by the government allowing a Vespian male to have children. The GOAP is issued to men seeking to have their own family, but with no intention of leaving their household to do so. As such, it is the most common FBL issued in the Directorate, and comparatively easy to acquire without having to fight for. More than five million are issued every year, and the application process only requires the signature of the applicant's father and a federal government official after a review of the individual's background, criminal history, and service to the state. Because of the issues the Vespians face regarding overpopulation, a range of taxes and duties are levied upon the applicant upon the issuing of the license. However, upon acquiring the GOAP, the holder may begin applying for access to one of the three other license types, which require the applicant to have the family breeding license first as a requirement.

House license
The house breeding license, or the "Household Breeding Permit", is the permit which authorizes the creation of a new household within the Directorate. Aspiring applicants must have the recommendation of at least three members of the Supreme Federal Congress, and the signature of their own household's patriarch acknowledging and authorizing the release of a son from their household to create their own. Such a process often takes years, and given that many houses fear the danger a new household may pose against their power and influence in a region and in the federal government, attempts to prevent new houses from being formed are commonplace. Bribery is rife in the pursuit of an HBP license, and wooing one's father to get him to allow the creation of a rival house by one of his sons is a must for those on that path. The government only issues five thousand HBPs a year, though most take decades to acquire given the intense opposition from other households and from within one's own family to prevent a son from leaving his household.

Military license
Military breeding licenses, officially known as "Soldiery Household Breeding Cards", are very rare permits issued by the Vespian Defense Forces to men wishing to serve the military in a greater capacity. Such license were originally issued during the height of the Vespian Civil War, during which time the government's then-military arm, Vespian Emergency Task Force, was virtually destroyed, and houses wishing to stay out of the fighting refused to lend their children to the government to ensure the integrity of the state. Thus, Vespian fathers were offered high-ranking commissions within the military and the benefits they entailed in exchange for handing over their offspring to the state to fight on its behalf, thus leading to the first ever soldiery households. Men who wishing to found their own soldiery houses must apply directly to the VDF's Bureau of Military Scions with a recommendation from at least five members of the Supreme Federal Congress, and the signature of the Supreme Director authorizing the issuing of a military breeding license, and thus the creation of a new soldiery household. Because of the seriousness of such a previlge, no more than ten military breeding licenses may be issued within a five-year period.

Pioneer license
A pioneer license, officially known as a "Temporary Colonial Breeding Permit", is as the name describes, a temporary breeding permit issued by the federal Vespian government to men wishing to assist in the colonization of a new world discovered by the Directorate. Such licenses are generally easy to get, as they do not require the same stringent requirements and funds needed to get an actual FBL. The license is valid for a period of ten years, during which time the holder of the TCBP license may have up to five thousand offspring each year on a planet located within the Edge or Outback Worlds. Men who successfully establish a strong and thriving colony on the planet they have been assigned to are rewarded with a permanent Type II FBL, and the planet handed over into their care with them as the planet's new governor. To prevent abuse of the system, the government only allows a total of five thousand pioneer licenses to be issued each year, and the holder is assigned a planet of the government's choosing. Minders are typically attached to the license holder to ensure that they pursue the goals they were given and develop the world under their care.

Levels
There are six levels to a Federal Breeder's License, which permits a man the ability to reproduce legally and without legal ramifications.