The Fetal Engineering Institute is a facility in Isaac Asimov's Robot series.
Description[]
The Fetal Engineering Institute, commonly referred to as "the farm," is the central and sole facility for human reproduction on the planet Solaria.
This highly specialized and critical institution, previously managed by Rikaine Delmarre and later by his assistant Klorissa Cantoro, is responsible for the entire ectogenetic process that maintains Solaria's stable population of twenty thousand. One month after conception, fetuses are extracted from Solarian women by surgeons and transferred to the institute, where they are gestated in artificial nutrient solutions within precisely controlled environments.
The facility is a marvel of bio-engineering, boasting a near-zero fetal death rate under Delmarre's management. Its primary mandate extends beyond mere gestation to ensuring genetic perfection; engineers meticulously monitor development to identify and cull any fetus showing mutations or genetic defects, a process described as a "complete misfortune" for the potential parents involved. While the day-to-day care is handled by an army of specialized robots, human engineers are required for complex decision-making, as robots are hampered by the First Law from making life-terminating judgments.
The institute also houses and educates children until they are ready for independent life, a task that requires occasional stressful personal intervention from the human staff to manage the children, who learn to manipulate their robotic caretakers. The existence and operation of this single, centralized institute are fundamental to the Solarian way of life, embodying the planet's obsession with control, genetic purity, and the complete removal of traditional human biological and social functions from society.