Among the general public there is an eclectic set of marriage customs, sexual mores and taboos which varies from place to place. Most people, however, tend towards a “live and let live” ethos: since they might encounter people with widely different ideas about what is erotic or forbidden they feel it’s a good idea to let everyone else’s ideas about sex just slide. Thus the general community doesn’t regard homosexuality, polyandry or any other ‘safe sane and consensual” behavior as “deviant” or even unusual.

Even so, human nature being what it, marriage between one man and one woman is still the norm.

As far as U.S. law is concerned, D.C. doesn’t care who does what to who with what. For example, prostitution is no longer illegal by federal law although it may be by local law. All members of the Elite are socially expected to “do their duty” however, and provide a clear heir to any estate or wealth. How is left mostly up to the individual: normal births, cloning, genetic modification and adoption are all allowed within the law.

Birth control implants are usually easily available, reliable and cheap; genetic remedial medicine to ensure healthy babies only a little less so – well within the reach of most corporate parents.

However, a laissez-faire attitude to sexuality does not mean that vice has disappeared from the world – quite the reverse.

At street level, one way to make enough money to eke out a living is to become a prostitute. For those who cannot bring themselves to sell their bodies and remain conscious throughout, VR and sensie technology offers an alternative – become a “puppet”, and while your body goes through the motions you can be immersed in the latest media creation or even earning Online College credits. Neadless to say, this is the very lowest-paying of sex-industry jobs. The same Puppet technology offers many opportunities for abuse as a form of sex-slavery.

At the other end of the scale, the vast wealth and privilege (from the Latin privi and lege, literally “private law”) of the Elite have seen the return of the professional mistress. Building upon European notions of what is allowable for the very rich and powerful, a new class of extremely beautiful and talented courtesans of both sexes has arisen. Well educated, socially adaptable and as gorgeous as any model, such professional companions may make themselves fortunes and still keep their independence.

Then there’s the porn industry. “The internet is for porn” went one parody song from the first decade of the century and the intervening decades haven’t changed that at all. The porn industry is now almost exclusively concerned with streaming sexual sensie programs, often spliced fairly seamlessly with entirely artificial non-volitional A.I.s driving characters with extremely exaggerated virtual appearances. A purchase of of teleoperated marital aids to plug in to the sensie ensures the “solo flyer” has a full erotic sensory experience. The very rich take this a stage further – purchasing beautiful clones or “look and feel human” drones to be run by non-volitional A.I. programs.