New fiction from me: What happened when we abolished borders.
"In the twilight of the 21st century, humanity was staring into the abyss of declining birthrates.
For the first time since the Industrial Revolution, our numbers as a species were declining every year. Capitalist economies premised on the assumption of infinite growth couldn't cope. Stock markets stagnated, inflation surged out of control. Governments had belatedly tried to address the problem, but every means of encouraging people to have kids—longer parental leave, tax breaks, cash payments, religious scolding—had failed.
Rural villages were emptying out, becoming ghost towns. Grass and weeds pushed up through cracked pavement in silent streets. Abandoned cars decayed on the roadside. Vacant houses were overgrown with vines, dry leaves and birds' nests. Trees sprouted like the vanguard of an invading army as forests spread and reclaimed the urban areas humanity had ceded."