by Scott Allen
The Colonel looked thoughtful. “Well, nobody in the U.S. knows much about relationships between men and women any more, certainly not me. We are going to have to get some knowledge from people elsewhere in the world, I think. Do you have a viewscreen?”
“No, sir. I intend to get one soon,” said Dana.
“Well, if I were you, I would start looking up what makes a good relationship. The advice may be in foreign languages, but the screen will translate. See if your relationship measures up, and whether it looks like a child will change it.
“All marriage laws were repealed by the government when the Womyn’s Party took over, and I imagine some of them will be re-established. I understand that, at one time, marriage used to be good for men, or at least no worse than being single, on the average. But, over time, it became so disadvantageous to men to get married that many men wouldn’t. Having children especially put lots of power in the hands of the wife to take the man for all he was worth, through the courts. So, I would take a careful read of whatever marriage laws are created before deciding to get married, if that is what the two of you want. You might also want to wait to see if men are getting destroyed by divorce settlements. But, all that aside, I would say that she sounds like a good catch from what I can tell. And, Captain, I suspect most women would find you to be a good catch, too.
“Now, let’s talk about what you are going to do for a living,” said the Colonel. “You were promoted twice because of your high intelligence, quick thinking, and leadership ability. I suspect you could succeed at almost anything. You should aim high, Dana. If you wanted to stay in the Army, I think you could advance rapidly – and we will need a standing army, although smaller than what we have now. But, if you’re done with that, you could be anything from a scientist to a businessman to a politician. You just need to read up on what’s involved and see what sparks your interest.”
Dana brightened up. “That’s what she said, sir!”
“Wise woman,” said the Colonel. “I think I might be a bit envious of you, Captain.”
Dana took his leave and went to find out how to buy a viewscreen and a wristband using pesos from a Mexican bank account.
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
Dana was out of the hospital and housed in his own apartment in a building that had once held Male Control officers. Dana had the largest apartment, and the lieutenants had smaller single apartments, while the other men of his company were housed two or three to average apartments. There were large and small meeting rooms, kitchens and a dining area downstairs.
All the men had access to viewscreens in their apartments, and many had bought wristscreens or tablet viewscreens. At first, there had been very little to watch on the viewscreens, but as the communications were taken over and operated by the RA, there were not only the dramas normally shown in the recent past, but old entertainment shows that had been suppressed by the government. The news was read by men in uniform, and there were plenty of videos available on how all sorts of things worked, from harvesting machines to different forms of democratic governments. There were lessons on geography, economics, math, science, history, and many other high school and college subjects that had been glossed over in men’s educations. The history lessons that covered American history were much more like what Dana had read in Nance’s old high school text book than Womyn’s party propaganda. The men were spending a lot of time in front of viewscreens, so Dana detailed Blaine and the other sergeants to force the men outside into the early spring air to get exercise. They organized football and baseball games, and Dana would attend to cheer the men. Occasionally he would join one baseball team or the other as a pitcher, although he was definitely second-string. He noticed some local women, more every day, would sit in the bleachers to watch the men play, and some of the men would slowly and shyly strike up conversations with them. He saw the women using the flirting techniques he had read about in Nance’s book. Some even flirted with him. At first, Dana enjoyed it, but casually directed those women to other men. He told Blaine to pass the word that women could stay overnight in their apartments, as long as roommates agreed and women were treated courteously.
All the men were ordered to watch videos on how to interact with women, and were tested on their understanding. These videos were not just to prevent crime and harassment and to promote civil behavior, but also advice about women and relationships between free men and women. Dana recognized much of the advice from the Nance’s book for teenage girls, just more from the male perspective. Condoms were freely distributed everywhere men were housed. Dana would occasionally notice a soldier and a woman, arms around each other’s waists, walking into the building. He smiled with pleasure and longed for Nance.
He reflected on how lucky he had been to escape and live with Nance for a few months. It had put him so far ahead of the other men. He had a positive attitude toward at least some women, in place of the hatred so many of them felt, now becoming ambivalence. It gave him an urge to contact Marjorie, and he tried on his viewscreen, but he got “viewscreen not in service” messages. He vowed to find her eventually, or at least find out what had happened to her.
There were frequent programs on how democracy and free markets worked, intended for the entire U.S. population. They covered the plans that Dana had been told about by Captain Evan: a dictatorship that would change the laws put in place by the Womyn’s Party, and the slow transition to a fully-functioning democracy with a free market over two generations. The upper echelons of the Womyn’s Party had been divested of all their power. Male Control had been abolished and replaced by police officers recruited from the RA. The most powerful decision-makers as well as the Male Control officers who had committed murders, were to be fairly tried for crimes against humanity, with the trials to be viewscreened and monitored by the International Commission on Justice. Beyond that, there was to be no retribution. “We are the Rebellion, not the Retribution,” said General Estevez, “We have a lot of good institutions to re-create, and lot of bad ones to dismantle.”
In long discussions with the men over meals, Dana quickly recognized that all of the men had the same question that he had, “What do I do now?” Dana was preparing a memo to the Colonel to ask for counselors to be available, when the news announced that there would be a nationwide series of viewscreen channels devoted exclusively to information about jobs and careers, tests of compatibility for them, education required, wages and salaries, and likely demand. Women unhappy with their assigned work would find them as useful as the men would. Dana had been searching information on his own over the past week, but he was happy to have the additional resources.
He had decided what he wanted to do. He very much wanted to speak with Nance, but it would be several more weeks until their pre-arranged talk.
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
At the ball park, he came in from a miserable inning as relief pitcher, and told the men on his side that he would bow out of the game and watch. He sat on the bleachers, and shortly, a young brunette woman wearing tight jeans cut very short and a tight low-cut t-shirt sat next to him. “Are you a captain?” she asked.
Dana hadn’t seen her sit down, or seen her watching the game. He wondered where she had come from. She was very pleasant to look at. She had smooth legs crossed over each other, a slender waist, and obviously was not wearing a bra. Her hair was in long waves, and she was smiling invitingly. Dana wasn’t sure what she was up to, but he decided to play along. “Yes, I am,” he said. “I’m not captain of the team, though. The men elect their own team captains, and I don’t think I would be in the running. My name is Dana.”
The woman smiled broadly. “My name is Sherri. I’ve been watching you for a couple of days. All those men seem to look up to you, even though you’re not a good pitcher.”
This seemed like some kind of test. “No, I’m not. They’re being kind to me. Men do that when they’ve been in battle together, I guess,” he replied.
“Was it really bad, the war?” Sherri asked.
“At times,” replied Dana. “Half of my company got killed, mostly taking and defending the White House, after months of fighting together. So, we are all the brothers we never had, I think. Combat seems to have built that sort of mutual respect and affection.” He was trying to be as open and honest as he could be, to see where this lead.
“Did you kill anybody?” she asked.
Dana was surprised at being asked. Why would anyone want to know such an awful thing? “Yes, some enemy soldiers, and one of my own men who was attempting to rape a prisoner.” He decided he would want to see her reaction. Her eyes seemed to widen a bit, but other than that, nothing.
“Boy, that sun is getting hot,” she said. She shifted on her seat, tossed her hair behind her head and leaned back against the seat behind her, elbows resting on the seat. This made her breasts protrude. She smiled again. “Do you think you could buy me a cold drink?”
Dana was again surprised by her abrupt change of topic and also her request that he spend money on her. He certainly had plenty of money at present, but he recognized all her movements and her request as a kind of flirting game. “Yes, sure. What would you like?” He had decided to play along.
Dana got up and went to the little concession stand, where a middle-aged woman sold him two cold drinks. He paid with his wristband.
“Here you are,” Dana said.
“Mmmm, that’s good.” Sherri said after her first long sip. She licked her lips a bit more lasciviously than necessary. She didn’t thank him, though, he noticed.
“So, what else do you do, now that the war is over?” she asked.
“Like most of my men, I’m investigating possible careers. It’s a pretty long slog through all that information on the viewscreen. Sometimes I counsel my men if they are having trouble with deciding what to do with their futures, after they have taken all the right tests. You know, none of us ever had to make decisions like that. We were always told what to do. It can be pretty overwhelming to be free. It’s a little scary. Mostly, I just try to give them confidence. What do you do?” asked Dana.
“I’m a shipping inspector at a warehouse for a distributor. I open up boxes of products randomly and make sure the packing robots haven’t made a mistake.” She sighed. “They never do. It’s a bore. Got any ideas for yourself, yet?”
“Yes, a few, but I probably shouldn’t say anything yet. I’m not done with my research,” he replied.
She looked at him and raised her eyebrows. “You know, it’s getting hotter. My air conditioning is working. Would you like to come back to my place?”
Now Dana could see several possible outcomes to saying “yes” or “no.” If he said “no,” that would be the end of her flirtations. If he said “yes,” this could lead to a friendly conversation or to sex. If it lead to sex, which seemed to be likely, what would this woman do when she found out about Nance? He decided he needed more experience with women, but he needed to be honest. So, if it looked like it was going to lead to sex, he would have to tell her about Nance. He nodded.
They had to take the decaying Metro underground train, wheels screeching, for two stops. Dana wondered why this woman had come so far away from home to watch a baseball game. She had hesitated at the gates, as if she didn’t have a way to pay for the trip. She did not have a wristband, she made no move toward the eye scanner, and her clothing was too tight to show a wallet. So, Dana used his own wristband to pay.
By the time they had reached her apartment building from the Metro station, they were both a bit hot and sweaty. At least, it was cool inside, if shabby, and the elevator worked. Her apartment was small, and also shabby. He sat down, and she brought him a warm beer. “Sorry,” Sherri said, “My refrigerator stopped working, and Work Control doesn’t respond to messages. I have to shop for food three times a week.”
Dana reflected to himself that she could not have possibly known that his previous occupation was appliance repair. He debated with himself about offering to look at it, but decided that she had done nothing so far to deserve his help. He wanted to see how things would turn out, anyway. She sat down beside him on the couch.
“So,” she asked, looking up at him, and putting her hand on his thigh, “How much does a captain make?”
Dana was brought up short, yet again, by her question. It seemed awfully personal. He replied, “More than a lieutenant and less than a major,” calmly, but internally irritated.
She moved her had up a little higher on his thigh. “Well, do you have a girlfriend?”
Dana had been thinking about how he would speak to her about this. “There’s a woman I lived with in Texas for a few months after I escaped from Oklahoma, and before I joined the RA. She’s in Kansas now, with the RA, and I don’t know where we stand. It’s very possible we’ll make a permanent bond and have children.”
“And possibly not,” said Sherri. “I bet I could convince you that there’s a better option.” She smiled, took his hand, and placed it on her breast.
Dana was very aroused. He let his hand fondle her breast, while she put her hands behind her head, leaned back, and let a little moan escape her lips. Dana decided quickly that he needed more experience with women, and that he very much needed to have sex at that moment. He pulled her to him, kissed her, and let his hands roam over her body, while hers roamed over his. Then, he picked her up and carried her into the small bedroom, and put her on the bed. While he removed his clothes, she removed hers. He was as aroused as he had ever been – what did the men call it? – “horny.”
He took a condom out of his pants pocket and opened the package. Sherri said immediately, “You won’t need that.”
Dana replied, “I think it’s best.” He noticed a sour look passing over Sherri’s face, and realized he needed to be careful.
Her body was unquestionably beautiful, and she used it enthusiastically, thrashing and moaning. When they were through, Dana was drained, and lay back on the pillow. She snuggled up against him and said, “Now, wasn’t that great? Better than you ever had?”
“It was great,” Dana said, “and I need a shower.” He got up and walked into the small bathroom, stripped off the condom, and flushed it down the toilet. Then, he stepped into the shower.
When the warm water was soaking him, he heard Sherri come into the bathroom. She seemed to be rooting around in the little trash can next to the toilet. “Hey, Dana, what did you do with the condom?” she asked.
“Flushed it, why?” he replied. She went quiet. He heard the door slam.
Dana knew there was a confrontation coming as he dried off and went into the bedroom, quickly picking up his clothes and beginning to dress. Sherri remained naked. She had her hands across her chest. “Leaving so soon?”
“Sherri, I’m sorry, but I think we both know why you brought me here.” Dana was buttoning his shirt. “I’m not going to be the father of your child, and I’m not going to share my income with you. You don’t know me at all, and yet you were trying to trap me with sex. We both know that can’t work. I hope you enjoyed our time together, but I think we need to end this right here.” He sat down to put on his shoes.
Her face contorted with rage. “You bastard! You used me! You ought to pay me for this afternoon!”
Dana stood up. “You re correct about the bastard part. We’re all bastards, aren’t we? But, we both came here of our own free will and had a good time. Let’s leave it at that.” He turned and walked quickly towards her front door. One of her shoes hit his back. He ignored it, and took the stairs as fast as he could with dignity.
CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
Back the company apartment building, he found Lieutenant Dylan, with whom he was friendly, and who always seemed to be bringing a different woman into the building.
“Dylan, I have to admit that women are a mystery to me. I just left a woman who lured me into having sex with her, with the obvious intention of getting herself pregnant and living off my income.”
Dylan grinned. “That brunet
te who came to the game dressed to kill? Every guy on the field watched you walk off with her. I’ll bet she had a boring job, too!” Dana nodded sheepishly. “There’s a lot of them like that. They’re looking for a white knight.” When Dana’s face showed incomprehension, Dylan continued. “That’s a guy who will come along and sweep them off their feet to a castle in the sky, fix all their problems, they won’t have to work anymore, and they can indulge themselves while he works and brings in the money. I’ll bet she was interested in how much money you make.”
“Yes, exactly,” said Dana.
“Well, can you blame them? A lot of guys will do anything for sex. Except, most of us are discovering that we don’t have to. The women are chasing us. We just have to be careful to use protection. And, anyway, the new relationship laws, I understand, will allow men to opt out of fatherhood if a woman gets pregnant against his wishes. He’d be off the hook if he wanted to be, and she could abort the fetus or carry to term as she wished, without him. It seems like a lot of women think some ancient rules still apply.” said Dylan.
Dana was now curious about Dylan. “Well, I see you with a lot of different women. Do you mind me asking what you have in mind for the future?”
Dylan grinned again. “I’ve been spending time on the viewscreen trying to understand how relationships between men and women used to be, and I think I’m in a phase they used to call ‘sowing wild oats.’ That is, I’m enjoying myself with as many women as I can without getting attached to any one of them.” He showed a crooked, sardonic smile. “You wouldn’t believe how much fun I’m having!”
“And you’re going to do that forever?” asked Dana.
“Unless I decide I want to have kids,” replied Dylan. “So far, I don’t, but that could change. For now, full speed ahead! And, frankly, most of the women I’ve met are kind of boring and still not sure if they hate men. If I see them more than a couple of times I begin to get annoyed. Until I run into one that actually likes me and likes men, and has something interesting to say, all I’m interested in is sex.”
