Equality: In the Year 2000 jw-2

by Mack Reynolds

  She looked at him in surprise. “You continually set me back with your lack of knowledge of your own period. Surely the population problem was already phasing itself out at the time you went into hibernation.”

  “We considered it one of the most dangerous trends of our time.”

  “The existence of a trend doesn’t mean it will continue, Jule. For instance, in the nineteenth century the horse population in the United States doubled, tripled, quadrupled at least every decade. But it slid to a halt shortly after the turn of the century, with the advent of the internal combustion engine. By the middle of the twentieth century, the horse was largely a rich man’s hobby.”

  “That was horses. But in my day, human population was booming.”

  She shook her head. “It was already falling off in the most advanced countries. Japan and Holland were two of the first to achieve zero population growth, and West Germany, in 1972, was the first modern country to lose population: thirty-thousand to be exact. Even then the United States was pushing the zero population growth point. I’m no Marxist, but I go along with his materialist conception of history. Most of our institutions have economic backgrounds.”

  “What in the devil has that got to do with the amount of population? By the way, how much larger is it now than it was in 1970?”

  “I haven’t seen recent statistics, but I assume it’s smaller. There were too many people in the world for its resources.”

  He just stared at her.

  She explained impatiently, “People of the past wanted large families to work on the farm, for child labor in factories, to help support the family. Especially in countries such as England; Marx’s chapters on child labor in nineteenth century England are absolutely chilling. But by the twentieth century, what with developments in both industry and agriculture so that it was no longer practical to employ children—a child can’t run a tractor, nor program a computer—families grew smaller. Particularly after women began to join the labor force. Women who worked were no longer in a position to raise children; well, not a whole brood of them, certainly. Houses and apartments were now rarely built with four or five bedrooms. And some landlords refused to take families with any children at all.

  “Many women—as well as men—simply didn’t want children. They would interfere with their lives, their jobs, their entertainment. Fun was no longer a matter of quilting parties, church socials, and candy pulls. Women wanted to be out and doing, as their husbands had been out and doing for a long time.”

  “But it’s an instinct to have children.”

  “Yes, but not herds of them. In your day, a lot of people who had children didn’t want them, couldn’t afford them, couldn’t support them. When the new, more efficient birth control devices came along about 1960, the growth rate slowed considerably. Today, you can have children or not, as you wish. We have perfect birth control methods for both men and women. One shot makes you sterile indefinitely. If you change your mind, another shot makes you fertile again within twenty-four hours. We also have very competent sexual instruction in our schools. In the mid-twentieth century literally millions of young people went into marriage each year without the vaguest idea of just what a sexual relationship consisted of, let alone how to avoid conception. Largely, of course, these were the uneducated, under-educated, and especially those of conservative religious backgrounds.”

  Julian was on the defensive, though he wasn’t sure why. He said, “Okay, that’s the story in the advanced nations. What happened in India and China?”

  “Roughly the same thing, but it came about a little later. In countries such as India, the original reason for an exploding population also ended. In the days of small farms, the parents wanted large families to help, and to take care of them when they grew too old to work. But the small farmer was getting squeezed out, and his children were going to the cities and the manufacturing centers. As a result, the children became a drain on their parents rather than a help. You conceived and raised a child until it was in its teens and then it disappeared. Obviously, it was less than profitable.

  “China? They were in the forefront of limiting population. Their dictatorial bureaucracy soon realized that the nation could not allow a population boom. As far back as half a century ago, young people were not encouraged to marry until a minimum of twenty-five years of age. Birth control methods were made readily available and they were one of the first countries to institute free abortions for all.”

  They had finished their lunch and Edith put the dishes, utensils, napkins, etc. in the table center to sink away. When they went back into the living room, she sat down on the couch and Julian went over to the auto-bar. “Would you like a liqueur?” he asked.

  “I’m not very keen on spirits, Jule.”

  “I can recommend Kahlua, if they have it in your liquor supplies. It’s a Mexican drink based on coffee, and not too strong.”

  “They probably have it. I’ll give it a try.”

  He ordered verbally into the screen and shortly two cordial glasses of the dark brown, thick drink arrived. He brought them over and sat near to her.

  She sipped, and pronounced it delicious.

  He said, “Our being on the subject of children and birth control and so forth brought back to me something that you said the other day. When I was—was proposing to you, after you said that you had gotten a teenage crush on me when you saw me in stasis in the hospital—under glass, so to speak…”

  She smiled. “Yes?”

  “You told me that you no longer had love. But that’s ridiculous. The, human race has always had love. Why, it’s the finest of all emotions.”

  “You misunderstood. What I said was that we no longer had love as you used the word. The relationship between man and woman has evolved. Some of the older institutions, such as marriage, have all but disappeared; engagements, marriage, divorce have become antiquated. Primitive man didn’t have marriage. It evolved when private ownership of property came along. A man wanted his property to descend to his own children, so he demanded that his wife be a virgin and, after marriage, sleep with no one but him. Strict laws were passed regulating marriage and the rights of men over women. But we have no private property now, beyond little personal things, so the need for either marriage or divorce has disappeared.”

  “But love…?”

  “Surprisingly enough, Jule, romantic love is a fairly recent development. The Crusaders, and especially the troubadours, brought it back with them to Europe from the Holy Land. If you remember your mythology, all that promiscuity and rape by the Greek gods and heroes could hardly be called love. It was simply lust or passion.”

  “But love…”

  “Think about it, Julian, and you’ll see how elastic a word it is. You love your mother, your father, your country, and possibly you love apple pie. Is that the same feeling you claim you have for me? Possibly you love a parade, too, but would you want to go to bed with one?”

  “Well, you certainly haven’t given up sex.”

  “Of course not. It’s one of the most important elements in life. We begin educating our children about sex as soon as they can comprehend it. I had my first sex tutor when I was fourteen.”

  He looked at her with a complete lack of understanding. “You had your first sex tutor at fourteen,” he repeated uncomprehendingly.

  “Yes, my first sex instructor.”

  He imagined that he was still misunderstanding her. “You mean actual instruction?”

  “Yes. The age varies somewhat, since young people mature at different ages. I was fourteen when I applied for a sex tutor, after I had been medically checked out to see whether I was fully adult in my body’s development; it’s all done very carefully, since it’s of so much importance. Then I had my hymen surgically removed and was given my birth control injection.”

  “You had your hymen removed !”

  “But certainly. Some girls have a great deal of difficulty the first time or two they have sexual intercourse if they have a
strong hymen.”

  He was staring outright at her. “Just a minute, now. This sex tutor. Who assigns him to you?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I selected him myself from the volunteers available. Some sex instructors will have as many as four or five students.”

  “All right. Then what happens?”

  “Why, usually a girl goes out on a date with the man she had decided to have as her tutor—or a boy with the woman he has selected—just to see if she really likes him and is attracted to him. If it turns out that she’s made a suitable choice, the instruction begins.”

  “Where?”

  “Why, at her home, or his, or at a hotel—wherever they choose.”

  “And what does he teach you?”

  “Jule, I continually get the feeling that you aren’t following me.”

  “And I continually get the feeling that every other sentence is being left out of this conversation.”

  She merely shrugged. “He teaches you sex. How to make love. How to have successful orgasms and multiple orgasms. How to have a successful sex life, in short.”

  “How long does this go on?” Julian managed to ask.

  “As long as you still like him, or until you select a different tutor. Or until you’ve grown to the age when you want to make a more permanent arrangement with some man.”

  “And you had a sex tutor when you were only fourteen?”

  “That’s right. I had four altogether over several years. Then I met a boy I liked considerably and we, moved in together. We were still students.”

  “And what happened to him?”

  “He wanted to continue his studies in Guatemala and moved down there. I found another suitable fellow shortly afterwards. I think he was the best bed companion I’ve ever had.”

  “The same thing applies to boys as well?”

  “Certainly.”

  “He picks a woman from among the volunteers and she teaches him how to—Listen, what kind of people would volunteer for that kind of work?”

  “It’s a great honor. Anyone who isn’t so tied down to a permanent relationship, or whatever, and who likes sex especially well, will volunteer. They are usually at least twenty-five years of age and seldom over thirty-five. Everybody realizes how important sex education is, so the tutors are highly regarded. Some of them stay in the field for years but others drop out after a time. The Sexual Education Committee of a vicinity tries to select the most attractive-looking of the men and women who volunteer, so that the first sexual experiences of the young people will be as beautiful as possible.”

  He slumped back on the couch. “What a way to work out the problem.” He looked at her again. “How many of these semi-permanent affairs have you had since you were fourteen?”

  She shook her head as though surprised. “I don’t know. I’m past twenty-five now. You don’t remember how many women you’ve slept with, do you?”

  “I suppose not. But in my day, we thought girls were different.”

  “Well, we’re not.”

  Even as he stated it, the question sounded rather foolish, but out it came. “How do you strike up these semi-permanent affairs?”

  She looked at him as though he wasn’t being very bright. “Why, you meet somebody at a party, at a dance, possibly in a bar or some sports event, and if you’re attracted to each other, you give it a try. If you like each other, you stay together as long as you wish.”

  “But you don’t get married?”

  “A few do. Usually those who still have religious beliefs. But there is no civil connotation to the relationship. And no divorce is necessary. Either is free to walk out at will.”

  “Suppose they have children?”

  “Children are no longer dependent upon their parents. The children can go with one or the other, decide to spend six months with each, or go to a children’s home and live there—whatever they wish.”

  “You mean the poor kids are put in institutions?”

  “Jule, Jule… These institutions, as you call them, are all operated by people who love children the most and have been selected from the most suitable applicants—”

  “By the computers, undoubtedly.” He couldn’t keep a sharp tone from his voice.

  “Certainly. It’s in their Aptitude Quotient. Some children prefer to apply for foster parents, and there are always more of those available than there are children to go around. People who love children but aren’t capable of having them, for whatever reasons. Surely it was pretty much the same in your time.”

  “We had orphans and people to adopt them,” he said sourly. “But some foster homes were in the racket for what they could get out of it. The State would put a kid in a foster home and pay the adults so much a month for their support.”

  “That doesn’t apply any longer, since the child in this case has the same income as any adult.”

  Suddenly her eyes widened and she sat up straight. “Jule, you haven’t had any sexual release since you’ve been revived, have you?”

  He snorted. “Where in the hell would I get it?”

  “Why, you poor man!” She leaned toward him and touched him in such a manner that he couldn’t have been more surprised if she had suddenly sprouted a halo. “Why didn’t you ask me?”

  Then he had her in his arms. His mouth sought hers, and her lips were as soft as he had always known they would be.

  He said, finally, “It never occurred to me. You said you’d had a teenage crush on me, but then when I told you I loved you, you said a permanent relationship between us was impractical.”

  “What has that got to do with enjoying ourselves in bed when we wish? You’re very attractive to me, and you’ve already let me know you find me attractive—enough to have wanted to marry me. Now, come along. My bedroom is in here.”

  “At this time of day?” Though why he should protest he couldn’t say.

  She looked at him mockingly. “What’s wrong with this time of day?”

  Chapter Ten

  The Year 1950

  They made love several times, and then, still nude, went into the kitchen and ate steaks washed down with dark, strong beer, which reminded him of the bock beers of Munich. Hand in hand, they returned to the bed, refreshed. The act of love was perfect with her. He had never bedded a more open woman. She was willing to try anything, and had quite a few tricks of her own that were new to him.

  By the time they were completely satiated, it was dark, and she suggested that they spend the night and return to the university city in the morning.

  “Don’t you think you had better phone your people?”

  “Sure, I’ll do that right now.”

  By the time she returned to slip into bed next to him, he was dead asleep.

  His dream about his first sexual experience was undoubtedly sparked by his lovemaking with Edith and by the discussion they’d had beforehand comparing the new sexual mores with the old.

  Following a world cruise, which had turned out to be only a halfway-around-the-world cruise, after his revulsion to what he had seen in India, Julian had joined his uncle at his Catskill Mountains estate. For the first time in his life, he was enrolled at a public school: Kingston High School.

  It was his own whim. His Uncle Albert had remonstrated mildly, pointing out that competent tutors were available at this stage of Julian’s education if he wasn’t interested in one of the better prep schools, but Julian had stuck to his guns. He was probably motivated by the desire to meet more people in his own age group, as there were few in his social class in the vicinity of Woodstock, the Catskill artist colony near which his uncle lived. So far as a prep school was concerned, he had been boarded out too many years of his life by his parents to desire that.

  From the first, it was quite gratifying. He was a bit disconcerting for many of his teachers. He spoke better French than the French teacher, who had, admittedly never been to France, and German as well as the German instructor, which wasn’t saying much. In geography, Julian had been to most of
the countries studied, and in English literature the teacher was somewhat taken back to find that, among others, Julian knew Hemingway and Somerset Maugham quite well. In drama, he was well acquainted, personally, with Noel Coward, Orson Welles, John Gielgud, Lawrence Olivier, and a number of the more prominent cinema stars—all had often hosted, and been hosted by, the Wild Wests in their heyday.

  But it was not his academic career that was his real forte so far as his contemporaries were concerned. He owned the largest Mercedes-Benz this side of Germany, and it was a sports model. It had formerly belonged to his father, who had raced it, and although it would be years before Julian came into his inheritance, his uncle had turned the vehicle over to him. In a school where those of his classmates who were fortunate enough to have a car at all drove jalopies, Julian was king.

  Nor did his unlimited pocket money exactly turn him into a leper. Julian usually picked up the tab. Above that, his uncles liquor cabinet was always available to him, and if his friends threw a party and wanted whiskey, gin, or whatever, Julian could always bring a couple of bottles.

  Yes, Julian had become the rage of Kingston High School.

  And particularly with the girls, who knew a good thing when they saw one. If there was a single girl in the school who would not have given her all to make Julian West her steady, she wasn’t evident.

  Of these, Peggy Ten Eyck, daughter of a Kingston small shop proprietor, was among the most lush. Blonde and blue-eyed in the Dutch tradition, mature figure, beautiful legs, an instinctively good dresser, Peggy had cut her own swath through the male students before Julian’s arrival. But one look at that Mercedes-Benz and all the other boys were left in the dust.

  His dream began with his picking her up at dusk at the drugstore, which was the school hangout, and speeding out of town with the top down, the wind streaming her hair out behind her. As soon as they crossed the bridge and were on the road to West Hurley and Woodstock beyond, Julian released the horses. Though he had learned to drive years before, sitting on his father’s lap, it had only been a year that he had been able to do as much of it as he liked.