On Saturday afternoon Michael was studying his calculus integrations when he suddenly heard the doorbell. It was only then that he realised how he had completely forgotten that his brother would be visiting them on that very day. He quickly dropped his book and ran to the living room, where his brother had already come inside with his aura of superior manhood radiating into the whole room.

Sam Adams was a big and sturdy man, a forklift operator foreman in a tools warehouse living in a village close to Tenth City, and a well-respected Alpha-4. He was everything that a man in his family needed to be: strong, successful, assertive and good-looking, according to the standards of Real Men of The Nation at least. No-one in the last 150 years had ever bothered to ask women whether they agreed with those standards, but accomplished men all thought themselves to be handsome nonetheless, even though it would be an abomination to call another man such. Male self-esteem about your own looks was a very complicated thing in The Nation, one that was so self-contradictory that Michael hadn’t even bothered to try, but he knew that a lot of men found it very important to look very good according to their own standards.

When he was downstairs he noticed that Sam was followed like a shadow by Natasha, a dark-eyed and skinny woman wearing a lot of make-up and expensive clothes. She too was someone who would be considered very good-looking according to the beauty standards of The Nation, but while Michael could see that she was technically a beautiful woman, she was the opposite of attractive in other less definable ways. Even Eliza dressed up as a courtship sabotage abomination would be more attractive if he had to choose. There was something very sad and depressing about her, as if she was a person who had no aura. So that was what being married to a Real Man did to women even after a few years? She looked even worse than his own mother.

Sam greeted his brother with a handshake.

‘Ah, my little brother is finally becoming a man, I hear!’ he said, and then he squeezed Michael’s hand in a very painful way.

Michael knew that letting know that it had hurt would only make his brother mock him and his father being disappointed for being so sensitive and petty.

‘My son, the Real Man, and his beautiful Wife, it’s good to see you both again.’ Said his father, giving Sam a pat on his back that was more like a band of vikings ramming a village door, while completely ignoring Natasha. Her being beautiful was probably only mentioned for the trophy factor anyway. He couldn’t imagine his father appreciating her beauty in any way, nor would he look at his daughter-in-law in any indecent way either. She only existed in theory for him. His father had his own standards, and in his own special way he was a strict follower of the rules of The Church. While it made him a man who wasn’t a predatory creep towards women he wasn’t married to, it didn’t seem to make him more respectful or open to women either, or to men who were lower in the hierarchy. Women were something you stayed away from, that’s the only decent thing to do… And only high-ranked men were visible to him, it was as if the rest of the world didn’t exist.

Natasha didn’t even look at Michael or his father, and disappeared very soon after her arrival to the kitchen to help her mother-in-law with preparing the food and other domestic stuff that women did while the men were talking, whatever that even implied. That was how it had always been, men and women never mixed. Michael had found it a bit strange from the beginning, but now he was full circle again with the anger he felt at the mother of little Lizzie who broke their friendship apart when he was five. All of this was wrong, and destructive, and still there was nothing he could ever do about it. Not here, where his father was the ultimate boss at least and not with his brother, a certified Real Man and Alpha-4.

While the women had disappeared the ultimate boss and his eldest son had seated themselves on two sides of the three-seater sofa, waiting for their Nation-coffee to arrive. Michael chose the small couch, and tried to be as invisible as possible, knowing that that would probably not work when they were here because of his “promotion”. But on the other hand his father and brother were engaged in a conversation about politics without him already, so maybe they would fall back into the old patterns and ignore him anyway. At least he could hope so.

‘Connor Johnston is still doing a good job representing the Central Computer, isn’t he?’

‘Yes, he’s still following it as a good originalist, no changes or innovations to the ideals of John Manfred.’

Michael had his own ideas about Nation originalism and the ideals of Manfred, but he was wise enough to keep them to himself. Neither did he participate in a conversation about a criminal that had been in the papers, and how he needed to be punished more harshly. Just taking his rating and identity wasn’t enough for his father, he should have been locked up forever on water and bread, and his brother added that he’d better be killed on the spot. Non-citizen lives shouldn’t be spared in any way, they were a waste of oxygen.

The conversation fell silent when their mother came in with coffee, followed by Natasha who held a tray of cupcakes.

‘Ah, the joys of marriage, a good wife to bring you coffee.’ David Adams said, but his wife didn’t really radiate much of the joys of marriage, and didn’t even smile at her husband.

Michael took his coffee and a cupcake, and said a more clear thankyou than he usually did, but he wondered if even his mother noticed. When all men had been provided the women disappeared again. He couldn’t blame them, and secretly even envied them for not having to be present at this tiring conversation in which he felt like a complete alien. He wouldn’t even be able to bluff himself through the conversation as he had done with Megan on his first meeting, because there was no unexplored middle ground between him and his family members, only a world of differences that could be revealed and shame him or worse.

‘Oh, what I’ve been wanting to say, dad, I’ve bought a gun.’

‘You bought a gun? Now that’s a manly idea. Do they permit hunting again in the hills?’

‘No, apart from the crows and pigeons every wild animal is still on the “bouncing back from extinction in the wild” list. Stupid conservationists. So we won’t be able to hunt deer soon like our noble ancestors did. But there are rumours of feral men, and I thought I’d better be prepared.’

Now Michael started listening.

‘Feral men? Isn’t that a urban legend?’ He asked.

‘No, they are real. It’s a bunch of unrated criminals, those people without identities, but they have gone wild. That’s what you get when men become unmarriable, men always need a Wife to balance their life. And usually the government gives those who lost their rating an apartment and a wifebot, as Manfred promised, but some people fall through the mazes and become dangerous, and sometimes they form gangs. And this particular gang is dangerous, they attack people sometimes, and they have even driven a colony of outsider women from their Ghost Town squats. Well, that’s what you get when women try to live without men. Idiotic creatures.’

Sam started laughing, while Michael tried to process all of the information.

‘And those feral men have been seen around your village?’

‘They were closer to Tenth City itself, but it’s rumoured that they attack the farms too. So we need to defend ourselves. So that’s why I bought myself that new baby, so I can hunt those outlaws down. They won’t be missed if I kill one either. I’m an Alpha, and they are unrated nobodies so I can do whatever I want with them. That I had never thought of hunting them before…’

Michael stared at his brother, becoming more and more uncomfortable with the second. To make it even worse Sam seemed to have finally noticed him now that he had entered the conversation.

‘Ah, my little brother, what did I hear? You're a level one male after all, even though still only a Gamma. Congratulations. You’re the first level one in our family. But if I were you I would man up a bit, and stop doing all that brainie stuff with those books and all. That’s not manly.’

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‘The reason for my level one rating was my good grades for advanced robotics and sciences, Sam, without that brainie stuff I’d really be nothing now.’ He said sarcastically.

‘Ah, well, to each their own then. But it wouldn’t hurt to toughen up a bit. Do you do enough exercises?’

‘Every morning, when Instructor Jack yells at us as if we’re going to kill enemy armies later that day.’

‘Ah, good old Jack. If you see him, tell him that I miss the exercises. If you’re a working man it’s hard to find a good routine for them. And we don’t even do the flag pledge in the warehouse. I’ve talked to the boss about it, but he didn’t find it necessary. This country is losing it’s spirit if you ask me.’

Michael sighed, and hoped that his feelings and thoughts were unreadable to his father and dad. He was sure that the girls, and maybe even his mother, would have been able to read him like an open book now, but men weren’t supposed to have feelings, let alone read each other's feelings and stuff like that. They just talked tough and ignored everything that didn’t fit their worldview, as they always did.

David and Sam Adams talked about flag pledges and guns, and about how all feral men should be killed, and then they started again about the virtues of masculinity in ways that made Michael want to disappear into the air. Was there nothing more interesting to talk about? After a while the women came back to serve food, and then disappeared again. The men moved to the table, and filled their plate with as much meat as possible. The Wives had made a lab-meat beef stew with fries, and very few vegetables.

‘Ah, good meat, that’s what a man needs.’ Sam said.

‘It’s a pity we couldn’t get actual animal-meat this time, it’s way too expensive again I heard. They should just start opening megafarms again like in the old days.’

Michael knew the whole story of how those megafarms had led to serious environmental problems, and participated in the crisis that had led to the great floods and tsunamis of the twenty-fourth century, which had completely redrawn the map of the continents on Earth, and even made the poles shift place. But they wouldn’t understand anything he could say, having never been interested in science or history, so he just nodded along.

‘A real man needs meat, and lots of it. That’s what I always say!’

His father said again, and Michael just chewed on his meat as a good excuse to not have to reply. It’s not that he didn’t like meat as a part of a balanced diet, but the obsession with meat was just silly.

When they had finished their meat the women came back to clear the table, and his brother started to give his praises about how useful a Wife was, which was seconded by his father. And then they started to bombard Michael with horrible advice about how he should handle his relationship with Megan, and their future marriage.

‘What you need to do is train her up well. Let her know who’s the boss. Women like that, and they will do everything you want and more. Really, if you just be a good boss to them, everything will work out.’ Sam said, and his father nodded affirmingly.

‘That’s what I always say too, women are made to serve, and men are made to be served, and everyone is happiest when the man can lead his Wife with an iron fist.’

Michael thought of the few girls that he knew now, and couldn’t imagine any of them happy in any such arrangement, and he felt his stomach turn. Although hat was probably also caused by eating much more stew and very fat fries than was good for him.

When they didn’t get any reaction from him they went back to talking about the greatness of The Nation and how perfectly it was ruled by men. He stood up and went subtly to the pantry to look for a glass of water. His presence didn’t contribute much anyway. When he suddenly stood face to face with his sister-in-law.

‘Hi,’ he said cheerfully, trying to summon his first-contact-with-female-person mode like he had done on that first meeting with Megan in the visitation room. But this was Sam’s Wife Natasha, a B-class woman who had been thoroughly brainwashed into being a real Nation Wife, and not a young unmarried Wife School rebel girl. There was much less potential of unacknowledged similarities between him and her as there had been with his two Wife School friends, and much more of a barrier. She just looked at him, nervously, uncertain about how to react.

‘Hey, don’t be afraid of me. I’m not going to bite you. Or boss you around. And I’m certainly enough of an adult to fill my own glass of water. I don’t really need you to do anything, I’ll do it myself as a big boy!’ She still remained silent, but he decided to try an actual conversation nonetheless.

‘I’ve been in your old school recently. Must have been a weird place to live.’ He said, after which Natasha stared at him for a while before she answered, but finally she gave in to his invitation for conversation. There probably had been a fight between two contradicting rules in her head, one said that it was indecent to talk to any man that wasn’t her husband, father or brother, and the other said that she should always give a man what he wanted, which included an answer to anything he said.

‘Yes, I’ve indeed gone to Seventh City Wife Factory too, like your fiancée.’ She said.

‘So you know that Greystone dude and the infamous Miss Hunter and her please-your-husband classes?’

‘I have no idea who the man you mention is, he didn’t work in the B-floor, but yes, I know Miss Hunter. What’s wrong with her classes? And why are you even interested in them?’

‘My fiance isn’t really a fan, and her friend even less I think.’

Natasha seemed puzzled now. ‘How did you get to talk to a girl that’s not your fiance?’

‘Ah, well… Eliza has a talent for eh, messing a bit with paperwork, and makes sure she’s our permanent chaperon or something like that. And it’s fun hanging around with her too.’

‘You made friends with your chaperone? That’s not supposed to happen. It’s indecent. And she committed fraud to be able to come back? What are you even? Every girl hates being the chaperone.’

‘I’m just trying to figure out how girls work, so I try to befriend them. How else can I learn to live with a woman if I get to marry one?’

Natasha looked at him as if he was an alien now. ‘You’re weird. And don’t let your brother catch you talking to me like this. He’s as conservative as your father.’

At that point his father came barging in.

‘Ah, here you are. What are you doing?’

‘Just getting a glass of water.’

David Adams suddenly noticed Natasha, who had turned completely red.

‘Why are you talking to a woman again, son? Is your little Wife school girl not enough for you? Don’t be so indecent as to talk to your brother’s wife.’ He said, and Natasha’s aura seemed to shrink away to nothing again.

‘I’ve told you, if I am to marry a woman I need to learn more about them, and I need to get used to them. I can use all the practice that I can get.’ His father frowned, not comprehending his son at all.

‘You are overthinking things, sonnie. You will get used to little Whatsername soon enough, and by the time you’re married she will know who you are, and listen to you and do whatever you want her to do. That’s how nature works. The Great Man on the Throne in Heaven made men and women that way.’

Michael saw Natasha freeze and look away, and it was clear that the conversation was over. So much for trying to connect to his sister-in-law…

‘Come son, it’s time to drink some beer with the men.’

His father said. Reluctantly he followed his father to the living room, where his brother had produced some interesting bottles of beer. Usually he would have been very interested in tasting these special brews, but today he didn’t feel like even drinking them at all, and his stomach wasn’t very enthusiastic either. His father liked to drink way too much, and then he got loud and aggressive.

‘I drink to women, who give us so many things!’ His father said.

‘I drink to manliness, and guns!’ his brother said. He didn’t say much, and underwent the rest of the conversations, while trying to not drink so much beer that he’d say something stupid. But that wasn’t how alcohol worked for him now, it only shut him down more and helped him disappear into the background. The more they talked the more disgusted he was, but the two Alphas didn’t seem to notice anything anymore. They had acknowledged his new status of Gamma-1 and his engagement, and then reverted to the Alpha-only meeting when he couldn’t join them in their interests. He knew he was very lucky now that they were merely ignoring him, and that he was mocked or bullied now. He supposed that the class 1 rating, Gamma or not, was enough to stop them from mocking, but now they didn’t have any way of interacting with him left. And they still had a lot of things to say to each other.

In the end he ran to his room, and hoped no-one would come searching for him. He had enough of the whole circus, and of a world in which he would never have a place. A world that destroyed and enslaved women, but that might also completely crush him if he didn’t become one of the monsters too. And he didn’t plan on that, he planned on being there with Megan and Eliza even if the world was against him. He didn’t feel that like how things were now he couldn’t do much for his mother, let alone Natasha, but he would do what he could for his female friends. There was nothing else he could want for the future.

Oh, and he also needed to make sure that Megan and his dad or his brother would meet as few times as possible. It would be unavoidable to have them on a marriage ceremony probably, but apart from that he resolved to never bring her home at all if either of them would be home, neither now nor when they would be married. He really couldn’t do that to her.