A Brave New World

Thank you Randi for the invite and opportunity to contribute. It certainly was a challenge.

Thanks also to Randi for her guidance and superb editing. It certainly helps when you have good people in your corner.

*****

"It is tradition, Bairstow, it is how we have always done things here."

"How can this be a tradition we put any faith in? Why, just because our ancestors did it doesn't mean we should."

The Grand Master stared down at me with contempt burning in his eyes. "Mr. Bairstow, you stand before us today having enjoyed the benefits of this tradition yourself. Now you want to break with tradition. Tell me this, Bairstow, did the tradition hold you in good stead, did it not improve your life, has your marriage not been the stronger for it?"

Ashamed and dejected, I had to nod in my agreement. "Yes, I did partake in the tradition, but I don't know that my marriage is better because of it."

"Fiddlesticks. You, young man, are a hypocrite of the highest order. Just tell me this, did you enjoy your lessons with Mr's Chisholme? Did you not learn things from her that have helped you every day to make your marriage a success?"

"Your Grace, I was young and unaware of the impositions I placed on my fellow citizens. If I knew then what I know now, I would never have consented. I would have forgone my lessons with Julie."

The Grand Master looked back and forth along the table. He was bordered by a collection of the High Proficients, the committee who ruled our world. His exasperation was clear to see. This was the first time that I was aware of where the old traditions were questioned.

"Mr. Bairstow, we find you in contempt. We will take several days to consider your stance. We will discuss at length your refusal, and we will make our decision. You will appear before us again in three days time to hear our verdict."

I bowed, before staring up at them as they sat behind the long table. "Thank you my lords."

I left unhappy. How could anybody be happy with the situation I was now stuck in. The thought of it disgusted me. Just because it was tradition didn't make it right.

Back at my pod, I found my wife Janna waiting impatiently. "What happened?" she asked uncomfortably as she opened the door allowing my entry. I noticed she looked back and forth up the access way before closing the door behind me.

"I made my case, and they are considering it."

She pulled me into a tight embrace. "Were they angry?" she said breathlessly.

"Yes, I think that's fair to say. You know how it is when you question the old ways, Janna."

"Yes, I understand, Maher."

"It might be a good thing. Maybe it's time we questioned the order of things. This is not a fair situation."

"Maher, you know I would do the bidding. I was prepared to do as instructed."

"I know that, Janna, but it isn't right. No man should have to share his wife because of tradition."

She kissed me, the soft sweet texture of her lips sliding over mine. "Yes, you are right. It wasn't something I was looking forward to."

I returned her kiss, enjoying the feel of our mouths joined in ecstasy, her tongue the inquisitive devil playing with mine. "We will have to wait and see what happens now."

Her voice trembled as she whispered. "Maher, what happens if they force us to do it?"

"Then we will fight. I am not accepting it, Janna. I will never accede to their wishes. You are my wife, we made promises to each other. We are about to start our family."

"But we do have to live here, Maher. This is our home. We might be ostracised, segregated, cut off from our friends and family."

"I realise that, Janna, but somebody has to make a stand."

She nodded, but I could see the hesitation, the doubt. She was on my side, but wavering.

"Maher, maybe they are right. Our traditions have definitely helped us get through very testing times."

"No, this is ridiculous. Our very existence is based on strong morals. In all other areas our principles are strong, resolute. I have never understood this silly tradition."

She kissed me again as we sat in the living area, her arm through mine. "Maher, I know this might sound simplistic, but it did work for us, didn't it? I mean our marriage has been amazing, and I think the skills Julie Chisholme taught you have brought the physical part of our marriage to life."

"I know I sound hypocritical, Janna, but we would have probably learned those things ourselves. Julie was a diligent teacher, but I think we would have found our own way to achieve happiness."

She rested her head on my shoulder, and sighed. "I am nervous about how our stance will be viewed by everybody else. Even our families have been through this. Your mother, mine as well. Perhaps we should reconsider. It did no harm to their relationships. We may be worrying about nothing."

"No, it feels wrong, I don't understand why other families have accepted it. That doesn't mean we have to."

I watched her suck in a deep breath and snuggle closer. "We shall have to wait, I suppose."

That night as we lay in our sleeping pod, I couldn't help but worry. Janna was right about our position here on Blexos 253. Humans first settled this planet in the year 2175, in Earth years. The colonisation took several years, but the colony grew strong very quickly. Within fifty years, the population had grown to over 3,000 citizens. Now, in our three hundredth year of existence, the population was stable at around five thousand people.

Settlement began as the earth's resources reached a crisis point. Human exodus began in the earth year 2131. First it was colonies on the close planets: the Earth's own moon, Mars, and as those colonies grew, the reach for the stars grew. Now there were something like one hundred communities just like this one scattered throughout the galaxy.

The human migration saved planet earth, and it was again a thriving central hub.

Our laws, our governance were all based on principles that colonists brought from earth. The civilisations were multi cultural. Every colony was as diverse as Earth's. Here though, the sheer lack of numbers necessitated breaking down ethnic barriers. That had been achieved, by not forcing mixed race relationships, but more encouraging them.

On earth these things were impossible, but in isolated colonies like this. It was more a matter of necessity.

The colony started with less than three hundred people, all engineers whose job it was to build the geodome under which the colony lived. Blexos 253 wasn't able to sustain life for humans; its atmosphere, although close to earths, didn't produce oxygen levels that would allow us to live without the protection of the geodesic dome.

As the population grew, so did the domes; there were now a collection of ten domes, all interconnected.

Blexos couldn't survive under the old ethos of the many cultures of earth. Blexos required stricter controls.

The population was controlled. Couples had to apply to the central council for permission to start a family.

Conception was by way of artificial insemination using the parents' eggs and sperm.

One of the first principles of Blexos was to eliminate as much as possible any activities that could create injuries, child birth being one of them. All babies were caesarian.

Full contact sports were banned. Sports, and human connection were promoted heavily. It was just the full contact ones that were banned. A fledgling society this isolated couldn't survive with unnecessary injuries. Hospitals were small and could not deal with large influxes of emergencies.

Families lived in separate pods within the domes, and the family bonds were strong.

Blexos developed, as did all of the colonies spread across the galaxy, their own laws, their own traditions. All were born from necessity.

Everybody worked; each individual's evolved skills were assessed and their skill sets honed to maximise their usefulness to the survival of the colony.

There was no money; everybody lived in the same pods. There were no personal belongings as such. Some people had maintained some items that their ancestors brought with them.

However, everybody wore the colony uniform. Everybody received the same education, and everybody received the same levels of health care.

On Blexos, you were either a teacher, a medico, an engineer, a government administrator or an environmentalist. Environmentalists were charged with developing and maintaining the gardens that fed the colonies.

Blexos 253 had evolved it's laws to suit the environment. Crime, because there was nothing to gain, was insignificant. Because all people within the communities had the same possessions, greed, and jealousy were unfamiliar emotions. They were quashed; it was just the environment that fuelled those desires didn't exist.

Religions had faded over the three hundred years of Blexos existence. As the families merged and there were no religious leaders, they died out. The one true religion was survival for the colony.

Earth, because of it's size and diversity, had never been able to develop as the colonies did. Isolation meant we had to be self-contained.

There were no return trips from Blexos; when the initial ships landed, they were stripped for parts. The vessels supplied the building materials for the colonies. If you came to Blexos, you stayed. That was the understanding all people embarking of these missions had to accept.

As the ethnicities merged, the physical appearance of the inhabitants changed as well. We were truly now one people. Skin colour was a dark mocha. The only traits that remained were hair and eye colours.

I was an engineer; my job was to maintain and construct new domes as required, repair housing pods and farm machinery.

For the most part, I loved my life on Blexos. It was hard not to, since the relationships were close and friendly.

I had my wife, Janna. We were married with the blessing of the high council and our families. We were assigned our own living pod, and we had recently been given permission to start our family. Life couldn't have been any better, that is until I walked into our little pod that fateful day.

As always, Janna met me with a kiss. She had just finished working at the hospital, where she worked as a doctor. We made drinks and sat together to talk about the day. That's when she dropped the news that changed my life.

"Maher, I have been selected to educate Nerish Lanner. He turns eighteen at the end of the lunar month." Her news was delivered in a casual, no-nonsense manner. I guess it was no big deal, right?

Why then did it affect me so? She glanced at me quizzically when I didn't respond. "Did you hear me, my love?"

I nodded. "Yes, I heard."

"You don't look happy, is something wrong?" she asked, leaning in and cuddling up close.

"How do you feel about it?" I asked, wondering why my stomach was tightening into an infernal knot.

"I don't know what you mean," she said, obviously confused by my answer.

"You would be having sex with another man. How do you feel about it," I said rather more firmly than I intended.

"I'm not sure, it's what's expected. All woman have to go through it."

"Yes, I know. It's tradition, but it's not a law. They can't make you do it. I'm asking do you want to do it?"

She grimaced. "No, not really. I can't say that I was looking forward to it. But I have been selected, what can I do?"

I turned her face to mine and kissed her lightly. "We can say no. You aren't going through with it."

She sat up as if I had slapped her. "I can't do that. It's tradition. Your mother went through it. My mother, our grandparents. It may not be law, but if we removed ourselves from the tradition, we would be shunned by everybody."

"Janna, it's a stupid tradition. There's no logical reason for it. I don't like it, and I don't want you participating in it."

She seemed to mull that over in her head before she answered. "Didn't you enjoy your time with Julie Chisholme?"

I felt my face burn with shame. "I was young, I didn't know what to expect. I wouldn't do it knowing what I know now."

"Why, what do you know now that you didn't know then?"

"The feelings I am experiencing knowing you will be having sex with another person. I created those feelings in Ghurson Chisholme. He must have felt exactly what I am feeling now."

"This doesn't make sense, Maher. Has your father ever spoken to you about this?"

"No, never. It obviously happened a long time ago for them. I have never heard anybody speak of it. Well apart from the boys."

"What did they say?" she asked.

"We all bragged about it afterwards. We talked about what the women had taught us. How good it was."

"So it was good?"

"Yes, I know this makes me sound like a hypocrite, but yes it was good."

"Then if it's such a good experience, why do you want to deprive Nerish Lanner of his experience?"

"Because I hate the thought of him bragging to all his friends about what you did for him. I hate the idea that you will experience those things with somebody other than me. What we share is ours. It's not supposed to be shared with others."

"This is different. You know how badly adultery is frowned upon here on Blexos. This is different."

"How is it different. You have sex with another person. That is adultery."

"It is the woman's role to teach the boys about being a husband. It's not just about sex. It's about how they become men, how they show love and respect to their future wives. It's a learning experience. You know this, because you went through it."

"It's still adultery. I don't want you to do it."

She nodded. "I guess I can refuse, and we will see what happens. I don't want to do anything that upsets you like this."

"Thank you, Janna. I appreciate that. Yes, let's say no. Who gave you the message?"

"I received a notification at work."

The next day at work I was lost. For the first time in my life, I felt at odds with the High Council. Our life together had been so wonderful; I had never even considered that damn tradition. I mean not all women get selected.

Only two months ago we had decided to apply to start our family, and we had been approved. Ever since that confirmation, we had been flying on air.

Now I felt lower than ever.

It was late in the day when my father met me on my way home from work. He looked very uneasy.

"Maher, I heard some very disturbing news today, Can we talk?"

"Of course, Father, walk with me."

"Thank you Maher. Today, I was approached by a member of the High Council. Did you know that Janna has refused to accept her role as mentor for Nerish Lanner?"

I nodded. "Yes, I'm aware, in fact, it was me who asked her to turn it down."

My father stopped dead in his tracks, "Why did you do that?"

"Because I didn't want her to do it."

"Why, son? The High Council are very agitated. They asked me to talk to you both and see if we can get to the bottom of the issue."

"Father, the issue is I don't want her to do it. We can't be the first to have refused this stupid situation."

"It is the first refusal I have ever heard of."

We exchanged uncomfortable glares back and forth. "Tell me this, Father. How did you feel when Mom had to go with one of the young men?"

"It was difficult, but I accepted that it is part of the fabric of our society. I enjoyed the benefits of it when I reached manhood, and I was very grateful for the guidance I received. It felt natural to allow Falon to take up her role as a mentor."

"Weren't you jealous, angry, upset... Anything?"

"As I said, it was difficult, but it was fair. It is balanced out. I received my training. It would have been unfair to not allow Falon to offer her skills and guidance for another young man."

"That's ridiculous. They call it mentoring, but it's just adultery. Our laws are very strict regarding infidelity."

"Son, I don't know why you are upset, You received your guidance, and now it's time to pass along that opportunity."

"That is ridiculous, Father. I learned nothing that I wouldn't have learned in the natural course of our marriage."

"You are letting jealousy take hold of your decision making, Maher. It is illogical to receive something and not pay it back."

"I refuse to argue about this, Father. My mind is made up. We are not entering into this situation."

At home, Janna was already there and she looked very perturbed. We kissed as always, made our drink and sat together to discuss our day.

Janna started. "How was your day, my love?"

"Busy, we are making good progress on the new dome. Yours?"

"Not so good." She sighed ruefully. "I have had several very unpleasant conversations. All of them accusing me of letting people down. My mother, your mother, my supervisor, all of them impressing on me the importance of continuing our colony traditions."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Janna. I had to put up with a lecture from my father on the way home."

"Maher, I think we need to reconsider. I know it has raised some deep emotion in you, but I want to go through with it. I don't want to have to go through this every day."

"No!" I barked angrily. "We agreed, we are not being pressured into doing something we don't want to do."

"Maher, it's you who doesn't want to do this. I don't really care. I only agreed because I could see how upset you were."

"You would go through with it?"

"Maher, my love, it is only one week out of our whole life together. It's not like I wouldn't see you every day, as well. I do come home every night except for the last one."

"No, god no. The thought of that disgusts me."

She gave me a hesitant teasing grin, her mouth curling in a seductive pout. "Really, my mother said it was incredible. Father was very demanding when she got home each night. They made it into a game, which they both enjoyed."

"I'm afraid the thought of you coming home unclean appals me. I find even contemplating it revolts me."

Her face dropped, and she sighed. "Then what do you want to do?"

"We follow through with our stance. We simply say no. What can they do? They can't force us."

"Mager, they can make it very uncomfortable. It is apparent to me, that our families are very disturbed by our rebellion. I'm sure our friends will be the same. Life will be very stressful. It just seems unnecessary."

"I'm sorry you see it that way. I was hoping you would feel the same way I do. I don't want you having sex with another man. I hoped your love for me would make it as unpalatable for you as it was for me."

"Maher, that's unfair. I didn't seek this out. I'm not looking forward to it."

"Didn't sound that way before. You were pretty excited by the thought."

"That's not true, I was just trying to say perhaps we could make the best of it, that's all. Your mother said something similar you know. In fact, my supervisor Arralyne said the same. She and her husband really enjoyed it. She said we should view it as a public service."

That's how we ended up in front of a full sitting of the High Council. Now we waited for their response.

It was starting to impact our lives, though. The whole community talked about it. Our friends cut us out of their lives. It was impossible to talk to our parents because every conversation became a lecture. At work, I was left to work alone, lunchtimes I sat alone. Life sucked.

Still, two days later, we were brought before a full sitting of the High Council. We walked into a packed auditorium. The long table on the raised dais was seated by the twelve Councillors.

We were shown to our cubicle in front of the long table. The High Council Chairman stood in his flowing white robes. "Mr. and Mrs. Dvorak, I will start by asking have you reconsidered your position?"