CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

 

Dana slept later than usual the next morning, and Nance didn’t wake him. When he woke up and realized what time it was, he dressed hurriedly, looped his rifle over his shoulder, and went out to the barn, where Nance was doing her morning chores with the pigs. He saw that she was finishing her washing down of the concrete floor of the barn, so he got the cart and loaded crushed corn into it. As he loaded it into the pigs’ feeding trough, he could feel her eyes on him, but he didn’t look up. He felt a little sheepish. When he had made three trips, she was already in the house, cleaning up. He sat out under a tree, breathing fresh air, since the wind had picked up and was blowing the stench of the barn away from him. It was a pleasant morning, but he could see dark clouds in the west.

Nance came out, dressed in one of her summer dresses, and Dana got up to go into the house to clean up, himself. Nance said, “I bet you’ve already thought of what I’m going to say.” Dana hadn’t a clue, and shook his head. Nance’s eyes were laughing, her hands were on her hips, and she had a happy smile on her face. “We need con-tra-cep-tion,” she pronounced, looking directly in Dana’s eyes.

“Yes, actually, I had been thinking about that,” he replied, looking back. “Do they even make contraceptives any more?”

“Well, I think that something was always available, like abortion pills in cases where the state decided a pregnancy was a mistake. I don’t know for sure how to get condoms or pills, but I have a notion to run into town and see if anyone has re-opened the pharmacy and stocked it for the Mexican market. If that doesn’t work, I have some other ideas. We might want to prepare for a trip of four or six hours. We might have to drive further south, if the roads are passable.” Dana got up to walk into the house to clean up, and on the way, passed by Nance and patted her bottom. She turned and looked at him over her shoulder, and flipped her hair back with an amused smile.

Nance met him in the garage with sacks full of frozen meat and fresh produce to trade. “Normally, I would just scan my wristband, or use thumbprint or an eye scan, to pay for something, and the money would be transferred from my bank account. But, no bank account anymore. We’ll have to bargain.” Nance drove. When she started the vehicle, she pressed a button and a display brightened onto the lower edge of the windshield, showing a map of the area, something Dana had not seen before. She touched the position of the town and the display changed to show a route from her house to the town, and asked if she wanted automatic driving. She rejected this. The trip to town was projected to be 12 minutes and to require 10% of the available charge, but of course the vehicle’s systems didn’t know how bad the roads were or how many detours they might have to make. It started to rain, which made the dirt and gravel roads a bit treacherous, but Nance was an experienced driver.

As they set off, Dana took the opportunity to ask, “Nance, how many American women do you think would change the system if they could?”

“You mean the system that oppresses men and controls women’s opportunities?” she asked. When Dana nodded, she looked thoughtful. She was concentrating on avoiding potholes, but still answered him.

“I’ve read enough history to know that most people just accept the system they are born into, with some people on top and others lower down. I think societies run on shared myths. The original myth of the United States was that people were free and equal under the law. Gradually, that was replaced by the myth that we women were finally free of male domination. We were the vanguard of the new world, in which women ran things and men were in their rightful place as our servants. Women were superior and would make the world perfect.

“Real change in a system like that is unlikely as long as the people share the myth and don’t question it. Totalitarian governments get control of the educational system and the media, and make sure the myth is supported. And, as long as the people on the lower rungs can get along without too much suffering, and as long as the people on top don’t make a point of being cruel, people at the top or the bottom can rationalize almost anything. But, if the myth is too far from reality, eventually, it will become obvious, and people will begin to question it. That’s why governments try to control ideas.”

Dana interrupted. “So, you were actually taught that men were inferior?”

“Of course,” said Nance. “What else could justify putting them in that hardware and killing most of them? We were taught that men were not very bright and prone to violence because of their hormones, and the state had to control them. It was just like how the Japanese and the Germans bought the myth of their racial superiority in World War Two – until they were defeated. But, I didn’t buy the myth. I compared what they were telling me in school to my grandfather, and saw it was a lie. My grandmother told me to keep quiet or I would be punished. But, I never believed anything I was taught in school after that. I made a lot of use of our home library, I can tell you that. But, I parroted back what the teachers wanted.

“Before I was born, the Womyn’s Party put the Rules in place. That meant that women gradually had to take over all the dirty and dangerous jobs that men usually did, like lumberjack, commercial fisherman, farmer, and so on. So, since it was hard to find women who wanted those jobs, women had to be assigned to them against their wills.

“To answer your question, the women in those jobs would probably be delighted to see the system brought down, because they are held in those jobs by law unless they get disabled. Which they do, pretty frequently. But, there’s not a lot of them, maybe ten percent of the population. There are some women, like Marjorie, who liked men the way they were, and who taught their daughters and granddaughters to be skeptical of the claims of the radical feminists. That’s probably another five percent, today.”

“Fifteen percent of women,” said Dana.

“Yes, about fifteen percent of women who actively want the system overturned. Against them are the elite. There’s about ten percent or so of women who control everything, including the legislatures, the military, the banking system, large corporations, the courts, the educational system, all communications, and so on. To be a part of that elite, you have to be a confirmed member of the Womyn’s Party, usually by birthright. Ordinary women can be confirmed after a long period of showing their loyalty to radical feminist ideas, by joining Male Control or the officer corps of the military,” replied Nance.

“What about the other seventy-five percent?” asked Dana. “That’s plenty for a revolution, I would think. Why wouldn’t they revolt against the elite? Do they like living how they live?”

“No, but they just live their lives like people have always done. They accept whatever comes their way, not making waves, trying to get along. They’ve bought the myth. They put up with the run-down infrastructure, shortages of most everything, the continuous inflation of the currency, and all that crap. They put up with not being able to decide on their own work or parenthood, and the gnawing sense that life ought to be better than this. Some of them, if they could be made to see how life could be better, might risk their lives in a revolution. But, their tradeoff is the risk of being killed in a revolution versus the virtual certainty of surviving in a bleak-ish world, but without a lot of suffering, if they just keep quiet. Right now, they get fed, they can push their baby strollers to the park and chat with other women. They have their boring but safe jobs, they can zone out in front of the viewscreen, and life has its little pleasures.

“My reading of history is that people have to have their expectations crushed in a short period of time to revolt. Huge tax increases, starvation, losing a stupid war, having important rights or opportunities taken away suddenly, and things like that, are what break the power of the myth and provoke rebellions. So far, all the changes have been gradual, and pretty well planned to leave most women satisfied enough with their lives not to be rebellious. Of course, I think there’s enough pent-up anger in the male five percent of the population to make them willing to revolt, if they could get free of their hardware.

“Sorry I rambled on like that, but it’s a complicated situation.”

“No,” said Dana, “You’re right, it is a complicated situation. And, I suspect there were a couple of things you didn’t mention. None of those seventy-five percent of women really know what life is like in other parts of the world that are not matriarchies. The government controls the viewscreens and international travel. They don’t know what men and women are like in other places. They might be a lot less satisfied if they knew the truth. But also, they’ve lost the war with Mexico. Surely, that makes a lot of women question the myth.”

Nance replied, “Maybe, but enough to risk their lives in a revolt to free men, who are supposed to be so scary without their hardware? I think most of them would need more reason than that. Anyway, the government is always telling them that they live in a paradise, and the Mexican soldiers and the rebels are testosterone-fueled beasts. They think, at least, here they’re in control, and they don’t have to be afraid of men.”

“So, why aren’t you afraid of me?” asked Dana.

“I was, at first. You are obviously a man who can be violent. But, Marjorie trusted you, and … well ... you looked so pathetic. Dirty, bloody, exhausted, and on a crutch. So, I decided to help you instead of shoot you.” She looked at him and smiled. “I’m glad I did. Anyway, I know not all men are like what we were told in school. My grandfather was a gentle man that I loved. And, you also seem protective of me, and well, exciting. I like that. I’ll take the danger,” she said, and gave a little laugh.

The rain had stopped. The town came into view.