Author's note(again): Okay, so this story I just found while finishing up editing a much larger piece. It was obviously something I wrote with the character of Elizabeth from the first story I submitted a long time ago. No real good reason for that and it shows. This story is also probably what planted the seed for one of the other stories I already submitted, so without editing this one at all, I'm just throwing it out there. The next one I am going to submit is pretty long and a very slow burn. It'll probably appeal more to the masses, as well, but in the meantime... hope you enjoy!
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"The Nukabé tribe is a strange, indigenous people of West Columbia. We are very excited to be given this opportunity to go study them."
Professor Thomas Wiggins was my Archeology professor at UC. I interned under him and was well into the second year where I had worked on various grants for him. Mostly just sorting data. I was still a year away from completing my thesis, but eventually I would have my doctorate.
"This would be your first assignment with us where you actually get to work in the field, is that right, Elizabeth?"
"Yes, professor," I said.
"Well, Elizabeth, I want you to know, this trip is not mandatory. South America can be a very dangerous place, though the Nukabé tribe is renowned for being perhaps the most peaceful tribe on the continent. There should be no threat of violence there, but still, fair warning and all."
"That's good to know," I said. "All the better to make me feel about coming on this one."
"Well, I do need to fill you with a few more details before you make up your mind."
"OK," I said.
"Even though these indigenous tribes of South America are small and confined, acts of criminality do occur. Missionaries murdered, in-tribe violence, the occasional rape. The Nukabé tribe is unique in that there has never been one reported act of violence in their known history. And they were first discovered in 1891!"
"How often have they had foreigners visit or been studied?"
"More than five known, recorded expeditions. Various missionaries have been there, of course. The tribe has always allowed people to stay or come and go as they pleased, so long as they contributed to the community in some way."
"Then why is this study so special?"
"Because it's been almost two decades since anyone last recorded their activities. All the studies we've seen to date show an indigenous people that, no matter how much they are exposed to the advancing world, refuse to move with it. It will be interesting to see that hold true today."
"How many weeks again?"
"Six. We leave in two weeks. But here's the thing, Liz..."
"Spit it out already," I said.
"They may be a peaceful tribe, but they do have a rather unusual 'hierarchy' to their tribe. For outsiders, it may appear as if women were considered second-class citizens."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the women there, especially young ones such as yourself, are often subjected to rather humiliating ordeals. Many go naked, not as a matter of practicality, but rather to please the men's attention. Some even perform sexual acts on them, out of duty as it were."
"I thought you said they were a peaceful people. It sounds to me like they oppress their women, even treat them like slaves!"
"That's just it. None of these women do these things unwillingly."
"Of course, that's what they say!" I exclaimed. "They're abused women!"
"It's not that simple."
"Of course it is!" I scoffed. No one, man or woman, would want to play slave to another.
"No, listen to me carefully. The first expedition that discovered this tribe in 1891 actually held that belief. That even though the tribe was friendly and peaceful, the humiliation of these women was a cruel and unjust thing. However, as they assimilated with the tribe, they recorded that the women were all quite happy and content. Genuinely happy! The next expedition, in 1921, the next research team recorded the same phenomena."
"OK," I said, hesitating. I felt as if there were more to this coming.
"So two years later, in 1923, another expedition was assembled, this time with four women on the team. It was a first as only men had gone before. They wanted to discover if the female tribe members would perhaps bond with these female researchers, even though they would not subjugate themselves to such acts. The thinking was, considering how peaceful a people they are, that the tribe would get a better understanding of their own abusive culture and understand it better."
"Makes sense," I said.
"The thing is, when they arrived, three of the girls began getting unnaturally sexually aroused. Within minutes, they were as naked as many of the tribeswomen were and behaving just as audaciously at times."
"What?"
"The girls reported that they couldn't help themselves. That they wanted to perform the actions in which they engaged. Elizabeth, they were subjected to some very shameful things!"
"Like sexual abuse?"