Kairi Yamada was an average woman in the twenty second century. She was a historian and professor, and found herself desperately attracted to one of her students, John Nordica. He had asked for her help after school and she tried her best to act like a teacher of the old world, level headed and clear minded.
He towered over her despite her being ten years his senior. She gulped; just being alone in the room with him was making her feel hot under the collar. Her parents would have been livid at her having such feelings for a what her grandfather would have called, "a white monkey", and even she hated herself a bit. But it was not enough to stop her from clearing her throat and sitting across from him.
He was built like a mountain with long golden clouds for hair rolling from the peak of his head down his slopped shoulders. He had an athletes frame. He had a skateboard leaning against the desk and seemed anxious to get this over with and get back to the beach.
"Mr. Nordica." She addressed him formally. "You haven't been paying attention in class." She tried to sound judgmental; she knew she could be quiet, and sometimes quite dry at times. Dry would not be the word to use at the moment however.
"Sorry Doctor Yamada." He bowed his head politely. "I can be easily distracted." She tried not to think that she was the one distracting him. There were prettier women. "Could you go over the beginning of the chapter again?"
She sighed and opened the textbook. "The proxy wars of the late twentieth, and early twenty first century extending for over fifty years. Do you remember the major powers?"
"Uh, I think, the USSR?" He asked sheepishly. She sighed. He was at least trying.
"It fell very early on. The major powers at work were the United States and Russia, with China and to a lesser extent European forces playing a contributing role as well. Do you remember the solution?"
He snapped his fingers, "Oh, um, the biological weapon!" She nodded for him to continue. "Um... It was, uh, Belgium right?"
"France." She shook her head. "A viral agent designed not to kill or destroy a population, but to reduce the chances of a male child being born by disrupting the hormonal balance during pregnancy. It was halfway through it's development at the end of the second world war, but never saw use until rediscovered and implemented in the middle east and Africa. Unlike previous wars, these were not fought and won quickly. They lasted decades, so a solution that lowered the fighting population of the next generation was necessary."
"Do I really need to know this?" John Nordica asked rolling his eyes. "Is it really all that important?"
"Did you ever wonder why men are so rare?" She asked. "Every year there are fewer male students because of that outbreak. Currently, the ratio is three women to every one man. It is the cause of most modern culture changes in the past one hundred years..."
"Really? I mean, other stuff happened too." he argued. "I'm pretty sure AI development was a greater factor to modern culture."
"I realize you are a science major, but this is very important." Kairi tried to explain. "AI development was required because army sizes shrank, and it became more profitable to field machines rather than men due to their rarity. That is what prompted the rise and demand of general intelligence, in turn sparking the second technological revolution in the 2070's"
John scratched his head at that. "I didn't realize."
"John, how many mothers do you have?"
"Five."
"Why do you think that is?"
"Well, they are all happy. I guess they can do whatever makes them that way."
"Do you realize that marriages of that sort used to be outlawed many years ago in most major countries? They became more and more common as the male population worldwide began to shrink, and now they have become the norm. Most families in developed countries have multiple women involved with the patriarch, even where it is still strictly speaking outlawed or taboo."
"That makes sense." He nodded. "Wait, so does that mean before, it was taboo for a man to be with more than one woman? Seems strange..."
Kairi blushed. "Well, actually, I come from a small town where it is still considered strange. I've tried opening my mind to it but... well, lets say I'm still a bit backwards."
"Wow! That's interesting!" John perked up, like he was looking at a fossil of some ancient civilization. "So, is that why you aren't married?"
"That is getting a bit personal..." Kairi coughed, "Anyway..."
"Have you ever had a boyfriend?" He asked. Kairi didn't like this conversation.
"I... Where I come from, talking like this to a professor isn't really... well, it's embarrassing at the very least."
"Really? Most of my other teachers try to come on to me whenever they can." Kairi tried not to think about that. "You know Ms. Kim? She's my psychology teacher. I went on a date with her last Saturday. My girlfriend thought it was cute when I showed her pictures. Does that seem strange to you?"
Kairi squirmed in her seat. "I know Ms. Kim." She nodded. "I haven't done anything like that..."
"Wow, you haven't been on a date with a guy before?" Kairi shook her head. "...Do you want to?" Kairi nearly choked on her own saliva.
"N-No... well," She looked away. "I don't want to abuse my position..."
"Come on, it will be fun!" He smiled. "It's not like I'm trading it for a grade or anything. I really do want to get better at this stuff. My parents didn't even want me to go to college because I had so many marriage proposals already, but I don't want to be one of those weirdo's who lounges around all day while his girls do everything for him. Makes me feel like my dad." She still hesitated. "... You were waiting for someone who wasn't taken weren't you?" He asked. "Because it feels weird otherwise?"
"...Yea." She admitted. "But I know that is unreasonable this day in age. Just like it used to be unusual to want the lifestyle you find so normal..."
"Don't think of it as a date then. We can just go out as friends, or something." He shrugged. "We can meet at a beach bar I like. You in?"
"I..." It was so sudden. "... If you ace your next test, maybe." She shrugged with smile.
He grinned. "Alright, cool." He opened his notes and pointed, "So, tell me again about the financial panic of 2050. The collapse of the international banks..."
-
She couldn't believe it. She was on a date with a guy who probably had dozens of girlfriends. She sighed and finally settled on what to wear. Casual he said, and bring a swimsuit. Gosh, she felt like a teenager again. She wore a light yellow sundress over it. She rarely got to wear it, but her mother always liked it. Probably not the most attractive choice, but she didn't have much else in the form of casual wear.
She decided to walk as the beach was not far away from her house. Along the way she saw the many landmarks that littered the old town, most of them built within the last century. Few understood how powerful each was for their times. One had a man of steel surrounded, and lifted into the air by women made of copper. It symbolized the end of human beings on the front lines in war in the country, and simultaneously women becoming a majority in most STEM fields at the time.
Another was a simple monolith with a chiseled image of a child, a father, and two mothers. It was placed there after the legalization, and subsequent commonality of such unions. Lastly on her path was a Samurai wielding a plow, symbolizing an end of the need for war it's self. World Peace was still a fantasy, as countries without resources still fought each other in the third world, but it was becoming less common as the outbreak continued to effect the least sanitary cultures more than others, and war began to take serious tolls of populations now that men were less expendable.
"Hey!" She reached the beach and saw John Nordica. He was wearing swimshorts and a smile, his body glistened in the sun and for a moment Kairi wondered why she had ever decided to be shy around him. "You're here early! I was just coming back from catching some waves." She walked to him as he dried off. No force on earth could have torn her eyes off of him at that moment. "Cute dress." He looked at her body and she suddenly felt completely naked. Her hands clasped each other in front of her crotch and she bowed her head on instinct.
"Thank you!" She said a bit too loudly.
"Who's this?" She heard a familiar voice and turned in shock. "Oh, Kairi!"
A blond, large breasted woman in a string bikini sauntered over. She was halfway between Kairi's height and Johns. Her breasts swayed and bounced hypnotically. "P-Principal Lisa!" Kairi bowed her head again. "What are you doing here?"
