Life in the city of Evening wasn't paradise, but it was the closest thing to it on Earth. Crime wasn't eliminated entirely, but the offenses were just a small fraction of what other cities saw. The streets were clean, the rent was cheap, and there was opportunity everywhere if a woman was just willing to go out and seek it. It was a city where a woman could ride the subway without fear of creepy stares, perform her job without worry about an unfair gender gap, and walk home at night from the bar without needing to look over her shoulder.
The secret to the city's success was exclusivity. Everyone wanted in, but there was a strict criterion that needed to be met.
The first, most obvious one, what made the city more liveable than anywhere else: No men. Out of the 500,000 people living in the city, all of them were women.
Second, no children. No one was born into Evening: citizenship had to be earned, and new immigrants were only allowed to apply once they were at least 18 years of age. Even then, of the hundreds of millions of women to apply each year, only a relatively few were allowed to move to the city.
Inside the studio, the women were eating cake because of the third rule: No one over the age of 39. The studio's founder just had, and it was time for her farewell party.
Kate Winslow had started the Sapphic Erotic Fantasies studio fifteen years ago, moving into Evening after spending the past seven years as a hardcore porn actress. In front of the camera, she'd been a legend with her 5'6 frame blessed with exactly the right curves that men wanted, the cheekbones and cute nose framed by wavy auburn hair that could have made her a model, and the almost obscenely large, all-natural L-cup breasts that it would almost have been a crime for her to not be in porn. Here in Evening though, there was no shortage of talent and she'd literally had girls lining up to star in her videos, letting her show off her talents and experience behind the camera. And as great as she was faking orgasms and giving titjobs, she was even better as a director and writer, the studio producing volume after volume of best-selling, critically acclaimed girl-on-girl action distributed around the world. There had even been rumors that because of her service she'd be allowed to continue working in the city even as she entered her 40s.
Unfortunately, she was no exception to the rule.
"I can't believe you're going." If it wasn't for the fact that she'd already gone through makeup, Sarah would have been weeping. As it was her mascara was already starting to drip. She'd only been in the city for less than a year, had spent even less time as an actress, but the petite blonde teen was already a sensation, looking dangerously tempting in a slutty schoolgirl uniform, her youthful looks and attitude type-casting her into all the ageplay roles. She wore her emotions on her sleeve and Kate was more of a mother figure to her than her own family, so it was rather impressive that she was holding it together as well as she was, "It's just not fair!"
"Now, now. It's not the end. She's going to be living just out in the suburbs. It's hardly more than an hour's drive. And if you don't want to make the trip, you can always try calling." Ruby said as she enjoyed the cake. The curvy redhead was Kate's second-in-command and protege. At thirty-two, she was one of the top professional dominatrixes in the world, her high cheekbones, toned, fit body, and her icy blue eyes able to leave a girl stuttering like a deer caught in the headlights.
"Yes, and if this is the last video we make with Kate, we should make it the best." Moeko still had a noticeable Japanese accent, but the young woman was always careful with her words. Behind the scenes, she was the most serious-minded of the bunch, the bespectacled twenty-year-old having her nose buried in a book or her eyes glued to a laptop, always studying. Even though she had moved to Evening, she was attending university and studying for her engineering degree, and none of them had any doubt she'd be successful when she did.
Moeko was a genius, fluent in six languages, graduated from school at only fifteen, and already she had published work in math journals.
In front of the camera though, Moeko turned on a youthful charm that outmatched even Sarah's natural attitude, which might have convinced an audience that she wasn't old enough to be starring in these films. Once her top came off and that audience was able to see the heavy E-cup breasts she was hiding, those doubts would be blown away.
"Exactly! It's been a pleasure working with all of you." Kate raised her voice, addressing Megan the camerawoman and the new assistant Kelly as well, "A pleasure and a privilege, and I'm sure that even after I'm gone, you're all going to continue doing great work. These were the best years of my life, and I'll never forget the memories we made together, the friendships forged in—"
"Afternoon, ladies."
All heads turned towards the door. There, standing with his arms crossed and a giant grin on his face, was the exception to the rule. Marco Henshaw. The one man allowed to live inside the city because he was the one who had founded it in the first place.
He was the one who made the rules and he alone was the one who enforced them.
No one understood just who he was or how he could do the things he did, but he was impossible to oppose. If he said something, that was the way it went. Telling more than half a city's population to leave their friends, family, and lives behind? Not a single man argued the point. Suggesting that all the hottest women in the world apply to take their place? It was a ritual that all girls went through on their 18th birthday now, talking with an Evening representative to see if they had what it took to join the city.
He had used his powers to end all wars and eliminate poverty. Crime still existed-Henshaw had said he didn't want to erode the free will of the planet any more than he had to-but it was a rare occurrence. He had been the undisputed ruler of the world for more than fifty years, and those old enough to remember how shaky things had gotten before he took charge were grateful for it.
If Evening was the paradise of this world, then he was both its Creator and the one most enjoying his creations. A reward to himself for all the good he had done elsewhere.
And at the smaller scale, his words were just as overwhelming, "How's it going, Kate? You're looking great. But why don't you get out of that frumpy sweater and let me really see how you've held up?"
Kate's heart caught in her chest as she pulled the loose grey sweater she was wearing up over her head. She had on a plain beige bra underneath, and since it wasn't up to his standards of sexiness, it followed soon after, leaving her in just the comfortable jeans that were almost but not quite 'mom jeans'. Out of habit, she kept her arms behind her back, grabbing her wrist so she wouldn't try and cover herself.
In the fifteen years she'd lived in the city, she'd had more contact with Henshaw than most other women. She'd even lived in his penthouse the first year she'd moved into the city, all those years ago.
