The worst didn't come to pass. At least, not right away. Horatia heeded her mother's warnings, remained calm and collected under the circumstances. It surprised Celeste, yet she was glad. Perhaps, there was still hope for her daughter going forward.
Nothing happened for two weeks. No hounds came barking at their door. They axed no jobs, no blood was shed. Other than a fleeting impression of being followed once, the young girl didn't feel the oppressive choke of The Super Patriarchy any more than she did before. They left Alex alone too, which was more than a good thing. The punishment for being a submissive male in their world was worse than death.
Horatia returned to the University, attended all classes diligently, repeated the mantras they wanted repeated, and smiled at the sight of unwarranted male control. As for Lazendorf, he was a no-show, his classes taken over by a bureaucrat with a falsetto voice. She didn't laugh once despite wanting to.
She was getting used to it all when the storm hit. On the fifteenth day after the incident, Lana returned to the world of living. Except it wasn't Lana anymore, but a fac-simile of her. She had the body, the looks, and even the voice of her friend, but the mind was far gone, even more conditioned than her mother's. She was a brainwashed slave, dressed in grey from head to toe.
"Hello, Horatia," she said, outside the University's main building. An icy tone curled her lips. She was staring her in the eyes, yet there was nothing human in her gaze any longer.
"Lana, you... What have they done to you?"
"They did nothing that didn't need to be done," the Lana lookalike replied, nonchalantly. "There was too much clutter in my mind once. I'm focused now."
"Focused on what?" Horatia clenched her fists.
"The Super Patriarchy. I need to be a good woman. To be a good woman is to obey, Horatia. I want to obey."
"No, you don't. They have programmed you to say that. This isn't you."
"Yes, I'm programmed. I'm aware of it and I accept it for it has done nothing but good. This is who I am now, and this is what I want to be. It is my place to serve The Super Patriarchy. Not only mine but yours, and all other women. You should receive the blessing of enlightenment, too. If you beg the Professor, perhaps he'll be so kind to indulge you."
"I'm not begging that piece of trash for anything!" Horatia screamed. "Instead, I will make sure he reverts what they did to you!"
Lana smirked. "He told me you would say that. You're so predictable. By now, you should have realized resistance will bring you nothing but pain. Why do you insist on swimming against the tide?"
"Because the tide insists on swimming against me, that's why!"
Horatia pushed her former friend aside and darted across the campus, revenge clouding her judgment. If Lana was back, then Lazendorf was likely to be there, too. "I'm sorry, Mom, but I need to do this."
On the other side of the city, Celeste's heart skipped a beat.
* * *
Horatia stormed into the old man's office, an angry Amazon in search of retribution.
"You filthy son of a bitch!" She spat. "I knew you were a pervert but brainwashing Lana? You went after her because I turned you down, didn't you? How dare you?!"
"Good afternoon to you too, Horatia," Lazendorf said, not even bothering to look away from the 3-D screen and the latest sport news. "You took long enough to get here, but that's how everything goes with you, isn't it? You're always late to classes, and always late to your friend's hour of need. Don't worry about her anymore. Her new self is just what it needs to be. The Super Patriarchy will take good care of her and so will I."
"You really are a fucking pig!"
"I love a good fucking. I will love fucking you, my little bitch!"
She slammed both hands on the desk, disrupting the flow of information coming out of the computer. "Not even in your wildest dreams, and you know that!"
"What I know is that every single vile word you throw my way is punishment waiting for you. You're just a woman. You can't talk like that and get away with it."
"I'm sick and tired of your pathetic threats, pig. You will tell no one what's about to happen unless I want you to."
The look of bewilderment in his eyes was clear. "What do you mean?"
"Poor Thadeus Lazendorf," she mocked, parading around the office. "Just another sock puppet of the Super Patriarchy, so used to seeing the world in shades of black and white." With a vigorous kick, she made his chair wobble. "When was the last time you dared to think beyond the glorified teachings that say women should be meek, powerless, and subservient for all eternity? I'm betting 'never', right? However... never is never an appropriate answer."
"Is that your PMS talking, Horatia? It can scream all it wants, but it won't make a difference. If you don't want the same thing that happened to Lana to happen to others you care about like your mother, for instance, then your ass is mine!"
"On the contrary. You going after Lana was the last drop. I'm done playing silly games of conformity in a rotten society. History is festering because of men like you and the ideals you preach. Time needs to be reset, and I will do just that."
"Time-travelling nonsense again? You never learn, do you? That's a myth, an illusion only fools and writers dare to give any credit to. Your essays are a proof you are no good at writing - women never are! - so that makes you a fool of the highest caliber. Stop fooling around and bend over! I have a meeting in ten minutes," He commanded, right hand reaching for his fly.
