Ellie sat in her prison and waited. Her captor and (ex) best friend had plotted to kidnap her and keep her here in his newly converted loft for God knows how long. Worst of all, he'd discussed it with her Dad who seemed to have agreed to it wholeheartedly. Women all over the country appeared to be going through the same thing as Ellie. She'd witnessed them being chased, caught, tied up and carried away. She'd even seen one unfortunate girl sexually molested in front of her eyes. Ellie had received a hard blow to the face from the perpetrator as she tried to pull him off. What the hell was going on?!
Ben reappeared with a small TV that Ellie knew he'd kept in his bedroom. He placed it on the table so that she could see it and plugged it in, connecting the aerial cable as he went. This had obviously been what her Dad had suggested -- he thought she'd calm down if she watched a bit of telly?!! Ben tuned it but every channel seemed to be broadcasting the same thing.
"I'm going to leave you to watch this while I go and make you some lunch Ellie. I've got all your favourites in -- is there anything you'd particularly like?" Ellie hadn't moved a muscle and refused to look at or acknowledge him. "Ok -- I'll just make you a sandwich for now and we'll see how you feel later." Ben trudged from the room again giving Ellie a worried look. He wished she would go back to shouting and swearing -- at least it would be some sort of reaction. He'd never seen her so quiet and pale.
With Ben out of the way, Ellie focused on the television. It was The News but the usual female newsreader had been replaced with a solemn looking man. Ellie fleetingly wondered what had become of her.
"... and now we go live to the Prime Minister." The scene changed to show the famous and important, smartly dressed man standing outside his home behind a podium. His usual friendly demeanour had been replaced by a serious expression and he held himself with an air of authority.
"Good afternoon. World Wars 1 and 2 changed this country drastically. While the men bravely went to fight and die to protect these lands, the women stayed at home and filled our empty places in the factories, farms, offices, shops, schools and hospitals. Without their efforts, we would never have been victorious and we salute them for it. When the soldiers finally returned home, radically depleted in number, a lot of the women could continue in their new-found roles. This opened many doors for them. As well as financial independence, they were granted the vote, the right to further education and eventually equal opportunities. At the time it was believed this was the fair thing to do - after all, women had proved that they were just as intelligent, just as strong and just as capable as any man.
In the past few decades we have seen great female leaders. Many of our finest doctors, lawyers, teachers and other professionals are women. Our scientific understanding of the world has increased significantly due to the inquisitive and intuitive natures of female scientists. Technology has taken massive leaps forward in no small part down to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of women ...
and yet we have a problem.
Our country cannot continue on this path. There are too many adults and not enough jobs. There are too many families and not enough homes. There are too many students and not enough places. There are too many single parents and not enough money for benefits. 4 weeks ago, I made the hardest decision of my life. My decision will put this country back on course and today gentlemen, we have seen its beginning. At 10am this morning we began The Reversion.
We ARE the dominant sex and we WILL claim back our rights over women."
At this, the all male crowd cheered and applauded. The Prime Minister waved them back into silence. "We no longer have to worry about our sons. Every male in the land has a job waiting for them. The homes formally owned by women are now the property of the government and they will be redistributed, fairly, to men who have need of them. Our schools and universities will no longer be over populated and subscribed -- there will be a place for any male who wishes it.
But all this comes at a cost, gentlemen. We all have long and difficult days ahead of us. The women we have claimed need to readjust to their new places in society and I urge you to be patient with them. We still have many women at large and I intend to capture them all before they can form organized resistance. ANY stray women will be detained and auctioned off and so for this reason I am imposing a 2 month compulsory curfew for all females with immediate effect. If you wish to keep your mate, do not allow her to leave the house but if she absolutely must, make sure she has an adult male escort.
Whilst on this subject, it has come to my attention that some of you may still be ignorant of, or have been ignoring our new laws:- - Each man may take one woman -- ONE only and she MUST be of age. - REASONABLE force may be used to control your mate. Permanent or long lasting damage is not permitted. - All females are the property of their husbands, partners or closest adult male relatives. They are to be kept, sold or given away as that owner sees fit. - All unclaimed females are the property of the government.
ANY breaches of these laws will be dealt with -- you have been warned.