Thank you Randi
for the invite
and opportunity to contribute. It certainly was a challenge.
Thanks also to Randi for her guidance and superb editing. It certainly helps when you have good people in your corner.
*****
"It is tradition, Bairstow, it is how we have always done things here."
"How can this be a tradition we put any faith in? Why, just because our ancestors did it doesn't mean we should."
The Grand Master stared down at me with contempt burning in his eyes. "Mr. Bairstow, you stand before us today having enjoyed the benefits of this tradition yourself. Now you want to break with tradition. Tell me this, Bairstow, did the tradition hold you in good stead, did it not improve your life, has your marriage not been the stronger for it?"
Ashamed and dejected, I had to nod in my agreement. "Yes, I did partake in the tradition, but I don't know that my marriage is better because of it."
"Fiddlesticks. You, young man, are a hypocrite of the highest order. Just tell me this, did you enjoy your lessons with Mr's Chisholme? Did you not learn things from her that have helped you every day to make your marriage a success?"
"Your Grace, I was young and unaware of the impositions I placed on my fellow citizens. If I knew then what I know now, I would never have consented. I would have forgone my lessons with Julie."
The Grand Master looked back and forth along the table. He was bordered by a collection of the High Proficients, the committee who ruled our world. His exasperation was clear to see. This was the first time that I was aware of where the old traditions were questioned.
"Mr. Bairstow, we find you in contempt. We will take several days to consider your stance. We will discuss at length your refusal, and we will make our decision. You will appear before us again in three days time to hear our verdict."
I bowed, before staring up at them as they sat behind the long table. "Thank you my lords."
I left unhappy. How could anybody be happy with the situation I was now stuck in. The thought of it disgusted me. Just because it was tradition didn't make it right.
Back at my pod, I found my wife Janna waiting impatiently. "What happened?" she asked uncomfortably as she opened the door allowing my entry. I noticed she looked back and forth up the access way before closing the door behind me.
"I made my case, and they are considering it."
She pulled me into a tight embrace. "Were they angry?" she said breathlessly.
"Yes, I think that's fair to say. You know how it is when you question the old ways, Janna."
"Yes, I understand, Maher."
"It might be a good thing. Maybe it's time we questioned the order of things. This is not a fair situation."
"Maher, you know I would do the bidding. I was prepared to do as instructed."
"I know that, Janna, but it isn't right. No man should have to share his wife because of tradition."
She kissed me, the soft sweet texture of her lips sliding over mine. "Yes, you are right. It wasn't something I was looking forward to."
I returned her kiss, enjoying the feel of our mouths joined in ecstasy, her tongue the inquisitive devil playing with mine. "We will have to wait and see what happens now."
Her voice trembled as she whispered. "Maher, what happens if they force us to do it?"
"Then we will fight. I am not accepting it, Janna. I will never accede to their wishes. You are my wife, we made promises to each other. We are about to start our family."
"But we do have to live here, Maher. This is our home. We might be ostracised, segregated, cut off from our friends and family."
"I realise that, Janna, but somebody has to make a stand."
She nodded, but I could see the hesitation, the doubt. She was on my side, but wavering.
"Maher, maybe they are right. Our traditions have definitely helped us get through very testing times."
"No, this is ridiculous. Our very existence is based on strong morals. In all other areas our principles are strong, resolute. I have never understood this silly tradition."
She kissed me again as we sat in the living area, her arm through mine. "Maher, I know this might sound simplistic, but it did work for us, didn't it? I mean our marriage has been amazing, and I think the skills Julie Chisholme taught you have brought the physical part of our marriage to life."
"I know I sound hypocritical, Janna, but we would have probably learned those things ourselves. Julie was a diligent teacher, but I think we would have found our own way to achieve happiness."
She rested her head on my shoulder, and sighed. "I am nervous about how our stance will be viewed by everybody else. Even our families have been through this. Your mother, mine as well. Perhaps we should reconsider. It did no harm to their relationships. We may be worrying about nothing."
"No, it feels wrong, I don't understand why other families have accepted it. That doesn't mean we have to."
I watched her suck in a deep breath and snuggle closer. "We shall have to wait, I suppose."
That night as we lay in our sleeping pod, I couldn't help but worry. Janna was right about our position here on Blexos 253. Humans first settled this planet in the year 2175, in Earth years. The colonisation took several years, but the colony grew strong very quickly. Within fifty years, the population had grown to over 3,000 citizens. Now, in our three hundredth year of existence, the population was stable at around five thousand people.
Settlement began as the earth's resources reached a crisis point. Human exodus began in the earth year 2131. First it was colonies on the close planets: the Earth's own moon, Mars, and as those colonies grew, the reach for the stars grew. Now there were something like one hundred communities just like this one scattered throughout the galaxy.
The human migration saved planet earth, and it was again a thriving central hub.
Our laws, our governance were all based on principles that colonists brought from earth. The civilisations were multi cultural. Every colony was as diverse as Earth's. Here though, the sheer lack of numbers necessitated breaking down ethnic barriers. That had been achieved, by not forcing mixed race relationships, but more encouraging them.
On earth these things were impossible, but in isolated colonies like this. It was more a matter of necessity.
The colony started with less than three hundred people, all engineers whose job it was to build the geodome under which the colony lived. Blexos 253 wasn't able to sustain life for humans; its atmosphere, although close to earths, didn't produce oxygen levels that would allow us to live without the protection of the geodesic dome.
As the population grew, so did the domes; there were now a collection of ten domes, all interconnected.
Blexos couldn't survive under the old ethos of the many cultures of earth. Blexos required stricter controls.
The population was controlled. Couples had to apply to the central council for permission to start a family.
Conception was by way of artificial insemination using the parents' eggs and sperm.
One of the first principles of Blexos was to eliminate as much as possible any activities that could create injuries, child birth being one of them. All babies were caesarian.
Full contact sports were banned. Sports, and human connection were promoted heavily. It was just the full contact ones that were banned. A fledgling society this isolated couldn't survive with unnecessary injuries. Hospitals were small and could not deal with large influxes of emergencies.
Families lived in separate pods within the domes, and the family bonds were strong.
Blexos developed, as did all of the colonies spread across the galaxy, their own laws, their own traditions. All were born from necessity.
Everybody worked; each individual's evolved skills were assessed and their skill sets honed to maximise their usefulness to the survival of the colony.
There was no money; everybody lived in the same pods. There were no personal belongings as such. Some people had maintained some items that their ancestors brought with them.
However, everybody wore the colony uniform. Everybody received the same education, and everybody received the same levels of health care.
On Blexos, you were either a teacher, a medico, an engineer, a government administrator or an environmentalist. Environmentalists were charged with developing and maintaining the gardens that fed the colonies.
Blexos 253 had evolved it's laws to suit the environment. Crime, because there was nothing to gain, was insignificant. Because all people within the communities had the same possessions, greed, and jealousy were unfamiliar emotions. They were quashed; it was just the environment that fuelled those desires didn't exist.
Religions had faded over the three hundred years of Blexos existence. As the families merged and there were no religious leaders, they died out. The one true religion was survival for the colony.
Earth, because of it's size and diversity, had never been able to develop as the colonies did. Isolation meant we had to be self-contained.
There were no return trips from Blexos; when the initial ships landed, they were stripped for parts. The vessels supplied the building materials for the colonies. If you came to Blexos, you stayed. That was the understanding all people embarking of these missions had to accept.
As the ethnicities merged, the physical appearance of the inhabitants changed as well. We were truly now one people. Skin colour was a dark mocha. The only traits that remained were hair and eye colours.
I was an engineer; my job was to maintain and construct new domes as required, repair housing pods and farm machinery.
For the most part, I loved my life on Blexos. It was hard not to, since the relationships were close and friendly.
I had my wife, Janna. We were married with the blessing of the high council and our families. We were assigned our own living pod, and we had recently been given permission to start our family. Life couldn't have been any better, that is until I walked into our little pod that fateful day.
As always, Janna met me with a kiss. She had just finished working at the hospital, where she worked as a doctor. We made drinks and sat together to talk about the day. That's when she dropped the news that changed my life.
"Maher, I have been selected to educate Nerish Lanner. He turns eighteen at the end of the lunar month." Her news was delivered in a casual, no-nonsense manner. I guess it was no big deal, right?
Why then did it affect me so? She glanced at me quizzically when I didn't respond. "Did you hear me, my love?"
I nodded. "Yes, I heard."
"You don't look happy, is something wrong?" she asked, leaning in and cuddling up close.
"How do you feel about it?" I asked, wondering why my stomach was tightening into an infernal knot.
"I don't know what you mean," she said, obviously confused by my answer.
"You would be having sex with another man. How do you feel about it," I said rather more firmly than I intended.
