In the morning, Miriam accompanied me back to my quarters. Her long, thick, curly, raven-black hair cascaded down the bare back of her fire-engine-red halter dress and swayed gently back-and-forth as we walked along the dreary corridors. With its deep, plunging neckline and long, flowing, asymmetrical skirt, Miriam's dress displayed her firm, shapely, DD-cup breasts and beautiful legs to their full advantage.
We met Michelle in the Common Room, outside of my quarters, just in time for breakfast.
Michelle gave us a rather forced smile and said, "Good morning, Doctor Miriam. Good morning, Yuri."
Miriam and I both returned the greeting.
Michelle looked directly at me and said, "Did you sleep well last night, Yuri?"
I smiled at Michelle and said, "Yes, I slept very well, thank you." I continued, "And you?"
Michelle answered, rather curtly, "I slept well, thank you," and turned away.
Michelle was wearing a tight, dark-brown crop top with a deep, plunging neckline and skintight, dark-brown stirrup leggings. The color of her clothing really complemented her short, dark-brown hair and wide-set, dark-brown eyes. I was going to pay Michelle a complement, but changed my mind.
It suddenly occurred to me that Michelle may have been upset because I had spent the night with Miriam. But, why would she be upset about that, I wondered. Even if she were still my Commander, which she was not, my love life would not have been any of her business. Doctor Miriam was, after all, a trusted associate. It wasn't like I was fraternizing with the enemy, or something.
"Women," I thought to myself, "Go figure."
As we ate our breakfast I turned to Miriam and said, "Michelle told me that you were exiled here because you were trying to find a way to increase the male birth rate. Would you please tell me about your work, Miriam?"
Miriam frowned and said, "Yes, it's true. I was exiled because I was trying to discover exactly how the men of Eros are controlling the birthrate and the gender of our children." She continued, "I was caught, and sent here to the Exile Sector."
I asked, "Did you learn how the birthrate is being controlled, before you were discovered?"
Miriam answered, "Yes, I did." She continued, "I learned that all of the women, except for those here in the Exile Sector, are given doses of a long-term female contraceptive. The men, also, all take a long-term contraceptive." She finished, "When the men's High Council decides to allow a woman to bear a child, they give both of the chosen parents special drugs that will neutralize the contraceptive drugs. The chosen man, however, also takes a second drug that will determine the gender of the child that is to be conceived."
Miriam said, "All of these drugs are manufactured in the Alpha Sector under the near complete control of the men." She continued, "A small number of women engineers, however, work in the Alpha Sector. One of them was able to give me drug samples and data, before she was caught." Miriam finished, "I learned how to make the Sperm X Chromosome Blocking drug, or SXCB drug for short. This drug, when taken by the male parent, will allow only male children be conceived. Unfortunately, that is as far as I got, before my inside source and I were caught."
"So," I said, "The High Council completely controls every birth that takes place on Eros?"
"Yes," answered Miriam, "except for here in the Exile Sector, now that you've arrived." She smiled and continued, "The female contraceptive has worn off for all of the women that have been here in exile for more than five years. Your sperm is fertile, and we have our own SXCB drug."
Miriam then stood and said, "Please excuse me now. I must return to the Village."
Michelle saw my questioning look and said, "The Village is the area in the inner ring of the Exile Sector where most of the exiled women live. Some of the women, like Tonga, live outside of that area, but most live either in, or very close to the Village. It's actually a very beautiful place."
Miriam whispered in my ear before she left, "I can come back to my quarters here tonight, if you wish, Yuri."
I smiled up at her and said, "I wish that very much, Miriam."
She smiled back at me and said, "I will ask Tonga to bring you to my quarters, when I return late this evening."
After Miriam left, I said, "Michelle, is there some way that I could get a look at the inner ring of Eros, without the risk of being seen by prying eyes?" I continued, "I'd would really like to see a little more of Eros than just these catacombs for the next six months."
Michelle smiled sweetly and said, "What's the matter, Yuri? Are you bored with Miriam's quarters already?"
I ignored Michelle's comment and said, "I'd like to get a feel for everyday life here on Eros, Michelle. I can't do that if I'm restricted to the catacombs until after the revolution."
Answering seriously, this time, Michelle said, "The rebels have quite a few secret observation posts on the inner ring that can be reached only from passageways down here in the catacombs." She continued, "Let's talk to Tonga, when she returns, and see what can be arranged."
I asked, "Why do the rebel women need secret observation posts here in the Exile Sector, Michelle?" I continued, "The men can't have that many spies here among the exiled women, can they?"
Michelle answered, "It's much more complicated than that, Yuri." She continued, "Among the young men of Eros, it's considered a rite of passage to sneak into the Exile Sector and rape an exiled woman." She finished, "Exiled women are considered to be outside of the law, so raping them is fair game as far as the men of Eros are concerned."
"Oh!" I said in surprise.
Michelle said, "Originally, the exiled women set up a police department and observation posts around the Village to provide themselves with an early warning system for the men entered the sector. Unfortunately, neither the Police Department, nor the early warning system worked all that well." She continued, "There have always been a few, very horny women, here in exile, that really don't mind being raped, once in a while, by a very horny young man." She finished, "So, things have evolved to what they are today."