Once the XVY war reached its catastrophic end, the United Nations signed the Love and Security agreement for gender equality. Since then, all biologically male humans at birth, who have not undergone hormonal treatment for ninety-eight percent of their lives, must wear a neck shackle so that the rest of the world can be safe. This is the story of one of them.
Thomas did not choose to be born in this era and it was impossible for him to imagine a time when men were free from the shackles. His life has been very similar to that of other biological men, although their strength became unnecessary, they continue to enjoy their bodies and the advantages that nature gave them.
Today, as on many occasions, Thomas was on his way back from a long day at work. Tired after a hard day. Like others of his genre, Thomas accepted being rejected by society, always trying to stay in the shadows so as not to attract the attention. Although it was impossible to remain invisible.
At the train station he saw a peculiar group of people. They were approaching others waiting for the train. Thomas noted that the peculiar group sought to initiate a conflict with people wearing the neck shackles.
Thomas felt helpless when he realized what was happening. He was sure it would be impossible to intervene. When one of the members of the peculiar group, for no apparent reason, activated the neck shackle of a person a few steps from Thomas.
The electric shock caused the man to fall to the ground.
“Stop,” said Thomas.
“This does not concern you,” said one of the people attacking the man on the floor. “There’s nothing to see here.”
Thomas stopped as soon as he saw the small device that activates the mechanism on men’s necks. He raised his hands and stepped backwards.
“You can’t even imagine what that man did,” she said. “None of you do.”
People at the station watched in surprise as the three women continued to activate the shock collar of the man on the ground. Thomas wanted to stop the abuse, but his necklace made him vulnerable.
The women surrounded the man on the ground. They looked older than Thomas, probably born before the war ended.
The man on the ground was clearly from the generation that lived through the war. About ten years older than the women around him. In the past he used his power to force people to comply with his wishes. The women around him met him before the mandatory neck shackles.
The neck shackle didn’t deliver an electric shock strong enough to kill a person. It was uncomfortable and although people like Thomas could only receive one shock every ten minutes, the man on the ground continued receiving.
After what seemed like an eternity, the man’s neck shackle stopped delivering shocks. The women attacking him lost interest and left.
Thomas approached the man on the ground. Thanks to his glasses he was able to know the person’s name and, more importantly, that he was a registered sex offender. Thomas just walked away.
It was impossible for a man to express himself without fear of being shocked. The world quickly adapted to change. Thomas could only think of returning to the safety of his house. He lowered his gaze so as not to attract the attention of people without a necklace and continued with his trip back home.
Nice. So many unanswered questions. LOL
Nice story and world building!
Fantastic fiction.Really enjoyed it a lot.
Very nice ππππ
I like your way of thinking. There are multiple layers here, in which one can find allusion to all types of diversity. It’s definitely worthy of being extended into a futuristic novella about diversity and inequality.
So many thoughts in the head right now.. well done!
Interesting.
Interesting thoufghts
A nice one to ponder on! Few questions on the shackles around the males.
Sebastian…this piece of writing is full of layers, and you get into the minds of how different people in different situations think and feel, but from different viewpoints, but you build perspective also enabling the reader to span out as it were.
The characters in the story cannot see or know all the facts and therefore judge from what they know to be just and right.
Thomas though can see the bigger picture.
Two wrongs do not make a right.
But you cannot make a horse drink water…
Even if you bring them to the water again and again…
They have to want to drink that water…
Fear is predominantly one’s own judgment. One can only receive the gift of acceptance if it fears no expectations
Vivid imagery cleverly in reverse and reflecting an ugly truth about our present societal experience.
I think the sex offenders crime is that he may have touched a free woman. Such was the nature of cyber lynching in post antebellum Zonerica. War and the practice of war, all contact sports, and sexual contact for pleasure, were abolished after the first pandemic. After the virus passed only unvaccinated men had testosterone, and they were ostrasized. Such is the real history of the world concealed after the library wildfires in the 1800s, a natural event, in which people irrationally tossed all written material into the fire. Then the history we have today was written.
π It Starts from InSide EveryOne; but We Don’t Want To Be The Bad Person, yet We ARE EveryBody
…πππ…
I love the picture! Is that one you made yourself? One of my favorite games artistically was Limbo which was done in silhouettes of black, white and grays.
For the writing, also very, very good! Like others said there are clearly many layers to the story. I have a Writing friend that also likes to explore this theme a lot about “putting the shoe on the other foot” to see what it looks like from a different perspective. I do my best to promote equality in all manner to find as close to a balance as something can arrive at. It is tyrannical to punish anyone for simply existing as they are.
I like the reversal of role where the alleged sex offender pays for the sex and power crimes he may or may not done before the virus, crisis and true sexual revolution. The mighty testosterone setting him off inevitably, like an elephant or Klingon in must, to sexual violence. But- why not universal castration? Worked in harums, didnt it? Makes perfect logic as well since my sex does the majority of violent sexual criming (see trump), most unreported. Fairer and more economical too since the alleged offender still has to scuttle to his job. And a few nonfatal shocks are also better for the man than prison. In pandemic days. Great writing here again, compressed like a short story must be.
What an apt title! This tale is layered with meaning, as well an atom bomb ticking away.
This is your best yet. You can expand this story into a novel, if you chose. Your technique is getting better. This is what science fiction is about: social issues.
Great read! Very interesting story, and a scary world.
Very, very interesting. Definitely deep and filled with meaning. Nice work!
It spells the dangers or the perceived grip that planetary organizations have over our lives. It’s become more pronounced also the conspiracies in these times of covid.
The quelling of resistance voices, the silencing of rebellions and the muting of nations and unregistered peoples, minorities and groups of people.
But ultimately we are all complicit. Our sovereignty and our autonomy eroded we just had to follow a pack and go with there demands.
This is but one layer revealed to me.
Thomas mind and state of being remains an enigma.
Nicely written! ππ»
I’m nearly speechless and feel several emotions all at once. I’m highly curious about the history leading to this story’s current events.
The society you are describing could definitely be the result of today’s world we’re living in- particularly what’s called Critical Gender Theory.
Wow, I really like this
Very telling that the women shocking the man didn’t gain any satisfaction and when they could no longer hurt him, lost interest and walked away. As a rape and attempted rape survivor, my freedom from fear and torment only came when I forgave the men who attacked me. Turning our heads, flying under the radar and attacking others will not bring peace, unity or change. Only forgiveness and changing one’s self can do that. I love the unique way your mind works and your perspective. Always an intriguing read.
Nice!
Makes me wonder what the XVY war was, could you do one on that please?
“THE world quickly adapted to change” isn’t that so truthful for every era? Good shortstory. Keep up the great work
A very imaginative and intriguing fable to address the situation occurring in the aftermath of most violent revolutions, the victorious party will asset their power and will make sure to abolish the institutions of the vanquished, and so keeping the cycle of revenge and retribution in motion.
I really liked this story π
Fascinating
well said
What is this post? I LOVE IT!
Great story, chilling and provocative
Good work, Sebastian! Taking current issues to a future possibility…intriguing.
Harrison Bergeron, only more hopeless. Very interesting read.
Your writing reflects an amazing imagination and ability to create other worlds while drawing from our human history. I find it interesting that you refer to it as a necklace which is a form of adornment. I do think men have innate strengths and they should be valued and directed, not chemically altered. I think each man or woman need to be judged by their actions, not their sex. Because men have most often the instigators of war and are dominant in positions of power, with women often complicit, I wonder if you are commenting on the need for power structures to change but how? And how do we change those structures without eliminating strengths? I believe our environment is the greatest influence. A very deep question necessary for us today. This short story is also a comment on vigilante enforcement without due process. We don’t know if the man being shocked did anything Is it also brings to mind the state forcing a mental patient to take medication just because what they think or experience is not perceived by others so they are considered psychotic. It also brings to mind requiring Jews to wear the Star of David to shun and then kill them, as well as Hester in the Scarlett Letter forced to wear the letter A for adultery with no ability to move on being shunned for life.
Nice story
Wow! I had to read this twice, very thought provoking and your writing paints a clear image in my mind of the situation unfolding.
Great atmosphere and mood building in this story!
Brilliant concept, and I am impressed at how you hook us up to a drip of details to get to an understanding of what’s going on. I’d read more, if only to see what wicked things men in shackles might still get up to.
Hook, line, and sinker!
That was a poignant moment when Thomas saw who the man was and completely abandoned his previous desire to offer him help. Wow. Good writing!
I’m going to be reading this more than once for sure. So much to absorb and think about. Thank you!
Well written.
Spooky and outright scary in so many ways.
This was an interesting story. I’m left with quite a few questions.
Must retain our traditions and common sense. We unplug from the media and any propaganda source, always thinking for ourselves with responsibility.
Thought provoking. Reason to steer away from a future that seems to be steam rollering into our world today. We need the help of our Beloved Lord!
One of the best and clear kind of story just like watching movies feels like I’m not reading . My mind is watching as clear as HD movies thanks for the free great story . I do like it.
Enjoying your writings so much…and thanks for visiting my blog…
I hope I can get back to the “Family” things as that was my original intent…however, as a former librarian/market researcher, I seem to have been discovering discrepancies in the accepted stories and have veered into “academic research.” LOL! But I do want to get back to the family stories…I have many topics to cover already laid out. Sigh…never enough time!!!
As futuristic as this compelling story is written – with all that is happening in the world today it makes your writing that much more plausible.
Yes. The world is losing it’s cohesiveness.
I always felt. Why people hate others?
When I observe, as individual, every one is good with everyone.
But once we connect them with a group, community, religion or a country we lose our individuality, we get into comparison, rivalry and envy. We boost group thinking, team spirit by indroducing uniforms etc.
God has created the world with minimum similarity and maximum diversity. We must try nurturing diversity in culture and faith. Man made boundaries should not be limiting our thoughts. We need to learn from other species, especially birds who need no visas!
Let the universe be one, empathising each other.
Good ππππ
Fascinating β sort of like an opposite take on the Handmaidβs Tale.
Wow ! amazing
Nice story, I would love to hear more, maybe how the war came about and why?
Enjoyable story, except for the world of hate. Yes, the world seems to be heading that way. Here’s another take on a grim future: https://bit.ly/3nT6F1D
Amazing content
Everyone has a story.
Thank you
Read a couple of your articles. I like the twist in making your point. It also leaves the reader with the responsibility of working out a solution himself IF the reader does not want to follow the conclusion you have written.
Really profound composition, as sad as it is.
Hello! I appreciate reading your short stories because they deal with ethical and socio-political life outside of creative non-fiction in your short stories. When will you publish them? You can make a living off your utopian universes that you put into your stories. Great job! Hope to hear more as the months go by!
Wow!
I like the dystopian story. I agree. There is a novel itching to come out of it.
Very Interesting and not hard to believe
The richness of fiction lies in its truths
Great Article!! Very interesting!
There is no freedom in this mortal coil. Thomas remembered that love just a mental construct? Only the pseudo Buddhists were able to survive the mental anguish.
I’m not sure what I would have done I was molested alot when I was a kid I took a mans life who abducted me and was trying to rape me after I ran away from home. I turned myself in and got time in a state mental hospital at 14 years of age. The staff said I did not belong there my sentence was changed I was sent to a boys home instead. I did do 60 days in max security. I probably would have did the same thing Thomas did something to think about.
so sad
The world needs more of this! Here here, Excellent job!
greater student bunkhouses: thanks by like!
It’s my first time to visit your website and I have to be honest this is such a good page to read. I envy you, you write really well. I admire your work.
That was a spectacular read. Too close for comfort. So ugly it was beautiful…
Sebastian, this is an intriguing Orwellian examination of the no-less inhumane castration by social normatives. The impotence is captured brilliantly. To live, one must live apart. Your writing only gets better. Cheers.
Sebastian, thanks for liking my recent post in ‘Word of Jesus.’ I like this story you’ve written. Gender and sex issues are problems in real world. Your story, ‘Never Ending Hate,’ shows that things could get much worse in relations between men & women.
Frightening and a glaring warning to the polarization we face today. Agree with the other commenters – would love to see the story expanded into a novel if you were interested!
Fucking amazing.
10 out of 10
Another great story. Thank you
Lol… This is a rude shock in a funny way
The unbalanced scale of equality tilting on either side present horrifying scenario which your story so clearly shows. Thanks for sharing.
Nice story! Thought provoking
Brilliant! And very close to what’s going on in our insane world today.
I particularly liked all of the different prejudices that you tapped into with use of stereotypes. You demonstrate how all of us prejudge based on what we think versus what the facts are. Or perhaps what the truth really is. Well done!
As soon as I cleared past the first paragraph I knew this was gonna be a ride. This is my second looksie at your writings and you definitely mastered the art of making a mini movie with just a few paragraphs. It really illustrates the ugliness and difficulty with the days when the meek will inherit the earth.
My mind can really draw a picture with your words, they go very well together.
A fine vignette on the brutality and horror of a dystopian society. Gripping and suspenseful. Well done, Sebastian! π
This is touching and innovative.
I, respectfully love your work, your artistic images share a great deal with humanity. I truly believe that more human beings are welcoming and appreciating their inner humanity and on the lookout if not a mission or search for who (I am) as a human being through many. narrow paths , so he or is able to know, understand and bear more wisdom as one moves throughout the earth and beyond.
This is awesome. Will there be more? It had me on the edge of my seat!
It means.
Love is the vehicle of God. Break the cycle, break the chain. Free us from misery.
Enjoyed story. Would read longer version
I look forward to reading your stories. They’re always interesting and refreshingly different.
Amazing piece
Tell me, friend, how does one not use their blue light to influence people? For here I see your blue light, yet it seems to respect the choice to perceive it as it wants to be perceived. Why does it shock me that people are so blind to what you write about? The blue ray can never truly be chained, unless one desires to be chained.
Wow! This story is very thought-provoking. “It was impossible for a man to express himself without fear of being shocked” truly packs a relevant punch in today’s climate.
πππβοΈπ
Nice
I liked this story a lot — well structured and (all too) easy to relate to (even though I am not a man)
Okay, maybe this’ll piss off a lot of people. But I think it wouldn’t take long for females to abuse this power. Same thing applies to men of course, but people usually think that women are incapable of abusing their power over others. Which I kind of think is not true.
If you’re a human, then you are susceptible to the corruption, doesn’t matter the gender.
You definitely have a great way with words.
Thanks for such an amazing post…I really enjoyed reading it.
Powerful!
Wowwww, this was so good
Indeed. So many people still practice hatred like a destructive addiction.
Hard to break old habits, but so necessary in order to move on and better our lives.
Often I thought to myself while in a conflict with certain people that’s it’s a good thing that I’m the stronger one or this person would definately attack me,taking advantage of thier advantage. I thought those ladies were doing that until you mentioned sex offender but to justify that abuse it would ,for me, have to be clearly proven that an horrible offense had taken place. When I was 16 I was sent to a mens’ jail. I met 2 sex offenders. 1 I was allowed to beat mercilessly, the other I befriended. That’s how different these offenses were.
Fantastic story Sebastian. Very apt warning, sadly.
Our world seems headed in an “anti real male” direction. Thanks for startling us with the future possibilities!
I have read a couple of your stories since you liked my column. The columns with the personal history get reactions from people sick of current events/economics/politics. It shows apathy or hopelessness or feduppedtedness. When I think of how to satisfy those readers I think of writing fiction. You give my hope that it might be possible but the real life adventures come so easily, I balk.
This story here is easy and sorta psychedelic. I see us on the way to such a place. We have grandchildren and are concerned.
It’s a COVID story!
This is such an important message!
Very nice and true!
Very imaginative! Great job!
Nice piece,I love the setting as well.
Wow! That was a good story!
Thanks for all of the good work that you do, especially this one. I also appreciate your likes of so many of my prior Revelation articles. When I finish the Revelation articles, I will begin a series of articles on the Daniel prophecy, which will tell us how we got to Revelation.
Scary, indeed!
Things in this story hover at the edge of a world that seems present. It’s very sad. It makes people think. Thank you for coming by mine. Some days it’s harder to write than others, whew.
This is so appropriate for what’s happening today!
Interesting….
These stories are deep and really leave food for thought. Thank you for your art of capturing interest from your reader!
I agree with you. People really need to embrace others’ uniqueness if they really want their differences to be respected.
a great one!
I’m loving your storiesππ
Took me time to read all the comments, but I really enjoyed the post. It proved to become Really helpful to me and Im certain to all the commenters right here Its always nice when you can not only be informed, but also entertained Im certain you had fun writing this post.
It was really fun to write it.