[Report This]Date: October 28 2013 4:16 PM Title: Chapter 6
I was going to comment after the last chapter, but I'm glad I waited.
I like to immerse myself into stories; put myself in the lead character's shoes. So I felt the worry and anger that the main character was probably feeling. And the shock that his mother didn't seem to be worried about the daughter's resistance to her "betrothal".
There appear to be some issues that Sandra and the Narrator need to work out. Despite the hate sex, will they? Or are his concerns brushed aside so casually? I guess I'm still trying to wrap my head around how the sexes relate to eachother. Are men really just toys, and are treated as such? Are their opinions still taken into consideration? Your other stories took place during and just after the BOS, so there was still alot of "equality" in the relations. Probably a hold over from before.
This is the first time I've heard about any kind of telepathic link. Is that a one way connection?
Author's Response:
I think the mother assumes the daughter is just going through a phase, familiar to those who have teenage sisters, daughters, etc. and will be OK in ten minutes once things settle down. There is also a lot of self-deception from Mom, a lot of trying to convince herself she's doing the right thing, even to the point of writing "wedding vows."
"Hate sex" can often relieve tension. I can't say they'll become a permanent couple but it may allow Mike to reconcile to this situation while he tries to pivot toward something better, using women as leverage, as of course he must.
Toy is as much a metaphor as reality. It's an archetype that Mike can use to define his manhood. Toys may not account for much in terms of size or authority, but they can give women a lot of pleasure. Giving them personalities in Mike's mind makes them sort of his "bros." Telepathy has popped up in other ROS settings to varying degrees. The Goddess has appeared to men and women in ROS stories such as "A World of Breasts and Buttocks."
This is set right after the ROS, although the author is narrating from 20+ years later to his grown (about to be shrunk) son. At this point they are still trying to wrap their heads around the relationships between sexes. There is a wide range of treatment, although the Goddess bans outright violence or abuse. She allows for some variation. Remember Sandra knows Mike's mom, so she has some incentive to be kind. Plus she wants him to be reasonably intact, physically and mentally, for her daughter someday.
I think the key at this early time after ROS is instability, evolving to stability, not equality evolving to inferiority. Men have power in different ways than before, as women have power in different ways. Mike's in a situation analogous to many women who were forced into arranged marriages, and who might have had sexual pleasure with someone they might not have chosen on their own. Thanks for the review riczar!