32. A Private Room in a Restaurant
Thirty women and two men are sitting at tables with glasses, cups, and a few bottles of water and wine.
Inanna stands up.
INANNA
Although none of us has been apprehended or even bothered, the authorities are still trying to find what has caused the A-C-D epidemic of two years ago. The fact that it no longer makes the front page must not let us think that the danger has passed.
For this reason, we thought it best to limit the number of representatives invited at this meeting — let me use this occasion to greet our two male colleagues — to reduce the risks to a minimum. You are all tasked with informing your networks, but please remain on your guard.
In a moment, Asherah will tell you all about her new discovery. I can assure you that it’s an amazing one, and it fully supports our objective to eradicate all forms of violence, especially those against women and children. With her new product, our goal could become a reality in a very near future.
A thrill of excitement goes through the room.
INANNA
However, you’ll leave this gathering empty-handed, —
She is interrupted by an “oooh” of disappointment.
INANNA
… in case you are searched when returning to your country. But don’t worry, everything will be sent to you in due course when you are safe.
Asherah stands up. Inanna whispers a few words in her ear and leaves the room.
ASHERAH
A few years ago, I developed a product to which I gave the very romantic name of M-C, standing for Male Control.
The laughter loosens the tension in the room. Inanna comes back and sits down.
ASHERAH
Don’t look for poetry behind this name, as you won’t find any.
(laughter)
Like i2, M-C is a protein that prevents the production of testosterone. But whereas i2 has to be ingested by males, M-C has to be taken by the woman at the beginning of her pregnancy.
A murmur goes through the room.
ASHERAH
The effects of M-C are practically identical to those of i2. However, the two products differ on one essential aspect: whereas the effects of i2 are always the same whatever its dosage, those of M-C vary with its dosage. M-C offers, therefore, the possibility to create physiological as well as psychological variations in the expression of masculinity in men.
The representatives show their amazement with an uproar. Asherah waits until the calm has returned before continuing.
ASHERAH
M-C gives women a new tool to exert control over their progeny because it gives them the possibility to decide the degree of masculinity the boy they will bring out into the world will have.
A representative raises her hand.
REPRESENTATIVE #1
Has M-C been tested on pregnant women?
ASHERAH
Yes, of course. We began the tests about two years ago. Since then, a hundred women have participated. Until today, every woman has given birth to a beautiful baby, or to the most beautiful baby, if we believe the mothers themselves.
(laughter)
Mothers and children are all doing very well. Besides, M-C doesn’t seem to have altered the sexual demographic distribution: fifty-one percent of these women gave birth to a girl, forty-nine percent to a boy. It’s a normal proportion for such a small sample.
I want to take this opportunity to thank once again all these women who had the courage to take this step into the unknown with us.
Another representative stands up.
REPRESENTATIVE #2
Why use M-C if there are no differences between the women that take it and those that don’t?
ASHERAH
M-C stops the spermatogenesis and prevents the development of secondary sexual characters in boys at puberty. The sexual organs, on the other hand, keep their normal appearance.
The women who have taken M-C know that they will have to wait approximately ten years before the differences become visible.
REPRESENTATIVE #1
Did they all receive the same dosage?
ASHERAH
No, we tested several dosages, while taking the mothers’ desires into account. To help them in their choice, we’ve established four prototypes representing four different dosages. You will find a description of these prototypes in the file that you will receive.
A third representative rises.
REPRESENTATIVE #3
Why this meeting then, if we’ll have to wait for at least another eight years before the first boys reach puberty and the results of this first batch are known?
ASHERAH
Our goal is to provide women with absolute control of their procreative capacities within one generation. The fact that the tests on pregnant women have demonstrated that M-C is harmless for the mother as well as for the child has motivated us to take the next step. That’s why you are here tonight.
REPRESENTATIVE #3
But how do we know that there won’t be any adverse effects on girls?
ASHERAH
Because M-C provokes the syndrome of androgen insensibility in the fetus. Its effect is concentrated on male genitalia, and its consequences on the sexual development of girls are negligible. Furthermore, any adverse effect on girls with a hormonal instability could be easily compensated.
REPRESENTATIVE #1
Has one of these women been pregnant after this first pregnancy?
ASHERAH
Yes, two of them have become pregnant a few months after their first childbirth with M-C. However, neither of them took M-C during their second pregnancy.
One delivered a girl a few days ago, and all is well. The second woman should give birth in a month’s time.
REPRESENTATIVE #3
But is there no risk that M-C will create an imbalance in the distribution of the sexes that could prove irreversible? In the long term, couldn’t it mean the disappearance of the male sex, and therefore, the extinction of humanity?
ASHERAH
You raise a crucial point here. There are several ways to consider it.
First of all, many, many years will have gone by before the number of women that have taken M-C is sufficient to have a substantial impact on the demographic balance.
Besides, many laboratories today can artificially impregnate an ovum. This could, however, imply that the black market for active spermatozoids is going to experience a fantastic boom.
(laughter)
And finally, I hope to reassure you completely by saying that we are nowhere near a shortage of semen. On the contrary, there is an overabundance of it. As of now, sperm banks have the capacity to repopulate the planet for several generations.
(laughter and applause)
As you can see, there is nothing to fear about the survival of the human race. Besides, think about the historical process of detestosteronization that has not only made human features more feminine, but that has also allowed our ancestors to become more social beings. In turn, this has accelerated the development of tools and arts, and has ultimately given birth to modern society with the introduction of agriculture — which, I need not remind you, was introduced by women, as the men had gone hunting.
(laughter)
A reduction in the level of testosterone has not decreased the survival possibilities of the human species. On the contrary, it has multiplied them.
On the other hand, in their quest to control nature, men have pushed its conquest to extremes that have brought us to the brink of extinction.
The step that we are going to take today doesn’t have the eradication of violence as the only goal. It will also allow us to ensure our long-term survival in a most rapid and efficient manner by protecting the nature on which our existence depends. It is especially to guarantee humanity’s survival that we have to place it in women’s hands. They have to take control of it.
The representatives all rise and applaud.
