35. The Center of Vows
Inside the dome, holographic projections of women and men approach the newcomers to inform and direct them. The hosts and hostesses wear the same kind of clothes as the visitors they accost. What lies beyond remains invisible.
Among the crowd, two women in their thirties seem to come for the first time. Christine, the tallest, is blonde and wears a black suit. The collar of her jacket forms a small screen around her head. Saïda has brown hair and is dressed in a curved yellow suit and matching heels.
A hostess in a black costume ornamented with a gold brooch immediately appears to welcome them.
THE HOSTESS
Welcome. Can I provide a messenger for you?
SAÏDA
With pleasure. We would like to talk to a counselor about the possibilities of simultaneous pregnancies, but before that, we want to watch some of your displays.
THE HOSTESS
Very well. One moment, please.
A gray dwarf dove appears, fluttering above the head of the hostess.
THE HOSTESS
This is Kate. She will appear when you call her.
(to Christine)
Would you like Kate to respond to your voice as well?
CHRISTINE
No, it won’t be necessary. Thank you!
THE HOSTESS
Will that be all?
SAÏDA
Yes, thank you.
THE HOSTESS
Pregnancy will fit you both very well.
(disappearing)
You are lucky.
The two women smile. As soon as the hostess has vanished, the interior of the Center of Vows appears. The dove leads the two women to a circular plateau, where they take a seat. The plateau immediately starts to go down, forming large circular movements. The dove has disappeared.
A large circular plaza lined with cafes and restaurants occupies the bottom floor of the Center. In the middle of this esplanade, a white grand piano placed on a slightly raised platform slowly turns as the pianist plays well-known tunes that fill the dome.
Each terrace has its own musicians as well, with invisible acoustic walls insulating their music from that of the other terraces.
When the plateau has landed on the esplanade, the dove reappears and guides Christine and Saïda to the Square of the Displays, a circular space adjacent to the central plaza. As soon as the two women have entered the square, the dove disappears.
At the center of the square, three-dimensional projections presenting erotic situations rapidly follow each other. The periphery of the square is lined with windows, all of the same size.
Behind each window, there is a small room with, at the back, a large bed that can accommodate three people. The walls around the bed are covered with mirrors and screens. At the front of the room, one sees a high stool, a metal bar fixed to the ceiling and the floor, and several accessories that vary from one room to the next: a hammock, a massage table, a vibrator, a three-dimensional projection, etc. Lamps emitting a reddish glow light the room. Each window is separated from the next by a door hidden behind a red curtain.
The windows that are lit display a wide variety of male sexual partners. Men wearing a loincloth or a small slip take erotic poses, dance, caress themselves, or show their muscles to attract passers-by. Most of these men are young, tall, and muscular, but a few are old, small, bald, with fat bellies, or even obese. Some are covered with hair; others have skin as smooth as that of a baby; others still exhibit erotic tattoos. Many ethnic groups are also represented to accommodate all tastes.
On each window, information concerning its occupant is displayed to the public. Next to his three-dimensional picture, one reads his age, his provenance, his size, weight, the length of his penis, and a sexual resume containing, among other things, his chromosomal group with the precise level of testosterone produced by his body. A stamp guarantees that his semen is not active, and another one indicates the date of his last medical examination, which is mandatory every three months for the employees of the Center of Vows.
Visitors, mostly females, often stroll in couples or in groups from one window to the next, making abundant and piquant comments and laughing a lot. Sometimes, they enter a room to ask about the activities that the man proposes and his prices. If a deal is done, the man pulls a curtain that isolates the bed from the gaze of the public, and a small red lamp above the window is switched on. When the curtain is not closed because the customer desires to be exposed to the public’s gaze, the red light is flashing. In this way, passers-by are invited to come in and join the activity in progress.
Christine and Saïda go slowly from one window to the other, carefully examining the data of their occupants. They do not talk. After having looked at several windows, Saïda says:
SAÏDA
I think I’ve seen enough. What an exhibition! But it’s not really what we are looking for? Do you want to go on?
CHRISTINE
No, you’re right, it’s nothing for us. Let’s go.
As they leave the Square of the Displays, the dove reappears.
