Sex War One

Sex War One – my dystopian Sci-fi novel – is available for purchase in all eBooks & iBooks stores & devices. “Fast-moving plot and skillful characterization,” said the Science Fiction Studies journal. “This book unifies within it the principles of major Science-Fiction literature,” said This World. Kindle Edition & Smashwords Edition (for iTunes, Kobo, B&N & more.) For further details please check my books page.

To give you a taste of the book, I’ve been posting segments of my award-winning short story, “The Monster,” which serves also as the basis for the book. Here then is the thirteenth segment:

On that particular colony day, however, something unusual had happened, something so altogether new and alarming that it was difficult to define. It was something N.R. had brought to the forefront at the General-Assembly meeting, all because of Z.Z. He had to admit that this new development, which threatened the normal way of life in the colony, was to a large extent his own fault, and – to a lesser extent – the fault of the Birth-Machine. Perhaps it was in the nature of things that something like this would happen once in a while. Perhaps nature still played a role even here, in this advanced, unnatural underground colony.
D.L. was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he had paid no attention to S.O. when she nonchalantly got undressed. She was lying naked on her bed now, playing with the color-combination fixture that allowed her to control the colors and brightness of the room lights according to her wish and mood. Both she and D.L. were suffused now with a new, rotating array of bright colors. Gone were the plain colors. He could hardly remember how and when she had got undressed, but whatever he had felt existed earlier between them had evaporated now, along with the old colors. Contrary to his conscious wishes, apathy toward her was overcoming him. Or maybe it was simply apprehension. He was baffled, as it had never happened to him before.
She gazed at him, as if through fog, inviting him to join her. Her body was shining, as were the colors reflected from the plastic walls. Her white nakedness, so beautiful and perfect to the eye, could not at that moment – for some obscure reason – stimulate D.L.’s imagination or his libido. Her wish and desire to sexually interact with him registered, yet failed to inspire or invigorate him, and the quality of the moments before she undressed disappeared.
He felt obligated to her, though, and therefore undressed and lay down naked beside her. She changed the music then, and what pleasantness had been around and within him, now vanished. The new tunes sounded harsh and devoid of any meaning. Maybe it was due to the last Assembly-Hall meeting, so vivid in his mind, and the imminent separation from Z.Z. He was absorbed and worried, which S.O. sensed. She was not accustomed to it, yet she got closer to him, her naked, slick body clinging to his, and tried to stimulate him, even trying a couple of the special instruments attached to her bed, designed for self-pleasure. But nothing helped – he remained dormant. Even her long, lotion-smoothed fingers, and her wet, willing lips, were useless. She finally gave up and turned her back to him.
He got up and put on his clothes. He felt guilty and sorry: for her and for himself. How unusual it was for him to feel that way, he reflected as he moved to the door. He stopped there, thinking that he ought to turn back and apologize. He wanted to tell her that it had never happened to him before, this inability to have an erection for sexing, that it was all because of the assembly meeting, because of N.R., and of course, because of Z.Z.
But there was no use in doing so. S.O. was clearly upset with him; her thin, naked back was directed at him so coldly. Soon, he speculated, after he was no longer here and out of her mind and thoughts, she would turn around and busy herself with the self-stimulating instruments, would gratify herself sexually without him. He was a non-existent entity for her by now, he realized.
He saw no other option but to walk out of the room, hoping she wouldn’t become his enemy as well. S.O. had tried to help him, after all, in the Assembly-Hall meeting and later on, when they had talked in the corridor. It was inconceivable to him that she had done so only to have some pleasure with him. She could have gotten that from him, or from any other member of the colony, whenever she desired. There were no rules or limitations about partners for pleasure and sexing, only encouragement to do so more often. She wanted to help him forget his earlier troubles, but he was incapable of doing so and had failed her miserably. It was possible, too, that she didn’t care much about his failure. Maybe it was all just in his head. He was so worried, even scared, showing all these strange signs suddenly. What was the matter with him?