Tag Archives: Men

September 15, 2015 · 6:51 pm

The Monster

SWOSex 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 sixteenth segment:

It had been almost a whole colony-year, four hundred and fifty colony-days, since a special expedition of colony-citizens had taken the last trip outside. D.L. was very much aware of this fact. The rare trips outside into the world above, with its open air and space, ordered randomly by the Mother-Colony, were usually a cause for much commotion and celebration in the underground colony. It was the only way, in fact, to stir any excitement, along with certain worries, into the lives of the colony-citizens.
The level and density of the nuclear radiation in the air outside was fluctuating, shifting constantly with the winds and clouds. It was still dangerous enough to justify the infrequency and rarity of the trips outside. There was also not much out in the wind-swept plains and valleys: everything had been extinct on the earth above for many years. Radiation clouds ruled the land. No living creatures existed, and no growing flora; nothing of nature’s past domination was there to see and smell. Only a scorched, barren ground.
D.L. checked the level of radiation outside, as well as the weather. It was summer up above, so it seemed; the long nuclear winter was finally over, evaporating and passing through. The wind strength was moderate, and the level of radiation was very low, almost undetected by the sophisticated, scientific computer in charge of keeping records of the radiation level outside. He looked at the various screens, transmitting the views captured by the outside cameras, and processing their data. It was night, but, taking a closer look, D.L. could see some signs of light here and there, penetrating through the darkness. That was enough for him; he left the Control-Room in a hurry.

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August 15, 2015 · 9:46 pm

Sex War One

SWOSex 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 fifteenth segment:

He again traveled on the constantly moving tracks, before taking the elevator down to the backyard level. Once there, he quickly entered Z.Z.’s shack. She was deep asleep, so peaceful and secure, the way she had slept when she was a child, before she was attacked and abused by the other kids. Only the innocents can sleep like that, the thought flashed in his head. He stood still by her side for a while, just looking at her, before touching her lightly with his hand. She woke up immediately and looked at him confused, as if unsure who he was. Then she got up, already alert, and approached him with the intention of hugging him.
It was an impulsive, natural act for her. She wasn’t used to his coming to visit her at such a strange time, dressed so unusually with this heavy-looking suit. It was as if he had come straight out of the dream from which she had awoken. No wonder she temporarily forgot what he had taught her about stretching her hand at him first. He stopped her approach, holding on to her shoulders with both hands. He held her like that, some distance away from him, looking at her intently for a moment before signaling her to sit down. She understood him and followed his order. She was frightened and hurt.
It occurred to him that maybe he should take pity on her. It was a “historic” word, pity, a word they had studied at school but no longer used. It represented a feeling, such as love and hate, which belonged to a different age: the Family Age. He thought about it only briefly, before quickly deciding to reverse course again.
He set his helmet down on the floor, signaled her to stay put, and hurried out of her shack. He went back to the yard and tunnels, and from there up to the main Control-Room. B.F. allowed him in without any questions, as if he were waiting for him. It took D.L. a moment to get used to the bright lights in the large room, a room full to capacity with computers and screens of all kinds, robots of all shapes and sizes, many cameras and a single colony-citizen, responsible for the smooth execution of all the colony’s operations.
D.L. asked B.F. to order the robot in charge of the Weapons-Cell to open it for him. Only one particular robot was authorized to open that cell, where a few radiation-guns and some more elaborate radiation-machine-guns were kept locked. Other than in that cell, there were no weapons in the colony. The colony-citizens had no use for weapons: they were kept there only for an emergency use, such as an attack from a different colony, from an alien planet, or for use in other such unexpected events. Even then, if possible, and time permitted, they were to be used only by direct orders from the Mother-Colony.
Not this time, though. D.L. explained to B.F. that he needed the gun for the purpose of exterminating the Monster. He needed no further explanations: B.F. supported N.R.’s position on the matter and was glad to see D.L. obeying the General-Assembly’s decision. He ordered Robot W.1, in plainspoken language, to open the Weapons-Cell and hand D.L. a radiation-gun. The robot insisted, speaking in kind, on receiving the correct code for such an unusual request. B.F., though agitated with the robot, consulted with a nearby computer screen and provided the code: a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. Robot W.1, satisfied with the given code, proceeded mechanically and efficiently, using not only its arms but also electronic beam signals coming from its head, to execute the order.
D.L. checked the load level of radiation in the gun, as he had been trained to do in his youth, and found it to be satisfactory. He thanked Robot W.1 verbally, and also tapped on its head twice fondly, eliciting sounds and lights of joy from the robot. He then inserted the gun into a special, big pocket in his trip-suit.

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July 15, 2015 · 2:24 pm

Sex War One

SWOSex 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 Fourteenth segment:

He entered his room without a clear answer to that question. He lay on his bed without turning the lights on and reflected on the events of this most unusual, disturbing colony-day. He surveyed the small dots of lights in his room, in various colors, representing different functions and tasks: The Common-Connecting camera light, the Door-Controlling light, his Private-Screen light, the Music light, the Food light, and so on. Upon his wish and command they could all be activated, using the electronic distance-device, which was resting in a plastic holster by the side of his bed.
D.L. soon realized he wouldn’t be able to sleep, even if he put his mind strongly to it. His thoughts were wandering elsewhere, trying to figure out what had happened to him lately, how, and why he was such a changed man so unexpectedly. Maybe N.R. was right after all; maybe it was the right decision to get rid of the Monster. Kill this disease before it had a chance to spread. He should go back to the safe, firm rationalization box of his previous self. He should flee, and flee fast, from the warm, soft bosom of that emotional world Z.Z. had engulfed him in. She represented a world full of worries and apprehensions. Maybe it was better for him to go back to the realm where the cold, clinical thinking he had possessed not so long ago still ruled, a realm that had no room for uncontrolled, weak emotions such as the ones swirling inside him now.
He was a superior creature, was he not? He was a product, first and foremost, of an advanced race. He was computerized and supervised, programmed and controlled. He was the scientific result of many experiments and countless labored years; years of wars and death they were, years of epidemics and illnesses. He was the son of a ruling class, a class that governed only itself. There was no other class, or other race in existence anymore. The life he was supposed to lead was a straight, predetermined life: without changes, without detours, without sickness of any kind.
He decided then and there to change his plan and get rid of Z.Z. ‘Yes,’ he reaffirmed that decision to himself: he would kill the dark, threatening Monster. And he would do so soon.
Feeling confident again and therefore invigorated, he got up and turned on the lights with the help of the distance-device. There was nothing to hide any longer. He touched the device again and his closet rolled out of the wall. He took out his special outside trip-suit, resistant to nuclear radiation. Before putting it on, he entered his small bathroom, peed and washed his hands and face. Back in the room, he put the trip-suit on and took his helmet from the closet. He touched the symbol of the Common-Connecting camera on his small device, and soon his private oval screen came to life. He searched among the different camera views and saw that B.F. was on duty in the central Control-Room. For a quick moment they eyed each other squarely. D.L. was surprised to see him there; it was not his duty shift, he knew that. B.F. smiled, as if reading D.L.’s mind. D.L. didn’t return the smile, but turned off his private viewing screen and exited his room.

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June 15, 2015 · 6:52 pm

Sex War One

SWOSex 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?

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May 15, 2015 · 5:04 pm

Sex War One

SWOSex 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: amazon.com/dp/B00OI8HGVQ Smashwords Edition: smashwords.com/books/view/484747 (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 twelfth segment:

The purple light was blinking and she saw D.L.’s image reflected through the door. She touched the electronic distance-device that was in her hand and the door slid open soundlessly, allowing D.L. in. She stood up and, smiling wordlessly, pointed to the bed. He joined her there, as they both sat down on the bed. Between them an extended plastic arm held a tray prepared with a meal. The food was a combination of liquid and solid, mostly made of vitamin-enriched chemical-solutions. It was prepared by the Kitchen-Department unit and at the adjacent Food-Laboratory, where all the food supplies in this underground colony were made. Choices were limited, though there were different meal-combination options available for the citizens. S.O. knew them well, and therefore had ordered a satisfying, if light and scentless meal.
They ate quietly, not accustomed to pleasantries or small talk. S.O. realized that D.L. was preoccupied with the events of the colony-day, and probably with his visit to Z.Z. as well, so she avoided pressuring him with undue questions. She touched again her small distance-device and switched off the Common-Connecting camera, fixed in the center of the ceiling, which surveyed them and the room constantly. The colony-rules allowed citizens to turn off the cameras for sexual meetings, though this was neither recommended, nor encouraged.
They ended the meal by drinking a hot, invigorating potion, and by sniffing from a special tube containing a unique sharp aroma, which provided after-meal relaxation and enjoyment.
“How is she?” S.O. finally asked.
“Asleep,” replied D.L. “Knows nothing.”
“What would you do now?”
He hesitated momentarily. The listening devices were always on, in addition and apart from the cameras, and were connected to the colony’s Control-Room. The general purpose was not ostensibly to put the colony-citizens under constant surveillance – though it did exactly that, since all conversations were digitally recorded – but rather to be prepared in case there was a need, or even just a wish, to listen to the recordings. Such as an order from the Mother-Colony some time in the future.
“What would you like to hear?” S.O. intelligently switched to a different subject.
“Something quiet,” he replied, “from the days before the war.”
Again, she grabbed her small electronic distance-device and rapidly entered some choices. The tunes that soon filled the room were quiet and relaxing, yet also complex, reminiscent of compositions from long ago by those strange, eccentric people who wrote and played music on various old instruments. It was so different here in the colony, where the sophisticated music-computer kept producing endless variations based on the creations of the past. D.L. loved to listen to the old music, finding it inspiring and thought-provoking.
“I’m going to take her out,” he said calmly.
“I understand.”
He smiled at her, grateful. Relationships between the sexes in the colony were not based on personal-affection or mutual-attraction. Love had been nonexistent for many years. It was, according to the last broadcast from the Mother-Colony, “for everybody everywhere!” It ruled over the universe. Over the colonies, too, wherever they were: high above, floating in the skies, or deep down, fixed in the ground. Among the people themselves, though, love – as was privacy – was strongly discouraged. It was actually not allowed by the colony-rules. There was no hatred, either, and there were no wars. Quarrels and fights between the colonies, or the colony-citizens themselves, were long extinct.

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March 15, 2015 · 3:08 pm

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: amazon.com/dp/B00OI8HGVQ
Smashwords Edition: smashwords.com/books/view/484747 (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 tenth segment:

Soon after, D.L. had designed and ordered a special shack to be built for her at the plastic department. He had supervised its construction and, once it was finished, had placed it here in the backyard, away from the colony’s center of living and activity. Z.Z. had lived in it ever since, and he was the only one to visit her and take care of her. What had begun as pure scientific curiosity had soon developed – due, in part, to how the other kids had behaved toward her, and also in part due to the extra responsibility he had taken on himself – into something other than pure scientific curiosity, something altogether different, which D.L. hadn’t anticipated and couldn’t even define precisely. It was other colony-citizens, such as N.R., who had first noticed these strange signs of closeness he had demonstrated toward the Monster: signs of care and concern, signs of affection and pity, maybe even signs of sadness and gladness. All of which were feelings and emotions uncommon within the golden-white race. Not in existence, de facto, and supposedly extinct for very long time.
Yet they had been awakened, and had begun to exist in D.L. It had all begun – the deterioration in the calm of co-existence, the escalation into something not yet well defined – when someone, supposedly in jest, had tied Z.Z. to her shack with a plastic cord. D.L. had taken the matter very seriously, even brought it for discussion at the General-Assembly. He had been forced by the assembly’s decision into preventing interaction, thereafter, between her and the colony-children. And to accomplish that, he had built the transparent fence and installed the combination lock. He alone had provided her with food and drink; he alone had helped her fall asleep at nights, as long as she had needed his help. He had talked to her at length, and had begun teaching her how to speak again, using hand signals. He had designed special toys for her in order to stimulate her, supposedly, limited intelligence.
Success and progress were slow in coming, and hard to appreciate. Z.Z. grew up, though: her black hair got longer and thicker, her brown eyes deepened, her lips got fuller and redder. D.L. never saw her naked body anymore; he turned his back to her and his eyes away when she went to the pool. She got undressed very rarely, since she always wore the same one-piece nylon dress supplied to her by the Clothes-Manufacturing unit. The last time he had seen her fully naked was when she was only a child, maybe ten colony-years in age. She was already somewhat shorter andheavier than the other girls in her tier by then, and her skin, he had noticed, was darker. Other than that, D.L. had noted no significant difference between her and the other girls.
She was awake, he suddenly realized. Her eyes were open, looking at him calmly. He continued to sit still and quiet, as a strange thought came to him: she was sensing that something was troubling him. She did not, as was her custom, get up and stretch her hand to him. When she was small, she used to jump on him and hug him, but as she grew up he had taught her to stretch her hand to him instead, so he could take it and hold it with both his hands.

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December 11, 2014 · 6:57 pm

Sex War One, the YouTube Video

The book trailer video for “Sex War One” is available for viewing on YouTube – http://youtu.be/dAGuktuMmLE – my Smashwords page – https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Shalomhd – my Goodreads page – https://www.goodreads.com/autho/show/5392683.Hillel_F_Damron
– and my literary website’s videos page: https://hillelbridge.com/videos-3/

Take your pick, as long as you sit back, relax, and enjoy watching and listening. For the full effect to penetrate your mind and stimulate your senses, I suggest a couple of viewing at the very least. If you like it – let it be known by spreading the word and “liking” it.

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December 8, 2014 · 3:40 pm

Sex War One

SWOOne week before publication of my dystopian Sci-fi novel, “Sex War One,” on December 15th, here’s the six segment of my award-winning short story, “The Monster.” It serves as the basis for the book, available for preorders at “Sex War One” Kindle Edition & “Sex War One” Smashwords Edition for iBookstore, iTunes, Kobo, B&N & more.
Also, to celebrate the upcoming publication of the book, and to elaborate on the process of writing the book – what brought it about; the whys and the hows; the process of writing, including the escapades and detours of my life – Smashwords has published an in-depth interview with me.

The “Monster:” He reentered his choice on the electronic keyboard, as did everybody else. This time, though, it took a while before the results appeared on the big screen. Some of the colony-citizens, it seemed, deliberated long and hard. Which was unusual; normally, the members were very quick and decisive. But finally, the result of the vote appeared on the central screen: Life = 16, Death = 17, Undecided = 3.
Nobody moved in the stillness of the great Assembly-Hall. They turned their heads and eyes though, as one body, and stared directly at D.L., awaiting his decision.
The wheels in his head were turning fast. It was still possible for him to demand another debate on this issue; it was within the rules that, as the Colony-Secretary, he was allowed to enforce. The undecided could still be required to decide. He also had the option and authority to call on all the colony-citizens, K.G. among them, to cast their votes on this most crucial of matters. He had some time, though it was quickly running out on him, to try and change the result of the vote. But N.R.’s threat to call on the Mother-Colony and report Z.Z.’s existence was serious and real, making the ultimate outcome almost inevitable. In addition, it was becoming clear to him, with an increasing rush of blood to his head that he wanted to go out. He was yearning to experience this unexpected, unplanned trip. In that sense, at least, his strategy was working well.
While he was still deliberating his next move, N.R. got up and began a purposeful march toward the door, her head held high. Q.T. escorted her, walking briskly one step behind her, and so was S.P., another woman who had been sitting quietly on N.R.’s left side. Both of them were younger than N.R., D.L. knew, and very much under her spell.
N.R. stopped by the double door momentarily and looked back at D.L.; it was as if she was still challenging him to try and do something about this outcome, or simply wished to absorb fully his reaction to her victory. He turned his eyes away from her, looking instead at the other citizens, who were all in the process of getting up and leaving the hall. In the life of the citizens here, in this secluded underground colony, there was no room for emotions, let alone a show of sympathy. Only one citizen, S.O., who had spoken in favor of letting the Monster live, stopped on her way out and looked at him concerned.
He rose up and returned her look. Like him, she was wearing a bluish, silken (though made out of special nylon) two-piece outfit, very easy on the body. The color of her hair, golden-blond, was similar to his, her height slightly shorter than his. Only her hips were narrower, accentuated now since her hands were resting on her waist. On her face remnants of delicate feminine features were apparent, but otherwise they looked very similar; similar in the same way all the colony-citizens resembled each other.

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October 15, 2014 · 7:05 pm

Sex War One

SWO“Fast-moving plot and skillful characterization,” the Science Fiction Studies journal wrote about my book, “War Of The Sexes.” It is now translated into English, adapted, updated and renamed as “Sex War One.” Publication date is set for December 15. Short description: Following a nuclear holocaust, the only survivals of the human race exist in a retro-style, yet technically advanced underground-colony. Males and females live in complete harmony and equality, but traditional marriages and families no longer exist, replaced by communal living with a fixed amount of babies being born periodically in a sophisticated birth-laboratory. Love is dead – or so they assume – substituted by an abundant of unemotional, free-for-all sex. But then something goes terribly wrong: a different female baby is mistakenly born in the lab, with a different shape and color from the regular, normal children. This catalyst induces two unforeseen, starkly opposing consequences: the return of love and affection on the one hand, and the dictatorial rule of women over men on the other. Ultimately, the oppression of the males leads to a revolt, and eventually to a full-scale war between the sexes, with the survival of the human race again at stake. “This book unifies within it the principles of major Science-Fiction literature. Damron deals very seriously with the moral issues of the future, while critiquing the present.”–Dan Omer, This World Published originally in Hebrew in 1982 by Domino Press, and praised at the time as the “best of all” Israeli Sci-fi literature by the Science Fiction Studies journal.

The new edition of the book is now available for preorders at “Sex War One” Amazon Kindle Edition and “Sex War One” Smashwords Edition for Apple iBookstore, Sony, Kobo, B&N, Aldiko & others.

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