Be Prepared
Copyright© 2025 by Han Jansz. van Meegeren
Chapter 16
“Drew has something to say to us all,” Jenny said one evening as we sat around in the living room. The living room was very much alive with six women present. “We talked about it today at work, and it would be good if everyone would pay attention, real attention, to what he has to say today.”
Drew doesn’t like to be in the centre of attention, but it has nothing to do with being shy. Misunderstandings in the past regarding his social behaviour made him hesitant to be in the centre of attention. “In my work, Jenny and Aislinn told me I am very assertive. I guess that is true. I have a mission to do research that might save us from the Sa’arm. And to be honest, that is my focus in life. Working hard at the university, doing something groundbreaking, gave me the motivation and a goal in life. I like it to be useful. In the last months, my life has changed so much. I got married to a beautiful woman,” He looked at me, “my mother is walking around in the nude, Jenny is doing the documentation of my work, Aislinn does the boring parts of my work, sorry Aislinn, and I live my fantasy life with Isis. And last but not least, Kia is the little sister I never had.”
We all broke a new world record by remaining silent as he spoke. “I’ve been told by Sharon and Isis that I don’t take enough initiative. To them, it’s as if I approve of everything that happens, and I just stand there and watch life go by. I confess I’ve been so overwhelmed; that’s what I’ve been doing until today. Keep in mind that I’ve only lived with my mother and Sharon up to this point. It’s a life I liked. I love the quiet life. If we were to quarrel, it would be all I could think about. The only thing I would want to do is for you guys to make up, and what I need to do to make that happen.”
“Today Jenny asked if I was happy, because I sure didn’t look happy since all of you came to live with us. And she was right.” He calmed everyone down. “I told her I cherish the moments I am alone; I need that to recharge my batteries.”
“Well, love, I am here to recharge your battery”, Isis said playfully.
“That’s not what I mean, Isis,” he retorted quite sharply.
“Of course it isn’t, dear,” Joyce soothed.
“DON’T treat me like a child who said something wrong.” Drew shouted. “Perhaps I am a little bit smarter in biochemistry than most, but I cannot see anything special in that. That stuff is what I easily connect with. It speaks to me, and I talk back. It’s nothing more than that. What do I know about women? I always thought that the bond I shared with Isis on screen would be the deepest intimacy I’d have with a woman. Sharon came and did everything she could to figure me out. This beautiful woman was trying to get to know me. Me!” Tears welled up in his face as he talked faster. “And Sharon brought Jenny and Isis and Kia, and ... Now I have six women who are constantly pushing me to lead them. Some of them even call me their master and look upon themselves as slaves. But I don’t want slaves! I have no desire to punish any of you if you do something I don’t like. All of you are smarter than I am. Even if you know nothing about biochemistry. You are all older than I am, except Kia of course, and you understand so much more about having a relationship than I ever will. I don’t want to be your leader; I want to be one of you.”
Jenny was the first to react. “Good of you to be at last open up to us, Drew. We have been guessing what is going on in your mind, but we’re not mind readers, you know. So we make mistakes. Women are not some divine race that never makes mistakes, you know? All of us are confused and worried about the future. The media have shown us this picture of us being concubines, and nobody really knows what it means to be a concubine, really.”
I took over. “We have to assume concubines in space are like slaves on Earth. We have to prepare for the worst.”
Aislinn interrupted, “At this time, right here and right now, we are trying to become a team to support each other, because we do not know if you can stand up for us in the future. Support might have to come from us, not from you. In some ways, we will be your prisoners, and you are our captor. Here on Earth, we are trying to get to know you, and you will get to know us, so we can become a happy family.”
Isis giggled. “With lots of children.”
“I think I have to make something very clear, Drew,” I said. “You didn’t ask for 6 women to follow you in space; they were given to you, forced upon you by the AI that determined your CAP-score. You did not ask any of these women here to become a concubine; each and every one of them volunteered to do so. None of us is held captive here, so even if all of us have different reasons to follow you, and not one of the women present here can blame you for what is going to come next.”
“Some days I feel a sheikh with a harem full of girls that do anything that I say, and that feels great, but most days I’m afraid I can’t live up to the responsibility of protecting you all. Everyone knows how I am with people.”
“We don’t need protection; we are all quite capable of protecting ourselves, Drew,” Aislinn said.
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