The Last Martians

Return to Earth Part 15

Evelyn was concerned about the news from Foster City. She knew just how quickly panic and hatred could spread. Men and women in the north were already distrusting each other again. The gains she made to build trust between them disappeared overnight. Women were talking about how a male terrorist group murdered The Three and how all women were in danger. Men were talking about the female rioters who killed many men and how all men were in danger. Neither group was prepared to acknowledge that the murderers as well as the rioters could be wrong. The more extreme women quickly came up with a new mantra; 'If you are against the protests, you are against women.' They used this to shout down anybody, including women, who dared to criticise the protesters, or who dared to call them rioters. Many men were glad the Foster sisters were murdered. They were the leaders of the organisation which revolted against male dominance, perceived or not. Many men died during the revolution, so many saw the Foster sisters as murderers. They believed the women got exactly what they deserved.

Two women in particular were very vocal about how chauvinistic men were for not supporting the riots. They were two friends in their mid-forties, Wilma and Kelly. The two friends talked to women in the city every day and knew about the demand for all men to return to earth. They were planting this seed with other women, trying to get support for a movement to send the men back to Earth. This movement named itself 'Peaceful Women'.

Linda phoned Evelyn two days after she ordered the execution of the four men whom she found guilty of assassinating the Foster sisters.

'We have a situation. The women here will not back down unless we send all the men on Mars back to Earth.' Linda was not looking for advice. She hoped to get the northern leader's backing in order to make the execution of the deportation plan easier.

'Surely that is not a serious demand.'

'I thought so as well. But after I gave in to their demands to execute the murderers, my women became even more determined that men should be deported or killed.'

'How can we even consider that? We will be the last Martians if there are no men left.'

'Our sperm bank is stocked. We don't really need the men.'

'What about baby boys? Will we kill them at birth?'

'We will teach the next generation of men to respect women. They will not be exposed to the bad influence of the current Martian men.'

'You should do what you think best for the city. But I will not be sending my men back to Earth.'

'Don't be foolish. War is close if we do not act soon. We have two choices. Fight our own women, or send the men back to Earth. If we go with the first choice, many women will die. Men will be in the majority again and they will rule Mars again. If we send men back to Earth, nobody dies and we have the opportunity to build a peaceful and prosperous society for the generations to come.'

'There is a third option. Stop the media from sowing division between men and women. Arrest the leaders of the riot. Arrest any men who are members of the Alpha Dogs, and build a society where men and women can trust each other again.'

'You northerners are too stubborn. Your stubbornness will come back to bite you one day.'

Evelyn knew she had to talk to all the northerners to ease tensions. She considered having one meeting, but with tensions rising between the genders, she settled on having a meeting with the men, followed by a meeting with the women.

The men were quiet when she entered the recreation centre. Most of them no longer trusted any women, including the women who tried her best to reunite northern men and women.

'Good afternoon. I will give the women exactly the same message I will give you now. There are two reasons why I decided to have two separate meetings. Tensions have been rising the last few days and I do not want any clashes. I also want to make sure each group is free to express their fears and concerns. Linda, contacted me earlier on behalf of the leadership in Foster City. Their plan to send all men back to Earth. I made it very clear to her I will not send any of my men back to Earth against their will. Off course I will not stand in the way of any man or woman who wants to return there. For those who want to stay, I will work hard to ensure we build a peaceful society in the north. There is no reason why men and women cannot live together in peace.'