The Republic

Men have been the cause of disaster throughout history. When they've held power anguish, sorrow, and disparity follows without fault. Their latest contest of egos has left the world barren, both in life and fertility. Chemical warfare has left men disproportionately affected. They either die before sexual maturity, or left sterile. Boys who are tested and found capable of procreation are given to the government where they are prepped for the Market. With the drastic decrease in the male population, a power vacuum was created: one that only women could fill. With women ruling most, if not all current civilizations, a new era of peace has spread throughout the world. But, this piece comes with a price. Sterile men can never be more than proletariats that bow to the will of society. Fertile men will be even less, well, until they are Claimed. Never again will society belong to men. Lina knows this. She accepts it. Her mother, afterall, is the general of the New Republic, second to only the President. A position her mother earned through birthright and skill: she has won battles and has come from a long line of women who bore healthy sons. But, the callous cruelty her mother so easily demonstrates in the treatment of the male population is not passed onto her only daughter, Annalina. Because of her status, she must partake in the same customs as the women that came before her; however, when faced with the direct effect of her actions, Lina struggles to choose between her duty and get conscience.