“Are you… did that affect you emotionally?” Tom asked, suddenly, when the two were a few feet down the corridor.
“What?” Illoia asked. She had been trying to understand the various cultural overtones of the discipline session.
“It can be disturbing, seeing someone get lashed.”
“Oh! No, that was no problem. I was a governor’s daughter, after all.”
“I don’t understand.”
“My father watched every major punishment,” she said. “He had the power of pardon, and so felt it his duty to watch all of the punishments. And we came with him, once we were a certain age old. He said it was part of our duty, as well.”
“I didn’t realize.”
“And just getting a lad get beaten is no particular hardship anyway. It is a frequent occurrence, and I had many brothers and cousins.”
“Ah.”
“The death penalty was harder. But before we would go, Father would explain to us exactly what the man… it was almost always a man, I only remember one lass, had done, and why he needed to be executed.”
“I see. Well, very good. You will be in a similar position as my wife. I will have cause, many times, to exercise discipline. Either informally, as here, or formally.”
‘There was one thing I didn’t understand,” Iloia said, after a pause. “What was with the ‘shepherd tape’?”
Tomirosh chuckled. “That’s the way we do things in the army,” he said, almost sotte vocce. “You see, My Love, the army has two contradictory goals. We desire to firmly enforce the articles, to train them in with their mother’s milk, as it were. But, at the same time, we can’t have our soldiers turning into little sneaks and snitches. So what both lads did, this morning, was wrong. The one lad for blaspheming, the other lad for telling on him.”
“What should he have done?”
“They should have ‘reasoned together’, as the Mid Ranker and I discussed. The lad who blasphemed should have come back from the shower with bruises, and no one should have said anything.”
“So the shepherd tape?”
“Well, it does three things. It bonds the two lads together. It will remind the one lad not to blaspheme. And it will punish the other lad for being a snitch. Being shepherd taped can be very, very annoying.”
“You speak with experience?”
“Yes.”
There was long pause… “Can you… do you mind telling me what for?”
“Not at all,” he said. “As my wife you have the full right to know. It was when I was very first drafted. My second week, in fact. I was… indeed I still am, but the situation was worse back then, socially inept. Extremely socially inept. This was causing some disruption in our training barracks, so I was shepherd taped.”
“To whom?”
“Ah, well, as here it was to someone… well, he was someone that was enjoying teasing me about my social ineptness.”
“So it was a punishment for him, as well?”
“Oh, it was an extreme punishment for him. And extremely effective. He and I still communicate frequently on important subjects. Indeed the taping worked… oddly. He became willing to correct my slightest social misstep, but neither I nor anyone else considered it a problem. It was his job while we were buddy taped together, and once it was his job, we, neither of us, considered it problematic, and so, once the tape was off, he just continued.”
“Oh,” Illoia said, trying to wonder what he would have been like *before* he was socially trained.
“Were you… have you received any diagnosis?” She asked. Ordinarily she would have waited for her husband, if she had married some other husband, to tell her this, but that seemed counterproductive in this case.
“Austism? Or Fenstin-Tarrau? No, although you won’t be the first to ask. My medical file has a preemptive block on testing for those… so many medics have tried to suggest it. No, my social problems… or my very oddly shifted social sense… comes from my upbringing. I was an orphan. A civilian war orphan, in fact.”
“Oh!” Illoia said, shocked. “I had no idea!”
“It isn’t common knowledge. I call my adoptive parents my parents to avoid social awkwardness. This was a lesson my shepherd brother taught me.”
“Oh, well, yes, I suppose that is a good idea. It can make people uncomfortable.”
Indeed, it made her uncomfortable. Although as his wife, she needed to know. Indeed she wanted to know more, but was now a bit afraid of asking.
“Do you think the shepherd tape will work with these lads?” she asked, finally.
“Oh, yes. It is a perfect situation. The one lad was sheltered, middle class, and is overwhelmed by this environment. The other lad is lower class, used to fighting his way through life. He will need to learn some… discretion, but the other lad has the real need. He will find being shepherd taped very overwhelming but, at the same time, it will give him… I can’t really describe it. It will make things easier for him, socially.”
Illoia tried to imagine it, but failed. Certainly it hadn’t been a punishment her father had used.
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Von
Links
Article 17
Article 17 is a military science fiction story with aliens and romance. It is set in a future reminiscent of Napoleon era Britain. The war was going very poorly until the military installed a dictator. This story follows one of the dictator’s great men: Cladin Tomirosh, Leader, and thrice decorated hero.
Intro // Podcast Version
She was pretty, popular, snobby, and a planetary governor’s daughter. He was the son of shopkeepers, a social misfit, and a decorated hero. She thought she was there to dance. He had other ideas.
A Dance // Podcast Version
As a governor’s daughter, Illoia usually avoided such events, but when the captain made the announcement that there was to be an Article 17 dance, she, too, was forced to attend. If only the scum hadn’t been there too.
The Unbridgeable Chasm // Podcast Version
Eukles and Meriones, brave military leaders, quail at the idea of crossing the gulf between themselves and asking a lass to dance.
There He Is // Podcast Version
The young hero comes in, and Aleshia and Illoyia gossip about him.
Look at the Young Hero // Podcast Version
The young hero comes in, and greets Eukles and Meriones… and announces his intentions.
Target // Podcast Version
Tom, Leader Cladin Tomirosh, sets his sights on the governors daughter. She isn’t impressed.
Fuming // Podcast Version
Tom and Illoia dance, while she desperately tries to get him to go away!
Now’s Our Chance! // Podcast Version
Eukles and Meriones use Tom and Illoia as a distraction and stalk their own girls.
To Slap or Not to Slap // Podcast Version
Meriones introduces himself to his new wife with a slap on the backside.
No Sane Man // Podcast Version
Illoia insults the young hero, and he proposes.
Never You, Darling // Podcast Version
Illoia finds herself unable to turn down his proposal.
A Wild Dance // Podcast Version
Illoia finds being Tom’s Consented Wife hard… with wild New Irish dances and immodest ones.
Registered // Podcast Version
A new marriage is registered. All hail the dictator!
Middy’s Got a Lass! // Podcast Version
Medinia is deliriously happy… she got 17d!
A Duel to the Death // Podcast Version
Illoia wakes up next to her new husband.
A Dowry // Podcast Version
As it turns out, Illoia brings some money into the marraige.
Fitting // Podcast Version
Even soldiers wives have to wear the uniform.
Message // Podcast Version
So, about telling her father. It’s not going to be easy.
Training // Podcast Version
Even soldiers wives have to learn how to shoot aliens.
The Captain // Podcast Version
So, about telling the governor about the marriage you allowed on your ship, Sir…
Presentation // Podcast Version
The absolute last chance to get an Article 17 wife, with everyone all lined up and shaking hands and no real time to talk…
Ma, Pa, Squeakers // Podcast Version
Imagine sending a tick tock message to your family telling them you are married.
Yee Haw // Podcast Version
Illoia is shocked to find that Tom considers his social responsibilities at a weird eating joint.
New Ship // Podcast Version
Telling the Governor // Podcast Version
Aleshia rides down on a shuttle, takes an aircar to the governors mansion, and gets to face his temper.
Hardship // Podcast Version
Marja is finding marriage very hard. Not her husband, just… life.