“Ok, Bestie, what’s wrong?” Jellia said, plopping herself down next to Leah at lunch. Leah had sat way away from anyone else, and Thomas was nowhere to be seen. Something was wrong.
Leah looked at her and, sure enough, she had been crying. “Thomas… Thomas is accusing me of violating the contract…”
“Has he filed yet?” Jellia asked, thinking fast.
“No…”
Jellia: Thomas. We need to talk. NOW!
She set her comp to ‘Family Emergency’. Which was almost accurate.
Thomas: Where are you?
Jellia: We are at a lunch table. Out on the right. Set your comp to ‘do not disturb’.
There was a long pause, and a kesh looked like they were going to come up but Jellia waved them off.
Jellia: NOW!
Thomas: Coming.
A minute or so later she saw him coming up. “Set your comp to family emergency,” she told Leah, who qualied. “Do it!”
“Jellia?!”
“I am not letting…” she saw that Thomas had come closer, “I am not letting two of my best friends break contract, and all that entails. I am… I don’t know what you call it here, but on Ephemera we called in an ‘intervention’. Now, Thomas, what clause is Leah violating? Thomas?”
He sighed, “Four.”
Jellia turned and slapped Leah. “Idiot! You knew you were en-drek-a-ing with someone in our class, your own age, who you knew really well. You should have memorised four! And repeatedly it daily! Now… stand up!”
“Jellia?!”
“Stand! Up!”
Leah stood up and Jellia stood next to her. “Now, I’m going to teach you the bow, “I’ve been an idiot.””
“What?” Leah said, giggling. “They can’t really call it that.”
“We did in school. It’s official name is something like ‘abject apology for deliberate ignorance’ or some such. I don’t remember. It’s been a long time. Now. Put your hands on your hips… while facing Thomas, for all love! No, flat on your… Yes, that’s right. Now. Look at the ground. Feel free to cry. And bow… no, way down, looking at the ground. Now, stay there.”
“How long…”
“Until he tells you to get up.”
There was a long pause. “And what do I do?” Thomas asked.
Jellia sat down. “You lay out the problem. You can’t physically chastise her for disrespect, or she will despise you. And if you don’t, she won’t understand how serious it is. So you need to come up with something you will do instead. When I am gone. And tell it to her. You haven’t… she hasn’t been having any problems with clause three?”
“No, nor any other clause. It’s just…”
“Yes, yes, it’s obvious. You two are such good friends that when you try to do the en-drek thing she doesn’t respect you. And you don’t want to chastise her because… you’re such good friends. So think of something else, and keep her bowing the whole time. Who knows, maybe you could use that. Anyway, it’s between the two of you, but I do NOT want to hear of you two breaking contract.”
She stomped away and thought maybe she heard something from Leah… but she didn’t stop to listen.
“What was that about?” Lydia asked her, staring at Leah.
“None of our business and it should have been obvious.”
“Oh. Oh. Ummm, yes. Oh, umm, well, yes. So, how was your math class today?”
Contract Marriage
Contract marriage is an adult dystopia examining the issues of marriage. Like 1984 and Brave New World, Contract Marriage treats the relations between the sexes as a fundamental aspect of how a society is formed and, thus, how a society can go wrong.
Unlike those dystopias, Contract Marriage isn’t all horrible all of the time. The characters for the most part have a good time and get along in their society. But the issues of sexuality, of marriage or not, monogamy or not, faithfulness or not, and gender roles… keep coming up and causing tension and conflict and joy and pain.
My desire is that my readers would be thinking along with my characters about these issues and perhaps even arrive at the same place (minus the flying cars).
Thank you for reading Von’s Substack. I would love it if you commented! I love hearing from readers, especially critical comments. I would love to start more letter exchanges, so if there’s a subject you’re interested in, get writing and tag me!
Being ‘restacked’ and mentioned in ‘notes’ is very important for lesser-known stacks so… feel free! I’m semi-retired and write as a ministry (and for fun) so you don’t need to feel guilty you aren’t paying for anything, but if you enjoy my writing (even if you dramatically disagree with it), then restack, please! Or mention me in one of your own posts.
If I don’t write you back it is almost certain that I didn’t see it, so please feel free to comment and link to your post. Or if you just think I would be interested in your post!
If you get lost, check out my ‘Table of Contents’ which I try to keep up to date.
Von also writes as ‘Arthur Yeomans’. Under that name he writes children’s, YA, and adult fiction from a Christian perspective. His books are published by Wise Path Books and include the children’s/YA books:
The Bobtails meet the Preacher’s Kid: A Christian historical fiction chapter book about four orphans who go to live with their aunt on a dairy farm.
The Bobtails and the Cousins: The sequel to Preacher’s Kid. The aunt has married, and the cousins come to visit. Meaning town kids dealing with chores and manure and…
The Bobtails go to France: The sequel to cousins. The Bobtails, and Preacher’s Kid, get to take a trip to New York, London, Paris, and a small town in France. To get some cheese.
and
No Ordinary School: A brilliant but socially clueless boy gets recruited for a special school. Where he makes a lot of money, gets a girl, and solves a mystery.
As well as GK Chesterton’s wonderful book, “What’s Wrong with the World”, for which ‘Arthur’ wrote most of the annotations.
Arthur also has a substack, and a website. On the substack you can listen to some of his published books. Free.
Thanks again, God Bless, Soli Deo gloria,
Von
Other Stories
Island People’s is not my only story on Substack. I have two light dystopias, or cultural sci-fi, or one of them is military sci-fi with aliens… Science Fiction can be difficult to categorise :)
Article 17: Intro
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8 JANUARY 2024
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.
And a fantasy-esque series of morality tales:
The Oracle at Toko-Ri
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1 MAY 2023
Next Post →
Prologue IP0
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11 AUGUST 2023
Island People is a young adult fantasy book centring on a young prince. The book starts with his kidnapping and follows his adventures as he not only escapes from his kidnapper but gains critical allies and friends.
Without a Word
Without a Word is a historical fiction story set in 1808 and follows the struggles of a young woman, betrothed against her will to an older man. A Christian woman, and a man of very questionable morals.
Without a Word attempts to contrast Biblical advice against the advice of this age, even the advice of the church. It concerns a young, immature woman growing in her own Godliness through her obedience to an ungodly man. And who knows, perhaps she shall even win her husband.
