Kesh-i Cooking Class
Children’s roles on Libertas.
Cooking
Children on Libertas, who go by the name of ‘Kesh-u’ in the plural, especially female children (‘Kesh-i-u’) are expected to purchase food, food processing equipment, and to cook for their households, freeing up the older members for other pursuits.
Your average kesh will…
“Mother!” Jellia said, looking up from the screen she had been reading, “I need to start cooking.”
“What?”
“Daughters on Libertas do all of the cooking for their households! Like even really young daughters… kesh-i-u! By my age I should know dozens of recipes and things to cook.”
“But, dear, surely you can start when we get there? And who will know…?”
“Oh, Mother, everyone will know! Your en-drek will know… probably the first thing he will ask me to do and if I can’t he will physically chastise me.”
“Oh, I’m sure he wouldn’t…”
“And the other kesh-u in my class at school, first thing they will ask, all about what I cooked on our planet.”
“Surely you can just tell them that daughters didn’t cook on…”
“Mother!”
“I suppose not. Very well. I suppose you should start by looking around our kitchen to see what we have. And your wristcomp can tell you recipes…”
“And I can cook dinner?”
“Tomorrow. After you have done your study and know what you are doing. And I will watch you…”
“Mother!”
“I will watch you the first time,” Mother insisted. “What kind of recipes do they make?”
“Oh!”
“So, that will give you something to research, Darling. I will look forward to hearing your report. Indeed, eating your report.”
Jellia turned frantically back to her comp. Recipes. Popular Recipes. Household size? Well, with her, mother, and the man they would be three.
Popular Recipes for Small Households on Libertas
Grengin Beef
Grengin Beef is a very popular recipe. It combines a meat portion, vegetable portion, boiled grain, and a spicy sauce. It is easy to put together as long as you have enough time to boil the grain…
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).
See Intro for more, umm, introduction :)
Links
Links
Contract Marriage Chapters, Newest to Oldest
I would like to give credit for the genesis of many of these ideas to the Liaden series by Mr. and Mrs. Steve Miller, which is available for free on the web. They do a great deal of cultural exploration, although they rather dramatically skip the moral exploration. (And their math doesn’t work.)
Other concepts were taken, in one form and another, from the book Freehold by Michael A Williamson.
Introduction
In which I lay out the themes that I intend to explore in this light Dystopia, and ask others to participate.
Trade Master: First Chapter
In which Fenestra, our heroine’s mother, puts in her application for the job of 'Trade Master’ on the planet Libertas, and finds out that it isn’t that easy.
En-Drek Contract
In which Fenestra finds out that, on Libertas, everyone must be in an ‘En-drek’ contract… a long-term, live-in, heavy date between a man and a woman for the purpose of producing one child after the other with one date after the other.
Disappointment and Meditation
In which Jellia, the daughter and our heroine, finds out about her mother’s job opportunity, including its difficulties, and commits herself to meditating on the situation. (And internally commits herself to encouraging her mother to take the job.)
Decision Reached
Jellia tells her mother that she thinks she should take the job, and so her mother puts in her application… and gets the job!
First School
Jellia goes to school and gets to tell everyone about her new adventure.
First Work
Fenestra goes to work, and tells her coworker about her new opportunity.
Writing Class
Jellia writes a poem (a limerick) and tells her classmates more about her new adventure.
Trader Galloway
In which a man comes over for a ‘date’ (Ie to sleep over with her mother) and to tell them all about his time as Trade Master for their company on Libertas. And as how he was almost executed for asking a woman out on a date.
Shopping
In which Jellia and her mother go shopping for the last time, and we explore some of the nature of the planet she is leaving.
Language
In which Jellia starts using some new words at school, and everyone gathers round to find out what they mean.