Trade Master Training

Fenestra held her cap on her head, her stiff white dress flapping around her ankles, and hurried into the door of her office building. Her heart was as warm as the day was chilly.  She was going to be a trade master! Today was her first official day of training for the post!

She looked down at her wrist com. Room -207. Great, the basement. She hated those windowless rooms. Most basement dwellers didn’t even bother to put the view screenies on. And then she remembered… sims were almost always done in the basement. She glanced down at her very nice dress… what a waste. She would probably be spending all day in a sim suit.

Her hold was literally all day and started at 0800, and she had nothing to do at her office; she had wrapped up all of her deals… so she went to the stairs and hurried down, almost running, eager to get her training started.

The room that she was looking for was the third room on the left at the bottom of the stairs, and she opened the door and stopped dead.”You?" She asked, and the man gave her a sort of grin. It was Alex Jensen, the man who tried to talk her out of this nomination. The man who had sent her home crying.

“I am our resident expert on all things Libertas,” Alex said, “so I will be in charge of this training. You and I will be seeing a lot of each other over these next couple of weeks."

Well, that seemed obvious enough, but she would make him wait at least a few minutes before leading him further.

“The first thing we have to cover," he said, as if he hadn't just practically asked her to share his bed for the next two weeks, "is the issue of sexual harassment. There is no crime of ‘sexual harassment’ on Libertas.”

“What?”

“Another reason I acted as I did during our earlier meeting. On Libertas a man can say… well, let me be euphemistic. On Libertas a man can comment about a woman’s physical attributes in a positive… or negative… way, as can a woman. It may be rude, or it may be welcomed, but it is only illegal if it includes a definite suggestion that they would like to be sexually intimate with you.”

“That’s…!” Fenestra took a deep breath. “That’s a cultural difference that I will have to learn about.”

“Indeed, and the first sim I have prepared for you will give you practice for it. Feel free to stop the sim at any time to take a breather, but you will need, eventually, to complete the entire sim all in one go. It will expose you to a whole range of perfectly legal male behaviour that you can expect on Libertas… from that expected in a professional setting… which will still shock you… to that you can expect in an informal setting, a picnic or a beach party; and it will include behaviour you can expect from a sexual partner… an en-drek.

“And I will be as annoying as I can during our class time together in order to get you up to speed.”

“Well, hopefully, we will have some time out of class together,” she said. “If you could start the sim, please,” she added quickly before he had a chance to follow up her hint with an invite.

“In just a minute,” he said. “I wish to make the distinction very clear. On Libertas, a man may make any comment about a woman physically, and it may be rude, but it is not illegal. He may also, indeed will frequently, as will women, make comments about the differences between men and women, even officially. A job may be listed ‘for males’ or ‘for females’ very easily… not just where it involves a pink line. They may take into account such things as upper body strength or lung capacity quite blatantly. The rescue services, for example, are staffed entirely by males, as is their military.”

“That seems incredible,” she said. “Wasting half the population like that.”

“They don’t see it as a waste, and they have some rather good statistics on the issue. Now, if you would undress and get in the sim suit,” he said, pointing to the corner, we will get started.”

It had been a long time since she had done simming… it was very expensive and its use was rather discouraged… and he had to help her put on the very tight suit. Grinning and making comments the whole time, which she had steeled herself to ignore.

Finally it was all the way on and the world flickered and changed and she found herself in an office, at a desk, with a man walking up to it. “Can you ask one of your males to come and help me move some boxes?” the man asked. “It is a rather heavy delivery.”

“Certainly, Cit,” she said, going to get up… and the world flickered and she was seated and the trainer was there. 

“Let’s stick to Libertas language, please,” he said. “Now, did you understand what he was saying?”

“He wanted some of the males who, I assume, have the job of helping unload deliveries.”

“No. He wanted help with unloading, and you, as a female, were presumed to be too weak to be helpful.”

She flushed. “Oh.”

“I didn’t think you caught it. One of the goals of this sim is for you to realise what they are actually saying so that you can get used to being looked down upon. Better that than have you suddenly realise and show that you are offended. Let’s do the next one.”

She found herself walking down a hallway toward a door, a rather pregnant woman just ahead of her. She got to the door just after the pregnant woman walked through, wondering what she was supposed to be doing, when she found herself back in the hallway, her trainer shaking his head. “Failed,” he said.

“What was I even supposed to do?”

“You were supposed to walk quicker and hold the door for the PREGNANT woman.”

“But… oh, Ok.”

“Let’s try again,” he said, and she found herself in a store, walking toward a door… again… in the company of a male and a woman with two young children, a son and a daughter. She made to move ahead and was almost shouldered out of the way by the male, who got to the door and held it open … she paused and let the woman and the children through and then, at the male’s frown, walked through herself…

And found herself in front of a ladder, moving it in front of a shelf, a rather high shelf, which had a box on it. “Let me do that for you,” she heard, and, beginning to understand, stepped out of the way and let a son scamper up the ladder…

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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!

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If you get lost, check out my ‘Table of Contents’ which I try to keep up to date.

Thanks again, God Bless, Soli Deo gloria,

Von

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Links

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.

Kesh-i Cooking Class

In which Jellia discovers that girls (daughters, Kesh-u-i) are expected to cook on Libertas!

Appendix

A glossary of many of the terms used in this book, along with a discussion of the calender and cultural issues. It is a work in progress, and I’m hoping for comments and discussion there.