Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 108211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 433(@250wpm)___ 361(@300wpm)
“Goodie Bo-long?” Andi said, frowning “And she has more than one Manimal?” she asked curiously.
How could anyone handle more than one of the wild men who had been reduced to their most basic instincts? She could still remember the barking cries of “Fuck! Fuck-fuck-fuck!” from the pack of wild green men who had attacked them and the way they kept trying to get their faces under her skirt. The memory made her shiver.
“Yup! She’s got a whole lot of ‘em up at her mansion, you know.” Goodie Oo-lah nodded. “She rescues the wild ones sometimes to try and civilize ‘em some. She mainly uses the Sweet Drops to control them, but the ones that get all horned up and can’t be calmed down, well, them she puts a collar on.”
“Do you have a, uh, Manimal yourself?” Andi asked her.
Goodie Oo-lah burst out laughing.
“Do you see how I’m dressed?” she demanded, pointing at the shapeless brown dress she was wearing. “Do I have nip-holes or a short skirt?”
“Well…no,” Andi couldn’t help thinking how odd the older woman would look if she was wearing clothing like she described. But then, anyone would look odd in that, she thought.
“That’s how you know I ain’t got no Manimal,” Goodie Oo-lah said, nodding. “My old man died about a year before The Incident and of course I didn’t have any interest in replacing him with a Manimal. And anyway, I’m too old to make the Sweet Drops, not to mention fiddling with all the paraphernalia that comes with caring for a Manimal—especially one as big as yours,” she added. “Why is he still dressed, by the way?”
“Still dressed?” Andi asked. She looked at Cade, who was wearing his tight black leather trousers, high black boots, and long-sleeved dark blue uniform shirt. “Why wouldn’t he be dressed?”
“Why, because it’s illegal to dress Manimals like they was regular males,” Goodie Oo-lah said. “Not that you’d be knowing that, since you only just got here,” she added. “But I’m afraid you’ll get a ticket for indecent lack of exposure if you run into any of the Peace Keepers around town. A Manimal has to have his shaft showing—at least in town. That way you know his intentions and if you have to look out for him or not,” she added.
“But Cade is my Protector—we work together. I can’t just strip him naked!” Andi exclaimed, feeling shocked. “What would he think if he suddenly, uh, woke up and became himself again?”
“Oh, that’s not going to happen—mark my words, girly.” Goodie Oo-lah shook her head. “No, since The Incident, all the males that lived here or came here has turned into Manimals and that’s that. And don’t think bringing him back to where you came from can help either,” she added. “Cause that’s been tried and it didn’t work. Once they breathe The Scent, it’s all over for them.”
“The Scent?” Andi frowned, wondering if she was talking about the all-pervading fresh strawberry scent which seemed to be everywhere here.
“That’s what we call it,” Goodie Oo-lah said, nodding. “Turns all males into Manimals as soon as they reach sexual maturity, don’tcha know. That’s why all male babies that’s been born since have to be sent up to Anterize—our second moon—to be fostered when they’re about ten or so. They send them a little early, to be on the safe side, you know,” she added. “So they don’t turn into Manimals.”
“What a sad way to live,” Andi said without thinking. “Sending all your sons away and living with men who used to be men but now they’re just animals.”
“Oh, it’s not so bad.” Goodie Oo-lah shrugged. “I might feel different if I’d ever had a son, but I didn’t. And as for the males, well—they ruled the roost around here before The Incident, don’tcha know. We women-folk weren’t no more than dust under their feet. And now, look who’s in charge!” She gave a crowing laugh. “So no, I don’t regret it—not a bit. And I bet a lot of women around here will tell you the same, if they’re honest.”
This was all fascinating, but Andi knew she needed to get back to the subject at hand.
“Do you know where I could make an interstellar call to the Kindred?” she asked, trying to get Goodie Oo-lah back on track. “I need to get Cade back home. I know you say there’s no antidote for the, uh, Scent, but the Kindred have very advanced medical technology and I’m sure they can help him.” She certainly hoped so, anyway.
“Oh well, as to making a call that far, your best bet would be the station up on Anterize. They have a long-range rig up there on the Moon colony, I do believe,” Goodie Oo-lah said nodding.
“What—up on your second moon?” Andi asked. “But how can I get up there with my ship broken?”