The election is looming. Will the men finally be free of feminist oppression or will the dark days’ return?

In the last week leading up to the election, the UFP ran adverts saying that the space ships that landed in London were fakes. They were all part of the propaganda trying to trick women into giving up their rights over men.

Three days before the election Charlie was on Earth. He had just finished an upgrade on the gravity engines on Dawn 4 and 5. The upgrade increased the speed by 30%. Trips to the asteroid belt would take lot less time. Charlie’s mind was like a sponge. He had been using the travel time to read up on conventional science. He used some of what he learned to make improvements to his design.

He called Peter to see how it was going in UQ.

“You know Peter, I realized if I had, had even a conventional female education in the UQ, I never would have invented the anti-grav engine. The normal way of thinking and the math does not allow for it. My own system does. So in a way, those horrible idiots that have treated us like animals for years, helped me make the thing that will bring them down.”

“The UFP are saying that your ships don’t exist. They say they are propaganda to get women to vote for us.”

“What? The ships were on TV. Some of the footage was used in the trial of Wilson, and when that woman tried to shoot me on the old BBC building. How can they say they aren’t real? “

“They have been saying it’s camera tricks and large inflatable balloons. It’s all part of a ploy to get men back in power.”

“I despair about the way humans believe the most unlikely explanation sometimes Peter. I’ll see what I can do. How’s it looking anyway?”

“Well the last poll put us ahead by 25%. The UFP have been approaching many of the business owners to threaten the men who work for them. They say they will lose their jobs if the UFP lose.”

“The bastards! They are playing on fear. The way things were, unemployed men, who weren’t living with a female relation were sent to labor camps. I thought you changed that?”

“We have, but the old fears of the feminist is hard to overcome. We have put out a message that we will offer free grants to men to start their own businesses after the election. We should be alright. If the men come out to vote, we will win easily.”

“Do those horrible work camps still exist Then?. I though you would have stopped that?”

“Yes, but now the men are paid. They used to just be fed. It was slave labor. We’ve got them building housing for themselves. In a few months we should be able to close them for good.”

“In that case, I may be able to help you. I can’t promise, but let’s just say, I may surprise you.”

“Thanks Charlie, anything you can do will be appreciated. You know what? I love getting advice from an older man. This it’s what it must be like to have a father.”

“Honestly Peter, that’s one of the things that really still sticks in my throat about the feminista’s. The women knew their kids, but they denied men the knowledge of their daughters and their sons. No wonder many of the people in the feminist controlled countries are so fucked up.”

Peter could tell Charlie was angry at this, he didn’t swear that often.

“You know Peter, recently I’ve been travelling a bit, doing some diplomatic work. The Scandinavian countries have almost equal male and female members of government. They are a fully egalitarian society. They don’t all do the same work, but they share childrearing. They are the most well balanced people I’ve met. “

“How’s Australia then Charlie, what’s it like being a man in charge of so many women?”

“Well my company has a positive discrimination policy. We employ men over women if we can. There was a bit of an outcry, but most women realize that until the first batch of boys graduate from schools and universities, women will have an unfair advantage. Most of the heavy jobs were always done by men anyway. It’s good to see men and women walking together on the streets in the towns. The cities are changing too, slower though. The women I’m in control of realize they can earn a fortune if they don’t kick up a fuss. So they give me no trouble. I have hope that things will be equal in about twenty years.”

“Have you ever thought about tracing your father Charlie? My mum told me about mine, she’s given me his name. When the election is over I hope to track him down.”

“You mean you were conceived in the natural way, Peter?”

“Yes, she doesn’t normally tell anyone. People would have thought she was odd having sex to conceive, rather than sperm donation. She met him when he put a fence up at her house. She said they fell in love and met in secret. He broke it off, as he was scared of losing his job and being sent to a camp.”

“I don’t know how my mummy had me. She never told me.”

Peter noticed he still called his mother mummy. He could sense his sadness when he spoke about her.

“She and her friends tried to help me as much as they could, but they were all unhappy with the world that was forced on them by the feminist government. If you win, I may come back and look them up.”

“If we win you will be an honored guest Charlie. We can see if we can find your father.”

“I don’t see how? Right, I’ve got to go talk to Juliet about the refit. Good luck.”

Charlie told Chloe about his conversation with Peter after dinner that night. He had just put the children to bed and they were relaxing having a drink.

“You know Charlie, there may be a way of tracing your father.”

“What? How? Where would you start?”

“Well you know when we met I was doing genetic research into why the IQ level was dropping? We took millions of samples of DNA from men.”

“How did you do that. Why would they volunteer it?”

“They didn’t. We used to go to the rookeries and the camps and take samples. They never got a choice. A bit like sperm donations ”

“That’s horrible. I forget how bad most men used to be treated. I avoided the worse parts by living with mummy, then you.”

“The good thing is, my old company still has all the DNA on a database. If Peter’s party wins, we may have a chance of reuniting fathers with their sons and daughters. Think how far that may go to heal the rift between men and women. It will have to be handled carefully. The men must be given the choice, not like they did when they were used to conceive.”

Charlie was lost for words. He may just possibly be able to meet his father.

The day before the election the queen got a call from Charlie.

“Good morning your majesty. I need to fly two of our ships over the UQ for a low level test flight. Can you please tell your air force not to take pot shots at us?”

“I’ll tell them to expect you. Are you paying a visit?”

“No just ironing out our new engines. You’ll be pleased to know we have nearly finished the UQ ship. It’s a beauty. It will have the new engines. We took the liberty of naming it. You’ll only get it if the UCEP win though.”

“Yes we know, Em tells me it should be alright if the men vote. If not, it could be a close run thing. What did you call the ship? “

“I named it the Liberator. It is a gift for the liberation of the men of the UQ.”

“Good name Charlie. I’ll keep a lookout for you. Will you fly over London?”

“Should be there just after dark.”

That night two ships flew over every major city in the UQ. The rookeries and the labor camps got close attention. The ship blasted sirens as they approached. All the people that came out saw messages flash on the underside of the huge ships.

“Men, vote tomorrow for your future and your freedom. Vote UCEP.”

“Women vote for fairness, your sons and your brothers. Vote UCEP.”

Charlie had wanted to include fathers, but Juliet told him the concept of a father was probably too alien to appeal to women.

They were finished at around 2 A.M. After that they headed home. Peter had seen the ships pass over London. He just hopped the message had got through. As the ships slowly went by he said.

“Thank you Charlie, you’re the best!”

Rumors were rife the next day. Men were not voting. The UFP wanted the election cancelled because of Charlie’s “stunt”. It was interference from the Australian government. That was of course nonsense as the the ships belonged to an independent company, the AAMC. There was a brief interview with Jane Anston the vice president.

“Ms. Anston, the messages your ships gave last night have upset the UFP. What do you have to say?”

Jane just smirked and said.

“Good, I hope they lose.”

She waved at the camera and cut off the feed.

Peter was with Em, Vicki, and the Queen when the result came in at 4.30 A.M.

The UCEP had won by a landslide. They won 85% of their seats. The feminist parties would be a powerless minority. They would have no way to change any of the new laws.

Peter cried and hugged them all.

Em smiled at him and said.

“No time for all that sentimentality deputy prime minister. We have work to do. Chop, chop.”

The country had finally come to its senses.

All Characters © Beverly Taff