Chapter 2: Dept. Of Male Protection Services

Date: September 17th, 2023 (Friday)

Location: City of Ellington, United Republic of America

Time: 10:15 AM Local

By the time Allen had reached Ellington, his head felt like it’s going to explode. Despite this, Allen’s trying to take in all of the details of the city. He sees vehicles on wheels and people holding little square devices to their ears. One store front has illuminated rectangles displaying pictures on their screens. One shows what appears to be a news cast of a report about a meteor from the previous night.

“Allen, it seems that this culture is at the same development level as our society in the early 20th century. They appear to be at least three centuries behind us. You were correct in implementing Zero Protocol. I insist that we devise a strategy that will help you integrate without raising suspicion.”

“Hmm, what’s the power source for their vehicles, Eve?”

“I don’t know without taking a closer look. We will study more later but we need to get you to a medical facility. That is the priority at this moment. Engage a local and ask for a location.”

Allen grunts in agreement before making his way down the sidewalk with his attention distracted by the sights.

“OOF!”

Allen rebounds off a person and lands on his rear with a grunt. He looks up from the sidewalk and sees a tall woman who is wearing a construction hat and vest. She looks down at Allen with concern and reaches out with a large, calloused hand.

“Are you okay, young man?” she says as she hauls him up with hardly any effort.

“Yes ma’am” he responds.

The female construction worker takes a moment to study him and quirks up an eyebrow.

“What is a cute young man like you doing wandering around the streets in clothing like that by himself?”

Allen’s not sure that he likes the look that briefly crosses her face as she studies him. He studies her back and notices that she’s wearing jeans tucked into work boots and a flannel shirt. She also has a good 6 inches over him too.

“Clothing like this?”

She gestures to his outfit with one hand as if it explains everything. He glances down to inspect his clothes to see if anything had changed since the landing site. His tank top and pants look to be in order as they could be adjusted like his suit due to the nanites impregnated into the material. Eve breaks Allen out of his self-study.

“Allen, look around.”

Allen glances around the street to look for what Eve is pointing out. He takes a closer look at the people walking about on their daily business. In Allen’s timeline, science made it possible for men and women to be pretty much equal. With advancements in body enhancements, the lines became very blurred. Men and women could compete effectively against each other in physical activities and sports. Allen himself was modified when he joined the Alliance Navy with a titanium mesh net infused with his bones and nanites swarmed his bloodstream looking for viruses and other impurities. They acted as white blood cells to a certain extent and could also speed up his natural healing. Men and women from Allen’s timeline were taller, faster, and stronger. Here though, there was a clear divide. On average, the women were taller than men. The women also seemed to have more muscle mass too. This reminds Allen of an important question so to avoid raising suspicion, he switches to internal comms before addressing Eve.

“Eve, did I lose any of my enhancements with my regression?”

“It is fortunate Allen, luckily you kept your enhancements. I calculate even with decreased mass and your injury; you are still 78% combat effective. Once you heal and familiarize yourself with your new dimensions, you will recover 100% combat effectiveness.”

Allen breathes a sigh of relief at this. Someone must be looking out for him. If he’s going to survive here for the foreseeable future, he’s going to use every tool at his disposal to succeed. A man passes Allen while a woman trails him, carrying an arm full of bags. He’s wearing brown boots trimmed in fur, tight black pants, and a light jacket. The woman trailing him is wearing jeans, sneakers, and a leather jacket.

“Jack! You promised just one more store two stores ago!”

“Susan, this is the last one I promise. I just need….”

Their conversation trails off as they enter a store displaying shoes. Allen shakes himself back to the present after observing the scene. As he is pondering the outfit of the man, mainly how in the world can that man wear those tight pants with dangly bits to worry about, the construction worker clears her throat.

“Those boots did look comfortable, though.” He mutters to himself.

“Yes, it’s dangerous to walk around in that tank top. Showing off your skin like that can invite trouble. It’s a bit chilly too. You don’t even have a jacket. How old are you, son?”

“16 ma’am.”

“16? Where are your parents? You should be in school too. Hey, you don’t look too good.”

As the woman is grilling Allen, his headache gets worse, and his vision starts to fade to pinpricks. He suddenly has the urge to throw up and the woman reaches out with a hand to stabilize him. The last thing Allen hears as he about to lose consciousness is an authoritative voice call out.

“What’s going on here?”

“I think this boy is hurt; I was just trying to stop him from hitting the ground. I ain’t no pedophile!”

“That’s fine, step back. Give him some air. Dispatch, send an ambulance to the corner of Main and 2nd. I have a young boy who is injured and he’s losing consciousness. Code 3.”

The voices around Allen fade away as he drifts deeper into blackness.

Allen wakes to the sound of medical equipment beeping and an I.V. in his arm. He slowly opens his eyes and sees a male nurse moving around his bed, checking the displays, and adjusting controls.

“Ahh, sweetie. Your finally awake! Let me go get the doctor.”

The nurse rushes out of the room, leaving Allen alone. He glances down at his body and discovers he is in a gown with a blanket over his legs and different wires and leads are attached to his body.

“Eve. What happened?”

“Authorities contacted emergency services when you lost consciousness. You were then transported this medical facility.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

“They did draw a blood sample from you while you were unconscious, Allen.”

“Ah shit! What about the nanites? They can’t have access to our technology!”

“Oh, I took care of that. I isolated the nanites from your blood at the withdrawal site. Your blood should appear perfectly normal for this society’s level of development.”

Eve sounded a little smug, but Allen believed it was deserving for her help.

“And this IV? What’s in it?”

“I’ve analyzed the contents. It’s just a simple saline solution. I believe they are treating you for dehydration. Nothing to worry about.”

Allen slumps back onto his pillow and takes in the room. The medical equipment looks primitive compared to what is regularly available in a Med Bay on an Alliance ship.

“Allen, while you were unconscious, I took the time to study this culture more and I’ve reached a few conclusions.”

“Go ahead….”

“It appears that “traditional” gender roles are reversed. Furthermore, there is a ratio of 7:1 with women being the dominate. Men have less muscle mass and generally perform domestic duties and support professions. A good example is the male nurse who was attending you.”

“Traditional gender roles” wasn’t a thing in Allen’s timeline. With all of the advancements in science and society, it was easy for one to define their own life. Parents usually raised their children and tackled domestic duties as a team.

“Okay, we’ll have to adapt here and see what we are working with.”

“I’ll assume that as you initially set my gender as female when I was first installed, here I will be in charge! It’ll make things much easier to accomplish!”

“Nope! No Eve. We are a TEAM. A TEAM! I’ve always treated you as a partner!”

“HA, fell for it! I was just trying out my new parameters. You know I’ve never really had a choice in assisting you but now I can appreciate the sentiment.”

“Maybe I should adjust the humor settings….”

Allen and Eve’s conversation is interrupted when there’s a knock at his room door. After a brief pause, a woman wearing a white coat enters with the nurse from earlier trailing behind her. The doctor grabs a stool and scootches up to the right side of Allen’s bed while reviewing a file in her hands.

“Hello young man, I’m glad to see you up and alert. You suffered a nasty bump to your head. You were out for a couple of hours but I see the meds are doing their job.”

“Eve?” Allen asks internally.

“They administered Dexamethasone and Diazepam. Commonly used to decrease brain inflammation and prevent seizures when treating a Subdural Hematoma.”

“Anyhow, my name is Doctor Benson and the nurse here is Thomas. He’ll be present during the rest of my examination to ensure your comfort. Can you give me your mother’s name and number so I can contact her?”

“Umm….” Allen draws a blank.

“This is a perfect opportunity to integrate, Allen. Advise them your parents are deceased and you don’t remember anything.”

“I…. don’t remember anything.” Allen says uncertainly, playing his role.

“Ohh you poor thing!” Nurse Thomas exclaims from the foot of Allen’s bed with his hands to his mouth.

“I see. It must be the result of your head injury. Your parents?” the doctor asks.

“They died when I was younger.” Allen doesn’t have to lie with these words.

“That is unfortunate. I’m sorry for your loss.” The doctor says this as she turns and gives Nurse Thomas a look. Without another word, he rushes out of Allen’s room.

“I’m going to be honest here. The policewoman who called the ambulance stated that a witness said you were only 16 and not wearing proper clothing. Compound that with a head injury, we are going to have to get Male Protective Services involved. They will make temporary accommodations and ensure your welfare.” The doctor states as she looks at Allen over her glasses.

“Whatever you think is best ma’am.” Allen responds.

The doctor gives Allen a warm smile and pats him on the shoulder as she gets up to leave.

“Stay here and rest for now. There’s the remote for the TV and a buzzer by your left arm. Nurse Thomas will bring you something to eat shortly. The cafeteria finished serving lunch already but I’m sure he can scrounge up something. Buzz him if you need anything else.”

Doctor Benson departs with those words and closes Allen’s door.

“Eve, if they try to put me into some type of facility, I’ll have to make tracks, and we will need to come up with a different game plan.”

“I agree. Take advantage of their facility for now to rest and recover. Let’s see how things play out.”

A knock sounds out from the outside of Allen’s door and a woman dressed in a suit with a knee length pencil skirt walks in after opening it. A moment later, a policewoman enters behind her and closes the door. The woman in the suit and skirt combo is on the tall side with a lithe, athletic body. Brown hair styled in large curls flow over her shoulders, framing large brown eyes and a heart shaped face.

“Hello young man, my name is Ms. Abner but you can call me Amy. I’m with the Department of Male Protection Services. This is Officer Sela, she’s the one who discovered you on the street and called for an ambulance.”

Officer Sela overs a small wave and a smile from behind Ms. Abner. She then walks over to the couch and sits down with her hat on her lap. Ms. Abner grabs the stool previously vacated by the doctor and rolls over to Allen’s bedside. She reaches into a satchel, retrieves a wallet, and hands it to Allen.

“Here’s my identification, feel free to check it out.”

Allen opens her wallet and sees an Identification badge with “Department of Male Protection Services” written across the top with her picture underneath. A stylized shield outline traces the border. Her name, ID number, and other information is also listed.

“I’ve been assigned your case so you're going to be stuck with an old lady for a while.” She smiles at her small joke.

“Allen, I’ll remind you that you now have the body of a 16-year-old male. It may be difficult, but you are going to have to try to act accordingly as to not disturb the norms of this society. Get ready! It may be painful! HA!” Eve reminds him in his ear.

Allen sighs to himself as this is about to get very cringe-worthy to his sensibilities.

“H-hello ma’am.” Allen says shyly.

It must be the right action because Amy smiles warmly and grabs out a notepad and pen from her satchel after being handed back her wallet.

“Now, let’s start easy. Can you tell me your name?”

“Allen…. I think.”

“No surnames! They can track those. A surname can potentially expose you.” Another reminder from Eve.

“Hmm…. No last name?” Amy asks while writing on her notepad.

“None that I can remember.” Allen says while he pretends to think.

“Parents?”

“They both died when I was younger.” Allen responds sadly.

Amy shares a glance with Officer Sela and then turns back to Allen.

“Can you give me any details. Any information will help me. If you….”

Amy’s question is interrupted when Nurse Thomas bursts through the door with a tray of food in his hands. He sets it down on a table by Allen’s bed and addresses the women in the room with his hands on his hips.

“Now you ladies know that I should be present in the room with an underaged male. He must be scared to death with you two in here with him alone.” Nurse Thomas rushes to Allen and envelopes him in a hug.

Amy pats her hands in the air in attempt to calm down Nurse Thomas with no effect as he continues to scowl at her while rubbing Allen’s back. Officer Sela looks down at her hands with a look of guilt on her face. Allen is trying his best not to break Nurse Thomas’s arms at the unexpected physical contact. Eve.... Eve is laughing in Allen’s head because of his obvious discomfort. Allen glances up from Nurse Thomas’s arms and stares at Amy with a helpless look.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry but I really don’t remember anything before this morning. My first memory is the street and then passing out after talking to that construction worker.”

“It’s alright Allen. I have a few phone calls to make. We are going to make you a temporary ID and then I’ll file an emergency motion with a judge to get you into foster care until we can work out this mess. Get some rest for now. I’ll be back in a bit.”

With that, Amy and Officer Sela depart Allen’s room and close the door. Nurse Thomas releases his hug and motions to the food.

“I know you’ve had an exciting morning so far, but please try to eat; I’ll check back with you shortly.”

Nurse Thomas also leaves after a final smile as he closes the door.

Out in the hall, Amy stops Officer Sela to hold a conversation away from Allen.

“That boy is going to be a pain to manage.” She says thoughtfully

“Yeah! He’s REALLY cute! It makes me wish I were a little younger….” Officer Sela says in response.

“Yeah…. I agree. WAIT! That’s NOT what I meant. I just mean that I have to be careful with who I place him with! Especially with his memory loss and lack of family. He’s extremely vulnerable. I think I have a good family lined up. The mother has her own business, and the father is a stay-at-home dad. The father has always wanted a son and he’s very dedicated to his family. I can’t think of a safer place. That boy would be eaten alive in a care facility.” Amy says while looking sternly at Officer Sela who has the decency to look chastened.

They walk down the hallway while Amy takes out her cell phone to place some calls. If they really knew Allen’s true capabilities, they would shudder and rethink their opinion of him being vulnerable.