Page 2 of Malliko
I frowned and blinked my eyes. “Wait. You want me to study human sexuality?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” My face fell with disappointment. This felt like the time the newly instated Federal Asshole in Command had made a massive tactical error. He had delegated my elite unit of trained warriors to oversee peaceful trade negotiations in the Irghtom colonies while sending a ship of newly trained soldiers to fight the intrusive Malbreeans in the Britton Belt. The Malbreeans had killed every Federal soldier and stolen their ship.
“I can tell the assignment doesn’t excite you. Maybe it’s because you haven’t grasped the importance of this research. We know from experience that a shift in awareness can have fatal consequences for the local population on the planet.”
“Why?”
“We have our theories, but no conclusive studies have been produced on the matter yet. A higher level of awareness might mean a lack of enthusiasm to bring children into a world that seems doomed. It could also refer to people’s ability to meet their need for connection on a mental level, making the physical less attractive. Numbers indicate that an increased number of humans live outside of family circles or refer to themselves as single. This is a new development, and we would like to understand the dynamics of this time in Earth history better. Particularly how it affects their sex life.”
Meeting the captain’s light brown eyes, I explained, “It’s just that I have no experience in that area, while war is something I consider myself an expert on.”
“You are a product of a sexual encounter, are you not?”
“I was. But a random meeting between my mother and a fellow researcher doesn’t make me an expert on sexuality. Least of all the sexuality of other species.”
The captain argued, “We are aware of that. But we’re giving you the opportunity to conduct research and become an experton the subject matter. An open mind is a good starting point, wouldn’t you say?”
The chair felt hot, and I moved again. “How would I even conduct the research needed to make any conclusions?”
“By interviewing and observing humans, of course. We already have substantial research from the last few millennia for you to go through. Alaan produced the specific questions we want you to write your report on. It’s all included in your assignment description.” Giving a small nod to Alaan, the captain signaled for him to elaborate.
The tall and slender man had eyes that made him look a bit eerie when he watched me. I suspected he’d had them enhanced for cosmetic reasons. Looking like a Thaddoinian had been popular for as long as I could remember but the ring around their irises never looked quite real when imitated by surgeons.
“The questions are the standard ones, really. You’ll find them on page eleven in the description, but I thought that maybe we could run over them quickly together,” Alaan said and gave me a polite smile.
“Alright.”
“What we’re looking for is changes that have occurred since our last research took place.”
“How long has it been?”
“We Eidrons did research around a hundred and fifty Earth years ago. But the Tuncallons did research on behalf of the Federation recently. Their data isn’t more than forty Earth years old and was very useful. Of course, sexuality wasn’t the prime subject, but we still managed to get some interesting facts.”
I crossed my arms. “Such as?”
“There’s been inventions that have changed social norms. Humans now have the technology to control procreation. They can both prevent pregnancy and abort it if they wish to. The Tuncallons’ research showed that it changed the socio-economicstructure between men and women to some degree in areas that use this technology.”
“Okay.” I rubbed my head wondering what to do. With humans being a protected species, Earth was a highly desirable place to do research. Being offered a position here was a dream. It was just that studying people’s breeding habits didn’t excite me. But it wasn’t like the other job openings I had were thrilling either. There was the position on Fued where they wanted to study the life quality of cyborgs. I had been tempted by that offer until I understood that the cyborgs were breaking down because of depression and that the planet was covered in darkness ninety percent of the time. Of course, there was the research assistant role that my professor had offered me, but I had already bragged to my friends and family that I would be working on Earth.
“What questions do you want to have answered?” I asked with as much enthusiasm as I could muster.
Alaan straightened up and listed ten questions, but the ones that stood out to me were:
-How has technology changed the dating habits of humans?
-How is the raised awareness of the collective affecting the balance between the genders?
-Does human sexuality change when procreation is no longer the goal?
“Wait, what do you mean when you say that procreation is no longer the goal? Are humans turning into Caldonians?”
“That’s what we would like to know as well. There are reports that infertility clinics are increasing, and we would like to know if it’s a physical need because of fertility issues, or if it’s because of females rejecting males or vice versa.”
I exhaled loudly. “If women are rejecting men and having children on their own doesn’t that mean they are choosing not to have sex, like the Caldonians?”
“Not necessarily. They could be rejecting men as their mates and still enjoying sex with men who are not the co-parent. Similar to what we Eidrons do. That’s what we want you to find out. Another angle to this question is the people who either don’t want children or already have the ones they want. How does it affect their sexuality when procreation is no longer the goal?”
