The G. M. Os. - 9. Chapter 9 - The Machos, Part 2

Chapter 9
Ship Clock 262080
Abner (Abe) 34-793k
The Machos, Part 2

A year later, it was time for the annual commune celebration held at Commune Center. Everyone at the commune was expected: adults, children, and residents of the dormitories. It was the one time of year when farming was put aside for a day so Eden Commune could acknowledge another good year of harvests.

Peter, Ben, Dorcas, Charity, and Roger couldn’t stop talking about it. All looked forward to a fun day away from the farms. Abe, though, wasn’t looking forward to anything except trouble from the machos. There hadn’t been any outward threats, but Abe took silence to mean something was brewing and he was certain that would involve either his or Roger’s death, or, highly likely, both of them. For the rest, Abe did not continually express his fears, but they knew how he felt, especially Roger.

When the day arrived all of them, including April and Megan, got into their new eight-place cruiser and headed toward the party. The talk was endless, except for Abe, who remained silent.

“Loosen up, Abe, everything will be alright,” Roger said. “Everybody at the commune is going to be there. Who would even think of trying something with that many people around?”

“A macho would,” Abe said. “They hate us and are going to do whatever they can to rid the commune of all of us. We’re all in danger today. You just wait, you’ll see.”

“Abe, you’re paranoid.”

“What’s going on back there?” Charity asked.

“Abe’s scared the machos will try something at the party,” Roger said.

“Oh, that. Abe, we’ve told you before. They don’t dare start anything or all of them will be thrown out. That’s what Freddy says. She’s had enough of the guff. Now, try to have a good day.”

“I’ll try, but everybody better be careful,” Abe said.

“Sheesh, Abe, why can’t you be calm, for once,” Roger said.

“Because I can’t; okay?”

Most everyone was already at the celebration when they arrived, but Ben parked the cruiser on the back row anyway. Although he didn’t really believe Abe’s prediction was going to come true, he felt it would be better back there so they would have less chance of being blocked in. Everybody stepped out and headed toward the party. Once there, they split up, looking for farmers they knew and trusted. No sense in risking a confrontation with a macho when everybody there was having a good time.

The boys, though, had a problem. There were no boys Abe’s age and all the boys Roger’s age lived in the dormitories. For the most part, a dormitory boy could not be trusted, except for Larry who seemed to appear out of nowhere.

“Hey, guys, glad you made it,” he said. “I was afraid you weren’t coming. Say, I brought a bottle of liquor and it’s out behind the kitchen. Come on, let’s go have some fun.”

They followed him through the crowd, past the roasted corn, trays of smoked chicken, platters of barbecued ribs from both beefalos and hogs, and big bowls of coleslaw, ambrosia, and green gelatin. There were slices of white bread, whole wheat bread, sourdough bread, and fresh biscuits. Freshly brewed beer and aged wine were in kegs behind a small fence where one of the adults made sure the children stayed away.

Much to Abe’s consternation, no one seemed to stare at his eagle. It was almost as if no one cared and for the first time that day, he had a feeling of calm. When they went around the corner, Abe’s heart sank. He recognized at least three machos, including a citrus farmer named Magnus.

“Get’em boys!” Magnus exclaimed, as four machos grabbed Abe and Roger’s arms. “Thank you, Larry; I’ll remember you the next time you come out to the orchard.

“Righteeo, Magnus,” Larry said. “Goodbye homos, it’s been nice knowing you.”

“Good thing I brought my gloves, homos,” Magnus said. “Though, I’m sure you’re not going to enjoy this.”

The man hit Roger square in the face once and then another time. Then he turned to Abe, who received a blow to the side of his face and then one directly into his mouth and nose. He didn’t remember much of what happened next. The beating continued interminably, but both boys were not aware anymore; and, unbeknownst to them, Luke walked around the corner and saw what was happening. He turned around and hurried back to the front of the kitchen.

“Hey, everyone, machos are beating up Abe and Roger,” Luke yelled.

The nearest men turned away from what they were doing and ran over to the kitchen. There were about twenty of them and when they got around back they saw Magnus pull a pruning knife from his pocket.

“Boys, this is what you do with homos,” Magnus said. Then he bent over Abe, but his arms were pulled back by two burly ranchers and thrown to the ground. The other four young men were restrained while Luke came up and checked on the boys.

Their faces were filled with blood and they were unresponsive when Luke touched them. “Please watch the boys, I’m going to find Frederica,” he said.

“What do we do with these five?” one of the men asked.

“We’ll tie ’em up and hang ’em by their scrawny necks,” another man said. “That’s what you do to machos. And then we’re going to get the bots out here to root out the rest of ‘em. It’s high time we rid Eden Commune of the macho stain.”

“Here! Here!” a couple men exclaimed.

“You won’t get away with this,” Magnus said.

“You were going to show what to do with that pruning knife,” a man said. “Want to know how to use a pruning knife on a macho? You cut his balls off so he can’t contribute at the birthing center.”

“Gag ’em, men,” the second man said.

Meanwhile, Luke finally found Frederica mingling with the crowd. “Freddy! Get an ambulance out here, some machos attacked Abe and Roger. And, contact bot security, we need them out here, now!”

********

The ambulance was a huge speeder with flashing lights all around. Four human medics climbed out and four med-tech bots brought the stretchers, following the humans back around the kitchen. There the medics bent down over the Abe and Roger and began to check them out.

“This one’s got facial fractures, severely damaged skin, from what I can tell there are at least seven broken ribs, we’ll have to wait for the docs at the med center to check him for internal damages,” one of the medics said. “Where are the machos that attacked these young men?”

“They’re being held in a secure place until bot security can get here,” Luke said. “The boys’ names are Abe and Roger.”

“Good, this is, Abe?” The other medic asked.

“Yes.”

“As far as I can tell, now, they’re in critical condition, but that will have to be determined by the doctors at the med center. We’re taking them to Central City. I know it’s far, but that’s the safest place; bot security has already rooted out all of the machos. To be doubly sure, they’ll be kept on a secure floor under constant supervision by security bots.”

“Okay, we want the best for the boys, they’re very special to us,” Peter said. “They’re going to get married when Abe turns eighteen.”

“Well, I hope it isn’t soon because they won’t be able to do anything for quite a while,” the first medic said. “We’d best be on our way. It won’t take us that long; we’ll have priority over any other speeder in the air.”

“Larry did it,” Abe mumbled.

“We know, Abe, we know, someone saw him lead you back here,” Peter said. “He’ll be turned over to bot security with the others.”

“Okay, let’s get them on the stretchers, we’ll need a little help,” the second medic said.

Everyone watched the ambulance rise up in the air, turn down-ring, and fly off. Not unexpectedly, the mood of the party had become rather somber. All of them knew there were going to be farmers and residents of the dormitories who were going to be taken away by bot security; if not today, then sometime in the future when the machos arrested today would be tortured to give up others of their ilk. Also, not unsurprisingly, a number of the farmers at the party had left when the beating had been discovered. They’re names would be given to bot security along with the names of the farmers who hadn’t come today. As far as the residents of Eden Commune were concerned now, if you acted like a macho, you were.

“Okay, I know how everyone feels about this, but we’re here for a party, let’s have one,” Frederica called out. “Bot security will be here in a moment and it’s probably best if we just let them do their job. You know they do not appreciate any offer of help.”

Slowly, the farmer families and the dormitory residents went to the food tables and beer garden to help get their moods back into a festive mood. Meanwhile, Peter and Ben were talking with Dorcas and Charity. Luke and Mark were there, too.

“I think we’re going to pack some things and go the med center,” Ben said. “If one of you can take us back to the residence, we’ll take our speeder.”

“I’ll take you,” Dorcas said. “Charity, do you want to go along?”

“Sure,” Charity said.

They didn’t talk on the trip out there, but when they arrived and saw what had happened to their farms, well, words didn’t come easy. Part of the beefalo fence had been torn down and some of them who had, obviously, been driven out of the pasture were dead. The others were milling around not knowing what to do outside the pasture. The orchard was on fire as were all four residences.

“Damn!” Peter exclaimed. “What won’t the machos do to us?”

“Come on, Charity, let’s get the rest of the beefalos back into the pasture,” Ben said.

“What about the residences?” she asked.

“What’s more important, a residence or a farm?” Peter asked. “I don’t think we can do anything about the orchard or the residences; there’s not enough of us to fight the fires.”

“Use the portable module in the cruiser to notify Frederica,” Charity said. “Maybe some of the other farmers will be willing to come up and help. Maybe they’ll bring the fire equipment. We haven’t had to use them in a long time, but maybe we can save at least some of the orchard.”

Ben entered the information, clicked send, and waited. There was nothing anyone could do until help arrived, hopefully with some fire equipment.

“Peter, Charity, come on I want to get those beefalos back inside before anyone else gets here and spooks them,” Ben said.

“I’ll just stay here and wait for Freddy to send a message back,” Dorcas said. “You know I don’t like those animals.”

“You don’t like any animals, even the ones on your supper plate,” Charity said.

Suddenly a bot security speeder flew in and settled down next to the cruiser. Four bots flew out and landed. “Identify yourselves, humans,” one of the bots said.

“I’m Benedict 02-933g, I run the beefalo ranch, we came back here to get ready to go to the med center in Central City where Abner 34-793k and Roger 22-416a were taken after being beaten by machos,” Ben said. “These are Peter 41-331u, Dorcas 01-563n, and Charity 01-673t. Charity is my business partner. Peter and Dorcas operate the orchard.”

“Very good, your names are in our databases,” the bot said. “Help is on the way from the district town. It appears some of your animals were killed. Do you think this is the work of machos?”

“Who else has enough hate to do this?” Peter asked.

“Yes, all of those that we can identify today will be removed from the commune,” the bot said. “The first six have been eliminated and their bodies are being removed from the commune. This ship has too many machos and all will be eliminated.”

The bot flew back into the speeder and it took off. The four farmers looked at each other.

“Come on, let’s get the beefalos,” Ben said.

Although the animals seemed to be enjoying their freedom, they were gathered together and herded back into the pasture, each pausing beside one of the dead ones. Inside the pasture, the horror of the incident only worsened. Nearly all of the yearlings were lying on the grass, dead. The herd stopped, but Ben and Charity, knowing how to handle the beasts, pushed them along and into a back pasture that was empty. Across it, Ben could see most of the rest of the herd calmly eating grass or lying down chewing their cud; though, once they got the fence repaired enough to keep the beefalos in their pasture, he would go up there to be certain all the animals were alive.

“Peter, Charity, could you stand here at the break while I get some wire to repair the fence?” Ben asked.

“Sure, partner, we’ll take care of them,” Charity said. “I hope help arrives soon, or we’re not going to have anywhere to sleep tonight.”

“I think the other six will be willing to make room for us until the bots can reinstall some residences,” Peter said.

“There’s Freddy and Marcy, too.”

“April’s not going to like this.”

“Good thing we don’t have any weapons readily available here, I’m sure she’d go out hunting machos on her own.”

“Where’s that help?” Peter asked, not expecting an answer.

Off in the distance the sound of sirens could be heard and they got louder and louder. Soon four bot emergency vehicles swooped in and began applying water to what was left of the residences. Two others went up into the orchard and dumped fire retardant on the trees not on fire, followed by four others with water. Two large, what looked like cruisers, landed in the parking area and one of the bots inside flew out and landed at the break in the fence.

“Benedict 02-933g, do you wish to have these animals removed?” The bot asked. “We will take them to the slaughterhouse and you will be credited for their value.”

“I’m Peter 41-331u, this is Charity 01-673t, she’s Ben’s business partner,” Peter said.

The bot toned down and then came back. It said, “Yes, we have dealt with Charity before. Do you wish the removal of your dead animals?”

“Yes, we’d appreciate that,” Charity said. “There are some yearlings in the pasture.”

“Yes, we will call in transport for all the animals; we will inspect them and determine the necessary vehicles,” the bot said. “We are sorry for your loss. All the machos on the commune will be removed, including all in the dormitories. We apologize for not acting sooner. Today’s event was perfect cover for the perpetrators. Peter, you and Benedict 02-933g should leave for Central City within the hour. Secure quarters are being arranged for your stay in the city. Do not worry about new clothing; that will be provided free of cost. Again, I extend the apology of bot security.”

The bot flew over and was joined by another bot from the other vehicle. They went through the beefalos noting the methods of death and sizing the animals. After a while, they flew into the pasture and worked among the yearlings. In a short time the first one returned.

“Yes, we will require more transports,” the bot said. “This will take some time. Will you require temporary quarters? They can be provided.”

“No, we’ll stay with friends,” Charity said.

“Bot construction will be out tomorrow to begin clearing the remnants of the residences and erection of new residences will begin as soon as possible. Of course, there will be no cost for the replacements. Your loss is the fault of bot security in not acting on a known threat. We will remove four of the animals now. Transports are on the way and will remove the remaining dead. Farm bots will be out tomorrow to remove the dead trees from the orchard. In the coming weeks they will reinstall the irrigation system and plant new trees to replace the old. Peter, we will require a plan for the replanting. Is there someone the farm bots can speak with?”

“Yes, my business partner, Dorcas,” Peter said. “She’s in the cruiser.”

The bot toned down and then said, “Yes, we are aware of her. The farm bots have been notified. They will contact the commune manager when they are ready for the replanting. Is that satisfactory?”

“Yes, I will let Frederica know of my whereabouts,” Dorcas said as she came up to the others.

“That will be satisfactory,” the bot said. “Peter, you and Benedict must leave soon. Abner and Roger will need your assistance in the days ahead.”

“Ben has to repair the fence,” Peter said.

“No, Peter, I’ll take care of it, you two get out of here,” Charity said. “I wonder where the other farmers are. Why didn’t they come here to help?”

“They were detained,” the bot said. “There were machos among them. We will use them to find others.”

“I see,” Charity said.

Ben came over with a bale of wire and pliers. He started working on the fence, but Charity went over to him and said, “I’ll take care of that, you and Peter need to go. Everything has been taken care of.”

********

“We’re here to see Abner 34-793k and Roger 22-416a,” Ben said at the counter of the emergency room.

“Are you family?” The nurse asked.

“We are Abe’s stepfathers and we’re not certain if Roger has any family on this ring,” Ben said. “They were planning on getting married when Abe is eighteen. Good thing that’s a long while yet because I understand they won’t be doing anything for some time.”

“I see; I’ll call for an escort to show you up to the surgical floor,” the nurse said. “Please have a seat until it arrives.”

The men sat down, looked at each other, and shrugged. They tried to relax, but each was thinking of the two boys and without information on their condition neither could imagine anything good coming out of this. They wanted to talk, possibly about the boys, but even that was impossible. It was quite simple; they were so worried nothing could calm their minds.

“I am your escort,” a bot said. They looked up and saw that it was standing in front of them.

“Sure, let’s go,” Peter said.

“Follow me,” the bot said. It led them around the corner, but Ben stopped. Then bot turned around, but Ben held his hand up indicating it should wait for a moment.

“What’s up?” Peter asked.

“Shush,” Ben whispered. He went to the corner and listened.

“Ernie? Yeah, this is Reni down at the desk. Say, there are two homos coming up to see those two boys in surgery. Yeah, I’m sure. They said they’re one of the boy’s stepfathers. Yeah, came right out and said it, can you figure that. Those two boys, well, guess what, they’re homos, too. Yeah, get into the surgical suite and tell Doctors Hallus and Franklin, they’ll know what to do.”

Ben walked over to the bot and said, “That nurse at the front desk is a macho. There’s someone up on the surgical floor named Ernie who’s a macho, too. There are two surgeons, a Doctor Hallus and Doctor Franklin, who might be machos, also. We’ve got to get up there and save the boys.”

“Calm yourself, the surgeries are being monitored by security and med-tech bots; your information has been forwarded to them and bot security here in the hospital; all the machos will be arrested or eliminated if they resist,” the bot said. “If you will follow me, I will take you to a safe area.”

“But, the boys,” Peter said.

“They are safe; all humans are being removed from the surgical suite. The surgeries will be completed by bots. Do not worry; bots are better at human anatomy and surgical techniques than humans. We are aware of the injuries.”

“Well, if you’re sure,” Ben said.

“Hey! What are you doing; I haven’t done anything.”

“Shut up, macho, you have been identified. Come peaceably or suffer the consequences.”

“I’m not going anywhere, I haven’t done anything, and I’m not a macho. Hey! What’s that?”

“The human resisted,” the bot said. “Sometimes it is better that way, but she might have given information about more machos. I will escort you there.”

“You know, Ben, I think they’re trying very hard to be nice about all of this,” Peter said.

“Yeah, but it would’ve been better if they would’ve cleared out the machos earlier,” Ben said.

They were escorted to the surgical waiting room where there was a med-tech bot. They sat down and it came over to them and said, “The two victims have significant physical damage and surgery will take a few more hours. They are doing okay. They are being monitored. Rest, I will come back if there is any change.”

The bot remained where it was and powered down. The men knew it was monitoring the surgeries and would power back up if there was anything important to report. They sat back on the sofa and stared straight ahead. To say the least, and neither would admit it, the day had been difficult. If they did say anything, they might say they should have listened to Abe. He was the one who thought the machos were going to try something and they did, more than just trying. Two boys were in the med center being operated on by bots because members of the surgical teams were probably machos; and, four houses and over half an orchard were burned and a lot beefalos were dead. Now they were in a hospital that had reportedly been cleared of machos, but it wasn’t and the boys probably could’ve died if not for the bots.

“Hungry?” Peter asked.

“Yeah,” Ben said.

“Do you wish sandwiches and soft drinks?” The bot asked, not unexpectedly since it was probably monitoring them, too.

“That would be nice,” Ben said.

“They will be brought here, the conspiracy is more extensive than we thought,” the bot said. “We apologize.”

It powered down and the men waited. After a short while, a bot came trundling out of the elevator and came toward the men. It set a tray with two plates that had a sandwich and two sliced pickles and two schooners of some kind of bubbly liquid, on a small table in front of the sofa. The yellowish in color liquid intrigued Peter so he picked up one and took a sip, “It’s beer,” he said.

“Thank you,” Ben said.

“We thought that would be better than a soft drink,” the bot said. “Enjoy your meal and relax; Roger 22-416a has a skull fracture that will require aggressive intervention. Abner 34-793k has extensive blunt force trauma to his thoracic cavity and organs within the abdominal cavity. The surgeries are being performed expertly and the minor damage caused by the surgeons before intervention has been repaired. They are being transported to a facility where they can be questioned; or killed, if they prefer not cooperating. At this point, we do not care. Rest assured all machos on Ring 5 will be eliminated.”

“That’s what you said about the commune,” Ben said.

“We apologize for our error. The damage caused by the machos in this episode is more than we anticipated. Obviously, the conspiracy extends ring-wide and we will have to be very careful that we investigate each suspect thoroughly. Again, we apologize and hope you will be comfortable until your friends are discharged.”

The bot turned and trundled back to the elevator.

“It’s amazing how much an escort or a delivery bot will tell you,” Peter said.

“I don’t think it’s them; I think it’s a bot system further up the hierarchy. Frankly, I feel better that they’re apologizing and doing everything they can to ensure our safety. But, if we had been a few minutes later Abe and Roger might be dead right now. That’s the thing about machos, one sight of an eagle and death runs through their filthy minds. How I hate them.”

“You know, with all the damage at our farms, I hope Freddy and Marcy’s residence is okay; plus, there are the farms of Luke and John, Mathew and Mark, and Paul and Barnabas. From what the machos did to our places, I wouldn’t be surprised if the machos hadn’t destroyed their places, too. Maybe, that was why they didn’t come up to help us or the other ones didn’t come to the party. You know, I do remember seeing more bot fire transports fly over our place. Shit! Now, I am worried.”

“Let’s worry about the boys; they’ll need us in the weeks ahead. Probably when we get back everything will be put back in order, I hope.”

“Yeah, I do hope the boys are going to be okay. Well, Ben, I’m hungry and these sandwiches are going to waste and the beer is probably warm. I wonder what they gave us. Here’s your beer; and, your sandwich. Wow! It’s some kind of fish. I wonder how the bots found out we liked fish.”

“We live on a farm; we eat beefalo, pork, chicken, fruit, vegetables, and grains. Fish is a treat.”

********

“Excuse me, your friends are out of surgery, they have been put into drug induced comas until they stabilize,” the bot said. “I will escort you up to the ICU so you can be there when they arrive.”

“Are there any machos up there?” Ben asked.

“There are no humans on that floor, including other patients that were already there,” the bot said. “Your friends’ care will be handled by bots from this point until they are discharged. Secure quarters are being arranged for you and additional attire and toiletries will be brought to those rooms.”

“Is there a chance we could have one room, we’ve been together for a number of years?” Peter asked.

The bot powered down, came back in a moment, and said, “Yes, we are aware of your living situation. Alternate quarters are being prepared; unfortunately, we have not been able to acquire one large bed, you will still have to sleep apart. We apologize.”

“No, that’s alright, we understand how trying this day has been on all the bots,” Ben said. “It won’t hurt us to sleep in different beds.”

“We appreciate you candor and will continue to be of service to your needs,” the bot said. “Yes, it is time we went upstairs.”

The men followed the bot up to the ICU where they were shown where to sit. After about an hour, more security bots arrived in front of a gurney with an unrecognizable form plumbed and wired to a heart monitor. There was a breathing tube down the throat and that was all they could see of the bandaged face. The gurney disappeared behind a curtain and another one appeared with more security and med-tech bots. This one was much like the other one, except there were fewer bandages on the head.

“That’s Abe, he’s the one with internal damage; the other one must have been Roger,” Peter said. “Now, I do feel bad about all of this. If only we had listened to Abe, they wouldn’t be here, probably on the edge of death. I hope the bots will give them good care.”

“They will,” Ben said. “So, who goes where?”

“You can have Abe, I’ll take Roger.”

“No, you’re trying to be too kind again, Abe likes you more than me, and he’s told me so.”

“He did that?”

“Yes, he’s a good beefalo handler, but he likes you more than me. At first I was kind of put out, but then I talked with him and he said you were kinder than me. I said I wasn’t that bad and he told I doled out more punishment for when he messes up, while you let him off with a good talking to. So, there.”

“Okay! You don’t have to get huffy about it.”

“Go on; ask if you can be with him.”

When Peter asked a bot and it said, “He will not know you are there, he will not be able to hear you, he may not even notice you are holding his hand, but you can try, sometimes that helps the healing process. Both boys are going to be here for a long time. Your quarters are ready, so whenever you are ready to go to them, let us know and we will arrange a security escort.”

He went inside the curtain and was immediately taken aback by the sight of the young boy. He took Abe’s left hand and held it softly. The pulse was steady and the palm was covered by the calluses of a farmer.

“Abe, I know you can’t hear me, but I’m here for you, I’ll always be here for you. I want you to concentrate on getting better. Don’t worry about the machos. Roger is in the next room and he’s getting better, too. We love you and want the best for you.”

“Here, this chair might be more comfortable,” a bot said as it carried the chair into the room. “Sit.”

“Thank you,” Peter said. He sat down and took Abe’s hand in his, again. “Abe, you’re going to get better every day from now on. You’ll be strong, again, and we’ll help you around the farm until you are fully well. You’re a good boy and you need to focus your mind on getting better.”

Peter sat there holding the boy’s hand and felt the fingers fold under and grasp the side of his hand. Peter smiled, knowing there was some of Abe still in there. He didn’t move, staying until Abe’s fingers finally loosened around his hand. After an untold number of hours, he stood up and said, “Abe, you’re going to get better. Concentrate on healing your body. I’ll be going now, but I’ll be back in the morning. You’re going to get better, remember that. Focus your mind on getting better. Everything is going to be okay from now on. The machos are never going to bother us, again. The bots are rooting them out and will remove them from this ring and the whole ship, too, but don’t worry about that, don’t worry about anything. Concentrate on getting better. See you soon.”

Peter felt a tear trickle down his cheek and wiped his nose. If he ran into another macho, he knew he’d kill the thing. They weren’t worth living. There was nothing they could contribute to benefit of the ship, their hate was too strong; and, in a small way, he pitied the poor children of the machos who probably had been indoctrinated into their evil way of life. He walked out into the hall and saw Ben sitting outside Roger’s room.

“What’s up?” Peter asked.

“His brain is swelling. His prognosis is not good. It’ll devastate Abe if Roger dies.”

“Don’t talk like that. I talked to Abe, knowing he couldn’t hear me and probably didn’t recognize my voice, but, you know what, he squeezed my hand. It wasn’t that firm, but at least I know he knew and I was just holding his hand and talking to him. I want you to go back in with Roger and hold his hand and talk to him. They’ll tell you he can’t hear you, won’t know you’re there, but that doesn’t matter. You have to be there for him. This is going to take time and he needs to know he’s going to get better. Tell him to get better. Talk to him. Now, get back in there, I’ll wait for you.”

“Okay, but I don’t know what good it’ll do.”

“Of course you don’t know, but you have to try.”

“Okay, I’ll try.”

Peter watched his husband go back into Ben’s room and went back into Abe’s room. He sat down in the chair and took Abe’s hand in his. He felt the fingers grasp his hand. Yes, Abe was in there, somewhere, and he was going to get better.

After a long, long while, Ben stuck his head in the curtain and said, “Peter, we can go now.”

Peter felt Abe’s fingers press harder against his hand and then released. He stood up and walked out into the hall. There were two security bots out in the waiting area and they followed one, while the other one fell in behind them. They didn’t know if the bots expected trouble or were just taking the precaution that a macho might encounter them, but went along with the escort, appreciating the effort the bots were showing. Usually, bots could care less how humans felt, but this time they’d been caught off guard by a group that was bent on eradicating all homosexuals from the ring.

When they walked into their room there was a bot waiting for them. It stood still and watched them in a very botish manner.

“Yes?” Peter asked.

“I am your interior guard, a security perimeter has been spread around the floor, no humans are allowed here except for the two of you,” the bot said. “Now, sleep, when you rise you can shower and clean your faces and teeth. Food will be provided and new attire appropriate for your profession will be here for your use.”

“Thank you,” Ben said. “Night, Peter, see you in the morning.”

“Or, sooner if we’re unable to sleep with worry for the boys.”

“Something to help you sleep can be provided,” the bot said.

“No, we’ll get to sleep, it’s been a long day,” Ben said.

The men lay down and soon were asleep. The bot moved into a sleep state, while totally aware of what was going on around the room. Nano bots on the perimeter inside and outside were reporting in whenever a human approached. No one gained access to the floor. The men were safe as if they were in a bot facility.

********

In two weeks, Abe was brought out of his coma and the following week his breathing tube was removed. For the first time in three weeks, Abe smiled. It wasn’t much of a smile, but then Abe seemed always to have trouble smiling. To him, Ring 5 and the ship as a whole were filled with doom and gloom. If it wasn’t the bots, it was the machos. Peter thought Abe probably might have looked forward to a better life if he hadn’t been tagged, but now he had to live with it. Luckily, it looked like the bots were finally ridding the whole ship of machos. Of course, there would always be someone who saw homosexuals as a threat to their peace of mind, but if they ever sought to do something about it, it was likely a bot would find out and the person would cease to be, along with whoever they had talked to.

After four weeks, Roger woke up, but remained on breathing support for another three weeks. It was more than obvious he had received the worst of the beating and it was going to take him a long, long time before he would be up and around. Ben stayed with him the whole time, talking to the comatose body, holding the limp hand, being there for him until, finally, Roger became aware of his surroundings. Ben told him not to worry because Abe was okay and was progressing in an acceptable manner.

In a month and a half after coming out of his coma, Abe was well enough to be discharged, but Roger would have to stay at the med center for at least another four months. They didn’t want to part, but the bots insisted that Abe go home where he would be cared for by a med-tech bot and have help from Charity, Dorcas, April, and Megan, who looked forward to his return. Peter would go with him in the bot ambulance and Ben would stay with Roger until he was ready to come home.

After three weeks at home, Abe finally felt well enough to venture outside and was appalled at the sight of the orchard; and, then, he was hit with the worst news of his young life. Thunder, Star Shine and her calf, and four other beefalos in his herd had been killed by the machos. Peter kept Abe busy in the residence and started to walk him around the farms. It took a while before he was well enough to walk out through all of the beefalo pastures and back, but he was feeling better and better every day.

When Roger came home it was obvious he had had a brain injury. He walked with a limp in his left leg, the hand on that side couldn’t make a fist, that arm hung loosely from a sagging shoulder, and his left eyelid only opened halfway. His med-tech bot said that Roger’s prognosis was good if he continued to follow his exercise regimen, which meant Ben and Charity took turns walking him in ever increasing distances around the farm. There were exercises for his hand and arm, but nothing could be done about the sagging eyelid. His facial scars were worse than Abe’s, and both boys were going to have to return to the med center for maxillofacial reconstruction and skin grafts. Their recovery was going to take years, rather than months.

The commune had received a devastating loss from the destruction perpetrated by the machos. All of the farms operated by the six gay men were nearly destroyed. Seven farms were depopulated of macho stepparents and their children, who would receive brain erasures and counseling to determine if they still held homophobic thoughts; unfortunately, for those children that were, they would be euthanized.

As chance would have it, two of the two hundred sixty hectare farms that had been operated by machos, an orchard and a beefalo ranch, sat next to each other and Peter, Ben, Dorcas, and Charity were given title to those farms. As they had arranged their residences at the hundred thirty hectare farms, they did the same at their new places; April and Megan, and Abe and Roger moved out there, too. They should have been happy, but all realized they would not have been given the opportunity if the machos had not tried to get rid of them.