Living Proof (Tyler G Book 2) (24 page)

"Locutions? Do you have a
number for them?"

The man did, so that was the next
call he made, having a bit before he needed to go off to work. As it turned out
the angry old woman he spoke to was more than pleased to share the territory
with the Shifters, as long as they stopped shooting at her people.

"We live in the forest, and
that belongs to all. We planted these lands, a thousand years ago, telling us
we can't live here now..."

"All right. I'll set up a
truce then? You keep living there, and the Shifters will stop shooting at you?
You can't bring violence to them, of course. Also, who do you have set up for
the new embassy?"

"What?"

He explained the whole thing,
like it was real. They were going to need a building for it, he realized. It
meant getting with Keeley next, but the woman did allow that she had a nephew
and his wife, who might do well in that kind of position of power.

"Not our way, to the main,
being humble folk in the most part, but Hess always was one for adventure, and
seeking out beyond the edge of the woods. You get him a place?"

They had to work out that meant a
wood lot for him and his bride to live in, so he agreed to check that out with
Keeley.

It meant he ended up doing piss
poor work all day, calling people about different things. Rather than yell at
him for bringing in a new embassy filled with people, The Mistress of Souls
congratulated him on being brilliant. Which was nice of her, really. He'd been
kind of worried that she might be a tiny bit upset.

"I can have a place ready by
the end of the month. Keep in touch, as to who's sending someone?"

Then she hung up on him. Just in
time for the Shifter leader to call again.

"I just put the word in to
Ambassador Hale. Also, I hear that the Locution difficulty isn't one now? Most
amazing! I'd expected a protracted battle. This bodes well for your new
project, I think. Thank you for considering us worthy. We won't let you
down."

After the man got off the phone
he had to run and clean up a room that had been being used by Alexia. Except
that he didn't, the Alede girl already doing it when he got there.

"Hey Ty. So, um, you're
leaving us? Already? I haven't even had sex with you yet. Are you taking
Kaitlyn away with you then? I know she's your favorite."

"She is? I guess so, being
that she actually
works
. And yet, here
you
are doing that too.
Really, that isn't a bad point. I should try to get Robert and you to come
down. It won't be like here though, so you might not want to. This seems pretty
much like a play land for you." It really did too. "Kait needs to
stay here, and run the Coalition from this location. We're going to need Zack,
so it makes sense, right? I know, you can come with us, and bring that Ken kid.
Teach him the ropes and all that?" From what he'd heard the boy was kind
of floating from place to place.

If he could learn to work, that
wouldn't be a bad thing. He knew Robert as well.

"I'll see about setting that
up? That way I can put myself in as the Assistant Ambassador there. It's real
work. Do you think I can handle that?" She waved at him with some damp
paper towel that she was drying the chair she'd just scrubbed with.

"It's possible? I'll take
over here, and you can go do that now?"

Because it made sense to him.
When he came out there was a rather annoyed Kait at the front desk, ringing a
middle aged woman up. At first he thought it was about her being cut out of the
sweet embassy job, but it wasn't that. The woman was just being a bitch to her.
Not in a little way, considering that they'd had two attacks at the mall in the
last month that fit the subject matter.

"If it wasn't for feminism
you wouldn't have the right to work,
or
vote. You're just an ungrateful
little cunt." She sounded upset too, but Kait just looked at her evenly.

"I don't really have the
right to vote. Not yet. I'm not Human. We aren't really in your system."

That got him to look at her,
amazed by the idea.

"You aren't? Wow. I hadn't
thought about that. I mean you were born here, so you should be. Anyway, do you
want me to finish this up for you? I'd actually like to talk to this
lady."

She frowned at him, hard.

"Well
I
don't need to
talk to you, you oppressive pig."

He nodded at her, and then spoke.
Oppressively he didn't doubt, even though he wasn't trying to.

"That's true, you don't have
to. If you have a moment though? We've been having problems with some feminists,
and can't figure out
why
. I mean, I can see them coming after me, being
male and them being an anti-male hate group, at least the ones that have been
attacking us, but why would they go after succubi? Can you see that one? If so,
please let me in on it? I've been wrestling with the idea for weeks."

The woman looked away, outrage on
her face. Probably at being linked to a hate group, but once you started to
even threaten bombings that one was hard to dodge. Actually
doing
it was
kind of the next step up.

"Well, they're a threat to
all we've worked for, aren't they?" She glared at him, her face turning
slightly red. With rage, rather than embarrassment.

Kaitlyn finished making the sale,
then rather wisely pulled back, about ten feet, toward the far end of the
counter. In case shooting started.

The lady was heavyset, but no
worse than most, and a bit unkempt. No makeup on, or attempt to do anything
other than the bare minimum. That was fair enough. She didn't smell bad or
anything, and
he
certainly wasn't putting makeup on either. Other women
did, which left her looking a bit poor by comparison, but she wasn't trying to
impress him. Or anyone. That was kind of powerful, as long as she really meant
it.

Telling the world she didn't care
what they thought of her was solid.

He tried to look questioning, but
not mean.

"I... Don't understand that.
How would Alede just being themselves damage you? I can't see that it would
affect you."

The woman made a hard face then,
and shook her head.

"They're
undermining
us. If men can just come to a place like this and be serviced at any time, then
why should they listen to us at all? All our freedom will be stolen away, if
this keeps going."

Tyler shook his head then, not
able to help himself.

"Um, no. It really won't. No
one will keep you from voting, or having free speech. No one even wants that.
Well, I mean, anti-feminists probably do, but even they just kind of say you
should shut up, right? And you know, if they do that, just kind of flip them
off and go on your way, because they can't actually stop you from speaking. No
one is trying to take anything away legally."

That got her to slap at his arm,
which meant leaning across the counter to do it. Ty took a step back, not
needing to be abused that day.

"You can't even see how hard
we have it, can you? You live in a male dominated world, and don't understand
how easy it would be for men to wake up one day and take it all back. That's
what we
mean
by oppression. If we don't fight constantly, if one piece
shifts in the puzzle, then we're going to be left holding the bag. If these
whores can service all the men in town, then we're going to be left with no one
listening to us. Men only see us as valuable for our bodies, and once that
goes, we're nothing to them!" She was upset, but at least she kind of made
sense.

Tyler looked over at Kaitlyn
then, and nodded.

"Thanks. I see it now. I
mean, you're wrong, and can't see that fact, but at least I can get what you
mean. You're afraid to lose the power you have over men. You really won't. Not
unless you push them all away. Men
cherish
women. They always have.
Really, they can't help it. I suppose you can claim that men only want women
for their bodies, but think about it this way. If a man and an old woman are on
the road, being attacked, who do all the other men run to defend first? It
won't be the man. He's supposed to deal with things himself. She doesn't have
any merit though, body wise, but it will still happen, without a doubt. The
value of women might be for sex to men, to start with, but it doesn't
end
there."

She did
not
seem
convinced.

Not at first. Tyler went over
examples though, and didn't stop for a long time. Finally she just looked
troubled.

"But men are pigs."

Kaitlyn spoke from the side, her
voice soft.

"Do you
really
think
that? I mean, that leaves out a whole lot, doesn't it? Yeah, they like sex, but
that isn't a crime or anything, is it? Men are the ones that protected you, and
built the world you stand in. The ones that are there for you when you need
help. The ones that grow the food, and keep the power on. More likely than not
they built the car you came here in, and did most of the road work that lets you
travel. Sure, men
do
like sex, but they ask for
one
thing from
women, and give them everything in return. Does that make them
pigs
though? Or just different kinds of people? Even when you can't, or
won't
,
deliver that one thing they want, they're always there for you. Every single
time. I can't see that as being bad. Not
perfect
, but who is?"

In the end it was kind of clear
that this woman wasn't going to think that men were great. Tyler could live
with that. She didn't have to. All
he
needed from her was a lack of
bombings, shootings, and possibly putting a good word in for the Alede. Who, as
he pointed out, had to survive like they did, regardless.

"That one isn't about
choice. They harvest sexual energy, or die."

That got waved away, the slightly
older lady flapping her hands again. Annoyed with him.

"All of that is conditioned.
Just like men are. They could learn not to be like that. If they weren't
trained that way from the time they were a child they wouldn't need to have sex
all the time." She seemed very certain of that, but even with his high
school education it sounded wrong.

"I think that having
different biology is, well, kind of a real thing. Alede
aren't
Human.
They aren't just attractive people that enjoy lots of sex."

The woman snorted at him.

"Of course they are.
Everyone knows that! Look at her, standing there looking all slutty. She wants
it, and that's a
choice
. You don't see me in tons of makeup, trying to
get men to notice me like that!"

Which was true.

Kaitlyn though made a face, and
then, right in the middle of the store, took her t-shirt off, and her glasses.

"Biology,
not
choice.
Watch." Then, closing her eyes, she started to grow. Taller first, her
facial features moving as the bones shifted under her skin.

Even her hair moved, shrinking
into the body, as solid looking abs appeared on her stomach. Kyle's middle now,
the change having taken place totally.

The young man spoke to the woman,
looking at her with his perfectly flat chest. Well, lean and nicely muscled
pecs, not really flat.

His voice was deeper and there
was no doubt that the dumbfounded lady was looking at a real man.

"You can't teach that. Not
in any way I've ever heard of. We
aren't
nymphos. We're Alede. We are
ourselves and have different needs, and yes, desires, than Humans do. We can't
be changed just because you rail at us. Not even if you threaten to kill us. We
don't want to, but if we did, we'd still be ourselves. Just like men are. It
isn't that hard to see. You seem like a smart woman. We're different, and it's
all right. We won't upset your apple cart. There aren't enough of us to make
that happen. Go and tell your friends that? Please?"

The woman left then, carrying the
book that she'd gotten, one about gardening, in her hand as she scurried away.

Ty looked at Kyle, and laughed a
bit.

"You look silly in those
pants.
Total
girl cut. Good speech. Have you been practicing it?"

The deep voiced guy actually
nodded before saying anything. Then he stroked his own stomach, which was kind
of sexy, Ty had to admit.

"In the mirror, every day
when I go home lately. I wonder if it will have any positive results?"

"Probably not. Anyway, you
nudist, you should change back. That, or get some new clothes on. We have work
to do. Setting up an embassy."

"Yeah, I heard about that.
I'd feel bad about not being invited, but I decided that a coup is in order,
and have named myself Vice Head of the Coalition of Nations." The boy
seemed serious, but a little bit scared too.

As if Tyler was going to say no.

Instead the idea got a nod.

"Good plan. We need to get
you a phone for it. From now on you can handle the things coming in. Let me get
my notebook. You should make a copy of it. There's a lot of odds and
ends." He actually got the thing out and handed it over, then called
Keeley, to see about getting a second cell phone.