Chapter 17 - Resonance and this unfair world
As I was reading this interesting book on resonance, I remembered my visit at the attendants' quarters and leaving immediately while repeatedly telling myself that I don't need complications right now especifically men. I also don't have the money! All of a sudden, something from my inherited memories surfaced and told me, "A rejected resonance has a strong backlash towards males since they react to the resonance stronger than women." I was puzzled since this sentence felt like I was being scolded. Did I reject Ioannis? I never talked to him so how could that happen. Since he's not here, I pushed those thoughts out of my mind for now but my brows still furrowed.
I then remembered the details of the the other books on culture and history that I have read in the morning. To summarize all the details I gathered in all those books, men really have little value in this world. Except for their ability to give birth to children, nothing much is expected of them.
The fact that "resonance" exists isn't helping their status at all. You may think that finding "the one" that is meant for you is cheesy and romantic but that applies to my previous world. I guess this is much like how fate or serendipity works. In this world, it is used as a means to oppress and even enslave the males that are already of the lowest status. Once they find their resonant partner, they no longer have their free will and would follow with no complaints because their whole being just makes them do so.
The fact that there are so many males compared to the number of women and that male bodies are just too honest (like when animals have their heat) when it comes to their resonant, just adds up to all the injustice they had to endure.
It would have been great if both genders get the same effects but sadly, that's not the case. The women have the option to decline or ignore a male if she wants to even if he is resonating with her.
I looked into the inherited memories again and it seems that relationships can only happen if the woman wants it. As for the men, resonance makes them loyal and faithful to only one woman and their whole existence yearns for her all the time. Even if the woman treats them poorly, they can only accept it and endure it. A woman could choose not to take responsibility for a man she has touched. She does not have to take him as an official husband. A man can be taken in as a lover, a concubine, a toy or even a bed slave and the guy would even be happy that he was even given a chance to serve her or just be near her.
Now I understand why the attendants say they are just tools for birthing children to keep the population level afloat. The laws don't protect them that much no matter what abuse they receive. Even the custody of the children immediately goes to the women. Only men who were accepted as an official husband or concubine are allowed to have shared custody.
You may think that if resonance exists, maybe the women will treat them better since they are fated partners of some sort but that is not the case. Based on my inherited memories as well as those books, 80% of the time, men end up abandoned or they experience some form of abuse no matter how high the resonance or compatibility is.
In one of the books, it is recorded that men are usually victims of abuse in all forms. Men have accepted the fact that they may become a victim of sexual abuse any time if they don't protect themselves or go around in pairs or better in groups. Even if they are working for the governement or a prestigious institution such as this academe, the risk may be less but it doesn't totally remove it. With this amount of power and control on the lives of others, no wonder women end up destroying the lives of men since they don't get punished for doing wrong anyways.
Taking someone by force or abusing them in any way should be a crime and should be punished but for men who try to fight back or file cases or complaints, they barely get anything if not further humiliation for dressing up seductively, by being too pretty not too touch, being too easy or looking like they are asking for it. They would get some money as compensation for damages but their lives are still ruined. It would be almost impossible for them to marry as an official husband of another woman in this life. At most, tainted men end up as lovers or bed slaves while others just choose to work in the red light district since they feel like their lives are already ruined anyways. For women, why would you take damaged goods when you can get a new and untainted one easily so to speak. Being treated as slaves, commodities or baby factories were a norm for men in this world so as a man, who would not be angry or feel resentment?
Sadly, this applies not only to humans males but to all males even in other races. I then found out a really surprising fact. My memories tell me that women from Eieneos (I am one, due to the tasks given to me) have a skill to control their pheromones to attract specific males that they like as well as do the opposite to lower resonance to avoid men we do not like. With these pheromones that I have, the resonance gets a 10-point boost to the number they have above their heads. That's just straight up cheating isn't it? If I use my pheromones to target men, wouldn't they just go crazy in heat as if in a high-dose aphrodisiac and follow me like they are under a spell? Hmm. Why do I find that a fun thing to see though? Am I turning to a villain due to the power I have just like what Altair warned me about?