In the Year 2041: Part 1

Nothing could escape the look of Nicolaus Copernicus in the great hallway of the Robotnitsa Men High School. Many a freshman walked right under the portrait’s frames on the way to their classes; feeling goosebumps creep on their backs and their hair touching the soft-yet-firm fabric of their uniforms, trying desperately not to look at the painting for too long. Ben Rigby understood their feelings completely. There was nothing like ending your Friday refreshed and full of life only to meet eyes with a face which looked like it would have bitten your nose off had it been given a chance to do so. With each passing year, however, Copernicus’ bloody-red lips and paper-white skin scared Ben less and intrigued him more.

He looked to the left. There sat Kim Tiddle, all trembly. He couldn’t stop touching his crotch.

‘’Do you think‘’ -Ben pointed at the portrait, trying to take his friend’s mind off the upcoming test- ‘’Copernicus looked exactly like that?’’

‘’Like what? That?” Kim said, glancing at the painting and immediately looking back. ‘’No way. Had she looked like that, she would’ve never in a million years convinced nobody that the Earth orbits the Sun.’’

‘’Maybe she scared them into submission.’’

‘’That’s one option.’’

‘’Is that why you’re all scared like that?’’

‘’Nah, that’s not it. I’ve seen that shit-eating painting one too many times to be scared of it. I just don’t like looking at it, that’s all.’’

‘’What’re you so scared of then?’’

‘’Whatchu think? Imma give you three guesses, retard.’’

‘’The test?’’

‘’Bravo. Think a bit more and you might not need diapers the next time you go to bed.’’

‘’Why so edgy? Relax. You’re fine. How long’s your member?’’

‘’Last time I checked, it was six and a half. Seven on a good day. Today’s not a good day, though. And you?’’

‘’I didn’t check. Why bother? You won’t change it no matter how hard you try. Same with height. And eye color.’’

‘’That’s your entire future right there, though. Ain’t that making you nervous?’’

‘’Not any more nervous than the lovely lady in the frame right there.’’

Everyone chuckled. The feeling of some pressure leaving the atmosphere made Ben feel good and all fuzzy inside.

‘’Did I hear some laughs over there?’’ said Mrs Glowiak from the room the test was supposed to take place in. Her scratchy, whiney voice could not be mistaken for any other. ‘’I wonder how many laughs I’ll hear when the ruler meets the top of your filthy peckers. Five minutes!’’

The pressure came back in, doubling in force. Kim grabbed his crotch again; harder, it seemed. Some boys started walking around in their squeaky shoes on the squeaky floor. Some of them stayed seated where they were, finding solace in hiding their eyes in their palms.

Ben found it difficult not to agree with Kim on this one thing: the test they were about to go through in five minutes was their future. Some fifty years ahead of them determined by a ruler pushed into the bottom of their torso. Twenty-one years behind them just as easily erased by the back of their head pressed against the wall. Decades decided by inches. To not be nervous during those five minutes was to be as alive as Copernicus on the wall. His crotch felt heavy. When he closed his eyes, he could feel his heart putting his entire body into motion; like a muscular man spinning with a hammer in the middle of his ribcage, never throwing it. He tried to slow it down. No more motion, like a statue. To no avail. It was as effective as putting a blanket on the everburning pits of Hell. He couldn’t ignore the heat, either. The shirt he was wearing glued itself to his skin with sweat. There was no point on his body that wasn’t itching, screaming for more air to breathe. Soon enough, sweat started raining from his forehead onto his eyebrows and then, ultimately, his eyes. He could feel each droplet making its way down his face; the first ones in their own manner, every other one following them suit. Each one of their roads was irritating him. He was ready to claw his face off right there. Right there.

The first name was called.

As the list was arranged alphabetically, Ben was safe for the time being. Nonetheless; when the first name dropped, he felt as though the sportsman that had been spinning the hammer for so long in the place of his heart finally threw the darned thing right through his ribs, crushing them to nothing and leaving an empty hole behind.

Then another name was called. The previous student left the room with a smile on his face and cotton-like legs. He sat down and started laughing through tears, saying something about the top of his head.

The next one wasn’t so lucky. He didn’t even have to leave the classroom to announce it. His panicked screams could’ve probably been heard in another district. Ben jumped when he heard those, as did everybody else in the hallway, as would every other person. The screams continued for a minute until a solid thump muffled them. After another minute, the poor bastard was silenced for good and the only sound that could be heard was a shuffle.

Another name was called. And another. The majority of people left the room quite satisfied. Some left the room stone-faced. One boy started crying as soon as he closed the door. There was no way of telling whether he was happy or not. With each name dropped, Ben felt the hole in his chest growing to unimaginable sizes. He was sure it would soon consume him from the inside. He couldn’t have felt any more hollow. Then it happened.

‘’Ben Jeremy Rigby,’’ said Mrs Glowiak.

‘’Good luck there, bro,’’ said Kim. When Ben looked into his trembling brown eyes, he knew he should have responded with something. A million words to say, yet nothing being said.

‘’Benjamin Jeremy Rigby, inside. Right now. Disobedience will result in automatic failure.’’

‘’Here I come, alright,’’ said Ben.

Kim wasn’t looking at him anymore.

‘’Here I come, indeed,’’ Ben murmured to himself.

He entered a parody of what he once considered the math classroom. Each desk and every chair were not to be seen, replaced with various measuring equipment, meant to catch and describe every pore on his skin. With nowhere to sit down, he stood on the large piece of white cloth laid carelessly in front of the commission’s desk. Three women, among whom old Mrs Glowiak, noted something down and stared at him with faces devoid of expression.

‘’Clothes off, now,’’ said Mrs Glowiak.

‘’J-Just like that?’’ asked Ben. ‘’No initial questions? No names? No-‘’

‘’We’ve already got your data. Any further questions will result in automatic failure. Clothes off, now.’’

At this point Ben could hear the beating of his own heart louder and clearer than he could hear the chat of the commission. Never before did he undress as carefully as he did at that moment. He felt as though he could take out each string of his shirt and set it aside, and he would have certainly done so, had there been no three hags assisting his every move with their merciless, empty stare.

‘’Proceed faster, Mr Rigby,’’ said Mrs Glowiak.

Ben bent over and began to take off his pants. He could feel the fat on his belly pulling downwards, hanging on his spine like a dumbbell on a rope. His legs were the fattest he had ever seen. The more of his body he was forced to watch, the more his heart bounced around his insides, getting into his neck and choking him, even. Then it reached his guts, leaving them mixed and tangled. Then, finally, the pumping frenzy got to his head, giving it a pulsing ache, among which only three words could he recognise: ‘’No more, please.’’

‘’All clothes, Mr Rigby,’’ said Mrs Glowiak.

‘’Please, no more,’’ Ben thought to himself. The one-man freakshow was about to really begin.

‘’Let’s proceed,’’ said Mrs Glowiak, ‘’stand by the wall and face the window.’’

The two women left their chairs. Mrs Glowiak stayed where she sat, writing something down. Once Ben moved where he was supposed to, he felt the two women’s claws biting into his arms. They used the strength barely required not to leave a mark. One of them set his head up and neck straight.

‘’Hold still, now,’’ said the first woman. ‘’Alright. Height: six feet, two inches.’’

‘’Barely minimum,’’ said Mrs Glowiak, ‘’surely you can do better than that?’’

Ben had envisioned a pen digging deep into Mrs Glowiak’s bleeding eye socket numerous times before. A calming fantasy normally, a serious possibility at that time.

‘’Jaw: strong, domineering. An 85-degree angle, more or less. Nose: slightly big, but finely chiseled. Eyes: definite hunter-type. No signs of balding at either side of the hairline.’’

‘’So far so good,’’ said Mrs Glowiak after a sigh. ‘’Let’s get lower.’’

Shoulders: checked.

Wrists: checked.

Waist: checked.

Each body part checked ached no more. Each ache, however, found its new place to reside inbetween Ben’s thighs. The pain intensified up until its peak, at which point his member felt as though it was a handle of a knife shoved deep into his guts.

‘’Mr Rigby,’’ said Mrs Glowiak, ‘’you have gathered a satisfactory amount of points in the corporeal part of the test, meaning that you can advance to the next phase. Are you ready? Of course you are. Commence the measurement of genitals.’’

‘’Flaccid size: six inches in length, five inches in circumference’’ exclaimed one of the women. ‘’Scrotum size: five and a half inches in circumference.’’

‘’Once again, bare minimum. It is now time for you to perform the erection of your penis, Mr Rigby.’’

Erections on command was something Ben had always been good at. No test not passed without flying colours in that regard. No test apart from this one, it seemed. Every pleasant situation he tried to imagine always came back to Mrs Glowiak’s face and her ear-melting voice. Every stimulating pump only intensified the pain between his legs. After what seemed to be the longest minute of his life, he finally achieved the most painful erection he had ever had.

‘’One minute, three seconds,’’ sighed Mrs Glowiak. ‘’The necessary minimum is fifteen seconds. One more underperformance and the test will result in failure.’’

‘’If… If I could excuse myself,’’ said Ben, ‘’the test is very, very stressful. I’m afraid I-‘’

‘’No, you can not excuse yourself. As a potential male breeder, you are required to perform the erection of your penis at any given circumstance, no matter how stressful or scary the situation appears to be. The time taken for your performance signifies that you may not be suitable for the role. Also, I should not need to remind you that it is not the time for you to ask questions. Maintain your erection for the final inspection, if you would.’’

Ben tried to do exactly as he was told. Undoubtedly, in any other situation he would have been diamond-hard. No matter how much he tried to talk himself into being as big as every cell in his body allowed him to be, he could feel the blood pumping away from down there; the blood necessary for the woman with the measuring tape to not say:

‘’Erect size: six and a half inches in length, five and a half inches in circumference.’’

‘’The circumference is satisfactory,’’ said Mrs Glowiak, slightly more excited. ‘’The minimum required length, however, is seven inches. I regret to infrom you, Mr Rigby, that you have failed the test. We’ll be meeting tomorrow at 8 AM for the castration.’’

Initially, those words didn’t even feel real in Ben’s head. After repeating them over and over inside his mind, however, they started to become more concrete and serious. In turn, the more real they became, the less real Ben felt. He could feel neither his legs nor his arms; his stomach turned into a black hole, sucking his body out of existence piece by piece; nothing in his head apart from the words ‘’you have failed the test’’ on a loop; and outside a scream he didn’t even feel he made.

‘’No! No!’’ screamed Ben. ‘’No, please! Fuck, please! I can’t! I won’t! I won’t! Oh fuck, oh shit, oh fuck, oh shi-‘’

Mrs Glowiak’s assistants tried to prevent Ben from breaking anything while he went on a panicked stroll around the classroom. He sat on a chair once, then immediately got up and started walking some more, this time faster and louder. Ben himself didn’t know what he was doing; wherever his legs decided to go, he went there; wherever his arms decided to swing, he swung there; whatever his mouth decided to shout out, he screamed. He couldn’t keep any manners of the world, no matter how expensive the equipment he knocked down was. Only darkness inside his mind. Nothing to stop his walk of doom. Nothing to lose. No future. Only darkness. Inside his brain. Inside his heart. Slowly, but surely, in front of his eyes.

‘’This should keep him down for a while,’’ said Mrs Glowiak. Ben finally fell asleep. ‘’Now; Mrs Diggson, get the pig out of the sight and handcuff him to the radiator next to the previous one; Mrs Fletcher, hide the chloroform in the cabinet. Only... ten more to go.’’