Chapter 106 You said men!!
The family ate their dinner outside in the outdoor dining hall where the children usually sat. They also ate the same meal that everyone was having, Rice, meat, picked vegetables and juice. This was intentionally done for the people, especially the new citizens to see that their was no segregation on the blue star. What they ate, the noble governor's family, the general, the mecha warriors and the wealthy prince also ate. In the capital the nobles had access to high quality nutrient solutions while the commoners drunk the low quality ones. It was the way things were done after all the commoners could hardly afford high quality nutrient solutions. This small act of eating with the people also touched their hearts. Some people however cared more about the fact that Esong Wu was ravishingly eating this same meal.
Sidora the teenage girl who hated to walk for example took a picture and sent it to her friends in the capital, "I am eating the same meal as the mecha king."
Pictures of Esong Wu eating food quickly trended, alongside his little speech, holding Scarlet's hand and Scarlet's outfit. Everything to do with this night was dissected by the media in the capital and viewed by millions of people on the other stars.
At the table, Scarlet suddenly put her chopsticks, she was the only one in the family that used them. Everyone else ate with forks, 'like normal people' Elroy had said.
"You said men." she told Esong.
"What?" he guzzled down his second glass of juice for the night after asking.
"When you were addressing the crowd, you specifically mentioned the men, your mecha warriors that have sacrificed themselves for the empire. Why didn't you mention women?"
"There are no female mecha warriors." Elroy mentioned.
When she was about to ask why, someone else added to Elroy's statement. "Because women are not very good at excelling as mecha warriors." Folsom said.
Carolyn was the first to glare at him, followed by Mega, Scarlet and Fey. On seeing that all the women in the family were staring at this uncle, little Halley did the same. Now Folsom was being glared at by four pissed off women.
"I am just saying the truth.' he raised his hands defensively. "We train everyday for an entire year, we spend months away from home, we fight battles where our lives hang between life and death, we chase after dangerous criminals and we venture into unknown lands. This is not the kind of life women want to live, it requires great strength and sacrifice."
"So you think women are weak and selfish." Scarlet said dryly.
"I did not say that." Folsom looked around wildly, "I really didn't say that, I just said that women are not suitable for this line of work."
Carolyn snorted and rolled her eyes. "Before Aida Grant women were not suitable for mecha crafting or designing. Before Jackeline Mya women were not suitable to be mecha fighters, Before Gilly Saint women were not suitable to pilot space ships, in fact my sister here is the first and only female governor of a star planet. My pregnant mother is one of the best mutated beast hunters. Women can do anything, you men are just sexist."
"Woo." the women cheered and clapped.
"Oooh." the men groaned loudly and this drew the attention of some people who took more pictures, uploading them on star net.
"Here we go with the sexist theory." Folsom sighed and he raised his hands because this was an argument he had heard one too many times.. "If any of you here is willing to be a mecha warrior please contact me, I will be willing to train you personally but I guarantee that you will not make it. The truth is that it's brutal and dangerous what we do, there is no law that is stopping women from joining us but when they do, they drop out within two weeks. Personally as a man I would not want a wife that is a mecha warrior, I mean she would be gone for half of the year, risking her life everyday. When do we start a family if I never see you? What if my pregnant wife insists on going into battle?"
When he brought out the family angle most of the men at the table nodded which Scarlet found to be hypocritical. Women that were married to mecha warriors were burdened with the task of raising their children alone most of the time. What about them? It was undeniable that mecha warriors were greatly needed in the empire but this went two ways in her opinion. Both the men and women were affected.
"What about Clairemont, she was a married female mecha warrior." Fey asked. "She made it past those two weeks and she thrived."
Folsom grunted and banged his fist on the table, "She was a glory hog and she almost got her entire team kill..."
"Folsom." Esong barked and glared at him.
Folsom shook his head and said, "Look, we have female soldiers and female RGB officers.?That line of work is also sometimes dangerous and nobody is saying that women can't do those jobs. In fact women are encouraged to sign up for those them,?all I am saying is that when it comes to mecha warriors specifically, it's hard for women to keep up."
"Boo, sexist." Carolyn shouted with her hand raised up and the thumb facing down and the women laughed. Folsom shook his head and gave up, there was no winning in this argument.
Scarlet shook her head and said, "You see this is what happens when women grow up being told that they are not good at certain things, they do not bother to attempt them. Little Halley here could have the great potential to be a great mecha warrior but when she listens to uncle Folsom speaking, she is discouraged."
"Uncle!!" Folsom was shaken.
The men, his friends laughed, Esong inclusive.
"He doesn't want to be seen as an uncle, Folsom thinks it makes him look old." Esong explained to Scarlet and she joined in on the laughter.
"For today's lesson I think we should all watch a movie prepared by me called Mulan. I want the women especially to learn something from it." Scarlet stood up, gave her tab to Beord after she selected the movie, he sent it to his computer before connecting to the large screen and it started playing. Because it was on the large screen everyone from every corner with the exception of those whose backs were turned to the screen could see it.
Esong pushed his chair closer to Scarlet's, ensuring that there was no gap between them and he held her hand. She smiled and leaned her head against his arm. Markay attempted to do the same with Carolyn but she slapped his hand and he pouted.
Whatever software Beord had run it through, the movie was much clearer than the version from earth, the vivid pictures appeared so bright and life like as though it had only been shot yesterday.?Scarlet was very much impressed and she decided that movie nights could perhaps become a daily activity.
"Oh God, it's cartoons." Folsom groaned.
"You need to watch it the most." she told him.
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