I shut my eyes and pictured another madhouse and another wild chase
back down the corridor. But this time it didn't happen. The two men
nodded to one side. The wall opened, and we stepped in, out of sight.
Into an elevator.
Down, down, down ... into the depths of the Earth, it seemed. Finally
the elevator stopped.
"We get out here," one of the men said.
We were in a dank, dungeon-like place. We started up a cold, crawling
corridor, but happily turned off before we had gone too far. One of my
male escorts opened a door.
"Here he is, boss."
A man sat behind the desk--unshaven, naked to the waist. His face was
aggressively male; his bare chest was covered with a thick mat of
black hair. "My name is Lola," he said, in a rumbling basso. "Welcome
to our happy land."
"_Lola?_" I asked.
"Isn't it a beaut? The women take men's names now--and we get theirs.
_Lola_," he repeated, bitterly.
"So that explains Phil and Sam, then."
"What?"
"Two chicks I met topside, before all the fuss began. I couldn't
understand why they were named like that."
"Now you do," Lola said. "Let's get down to business: you come from
1957, don't you?"
"That's right. I--"
"You know what it's like to live in a world where _men_ were supreme.
Right?"
"Right."
"We're in a pretty bad fix here," Lola said. "The women grabbed control
about three hundred years ago. It started with little things like
running for office, and now it mushroomed into _this_. We're under
their heels! And we can't do a thing about it!"
"Why not? Do they outnumber you?"
"Yes and no," Lola said. "In terms of actual arithmetic, we're about
even; they've got a slight numerical edge, not much. But in terms
of battle strength, they've got us licked. Most of today's men are
weaklings."
"But you don't look like any milksop," I pointed out.
"I'm an exception. There's a pretty tight core of us, down here biding
our time. We've planned a rebellion against the Matriarchs. But we need
you, brother."
"Me? What for?"
"You've been asleep for five hundred years--and all that time, the
world's been waiting for you to awaken. You're almost a demigod
now--you're a historical figure. Imagine the impact if you come to life
and spearhead a rebellion against the Matriarchs! You'll kindle the
spirits of millions of downtrodden males who wouldn't have dared to do
any such thing unless--"
"Wait a second," I said uneasily, thinking of the amazons upstairs. "I
don't plan to get messed up in any private quarrels of this century,
friend. Those girls look pretty tough, and I'm not going to risk my--"
"The hell you aren't," Lola said quietly. "We've been waiting for
this day too long for you to mess it up now that you _are_ awake. You
cooperate or else."
I was tempted to ask what the "or else" was, but I didn't. There was
too much menace hidden in Lola's flat voice.
"You're going to appear suddenly in Central Plaza tonight," he told
me. "You'll use this photonic amplifier and tell everyone who you are.
It'll attract a big crowd--and then you yell out, 'On to the Palace.'
"At that moment, my men appear. There are about five hundred of us, and
with them as a nucleus we recruit as many of the men in the Plaza as we
can. We storm the Palace, take over the place, and on the impetus of
that we bring the women under our dominance again."
I folded my arms. "Suppose I don't make your speech?" I could see
myself getting assassinated, torn to pieces by wild women, or dying in
any number of horrid ways.
Lola smiled. "Then we brainwash you and hype you up with something
that'll _make_ you give your speech. After that, we throw what's left
of you away. Sound better?"
"I'll think it over," I said.
"Good." He glanced at one of his brawny underlings. "Clara, lock this
guy up in the keep until we're ready to spring things. Then start
getting the boys together, huh?"
* * * * *
I sat alone in the dark and tried to figure things out. Somehow, the
women had gotten the upper hand in this society, and most of the men
were reduced to mere milksops. Except for a handful of determined
musclemen, that is, who were holed up down here ready to make a last
stand against feminine supremacy.
Into this situation, enter me.
I was just an average joe in the past, a fellow who ran into some
trouble and decided the easiest way out was to duck into this
guinea-pig job. Some way out!
Apparently these women saw something in me--maybe there aren't enough
men to go around, or something, and they jumped for me. So I got away
from them. Talk about frying pans and fires, though!
I heard Clara's steady pacing outside my cell. They weren't going to
let me out until the time came for my speech. And if I delivered the
speech as instructed, some amazon was likely to nail me; if I didn't,
Lola would take care of me. I was cooked either way.
I cursed myself for having left 1957 in the first place. But it was too
late to worry about that now. I was here, and I was going to operate
under my own steam or else.
And no matter which way I moved, I was doomed. Even if Lola and his men
won, probably Lola's first action would be to put _me_ out of his way,
as a possible rival for his throne. And naturally if the women held the
fort they'd waste no time slitting my throat before I fomented another
rebellion.
Maybe wishing wouldn't make it so, but I wished desperately to be back
in the 20th century where I belonged. I practically yelled it out loud.
"I don't want to be here!" I yelled. "I should a stayed where I was!"
"Cut out that caterwauling," Clara growled. "You want the Queen to hear
you? She's only a hundred stories above us, y' know."
"I don't care," I said miserably. "I'm going to die either way, so what
does it matter?"
Then I realized the foolishness of my own attitude. I was due to face
death; why not do it bravely? So I shut up. I waited.
Hours passed. Then the cell door swung open, and Lola walked in.
"Ready to go make your speech, pal? Remember--all of masculine
mankind's future depends on the pitch you make."
"Okay," I said. "I'll go." But my knees were quivering, and I didn't
really mean it.
He handed me a small round capsule. "This is the photonic amplifier.
When I give you the signal, just switch it on and start to talk. You'll
be heard all over the city."
"Downtrodden males of the world, unite!" I said, grinning despite
myself. "All right, Lola. I'll do what I can in the name of mankind."
"You'd better," he said ominously.
What happened after that is pretty hazy. Lola and Clara led me through
a fantastic passageway into the open, and conducted me to the Central
Plaza. I remember making a speech of some kind. I remember three of
the amazon women racing madly toward me, trying to reach me and shut
me up. I remember starting to run in the middle of my speech, turning,
slugging it out with the three women. They were like pillars of stone.
They closed in on me.