The Queen giggled with amusement: “Yes, I bet that is strange. There are males everywhere you look but not a female in sight. No offense Mun-Hee. I’m just being figurative.”

“Not taken.”

“Why is that? And, more importantly, how are males ok with it?” I asked.

“It’s because we’ve cut their balls off.”

I must’ve looked like a complete and utter fool because the Queen started laughing hysterically as soon as she said that.

“I’m just kidding! I’m just kidding! We didn’t do that! Our males are perfectly functional.”

“You have beed around Francisco, did you not?” Jens asked, a deep frown settling on his face.

“It shows that much, huh? Sorry Snirba, I just wanted to see your shocked reaction. No, we didn’t cut their balls off. The truth is, our males are more adventurous than our females. We know nothing about this world, so we’re still treating it as a dangerous place. Our females appreciate their lives more than our males do, so very few of them feel like taking that risk. Sure, that’s not true for all the vimn, which is why you can find them here and there. Besides, I’m here, am I not? It also helps that our males are much more resistant to infekshns, making them more suitable for exploration.”

“Resistant to what?”

“Ah yes, the grrms theory. They are more resistant to curses and harsh conditions. They also have higher body temperature.”

“We also live shorter lives, making us more expendable,” Ira commented.

“Now, now,” the Queen dismissed the notion with a wave of her hand, “that’s not true. I love all of my subjects equally. You aren’t expendable. You men just have a bad habit of doing stupid things, which is why most of you die earlier than you should.”

“Your resistance to infekshns also makes you act nonchalantly when it comes to your health and hygiene,” the raven-haired said, “It catches up after a few decades.”

“You are using words I don’t understand, my Queen. Can you please explain them to me?”

“Sure!”

“What did you call Ira just now? You …”

“Oh! She is confused about the word men,” Booker realized.

“Yes. You also used a similar word when talking about your females.”

“You’re confused about words men and vumn?”

“Yes. I didn’t hear those words before.”

The Queen looked at the other demons in surprise: “You didn’t teach her that?”

“It never came up.”

“We yet do not know how to speak their tongue properly.”

“Hmm …” the Queen considered her words carefully before explaining, “you see, Snirba, we don’t use words male and female to describe our people. This is because using those words on people is seen as … rude. Offensive. It is as if you’re denying one’s … uhh …”

“You’re unsure how to describe hjumeniti?” The raven-haired asked.

“Yes. It’s a … does such a concept even exist in this world? Snirba, how do you call good qualities in people?”

“Good qualities? I’m not sure what you mean but, capable? Good-mannered? Pious?”

“No, no. How do you call it when … uhh … there are some good qualities that all timkik people should strive towards, right? Qualities that make a good timkik. How do you call a sum of all of those qualities?”

“Sum? Uhh, well … if I’d have to summarize all of the qualities that make a good timkik in one word, it would be pious. Gods have created all races, and each god has given a certain set of rules and values to his people. So, when adhering to those rules and values, we’re pious.”

“No, that’s not …”

Shockingly, Booker interrupted his Queen in the middle of her sentence: “No, no, no! That makes sense! Hjumeniti as a concept was created during renesans. Before that, we did the same thing. We determined if people are good or bad according to how pious they are.”

“He is right,” Ira nodded his head in agreement, “And that way of thinking is returning. The ideologies reverted us back to where we were thousand years ago. If you are a good –ist, then you are a good person. If you are against an ideology, then you are a bad one. Just like religion.”

“The point is,” the Queen continued, “calling a human male or female is seen as denying them the best qualities that make a human. It’s seen as putting them on the same level as the animals. So to avoid that, we use man for a male and woman for a female.”

“The question is … is she a woman?” Ira asked.

“What do you mean?”

“She is not a human. How can she be a woman if she is not a human?”

“That’s a … a good question,” Booker stroked his chin while considering Ira’s words.

“It will be offensive if we say she is a female, but she is not a woman,” Ira pressed on.

“Well, I guess our tongue will need to change. We will need plenty of new words to describe all the things in this world,” the Queen concluded.

“A demi-woman, perhaps?” Raven-haired asked.

“We don’t have a linguist here. Speaking of which, couldn’t you guys make friends with Emily? She is of the same giki sort that you are.”

“Have you talked to her?” Jens asked.

“Yes, she taught us the timkik tongue! She’d compliment your scientific group nicely.”

“You didn’t get any … strange vibes from her?”

“What Jens is trying to say,” Eric jumped in, “is that the girl, while highly talented, lacks tact. Which is why she’s not a part of our diplomatic effort.”

“She’s a real creep,” Mun-Hee said, “and she is way too literal.”

“We didn’t get that impression. Did you, Anna?”

“She’s straight to the point, which annoys a lot of people. But not me.”

“I do not want this ‘straight to the point’ near Snirba. She needs people who understand her until she is used to living here,” Jens said in a way that made it sound final.

“Is that why you’ve denied Emily access?” The Queen asked.

“Yes. She is too rude and lacks consideration for others.”

“That’s because she’s a professional. She’s a linguist, not a psajhologist.”

“Professionals need to know basic manners.”

“Ok, I get it, I get it. Let’s change the topic. So, too few women here, huh?”

“She is surrounded by men and is still complaining,” the raven-haired added.

“No, no, no, I’m not complaining!”

“We should really stop teasing her now,” the Queen said.

“You did it first!”

“I did, and now I’m saying we should stop. Listen Snirba, humans have a strange sense of humor. We like saying stupid things just to get a reaction out of people. Humans love drama, so we love seeing people in a pinch.”

“Not all of us. Some of us respect other people enough not to cause them harm,” Jens said.

“That’s because you guys are scholars. The very fact that you could afford such an education proves that you’re not regular humans. Normal humans love drama.”

“That explains a lot about Ira. He’s not educated, so he has stupid opinions,” Mun-Hee jabbed.

“Well, I’m so sorry for not having the privileges that you enjoy, miss.”

“Anyway, you shouldn’t trust everything humans say. Especially if it can get to you. Some humans will say mean things just to get a reaction out of you, so you should know not to take them seriously. As you can see, even the Queen will do something like that, when I’ve told you we’ve cut our men’s balls off. That was a lie, and it was a stupid thing to say, but I said it just because I wanted to get your funny reaction. So, if a human says something outrageous, don’t assume it’s the truth right away. It could be nothing but some lame humor.”

“Yes, I’m joking, but isn’t being surrounded by men a good thing?” The raven-haired said, “Or are they not good enough?”

“There you go again!” The Queen complained.

“It’s a legitimate question! Are human males not to your liking?”

“No … uhh … I mean, yes … uhh …”

“Is Jens not good enough for you?”

“He is!”

“Do you have any complaints regarding our males?”

“I do have one. They are always keeping their distance. I’m not used to that.”

“Would you like them to be more assertive?”

“Their indifference makes me question if I have any value as a female here.”

“I see. That makes sense,” Raven-haired got back into her disinterested posture, “Yes, getting attention from the males feels nice, and the ones around you are spineless. That being said, you’re surrounded by scholars. Most of them lack proper social skills for dealing with the ladies and reading the mood, so they prefer to stay on the safe side. They are constantly overthinking everything, which is why they’ve concluded you’d rather get no attention at all. So, if you want some attention from the males, try visiting our soldiers all alone. See what happens.”

“Mun-Hee warned me not to be alone with your males.”

“She’s worried about you. She thinks our males will do something you don’t want. She’s projecting her own sensibilities onto you, completely missing your needs and desires, robbing you of your agency through her good intentions.”

“No! I’m trying to …”

The raven-haired disregarded Mun-Hee’s protest completely: “I know your intentions are good. You’re trying to keep her safe from harm. But your prejudice is showing. Men are not rapists, regardless of how low your opinion of them is or how bad your history with them is. There are bad people everywhere, and yet we don’t judge entire groups of people based on the few rotten apples they have among them. I’m sure we can all agree that would be wrong.”

The raven-haired put her arm around my shoulder, bringing me close to her. She was almost whispering in my ear.

“How about you and I pay a visit to the soldiers one of these days, hmm? They won’t dare hurt me, so you got nothing to fear while with me. Unlike the nrds here, I understand you’re a living, breathing female. If these males won’t help you, there’s nothing wrong with looking for a solution somewhere else. How would you like for your sis Anna to show you some good time?”

“No,” Jens responded instead of me.

“Ohh?” Anna looked at him, raising her brow suggestively. It looked as if she was challenging him on something.

“She is not used to how we act here. She does not understand common sense. She can go when she learns more of our society.”

“So, what, you’ll keep her frustrated for years? Do you not understand the ways timkiks are different from us? We call loose women bitches for a reason, and here we have a whole race of dog-people.”

“Loose women? Dog-people?” I had no idea what she was talking about.

“It is too soon,” Jens stared at Anna with ever-increasing intensity.

“How about you take care of it yourself? She’s your responsibility, after all. You can’t tell me it would be an unpleasant thing for you, unless you think timkiks are ugly. Which is really fucked up.”

“You can’t take such things lightly!” Jens wasn’t yelling at her, but he got very close.

“And you can’t be such a prude!”

“Seriously though,” the fairy sitting on Ira’s shoulder finally spoke, “why are you such a coward, Jens? I mean, look at you! You’re the very definition of attractive! You have golden hair, blue eyes, are very tall, and are built like a statue, yet you can’t approach a female. What’s wrong with you?”

“What I want does not matter! Snirba is new here. She can’t defend herself! She can’t give proper consent! She can’t refuse out of fear of retaliation! I’m not the kind of man who takes advantage of a vulnerable woman! No one here is! Not even Ira would do something like that!”

“But what if a female wants you?” Anna asked.

“If she wants me, then she will approach me herself!”

“That’s not how it works in this world!”

“Yes, universal suffrage isn’t a thing in this world! But is that good enough reason to give up on it and do things the way they do it around here?”

“… I see your point. Still, if you want some action Snirba, you’re better off visiting the soldiers.”

“No. I want Jens.”