Set 500 years in the future, this story by Charles Beaumont envisions a dystopian world where homosexuality is the norm, heterosexuality is not only frowned upon but illegal, and children are tube-born and machine-nursed. Although the male protagonist is strongly attracted to a young woman, both struggle to deal with physical contact due to their social conditioning. As they cannot show affection in public, she disguises herself and they meet in a sleazy “men only” bar. In the end, she gets what she came for and his concerns are resolved. Themes include oppression, prejudice, sexual orientation, depravity.
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The Beautiful People
The dystopian civilization envisioned in this Charles Beaumont story has eliminated many of today’s “distractions” such as food preparation, books and even the need for sleep. It has also specified uniform male and female appearances to be adopted by undergoing a “Transformation” (operation) upon turning nineteen. A brave girl resists the change, not only putting her job and family’s social position at risk, but also threatening social stability. As she is frog-marched to the operating theater, she realizes the sinister purpose of Transformation… to remove the population’s sense of individual identity. Themes: identity, body shaming, scientific “advancement”, superficial beauty, conformity. More…