The Structural Silence *COMPLETE* (Book 1 of The Transition of Pinn)

Propaganda (chapter 2)

They must think that I am an idiot. I sat in a small classroom with about twenty other women listening to a male teacher telling them about the flora and fauna in the Pinn world. On a large screen at the head of the classroom, pictures of greenery faded in and out. Different than earth perhaps, but not so different that I would have known if I didn't look closely.

".... It is a most beautiful planet. The plants and animals will not harm you. But do not eat anything you are not familiar with!" the balding man boomed.

After leaving my small room, I had followed the signs to the cafeteria. I had been tempted not to follow the signs and instead go in the other direction but decided not to. I told myself I was waiting to see what I was up against before trying to escape. Sure that was it.

Opening the door I saw the women, some sniffling, some outright crying, others staring ahead silently. All sitting on plastic white stools at long white tables with grey trays with food in front of them. They all appeared to be in their twenties or thirties, but came in all shapes, sizes, and races.

"There" a tall man in a blue uniform waved me towards a line of women on the other side of room waiting for a chance to scoop out food from a buffet onto their drab trays. Lunch

I stared back at him. "Are you...?" I couldn't finish.

He rolled his eyes, "yes"

I stared at him trying to see if there was anything different about him. He looked like a normal man. A normal soldier, he had a dirty blond hair with dark blue eyes. He had a normal nose and mouth. He was tall and had wide shoulders, but all were within what I had seen on earth. He wore a heavily starched navy uniform that matched his stiff expression.

He man cleared his throat and raised his eyebrow.

I had been starring and scarred I scurried over to the line to wait for my food.

After the meal of chicken, peas, and mashed potatoes, the women had been divided into groups based on the numbers on their wrist band and assigned to classrooms. I was now in my second class.

"Whatever you do, do not go into the forests!" The teacher continued to boom "you are not familiar with the creatures there and you will not make it out alive"

While the first class had been taught by small frail man who spoke at length about how wonderful the political system of Pinn was, the current booming teaching was lecturing about how beautiful Pinn was. It didn't take a genius to see through the propaganda. The perfect political system sounded like city-states headed by war lords- the nature of Pinn was astounding, but you couldn't go out to the forest to enjoy it otherwise you would be eaten a horrible green alien creature. Okay, the booming man might not have said anything about a green creature, but I could imagine it.

While listen I examined the men for anything strange. The Pinns simply looked normal. Thin, broad, balding, whatever they were, they looked like human men. The balding Pinn before us was of average height with sweat pouring down his wrinkly forehead which he occasionally swiped with his sleeve. What he missed dripped down his remarkably friendly face which lit up as he described some factoid about his world. He came across as approachable, brainwashed, but friendly. He also looked nothing like the models shown in the welcome video.

We all knew how to play the game. We pretended to be normal students in a normal classroom. For the most part the women had remained silently listening. Only a few daring to ask questions and even then the questions were over little things: How many people lived on Pinn? How many city-states are there? Nothing too risky.

A small knock interrupted the teacher's droning on the beauty of the mountains of Pinn. Who cares? We were about to be given to strange men - no not men. Aliens.

In walked an incredibly handsome Pinn. I caught my mouth before it fell open. He looked like a movie star from the past with dark brown hair and almost black eyes. He was well groomed with a sophisticated air that bordered on snobby. The blond willowy woman at the table next to me abruptly sat up from her slouched position and nearly fell off of her chair. A woman behind her giggled.

"Mr. Hertilz" the Pinn spoke with a clear voice, "I believe it is my turn to address these females"

The balding Pinn nodded. "Yes, yes" and clicked off the screen.

Whispers came from the back on the room. More giggling.

Clearing his throat, the handsome Pinn stood at the front of the room. Even though I hadn't done anything, I could feel my cheeks burning from embarrassment. Of all things, they make a fuss about a cute guy!

His smiled a charming smile and glanced about the room. "Females, I am here to explain the process of choosing a partner"

I gulped as my face turned to a frown. The last thing I wanted to think about was picking some alien to have babies with. I looked down at the desk in front of me tracing it with my finger.

The women were all attentive now.

"The process is quite simple" The Pinn said "we will travel to different cities where we will hold large socials with Pinns looking for a partner. Think of it as similar to the mail-order brides in your history. If you meet a Pinn and you agree to become partners, after some paperwork on his side, you will go home with him"

A hand shot up from the blond woman next to me. ""Yes" the Pinn said pointing to her.

"What if we don't find a partner?" the blond woman squeaked.

"You will find a willing partner" the Pinn rubbed his chin, "women are rare and precious on Pinn and there will be many interested in you. If however you have not found a partner after a year you may become a priestess."

Another hand shot up. "What if we don't want a partner?"

"Then after a year you may become a priestess"

Another hand, "What does a priestess do?"

The Pinn narrowed his eyes slightly, "she serves the goddess"

"Yes, but how?" a tall woman with long black hair from the back demanded, standing up from her chair.

"In her temple"

"How does she serve the goddess in her temple?" she demanded again.

The Pinn was looking annoyed now. "You may ask your social teacher on the different roles of priestesses. I am here to talk about choosing a partner"

With a large "harump" the woman sat back down.

I bit my lips. A question was bubbling within me, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to upset the Pinn further. Here goes nothing. I cautiously raised my hand.

"Yes" the Pinn said looking at me slightly annoyed.

"What if we choose to go with a Pinn and we later find out that we don't get along?" I asked in a small voice.

The Pinn nodded. "We encourage all couples to figure out whether they wish to stay together within the first six months. If it does not work out you can return and begin looking for a partner again"

The Pinn turned back to the class "Females, I encourage you if you wanted a husband or a family on earth to search for a partner. He will care for you and protect you."

The woman at the back of the room scoffed.

"I also encourage you to get pregnant as quickly as possible. We have found that women who do are much better at adapting to life on Pinn"

The woman scoffed again and the man turned to her.

"Not all women are successful in adapting to Pinn" The handsome Pinn narrowed his eyes at the woman in the back "It saddens me to think of what happens to those who don't"

I gasped silently at the threat. So far none of the Pinns had said anything but hallow words of propaganda and encouragement. The room was unnaturally silent. The woman in back clearly understood the implied threat. Somehow the threat brings me back to the reality of the situation. I was here against my will.