The truth about your condition is revealed
"Yeah, I think is about time. Lady Maria, is there anything you could tell us about my current condition?" you ask, in a calm manner. Now, your gut feeling is telling you that there is nothing to fear about the woman in front of you.
Maria nods, and replies, saying:
"Yes, indeed there is. A strange phenomenon occurs a long time ago in this area where this town, Chicania, is located. This phenomenon, which we call "El Achicamiento"("The Shrinking"), makes every male human that enters its area of effect reduce proportionally in size. This was a fact the ancient natives that once inhabited this lands before the arrival of the conquistadors, and choose to avoid this area entirely, finding the effect too troublesome. And for a while, the Spanish and eventually Mexican people also avoid it. That was until this town's settling, where the place's many and recently natural resources and above all potential value for tourism that a steady and constant amount of people that the effect made an actual impact; this was punctuated far more because, by the time the town was founded, the knowledge about "El Achicamiento" had been mostly forgotten o considered utter superstition; after all, the laws of biology and more importantly physics told that such an effect wasn't possible. Because of that, and the several harmful effects it provoked in the many spheres of life of the town, from the economic to the social ones, eventually, it was decided not only to research in depth this phenomenon at long last but also to mostly hide it as to avoid its existence to scare off new potential tourist or settlers. And it has been a plan that has worked to this day, being so successful that currently, only a few locals know its very existence. Don't worry, there are enough to keep the knowledge from disappearing."
"I see...now, for the important stuff, is there a cure for it? Can I return to my normal size?" you ask her.
And when the woman sighs and looks at you with sorry eyes, you begin to worry; a worry that is confirmed when the woman replies:
"I'm sorry to tell, I am, but...there is no cure to date, and it doesn't look like it's going to be one any time soon. That's why there are no men, or at the very least, no visible men or boys in this entire town. A few years ago researchers found a way to nullify the effect, to protect a male who is about to enter the town area from outside. However, the devices needed for it are unwieldy and uncomfortable to carry, so in the end has been decided to only allow its use for emergencies or for particular people, like male tourists: normally they're located in nearby areas, as to avoid them getting into the town proper."
That's awful, especially considering that if you had arrived at your destination, you could have worn or wielded something to keep safe. So...all this, is in essence down to sheer, bad luck. Great.
A part of you wished to cry, but you choose to remain steady for now, there's going to be a more proper place and time for it, you can feel it.
"That's...sad to know, but it brings me a question: I can understand this needed to be kept a secret but, don't you think talking here, in this secret room where we are in essence locked and can't leave, might be a bit exaggerated? I can imagine the overall inhabitants would do what's necessary to keep this info as secret as possible, especially those whose income depends on the arrival of tourists, but I don't think all this is precisely reasonable." asked Jena, a question which for the time allowed you to leave your sadness aside and concentrate on this most intriguing question.
Maria didn't disappoint. She replied, saying:
"You're correct; all this is abnormal. Other establishments and enterprises here would never go to this light to keep the secret. However, this Resort is different: is fairly recent, but it quickly earned its place as the most demanded resort in the town. The main factor that aided in our meteoric rise was the "Mants", these tiny, human-like toys that we would deliver for the guest to play with as they saw fit. As you can perhaps assume, we based these "Mants" on the shrunken males; in fact, their base design was done by a shrunken engineer. However, we did it at a particular moment: by the time this entire resort and its peculiar practice started the knowledge about "El Achicamiento" has been mostly forgotten, to the point that all tourists, and most workers, both locals and hired outsiders, would look a tiny male form and instantly think they're dealing with an escaped "Mant"...You can perhaps guess why it would be terrible for our business, more so that any others, the knowledge that there are shrunken people out there. You can easily imagine the scenario of this starting a chain reaction of boycott or even an outrage: we could be using vulnerable people as slaves and profiting from their condition! It would ruin us, and it would be required but one or a few people with the right amount of connections to bring everything down. We have been extremely lucky: the last male that shrunk and wasn't a local occurred several years before our founding. You can now understand why at first acted so incredulous about this young one being an actual shrunken one; in part, I was acting to ensure that the business I work on, and that my family has lived from, is not at risk."
"I see...thanks for telling us." said Jenna. Maria nodded as thanks. With that in mind, no wonder she (and apparently all workers of the resort with this knowledge) would go to such great and extreme lengths to ensure this place's standing: their livelihoods depended on it.
Silence ensues for a few seconds, before Maria speaks again, saying:
"Now with that in mind, I hope that you both will have no issue signing these non-disclosure agreements, effective worldwide. If you ever broke them, the resort would do whatever in their power to make you regret it. And if it ever comes to it...not just in legal ways." With such a warning, there was no way you wouldn't sight the documents she delivered to you. You sigh them, in your case sighing a document fit for your new size.
Then, once this is done, you ask her:
"Now, is there anything else we would need to know?"
"Not really, for I assume you're going to live now under the care of your friend, right?" replied Maria.
"That reply implies that I have other alternatives...do I?" you say.
"Yes, indeed. You could, for example, go and stay with the researchers; if there's any chance for you to return to your size, doing that is your best and only option. Of course, is a big if: you could stay with them and die old without having been cured. On the bright side, I heard those two are good women, but I can't speak with certainty." replied Maria.
"I see, I could consider it. Any other alternatives I should also perhaps consider as well?" you asked then.
"Yes, you could work for us; of course, you couldn't work in ordinary jobs, but there are three main alternatives that only a person on your condition could fulfill." replied Maria, while taking out and delivering you some tiny folders, hidden in a special compartment of her couch. While delivering for you to see, she says:
"First off, you could work as a special servant for the guest, fulfilling a similar role to the "mants", with the benefit of actually being able to choose which particular guest to serve and improve their stay on the resort. Second, you could instead serve us workers; this is by far the freest of the three, with several potential job promotions, and the ultimate capability to choose to become the permanent tiny companion of any worker you wish, at the cost of being overall the lest paid job. Of course, by choosing this any worker of the resort could be, including me. And finally, you could work in the resort's private nightclub. This would mean that, unlike the other two jobs, you would be at the mercy and whims of whatever customer should pick you, but this means that this is also the most well-paid job to compensate for the potential...mistreatment."
You read the folders, and indeed the contracts all say what Maria said they were. After looking and hearing her explanation, you reply:
"Okay, thank you. I could consider it."
"Really? But those jobs...they sound awful!" said Jenna.
"True, but...does it look like I could work in something else? Not to mention I literally have options presented to me, instead of me needing to search or figuring out a potential job." you reply, making Jena look to the sides, before she hesitantly agrees with you.
Now, what are you going to do: Would you prefer to stay and likely live under Jena's care from now on? Would you like to see the researchers, and hope that they can eventually aid you return to normal? Or are you going to choose to work at one of the jobs Maria presented to you; if so, which one?
Maria nods, and replies, saying:
"Yes, indeed there is. A strange phenomenon occurs a long time ago in this area where this town, Chicania, is located. This phenomenon, which we call "El Achicamiento"("The Shrinking"), makes every male human that enters its area of effect reduce proportionally in size. This was a fact the ancient natives that once inhabited this lands before the arrival of the conquistadors, and choose to avoid this area entirely, finding the effect too troublesome. And for a while, the Spanish and eventually Mexican people also avoid it. That was until this town's settling, where the place's many and recently natural resources and above all potential value for tourism that a steady and constant amount of people that the effect made an actual impact; this was punctuated far more because, by the time the town was founded, the knowledge about "El Achicamiento" had been mostly forgotten o considered utter superstition; after all, the laws of biology and more importantly physics told that such an effect wasn't possible. Because of that, and the several harmful effects it provoked in the many spheres of life of the town, from the economic to the social ones, eventually, it was decided not only to research in depth this phenomenon at long last but also to mostly hide it as to avoid its existence to scare off new potential tourist or settlers. And it has been a plan that has worked to this day, being so successful that currently, only a few locals know its very existence. Don't worry, there are enough to keep the knowledge from disappearing."
"I see...now, for the important stuff, is there a cure for it? Can I return to my normal size?" you ask her.
And when the woman sighs and looks at you with sorry eyes, you begin to worry; a worry that is confirmed when the woman replies:
"I'm sorry to tell, I am, but...there is no cure to date, and it doesn't look like it's going to be one any time soon. That's why there are no men, or at the very least, no visible men or boys in this entire town. A few years ago researchers found a way to nullify the effect, to protect a male who is about to enter the town area from outside. However, the devices needed for it are unwieldy and uncomfortable to carry, so in the end has been decided to only allow its use for emergencies or for particular people, like male tourists: normally they're located in nearby areas, as to avoid them getting into the town proper."
That's awful, especially considering that if you had arrived at your destination, you could have worn or wielded something to keep safe. So...all this, is in essence down to sheer, bad luck. Great.
A part of you wished to cry, but you choose to remain steady for now, there's going to be a more proper place and time for it, you can feel it.
"That's...sad to know, but it brings me a question: I can understand this needed to be kept a secret but, don't you think talking here, in this secret room where we are in essence locked and can't leave, might be a bit exaggerated? I can imagine the overall inhabitants would do what's necessary to keep this info as secret as possible, especially those whose income depends on the arrival of tourists, but I don't think all this is precisely reasonable." asked Jena, a question which for the time allowed you to leave your sadness aside and concentrate on this most intriguing question.
Maria didn't disappoint. She replied, saying:
"You're correct; all this is abnormal. Other establishments and enterprises here would never go to this light to keep the secret. However, this Resort is different: is fairly recent, but it quickly earned its place as the most demanded resort in the town. The main factor that aided in our meteoric rise was the "Mants", these tiny, human-like toys that we would deliver for the guest to play with as they saw fit. As you can perhaps assume, we based these "Mants" on the shrunken males; in fact, their base design was done by a shrunken engineer. However, we did it at a particular moment: by the time this entire resort and its peculiar practice started the knowledge about "El Achicamiento" has been mostly forgotten, to the point that all tourists, and most workers, both locals and hired outsiders, would look a tiny male form and instantly think they're dealing with an escaped "Mant"...You can perhaps guess why it would be terrible for our business, more so that any others, the knowledge that there are shrunken people out there. You can easily imagine the scenario of this starting a chain reaction of boycott or even an outrage: we could be using vulnerable people as slaves and profiting from their condition! It would ruin us, and it would be required but one or a few people with the right amount of connections to bring everything down. We have been extremely lucky: the last male that shrunk and wasn't a local occurred several years before our founding. You can now understand why at first acted so incredulous about this young one being an actual shrunken one; in part, I was acting to ensure that the business I work on, and that my family has lived from, is not at risk."
"I see...thanks for telling us." said Jenna. Maria nodded as thanks. With that in mind, no wonder she (and apparently all workers of the resort with this knowledge) would go to such great and extreme lengths to ensure this place's standing: their livelihoods depended on it.
Silence ensues for a few seconds, before Maria speaks again, saying:
"Now with that in mind, I hope that you both will have no issue signing these non-disclosure agreements, effective worldwide. If you ever broke them, the resort would do whatever in their power to make you regret it. And if it ever comes to it...not just in legal ways." With such a warning, there was no way you wouldn't sight the documents she delivered to you. You sigh them, in your case sighing a document fit for your new size.
Then, once this is done, you ask her:
"Now, is there anything else we would need to know?"
"Not really, for I assume you're going to live now under the care of your friend, right?" replied Maria.
"That reply implies that I have other alternatives...do I?" you say.
"Yes, indeed. You could, for example, go and stay with the researchers; if there's any chance for you to return to your size, doing that is your best and only option. Of course, is a big if: you could stay with them and die old without having been cured. On the bright side, I heard those two are good women, but I can't speak with certainty." replied Maria.
"I see, I could consider it. Any other alternatives I should also perhaps consider as well?" you asked then.
"Yes, you could work for us; of course, you couldn't work in ordinary jobs, but there are three main alternatives that only a person on your condition could fulfill." replied Maria, while taking out and delivering you some tiny folders, hidden in a special compartment of her couch. While delivering for you to see, she says:
"First off, you could work as a special servant for the guest, fulfilling a similar role to the "mants", with the benefit of actually being able to choose which particular guest to serve and improve their stay on the resort. Second, you could instead serve us workers; this is by far the freest of the three, with several potential job promotions, and the ultimate capability to choose to become the permanent tiny companion of any worker you wish, at the cost of being overall the lest paid job. Of course, by choosing this any worker of the resort could be, including me. And finally, you could work in the resort's private nightclub. This would mean that, unlike the other two jobs, you would be at the mercy and whims of whatever customer should pick you, but this means that this is also the most well-paid job to compensate for the potential...mistreatment."
You read the folders, and indeed the contracts all say what Maria said they were. After looking and hearing her explanation, you reply:
"Okay, thank you. I could consider it."
"Really? But those jobs...they sound awful!" said Jenna.
"True, but...does it look like I could work in something else? Not to mention I literally have options presented to me, instead of me needing to search or figuring out a potential job." you reply, making Jena look to the sides, before she hesitantly agrees with you.
Now, what are you going to do: Would you prefer to stay and likely live under Jena's care from now on? Would you like to see the researchers, and hope that they can eventually aid you return to normal? Or are you going to choose to work at one of the jobs Maria presented to you; if so, which one?
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May 29, 2023
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