Hmmm… Let’s see here.
Food? Yep. It’s in the bag.
Ammunition? But of course. In the bag.
Water? Rope? Matches? First Aid supplies? Check.
Condoms? Wait. Why in the hell would I need those?
Didn’t really think about that one, did you? Sure, whatever happened dropped the chances of catching colds, the flu, and the measles when it took out most of the people, but the clap is still around here somewhere.
There is going to be a need in every person for comfort, no matter what the situation. Men and women, men and men, women and women, massive post-apocalyptic orgies. Any old combination is likely to happen if you really think about it. We’re human beings, so sex is still going to be a part of the equation at some point.
Sexual behaviors lead to sexual results. STD’s will probably still have a foothold somewhere, but there’s something even more important to think about. How easy would it be to survive during the third trimester of the worst timed pregnancy ever? We’ve read about women who’ve dealt with that in many books and it’s never easy. A man’s vulnerability isn’t as extreme, but when he’s traveling with the next mother-to-be, he’s bound to take a risk or two that he might not have considered otherwise.
So, why aren’t there a few latex sleeves in the old backpack?
Remember Gabe, from my novel Way Home? We’re going to look at his behavior to gauge how smart he was when put into this situation. For the sake of simplicity, we’ll stick to the 1-10 rating system with 10 as the high point.
Gabe Dunnit
Age: 34
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 205 lbs.
Strength: 6
Stamina: 3
Intelligence: 8
Luck: 7
Will Power: 8
Lifestyle Before SHF: Mildly Physical. Few sexual partners.
So, in Way Home our hero finds himself in all sorts of awful situations, but there are a few moments of confusing joy. When he meets Maggie, Leon’s wife, he sees her as a woman that he should definitely not get involved with. She’s married, after all, and an intelligent man trying to survive this SHF scenario would never do something so stupid.
Yeah. Gabe did it. He did it and then he did it again. Maggie was happy with the arrangement while Gabe stewed with fear of getting shot for his physical reaction to a beautiful woman. These things happen.
The problem, though, is that Gabe never even considered finding a condom to protect the two of them from those diseases and reproductive results listed above. He might have gotten lucky, or he might not have. I didn’t add anything about Gabe checking his equipment for strange additions or having an itch that he didn’t care for in his manly region, but I also didn’t say that he was free and clear.
Maggie didn’t suggest a raincoat, either. Remember that when you’re risking life and limb for your five minutes of the old rub and tickle, either partner can hold up that magical sleeve to keep things a little safer.
It makes you think, doesn’t it? Personal protection is important now, but you can also go to a doctor and get most of the bad things taken care of with a shot of penicillin, maybe a cycle of alternative antibiotics. When the shit hits the fan, however, I’m thinking that remedies will be a bit more difficult.
