A man care for what is important,
If you cannot protect,
If you do not care,
Can you call yourself a man?

      The Path of Man

He woke up in his old room. Rising up, Boris Frings knew that he made the right decision coming home. He had never slept some peacefully in the five years in the Terran Empire. The soft bed and old room remained Boris what he lost when he left. The intercom sounded.

"Up and about yet soft bones?" It was Alfred’s voice.

"Who are you calling soft, Old Man?" Boris said.

"It’s 5am in the morning and you are still in bed! That is a mark of a soft man if ever." 

"This coming from a man who once slept till 2 in the afternoon!"

"I was drunk... and I might add still a boy then."

"Just get him down for breakfast." The shout was from their father. Abram Frings was not too keen with the way the conversation was going.

"On my way," Boris replied. He was surprised at how easy it was to fall back into the old way of life.

Boris went to the bathroom and washed up. He then put on his shirt and pants. A typical Thordawan outfit. The pants were in light-blue with the gold long-sleeve shirt over it. The shirt and pants were wide, soft and very comfortable. Boris left his room and headed down to the dining room. The house was a two-story building. The uppermost floor was basically spilt into two parts. The three mens’ rooms, the guest room and the study were on one side, and the workshop on the other. Two stairs led down. One led to the kitchen, used mostly by the cows, and one to the dining room. Going down to the dining room, Boris was treated to a marvelous sight. There was a big rug in the centre of the room. A low table was in the centre of the rug and a feast was on that table. His father and Alfred were sitting on the rug having their breakfast. Around the rug were all the cows of Frings. Every cow was in the family position with her head pointed towards the table. Knowing the way of the family, no one would get out of their position until the men had finished their meal. Boris saw Jenny at one side of the rug kneeling with his two sisters. He took his seat at the table.

"Finally up uh?" his father gruff voice asked.

"You could have waken me." 

"And make you lose your beauty sleep?" Alfred was enjoying this. "Not likely." 

"Coffee" Abram lifted his cup. Boris heard someone crawling to the kitchen. The cow in question then ran back to the dining room with a pot of coffee in hand. Once she reached the rug, she went to her knees and crawled to the men. She poured the coffee into Abram’s cup. "Enough," his father said. The cow stopped pouring and then crawled back to the edge of the rug. Once there, she got up and ran to the kitchen. After putting down the pot, she crawled back to her position in the dining room as fast as her hands and knees could take her and assumed the family position again. It was Glory.

"Just like old times." Boris said.

"They are cows," his father said. "They live to serve. Do you agree?"

It was an old argument between father and son. Old as in past tense.

"Yes I agree." Boris said. The look between his father and brother told Boris just how much he had changed.

"You registered yet?" Alfred asked.

"Later. Then I’m going to the city."

"Where are you going today?" his father asked, never liking the city at all.

"Confirming some job interviews and then I am going to the temple."

The men nodded their approval.  

The rest of the meal past without incident. Mostly Alfred and his father spoke about the energy farm. Boris avoided the conversation like the plague. After the meal, Boris used the computer in his room to enter the registry at City Hall. Updating the system, he registered his residence at the farm and informed them of his permanent stay. After that was done, he confirmed the time and place of his interview at the spaceport. He then changed and went downstairs. He saw the cows having their breakfast.

The cows were on their hands and knees in the kitchen. In front of each cow were two dog dishes placed on the floor. Boris knew that one of the dishes had water while the other contained some meat substance. Boris never asked what the meat was made of. Their heads were lowered to their meal. Animals do not use their hands. He saw Jenny talking to Sonia and Mary. He was glad she was doing well. Jenny saw Boris then and they shared a smile. Sonia then touched Jenny on the arm and Jenny’s head lowered to her dish.  

Boris left the kitchen and went to the garage. The family had four vehicles: two trucks, a hover-bike and a small jet for long distance travel. Boris took the bike. The trip to New Dawn City was short. The hover-bike was much faster than the truck and Boris was always a fast rider. He saw the huge Temple easily. Landing at a nearby public car-park, Boris walked towards the Temple of Manhood.

He heard the screams before he saw it. In front of the entrance of the Temple was the Temple Square. There were 10 X-frames placed alongside one another in the square. 8 of those frames were currently occupied. A cow was tied to each of those 8 frames and they were secured tightly. Behind them, a monk was whipping each of the cows with a long laser whip. Each laser whip was about 3 meters long. When struck, the pain the cows felt was great. Boris also knew for a fact that the whip give off an electrical charge when it connected with the skin, furthering the pain.

The cows on the frame were there for a reason. Crimes by cows were not unheard of. Usually, the punishment was carried out by the cow’s guardian. This was the cow’s father, husband or son. However, for serious crimes like murder, treason or fraud, the state carry out the punishment. As the death sentence is not allowed for females, the punishment for serious crimes was usually changed to heavy labor and whipping. The cows on the frames were all convicted of serious crimes and the monks were making them regret it. Hitting with gusto, the monks left red marks all over their cows’ bodies. Each cow had a daily number of strikes she had to endure, ranging from 50 to 100, depending on the crime.

As usually was the case, there was a crowd. Men bought their cows along for the viewing. Standing behind their men, the cows saw the X-frames and the punishment for them if they ever even imagined committing a crime. Men could also rent the X-frames for a period for public whipping. The men were showing their cows the price of failure. It was a very good threat.  

Boris took a moment to see the whipping. He knew of men who could classify the screams into the categories of good, beautiful or exquisite. He never knew what they were talking about. To him, the screams were just loud. He remembered the first time he hit Jenny.

They were in her room and he was holding a leather belt. He was angry with her and told her to strip. She refused and screamed at him. The belt flew and hit her tits. She screamed again. He threw her facedown onto the floor and put his knee on her back, pining her to the ground. The belt hit her ass and a loud crack echoed across the room. Again and again, the room echoed. Spent, Boris got up and saw her on the floor crying. Only one word could describe his feeling then. POWER! He tore off her panties and entered her. She was very wet. She came before he did... and came again when he finally cum. It was short but intense. The best fuck both of them ever had. From that day on, she was his.

Boris knew that Jenny would never disobey him, but he was unsure about other men. A cow must obey all men in her family and he was not the only man in the family. He would bring Jenny along for the next whipping.

Boris left the square and walked to the Temple of Manhood. It was a huge building. The size of a small football stadium, it was a 15-story high building with a number of underground floors. It was the most beautiful building in the city. City Hall was bigger, the local Military building was more impressive, but the Temple was the most beautiful. Using the public terminal in the entrance, Boris found the man he was looking for. He was in his private chambers. 

No cows were allowed in the Temple but men had free access, so Boris went to the chambers without incident. The door slid open and he saw his uncle. Kiki Frings (a brother of Abram), but instead of entering the family trade on the farm, he decided to enter the monastery. About the height of Jenny, Kiki was a strong man with lean muscles. A martial arts and weapons expert, he, like all monks, strove to be the embodiment of the prefect man. Like his father, Kiki was a hard man. He had two cows of his own which he used without mercy. The cows were happy as they belonged to a man that strove to be strong. You do not marry a monk of the Temple without knowing that pain would be your life. That monk also had a huge smile on his face.

"Boris!" His uncle gave him a big hug.

"Uncle! How are you?" 

"Good. Very good in fact. Come in. When did you got back?"

"Yesterday night. Father told you I was coming back?"

"Of course! We had a bet going, you know. I told him you’ll be back sooner or later. You just made me a little money yesterday."

"Glad to help." Boris replied. Maybe his uncle knew him better then he knew himself.  

His uncle asked about Titan and his past five years. He was surprised by Jenny but told Boris that he was a man and could do as he wished. That’s why Boris had always liked his uncle. Support. Finally the small talk was over and the serious questions began.

"So... why are you really here."

"Can a man visit his uncle?" The look on his uncle’s face told Boris he did not believe that for a single second.

"I know you better than that. Why are you here on the first day of your return?" his uncle asked. "You have something to tell me?"

"Are you still a member of the Temple council uncle?"

"Yes."  

The Patriarch Alliance has a President and a Vice-President elected by the men of the Alliance. Below them, they were advised by the five branches of the government: the merchants (Trade), the scientists (Research), the police (Law Enforcement), the soldiers (Military) and the monks (Temple). Boris’ uncle was a high ranking member of the Temple. Not the top, or even in the top 10, but high enough to easily be in the top 50. He could get things noticed.  

Boris took a moment to compose himself. This was not going to be easy. "I believe," he finally said, "that the Terran Empire will soon attack the Outer Rims."  

His uncle was shocked... but he recovered. "Explain, Boris."

So he did, about the five years in the Empire, the military build-up in the Empire, the views of the Terran, the money that would be made by the war merchants and finally the desire to regain past pride and glory. His uncle grew grave as his story grew and finally said, "I believe you Boris."