Loveless

         The year was 2044, and the new world leader, President Darius Porter, had issued a new law stating that the act of love, in any way, shape, or form, would be considered a criminal offense with a punishment of imprisonment or death.

         It was rumored that President Porter, who was married for twenty-five years had lost his wife to another man, or woman. The details were still unclear. This law against love was said to be his vengeful way of retaliation against his wife.

         His wife, Iliana, was a former model that many women envied and many men desired. They also had a daughter, Daliah, equally as beautiful as her mother. Daliah favored her mother, though she felt compelled to stay by her father’s side as to not lose her chance at the family fortune. Money was all that mattered in that family.

         President Darius was a stocky man with a foul demeanor on his best days. On the rare occasions when he smiled, people used to say under their breath that he must have made more money.

         He had his group of followers who hung on every word that he said, yet the majority of the people around the planet were opposed to his tactics and leadership. They could see how his ridiculous proposals had brought financial ruin to many of the nations around the world.

         The president’s top advisor, Aaron Maxum, was given a special position to oversee all other divisions and give him the authority to make decisions on behalf of the president. President Porter considered Maxum a close, trusted friend, but the people new that he was simply the puppet master over the president, pulling his strings in the right direction to control his every action.

         Aaron Maxum was a single man in his fifties with a thirst for wealth even greater than the president’s. He only developed friendships with those whose incomes were in the top one percent of the world’s population. The rest were considered ‘expendable’ to him.

         President Porter had massive prisons built around the planet to accommodate those who did not follow his ‘no love’ law. Currently, there were over one-million imprisoned while more than 50,000 had be sentenced to death, and the law had only been in place for one month.

         The death sentence was for those who openly admitted their love for another. Imprisonment was given to those who were caught showing other signs of affection such as embracing another, kissing, or writing about any subject which could be construed as love.

         The president had imprisoned anyone on his staff who did not give up their marriage and were willing to denounce ever loving anyone ever again. His estranged wife, Iliana had been imprisoned the day that the law had come into affect. He wanted to have her put to death but withheld for their daughter’s sake. Iliana was given a twenty-five-years to life sentence instead.

         The people feared the president. His actions were so unpredictable, that they could not predict or protect against their own future. Many went into hiding so they did not have to leave their loved ones. Other families were disbanded and kept from one another.

         Many questioned why President Porter was permitted to show his daughter love and stay with her while other families were torn apart. His reply was that she was there as an employee and there is no love between them. It was strictly a business relationship.

         Libraries and bookstores were made to destroy any books or literature with any mention of the word love, including The Holy Bible. This caused an uproar from religious groups around the globe. Riots began against any political office that supported the president’s insanity.

         Meanwhile, President Porter and his trusted advisors and staff were safely tucked away in a palace that was specially built to withstand any form of attack, including a nuclear strike. He sat at his expensive dining room table eating expensive meals while just outside the palace, his own people starved and were dying on the street because they could no longer afford to live in a home.

         The cost of living had gone up exponentially since the president took office. Many businesses had fallen into bankruptcy, and the population was quickly decreasing due to starvation, lack of medical aid, and an increase in violent attacks in every community. President Porter fed his dogs better than how his own staff were fed.

         Even the president’s closest allies from countries in the East were calling on him for financial aid, but President Porter refused. He said that if they wanted anything from him, that they were going to have to give him something in return, and if they had nothing to offer, they were left with nothing.

         Aaron Maxum came to President Porter one day and suggested that he implement a new law where all women between the age of eighteen and fifty-five would have to sell their bodies for income, and the government would pay them a bonus of twenty dollars for every return customer. Of course, the government would also collect a twenty percent commission on each service rendered.

         The president was enthralled by this idea and had brothels built and run by government employees. That is, he was thrilled at the idea until his daughter, Daliah was taken from the palace and placed in one of the brothels.

         President Porter was outraged and demanded that his daughter be returned. Maxum sat the president down and told him that they could not enforce a law without it involving ALL women. Besides that, if Daliah were to return to the palace, that would show the people that he cared about her.

         President Porter sat silently, contemplating his next decision. After a brief pause, he agreed with Maxum and allowed for his daughter to be used as a sex slave.

         Weeks had gone by, and President Porter had not heard from or about his daughter, so he asked one of his aides to go inspect the brothel where his daughter had been taken, and report back.

         A few hours later, the aide returned, and the president asked him to come inside and close the door. The aide had given his report but admitted that he held one piece of information back. He hesitantly informed President Porter, that when he inspected the room where Daliah was, Aaron Maxum was in there with her.

         The president’s face went red with fury as he told his aide to get out and shut the door. He paced back-and-forth across his office, then picked up a framed photo of he and Maxum and threw it violently into the fireplace. Flames enveloped the head of the president in the photo as if to say that the devil himself had just been released.

         President Porter reached for his phone and called on his head of security to see him in his office immediately. When the security chief, Walter Hutchinson arrived, he was given instructions to have Aaron Maxum placed into custody and brought to the palace under guard. Without question, Walter did as he was asked. Before the security chief left, he gave him further instructions to bring his daughter, Daliah to see him.

         After an hour had passed, President Porter’s secretary had notified him that Walter was waiting outside with Daliah. The president gave instructions for Daliah to be sent in alone and that they were not to be disturbed.

         When Daliah entered the room, she looked as if she had been in a fight. Her face was swollen, and her left eye was blackened. She had multiple bruises on her arms and legs, and her clothes were tattered and torn. President Porter fought back the lump that was building up in his throat. He knew that it was necessary to keep his composure.

         Daliah approached and slapped her father across the face as hard as she could. She then began to yell and curse about the life that he had sentenced her to. Her father stood there silently as she ranted, allowing her a chance to get out her emotions toward him.

         When she appeared to finish, her father asked her to sit down and demanded to know what Maxum was doing in the room with her.

         “Is that all you have to say?” she exclaimed. “Are you going to get off on hearing about how many times your friend was inside me?”

         “No, Daliah,” her father retorted, “you’ve got it all wrong! I had no idea that Aaron was there with you. I just found out today.”

         “Well, as you can see,” she said, “your best buddy decided to make his time with me memorable.”

         President Porter’s blood began to boil at the thought of Maxum doing these terrible things to his daughter.

         “Let me get this straight,” Porter said. “Are you telling me that Aaron Maxum had sex with you multiple times AND beat you?”

         “Boy, you are quick, dad, or should I say, Mr. President? I obviously don’t qualify as your daughter. Why would you ever put me, or any other woman, for that matter, in that position?”

         “It was Aaron’s idea. He thought it would be a good way for the citizens to earn extra income. It sounded like a good idea at the time, but I see now, that I may have been a little premature with my decision.”

         “Dad, there are thousands of women out there being abused for unwanted sex! How could you ever think that this was a good decision?”

         President Porter felt something that he hadn’t felt since his wife and he were still together, shame and remorse. Without realizing, a tear began to cascade down his cheek. It wasn’t until Daliah had wiped it away that he realized that he still had love in his heart.

         The president stood closer to Daliah, reached out, and wrapped his arms tightly around her. She stood there stunned and motionless. At that moment, the phone rang, and he stepped back, answering the call.

         “I told you that I did not want to be disturbed,” he shouted into the phone. His secretary informed him that Maxum was being held in the interrogation room, to which he replied, “I’ll be right down.”

         Porter told his daughter to stay put, and that she would not be returning to the brothel. He then gave instructions that Daliah was to be left alone until he returned.

         When he arrived at the interrogation room, he looked in at Maxum through the two-way mirror. It looked as if he had put up a fight when they took him into custody. President Porter was secretly pleased.

         He entered the room and sat across from Maxum. Aaron’s wrists had been shackled to the table and blood trickled from his right nostril. The president looked into his friend’s eyes and said, “Do you want to tell me what you were doing at the brothel?”

         “What do you think I was doing? I was having sex with whores!” he shouted.

         Porter took a deep breath and tried to keep his composure. He then asked, “Why were you seen in the room with my daughter?”

         “I was checking in on her well-being,” Maxum lied. “I thought you might want to know.”

         “I was told that you ‘checked in’ on her regularly. Why did you not come to me sooner with the news?” the president demanded.

         Maxum sat silently. He realized that he had been caught and refused to say another word without his attorney present.

         “You have that right, but I am afraid it may take some time before we can get him on the phone. I am afraid all of the lines are tied up at the moment,” the president said with a smirk on his face. “We will do our best to keep you comfortable in the meantime.” With that being said, the president turned and left the room.

         Without hesitation, President Porter grabbed his phone and asked his secretary to gather all of his cabinet members together in the boardroom for an emergency meeting. He then returned to his office where his daughter, Daliah was still waiting. He asked her to get showered and changed, then to meet him at the boardroom as soon as possible.

         When everyone had gathered, President Porter scanned the room. He waited patiently for his daughter to arrive. Once she entered, he smiled and called the meeting to order.

         His cabinet stared at their leader with confusion. The smile on his face told them that he had another devious plan brewing, but they were not sure what else it could be. Then he spoke.

         “My dear colleagues, thank you for taking time away from your busy schedules for this meeting. I realize things have been rather hectic as of late, and I know that you are all exhausted.” They looked around even more confused. It was unlike him to apologize for anything he had done.

         “What I called you all here for today, was to set a few things straight. The first order of business, is that I want to openly and publicly express my love for my daughter, Daliah.” A look of shock fell over the faces of everyone in the room, including Daliah. Before he could utter another word, his security detail, led by Walter, seized the president and dragged him out of the room in protest. He had broken his own law.

         According to this law, he was to be put to death. Daliah chased after them and begged Walter to let her father finish what he was saying. Walter looked toward the table at the cabinet members. They murmured amongst themselves before agreeing to let President Porter finish his statement.

         He had this to say: “It was my intention today, to rescind my laws against love. I also wanted to reunite separated families, and for God’s sake, shut down all those brothels so these women can get some dignity back. I was a fool to listen to the forked tongue of a man that I trusted all these years. I have been greedy, selfish, and vengeful since my wife left. I see the err of my ways now.”

         One of the cabinet members asked him to continue.

         “I would also like to step down as President of the World and return power to individual nations as they seem fit. If we continue down the path that I started us down, we will end up losing everything. All I ask, is that you carry out these final orders as your president before I am sentenced to death for my crimes.”

         One of the cabinet ministers asked Walter to take the president into the other room until they had a chance to talk it over. He did so, and after twenty minutes of deliberating, they called him back in.

         The minister of foreign affairs spoke up on behalf of the rest of the cabinet, and said, “Thank you, Mr. President, for your openness today. We appreciate your candid behavior. Yes, you had broken your love law by pronouncing your love for Daliah, but in retrospect, we all were aware that you still secretly felt love for her, so we are willing to overlook that statement. We are also pleased that you have decided to reverse your wrongdoings while president. However, we feel that it would be in the best interest of the people that you publicly step down as president and apologize to the people for all you have done.”

         President Porter looked toward Daliah and smiled. She ran to his arms and professed her love for her father. With Daliah by his side, they walked to the conference room where representatives of the press were called in for a presidential address. He assured the people that he would no longer take part in any political platform. He just wanted to be a father again.

         Aaron Maxum faced a jury of his peers and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for sexual assault on Daliah, as well as twelve other women in the same brothel. Daliah felt that he had gotten off easy.

         Within a week, all of the families had been reunited as promised, and it was a beautiful sight to see as families, friends, strangers, and loved ones all gathered in one large embrace in front of the palace. The palace itself was converted into a home for all the displaced families in the community, while former President Porter and his daughter, moved to a small village where they were joined soon after by Iliana who decided to give their marriage another chance after seeing the change in her husband. They took things slowly but eventually learned to trust one another again. Daliah was overjoyed to have both of her parents together again and in love.