Ben was sitting in front of his PC. One o’clock in the morning. A plate of leftover pasta pizza under the screen.
He clicked on a video that was suggested to him by an algorithm he found confusing and annoying.
“Hello, I’m Louise from the organization ‚ATM-Men‘, which I founded,” a young woman said into the camera. “You’re probably wondering what ‚ATM-Men‘ means.”
“ATM-Men…” Ben mumbled to himself, took the last slice of pizza and leaned back. Hadn’t his buddy Simon said something about ‚ATM-Men‘ the day before yesterday?
Louise had big breasts, but he knew that could be tricky. Women with big breasts were usually the most dangerous and devious.
“It means ‚all-time money men‘. You’re probably thinking of cash machines now. And yes, you’re right. It’s true, the abbreviation is based on the English abbreviation ‚ATM‘ for cash machine. But it means much more.”
“My buddy means a lot more to me, too,” Ben said, putting the plate aside and opening a separate browser window. Ben instinctively felt that ‚ATM Men‘ must be something shady, and that maybe his buddy didn’t quite know what he was getting himself into. Hopefully he hadn’t signed anything yet!
“Through ‚ATM-Men‘, men who are in a partnership with a woman have the opportunity to buy their food and clothing for their own use tax-free. Deliveries are made directly to your home. The orders are placed automatically by our new AI system ‚Eggless‘. The name comes from the fact that sometimes there are no eggs left in the fridge. However, the men commit to giving the rest of their income to the woman for free.”
Ben searched for the ‚ATM Men‘ contract details and found the section that outlined what the man could get in terms of food and clothing. Poor, Ben thought. At no time was the man allowed to have more than two pairs of underpants and had to use them in rotation. He was also only allowed one new pair of shoes per year. As far as food was concerned, only millet porridge and lentil soup were allowed. Ten grams of chocolate per week. The whole thing wasn’t exactly attractive.
“Attractive…” Ben whispered, ”…good keyword.”
He opened an index of all porn actresses worldwide and entered the parameters in the search settings – just as Louise looked. Oversized vintage glasses with round lenses. Hair cropped shorter than Ben himself, divided into three colored stripes: Purple, white in the middle, and blue. Large breasts. Louise continued:
“The tax exemption for the men means there is more money available for the women. We owe the tax exemption to the state, with whom we have a special agreement. It is thanks to the state that this project is even possible. We are also in contact with the ten largest banks in the world. But now I would like to show you what the men think. After all, the project can only exist thanks to the cooperation of the men. We are not forcing anyone.”
In the video – one cut – and Louise found herself outside, in the middle of a street. A line in front of a bank. All men with beards, handbags and lumberjack shirts.
“What are you doing here?” Louise asked one of the men.
“I’m transferring my account to my wife.”
“That’s very exemplary of you.”
“Of course it is. After all, I love my wife.”
“And what about you?” Louise asked another.
“Well, as far as I know, women are responsible for over eighty-five percent of goods and services purchased worldwide, and I want it to stay that way.”
“Better one hundred percent!” the man behind him interrupted.
“Exactly, better one hundred percent,” the man corrected himself, giving the other a ‘high-five’. “She should buy one hundred percent of what she wants.”
“You see…” Louise said to the camera again, ”… these men here stick together and stand behind their wives one hundred percent. How about you?”
Ben grabbed his dick. Yeah, not quite hard. But he wasn’t surprised, after all, he had watched the video. It wasn’t exactly hot.
The search in the porn actress database didn’t turn up any hits.
No matter – his buddy Simon was much more important now! He had to warn him!
Ben’s phone rang. It was Simon!
“Simon! What a coincidence – but good of you to call. Are you okay?”
“Hey Ben, yeah, but… I… I really don’t want to disturb you in the middle of the night, but… the thing with my girlfriend…”
“God in heaven, Simon! ‚ATM Men‘ – did you sign it?”
“No.”
“Thank God!”
“You know, Ben, speaking of God. I’ve realized… God only helps those who help themselves.”
“I know.”
“So how do we do that now? I mean, ‚ATM Men‘… even my neighbor signed up for it yesterday.”
„We men have to stick together. We have to make sacrifices. We need to put in the time and effort to make shit change.“
“Do you think that’s enough? The state… the banks… ‚ATM men‘… isn’t that futile?”
“No. We have to cooperate with the women. Ally ourselves with them. We have to talk to them. The vast majority of women listen far too much to others. They have simply forgotten that they really love men.”