Alden Smith furiously scanned the internet for the latest information on the mysterious shrinking condition. He had to frame the news from the outside world in such a way as to re-emphasize abstinence before marriage. Perhaps as soon as they were married, the men would start shrinking anyway. But he figured that continued celibacy could keep these boys out of trouble until a cure was found, or until God's purpose became more apparent.

The female students gathered nervously in the auditorium. Mandatory meeting, couldn't be good news. Were the Smiths selling the college? What was going on? As Clarissa listened to the conversations around her, catching a word here and there, it seemed that a lot of it concerned sex and guys -- hardly out of line at a secular college, but over the top at Alden Smith. "...I have never wanted a guy like this before...I'm calling Pete and we'll sneak off campus and get a room if we have to... I think I know how a guy feels now... I have just had LUST LUST LUST on my brain since I woke up... I want my man so far up inside me that they'll never find him..."That last line made Clarissa edgy, as it reminded her of her own situation.

At last Dr. Smith walked in to address the students.  After a moment of prayer, he began the proceedings. "As you know, I asked you to pray for the victims of a mysterious wasting plague that was sweeping across the Earth. I now deem it necessary to give you more information about this mighty and destructive pestilence. As I explain its effects, you will understand why I called separate assemblies for men and women."

"It is being reported that this plague is affecting men, and only men. It causes them to shrink in size from their normal height, to just a few inches tall." Audible gasps swept the auditorium. Most of them were gasps of ignorance. Robin and Clarissa started slightly, but only because they knew from personal experience that Dr. Smith was telling the truth.

"Yes, I am telling you the truth. Jim, if you could start the video on the projection screen, I'll show you what I mean..."

The screen filled with reports from various networks about the "plague", which the girls of course had not seen, due to the prohibition of secular media on campus.
Quickly the ladies caught up on the various aspects of the outbreak: its occurrence after sex, the lustful feelings of women before and after their men were reduced,  the huge numbers of men disappearing in the world, and the honey aroma given off by women with the capability to shrink their partners. That caused a few nervous twitters and even a couple of giggles from girls who had noticed the aroma permeating their classes and the auditorium like a trashy perfume. The part that said women "monogamous as well as promiscuous" were finding their men shrunken after sex was edited out of the broadcasts. Smith gave Jim the sign to cut the projection.

"So as you can see, once again sex outside of the bonds of marriage has unleashed a fearsome, wrathful pestilence upon the world. God is weighing us in the balance and finding us wanting. So, you say? That is the wicked world outside? That is not us? That is not Alden Smith University? I wish that I could agree with you, but I must say that would be wrong.

"Early this morning, I was awakened by a report that two of our male students had disappeared. We searched the dorm room and found one of them, reduced to a height of three inches tall." Gasps again filled the auditorium. "The other is still missing. We believe that he was reduced in size as well, and may be on this campus, perhaps a captive of one of our female students."

"Does he mean me?" Stan shouted from his position at Clarissa's intimate entrance. Only Clarissa could hear him.

"I think so", Clarissa whispered. She was starting a feel a cold sweat on her forehead.

Smith continued. "We must take action whenever the lives of one of our students is in danger. Additionally, the whole campus is in danger from the chaos outside. The disappearance of men from the world of work means the loss of much of our infrastructure. I have just been told that the bridge across the river, the only linkfrom our campus to the main highway, has collapsed. That of course was not due to this plague. But it means we may be cut off for some time, as there are few men available to repair it.

"Given that we are on our own, we must act on our own to ensure the safety of all our students. As president of this university, I am issuing the following directives..."

"All entry to or exit from this campus by students is PROHIBITED."

"All classes are cancelled till further notice."

"I am ordering all female students to submit to the university physician's office for a strip search and if necessary, a gynecological examination. Until that search is completed, all women will be confined to their dorms and have no communication with the outside world. ABSOLUTELY no contact with males, whether student, faculty or administration, will be permitted for at least the remainder of the semester. This drastic action is necessary to save lives and to protect the values upon which this University is founded. I shall not hesitate to fulfill the obligations placed upon me by the Board of Trustees and the contributors of this University. That is all."

Groans filled the auditorium, then a rising sense of anger.

"They're going to lock us up like prisoners!"

"So what else is new?"

"Why is it our problem that MEN are shrinking?"

"These ARE the end times."

Clarissa caught up with Robin. "We'd better figure something out before they search us."

"You mean, before they search YOU."

As they were filing out of the auditorium, a female voice was heard to yell: "THE GODDESS OF LOVE WILL GET YOU FOR THIS!"

Alden Smith, who had turned to exit stage right, stopped in his tracks. He returned to the microphone.

"WHO SAID THAT?" Smith bellowed. "WHO SAID 'GODDESS OF LOVE'?"

It was bad enough that fornication was going on in a school dedicated to a higher calling. Alden Smith would not stand for apostasy.

"Back! EVERYONE BACK IN THEIR SEATS!" Smith yelled. The sullen clump of girls was turned around at the exits.

"I never thought in my life that I would hear the phrase "goddess of anything" at Alden Smith University!" Smith continued. "Something has infected the student body
of this campus, above and beyond this pestilence of reduction! The plague of apostasy is apparently running rampant!"

"Let me explain, for those of you who don't know what that offhand remark was about. Yesterday, the TV news networks were interrupted by a woman claiming to be a 'Goddess of Love'. This woman a... asserted that she was responsible for the shrinking pestilence, that she had done it to give women power over men, and that she had altered women to have certain needs of their own to keep the balance between the sexes. She then invited everyone to take the week off and have an orgy.

"If someone in this University is quoting the 'Goddess of Love',.  I know at least three things about her. One, if she is being serious, she rejects the concept of the Trinity,  which is central to our faith and to our work. Two, she rejects the Biblical ideal of women being subordinated to their husbands, and three, she is endorsing a New Age conception of exalting female sexuality above marital fidelity and above marriage itself that borders on what our forefathers understood as witchcraft! Fourth, I add almost anticlimactically, she has clearly been violating our campus rules regarding the consumption of secular media!"

"This is beyond an infraction of the rules. It is a challenge to the apostolic authority under which this University was created! You ladies are going to stay in this auditorium until we find out who made that remark."

Female faculty members, some armed with shotguns, now covered each entrance to the auditorium.

"I don't believe this", Robin groaned. "Even for Alden Smith, this is too weird. All the women on campus are being held at gunpoint because some of them had sex with men."