Take stock of the situation.

"Holy shit," Grant mutters again. He sits down on the couch, trying to process all of this. Mary sits next to him, close enough for their knees to touch. He rubs his face. "All right, so this is really happening." He lets out an incredulous laugh. "That's...fucked up. Is the world ending?"

"Probably not," Mary says, rubbing his thigh reassuringly. "Just...changing. A lot, probably."

He glances over at her, suddenly concerned. "Earlier - you said, 'It's starting.' What was that about?"

"Oh." Mary shrugs. "Just...the natural consequences of what's happened." She nods at their phones. "We have to assume that this applies to, like...way more people than just us, right? If everyone got that message at roughly the same time, then it makes sense that people would take a little while to respond. Most people have to take time to process a big change in their world. Like you," she adds kindly. "But...some people would start acting right away, on the off-chance it was true. People with poor impulse control. And, of course, sadists and sociopaths and so on. The sort of people who aren't like you, who want to exercise control over people because they just crave control. Those people? They're out there now, hunting down any woman they can find."

A chill runs down Grant's spine. "You mean they're..."

"They'll claim as many women as they can, I bet," Mary continues blithely. "It'll be like a feeding frenzy. I hate to think of what girls who were out in a crowded place are going through, right now. Though ultimately it's a good thing. After all..." She smiles at Grant beatifically. "Being claimed is, in the end, a wonderful experience."

"Oh, God." Grant rubs his face. "So what happens now?"

"Well, the next people - the next men, I should say - to act will be the pragmatists. The ones who see what's happening and decide that the most important thing is to keep themselves and their loved ones safe during it. These men will claim their loved ones - especially wives and girlfriends, I imagine - to keep them safe from the other men. The last ones to act will be the ones who are really dedicated to, you know. Free will and all that good stuff." Mary laughs ruefully. "Unfortunately right now that becomes a bit of a competitive disadvantage. They'll be the slowest to act because they won't want to take away a woman's agency. And ironically, that means that their women - well, I guess not 'their' women but the women in their lives - are likelier to be grabbed and claimed by some less scrupulous scumbag."

"Jesus Christ." Grant is staring at her in horror. "That sounds...sounds..."

"Cutthroat? Competitive? Misogynistic?" Mary shrugs. "Yeah, I guess. Welcome to the new world, baby. You're going to have to adapt or perish. Who knows, in the end, what this is going to look like. I think we have to assume that there are going to be a lot of changes, with fifty percent of the population being shuffled around at random..." She smiles at him and squeezes his knee. "For what it's worth, though...it's not all bad. I really do love the feeling of being owned by you. And though I think that would be true no matter what...I am glad, entirely aside from this whole ownership thing, that it was you who claimed me. I know you'll take care of me, and I've always liked you." She grins and blushes slightly. "Actually, I even had a bit of a crush on you for a minute, in undergrad." She shrugs. "Didn't last long, but I feel lucky to have been claimed by someone who's already a friend."

"I didn't mean to claim you," Grant whispers.

"I know." Mary strokes his face reassuringly. "That almost makes it better, honestly."

Grant takes a deep, steadying breath. "So...so what do we do now?"

"Like I said: whatever you want." Mary continues to rub his thigh soothingly. "If you want to just sit here and watch The Bachelor like we'd planned, we can definitely do that. If you want to explore this new world...well, we can do that, too. We could go out and start building you a collection of women."

"Jesus Christ," Grant says, jerking away from her. "I can't believe that. 'A collection of women?!' Who are you?!"

"I'm still me, Grant," Mary says with a laugh. "And you know me, I'm pragmatic. Look, the social dynamics of this are gonna play out in pretty clear ways. Because women can be claimed by anyone, we've essentially become a...resource. I think it's pretty likely that however this shakes out, men with more claimed women are going to have more options than those with fewer. So if you want that competitive edge..." She shrugs. "We should work to secure it as soon as possible."

"And you...wouldn't mind that?" Grant asks, incredulous.

"Why would I? I want you to be happy and succeed. And if that means having more women, then that's what I want!" She smiles at him. "Or, if you don't want more women, we can just stay here. And watch our show, or...I can try to take your mind off things in...whatever way you want." She smiles at him - coy, perhaps, but certainly not shy.