Y: THE LAST MAN 725
to concealing himself with a cloak, hood and gas mask and using a slight falsetto when
talking to the women that he encounters (explaining fear of whatever caused the males
to die as a reason to keep wearing the mask). Ampersand often perches on his shoulder.
Yorick makes his way to Washington D.C. in search of his mother, a member of Con-
gress who is working with the new president (the highest surviving woman in the order
of succession) and who, with the president, ends up sending Yorick out to discover the
truth regarding what had happened. Yorick accepts the mission, but all he really wants
is to fi nd Beth. Over the next fi ve years, his mission and his quest will take him across
the country and the world.
Assigned to protect Yorick is Agent 355, a member of the Culper Ring, a mysterious
organization that dates back to the Revolutionary War. At the time of the “gendercide,”
she was removing a supposedly cursed artifact from Jordan, crossing the border just
as it happened. Her skills help Yorick to survive on many occasions over the years and
their relationship grows, moving to close friendship and then close to something more.
Th eir fi rst task is to go to Boston to the lab of geneticist Dr. Allison Mann (born Ayuko
Matsumori), who at the time of the “gendercide” was (unsuccessfully) giving birth to a
cloned baby. Yorick and 355 fi nd her, but after her lab is destroyed the trio is forced to
head to the West Coast in search of her back-up notes, which provide the key to keep-
ing the human species alive. It is her work that often dictates where the group must go.
Th ere are a number of additional supporting characters who have both positive and
negative eff ects on the three main characters.
Th e eff ects of the “gendercide” upon the world are shown in various ways through-
out the series. At fi rst there is the destruction caused by multitudes of car and plane
crashes, the reorganization of government (including a group of widows who want their
husband’s old positions to restore the Democrat-Republican balance), and changes in
society, such as how a former supermodel now must make a living disposing of dead
bodies. Among the antagonists in the series are the “Daughters of the Amazon,” an
ultra-radical feminist group seeking to destroy the remnants of the “patriarchy” that
“Mother Earth” saw fi t to dispose of. Yorick’s sister, Hero, becomes a member of the
group and, for a time, is a threat to her brother’s life. At one point, a traveling group of
performers off ering a show to a small town fi nd that many of the women there would
like the troupe to create new versions of their favorite soap operas.
Other allies and threats to the trio come from the new role of women in the world’s
militaries. Due to the number of women in its armed forces, Israel’s place in the Middle
East is stronger and since it allows women to serve on submarines, it is now Australia
that rules the waves. Religion in this new world is touched upon with a group of women
from the Vatican that are following rumors of a new born male whom they wish to
make into the new Pope.
While there are those who wish to capture Yorick for political reasons (such as an
Israeli soldier who wants him as a way to strengthen her country or at least weaken
others) or personal gain (a journalist who wants a great story). What is generally not
seen in the series is the stereotypical “last man” scenario in which all women just want
