With all this sex everywhere, it’s no wonder that not wanting it, not liking it, and plain old just not having it can create such a fuss. Yet the number of individuals who call themselves asexuals appears to be rising rapidly. Is it? Probably not. As long as people have been having sex, people have been not having sex. But thanks to the internet, chat rooms and websites catering to this sexual orientation are popping up all over, giving a once “taboo” topic a place to live and thrive.

Asexuality. What a daunting word. Capturing the essence of its meaning is difficult, because its spectrum of definition is so broad. Basically, ‘asexuals’ could possibly agree on this: asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction and the absence of a desire to form physical sexual relationships. (It also obviously applies to the physical absence of sex organs, but that’s ‘something else’--not the subject matter of this particular discussion.) But beyond that, asexuality is open for interpretation. And since there are such differing degrees of heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality, it makes perfect sense that asexuality should consist of varying degrees as well. Some asexual people want to have children, some don’t. Some experience sexual drive, some don’t. Some have sexual fantasies, some don’t. Some masturbate, some don’t. The list goes on and on.

Come to think of it, why would a person want to have sex anyhow? If its biological purpose is procreation, it’s fair to say that there’s a bit more emotional involvement at this stage in the game. A simple act of sex can turn a bachelor into a groom overnight. The emotional implications in combination with the ever-increasing risk of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases can render sex as rather inefficient and cumbersome with respect to baby-making. Given that, if you’re ‘doing it’ for other reasons, a brief encounter in the sack can lead to a sometimes less than desirable lifestyle change; a tendency towards asexuality is therefore quite comprehensible.

So let’s have another look at the world of Zachary90210 or whatever his name is. While this futuristic outlook may seem a bit extreme, Zachary obviously lives in a world where efficiency reigns supreme. (There’s a little rhyme for you.) Additionally, for whatever reasons, the society around him has deemed sex to be unnecessary and impractical. While we don’t know exactly how reproduction occurs in this world, we might imagine that it involves very medical techniques of gathering sperm and eggs and producing embryos in pristine laboratories. But Zachary429 still has sexual desires. Does this disqualify him from being asexual? Hardly. In fact, this is an issue that has apparently led to the development of the so-called SymEneX module! And this allows individuals like Zachary429 the opportunity to get their thrills. In ten seconds, no less.