In Uzbekistan, forced sterilizations apparently began in 2004 and became official state policy in 2009.

In a commodious gas-lit box, surrounded by books and papers, and with a mighty folio of loose leaves open before him — a book of Fate, in truth — sits a Rhadamanthine man, buttoned up in a great-coat often; for be it blazing July or frigid December, it is always cold at three o'clock in the morning.

Cop action films revelled in scenes of action and violence with the male body at the center engaging in fistfights, kickboxing, car chases, and gunplay.

But he doesn't care or notice because he's caught the eye of a twinky, dark-haired young waiter, who's only too happy to talk him through the wine list.