Black Star

Chapter Ten

Most Heathens knew the aberration living amongst them, even without media, the news had spread. On the whole, the reaction was somewhere between indifference and positive. There were purists who aired their views about his background and DNA stream. Just like any other group, Touchreik and his friends talked about him, bolstered by the chance of an inside scoop. 

Gaga took another bite from her algaen slice and rolled her eyes to the heavens. Duke had set the exact recipe behind a firewall which increased its kudos and judging by her reaction, its flavour. The monthly physical meeting had become an unexpected regular occurrence. When the idea was first muted the doctor agreed in the expectation it wouldn't last three months, yet here they were, still going strong after a year. The idea being to arrange a physical meeting at one of their accommodations regularly. Since the caveman had gained such notoriety recently, the doctor's home had become the location of choice by unanimous decision. Watmoor had crept through the door, his eyes darting. Almost as if he might see the caveman in a cage in the spare room, rattling the bars and eating his own hair.

Dabbing the corner of her mouth, Gaga continued. "They'll have adjusted his DNA when he was incubating, that's why he appears normal as you and me."

"She has a point," said Watmoor as he leaned sideways into the doctor's ear. "Natural born from random DNA by a physical method? Then you tell us he is completely normal." He sat upright and did that knowing snort he often did. "No physical deformities to speak of, and as articulate as you and me."

"It's possible," interrupted Drake. "Hasn't anyone considered he was one of the lucky ones. Perhaps, that's why they froze him in the first place?"

Watmoor put a hand up. "No, I think its utter fake, the whole thing, wait and see. Too obvious if you ask me."

Gaga stopped eating and looked the doctor in the eye from across the table. "Come on, Doctor, spill the beans. I'll know if you're lying."

There was silence as her expressionless face peered deep into him. The clinking of knives and forks stopped until she couldn't hold it anymore and the whole table fell into fits of laughter.

Nova was becoming a popular subject of conversation around Heathen and the number of people who wanted to physically interact with him was also growing. It worked both ways; it wasn't often most people got to see crowds close up. The skin blemishes, the weight and size and the looks of many differed greatly from their virtual selves. In small ways, so obvious later, the relationship Nova had with Bluu had gone beyond professional. 

This didn't sour the relationship that the doctor had with his subject, but it certainly didn't help either. On more than one occasion he saw them touch each other surreptitiously. Other times the caveman might touch her arm and she would appear to pull away, but a little slower than one might expect. Nova had made no secret of his physical desires; in fact, they were natural in the 21st century. The doc secretly envied the relationship and was confused as to why he would have such feelings. Bluu was a quiet, unassuming soul, harmless in her own right. For a female, she was once described as alluring and he didn't disagree. He often caught her looking at him whilst he worked or chatted socially with Nova. As if she were analysing him or his methods, maybe even assessing their relationship.

Touchreik regretted working with Nova on self-created sims so early on because of how quickly he picked up the procedure. He'd recently created a private sim of his own which was exactly the reason he wanted him to gain the skill in the first place. It had immediately backfired because Nova set it to private and the doctor knew that Nova and Bluu were spending time there together.

Were they in a relationship? Surely not. Nova was over 500 years old even if he was physically 23, not that it mattered in V-World. None of it mattered in reality either, but it was the principle of the thing. Then there was the physical question. The caveman would have no qualms about pursuing that in reality. It came naturally to him and Bluu would have to be aware, particularly as a female. When he tried to bring it up with her, she'd laughed it off.