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Ch 18, SLife: Space Life

Logan's first week of life post Corups Verto was a chaotic rush to familiarize himself with "the new norm" of the world several hundred years after he'd originally been alive. He'd found himself like a fish out of water learning things at lighting speed about the Transhuman society in which he'd found hismelf and even the organized instruction via the offered integration class only got him so far. Granted, it was helpful in teaching him the basics but, in all honesty, it only helped him learn how to learn-- everything past that was up to him, and the following two weeks were a chaotic blur of doing just that.

After his graduation night, Logan had been thrown into the deep end of Lunar Spire society. As it turned out, not only was his niece some kind of A-list social celebrity, but his great nephew was the Spire's mayor. Keith was, in fact, on his fifth four year term and, according to the hab's charter, nobody could hold the position more than five times in a one hundred year period. According to Star, Keith was a very popular mayor and, in fact, his recent term was his tenth total since he'd maxed out his time in the office in the prior century.

He learned far more about his extended family-- for example, he had great grand nephews and nieces as well. Star had Keith before her first Corpus Verto so he was several hundred years old too, but Keith didn't start having children until his second century, so Logan's eldest great grand niece was "only" a few years shy of three hundred. It was a strange thing to experience, but stranger still when Star started encouraging a twice-weekly "family meal night". The table sat thirty eight.

Learning how Transhumans did things never ceased to amaze Logan; just when he was starting to figure things out he would get thrown a curve ball to be reminded that life worked differently when people measured the passage of time by decades and not years. The capacity for dozens of generations of a family being alive at once meant that additional rules regarding legacy and filial relationships were taken into account when it came to the Lunar Spire's governance-- not because anyone was worried about the abuse of power, but, rather, to keep things fair and ensure that Star's family didn't rule like some kind of democratic monarchy.

Keith put it best one night when they were discussing it with a rather chiding "Mother dearest, my fifth term as mayor is coming up... did you want to tackle next term or should I ask Priscilla?"

While the statement might have come across as pompous, the fact of the matter was that Keith was the only member of the family with any interest in spending his time in a governmental administrative position. Sure, Star had spent a few years here-and-there serving as a deputy mayor when one didn't work out or the abdicated the position early, but she never bothered running since she preferred to use her time toward other pursuits. Also, there was nobody in the family named "Priscilla", so there was SOMETHING to his otherwise dry humor.

Aside from twice weekly dinners with his family (attendance was a full-family total of 35 including him during the first meal, though it fluctuated the other three times since attendance wasn't mandatory), Logan's other main outlet of socialization was LHM, and he was getting much more used to it over time. After his orientation week and the week that followed, he even started to make 'connections' over the social media-- he wasn't quite ready to call them 'friends'. Of those, the number was much smaller.

In addition to his family (mostly Star), Logan remained in contact with Pete and, oddly enough, Lillian. The former turned out to be an amazing sounding board. While it was true that Logan was technically hundreds of years older, he had fewer years of experience-- and MANY less years of familiarity with Transhumans. Nevertheless, they saw eye to eye on a number of topics and Pete remained easy-going and easily accessible. With regard to Lillian, she was low maintenance and they had both shared the experience of being alive hundreds of years in the past and then suddenly fast forwarded. That definitely accounted for something, even if they essentially remained 'online friends'.

One of Logan's strangest new connections, oddly enough, turned out to be Noah. While the Dog was a social butterfly, extroverted, and, on many occasions, a little 'socially forward', he was still easy enough to like, and managed to keep discussions going even when Logan didn't know what to say. If Logan wasn't with his family or with Pete, he usually ended up in public with Noah. The Dog did, on a few different occasions, invite him to a more private setting, but Logan very quickly continued to squash those ideas-- especially since he had a strong idea of what it was the Dog was suggesting (or, on a few of the occasions, out-and-out directly soliciting.

One contact, out of everyone in his class, who continued to show back up at odd intervals, was Harper. Logan lost touch with the former Hollywood star after class, and yet, at the strangest times, his once-idol reappeared. While most of the students had managed to either start working toward establishing a life for themselves, or concluded their self reinvention as a Transhuman, Harper was not having a good go of it, and, according to any of the social media posts regarding the once-prince of celebrity society, he was failing HARD.

The most disheartening thing was that almost everyone who mentioned him didn't seem to be surprised-- one of the more opinionated contacts even called Harper "one of those stereotypical turn-of-the-millennia idol-types". It was quite a rant, and definitely left an impression on Logan. In fact, according to most of the in-the-know folks on the Lunar Spire, media stars from the past who focused on the spotlight for the sake of being in the spotlight didn't usually transition well.

What's worse, among Transhumans, those who demanded attention and adoration rarely ever got it. While there were trend-setters, influencers, and stars, people who filled those roles got to where they were by offering something of value rather than just putting on a show. The more Logan had come to know Harper, he realized that the ex-Star really was more shine than substance. In all honesty, that fact scared him, especially when he looked back at the society in the 22nd century's obesession of popularity over the silliest things.

Harper occaisonally reached out and, in most cases, Logan was too busy or otherwise obligated elsewhere to get together for a meet-up, but he always offered encouraging words and confirmed that the would get together eventually. He had five such brief interactions with Harper toward the end of his first week post-class, and another three times the following week. As the week closed out, Logan got a fourth, and that led him to seek more time with his niece; Star was always such a steadying force in his new life. She also had endless patience when it came to his numerous questions.

They were seated at Star's usual table in 'The Twenty Second', and she had convinced him to get a PBJ burger-- a meal they had designed just for Star, consisting of a burger sandwiched between two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It was horrible AND wonderful all at once, but it HAD created a question in Logan's mind. Pulling one of the pieces of bread back to reveal the jelly and peanut butter, he asked "So... if all of the food here on the Lunar Hab is constructed at the micro level, then we can technically say everything we're eating is artificial, right?"

The Fox got the little tell-tale smirk she got every time he said something he figured she thought was stupid but, each time, she always did a remarkable job showing patience and answering. "That depends on the definition. Technically, Humans started scientifically modifying food back at the end of the 20th century with tomatoes. Even some forty or fifty years before that, Humans completely reworked bananas. Before that Humans changed maize into corn over the course of a few thousand years-- fun fact: maize was originally called teosinte more than 9000 years ago, and Humans--"

Logan interjected. "I mean 'made' instead of 'grown'."

Star's smirk changed into a full-on-smile. "Ah... well that's a different topic altogether! Or, if you want to complicate things even more--"

"They're complicated enough, thanks."

His interjection didn't dissuade her in the least. "When you get food back in your quarters you get it fully assembled and ready to eat while here at 'The Twenty Second' they actually have fresh ingredients and cook it."

That didn't correlate with what Logan knew. "Wait... FRESH ingredients?"

Her smile widened. "Freshly fabricated. There are plenty of schematics for creating a head of lettuce or generating a green pepper."

Logan KNEW he shouldn't jump down that particular rabbit hole but, once she opened the way for him, he charged blindly forward. "So... they fab some wheat, grind it themselves into flour, and make bread?"

Her muzzle went immediately stoic, but he could still see the humor in her eyes as she otherwise deadpanned, "What? Of course not, Logan... don't be absurd. They fabricate the hamburger buns."

Despite himself, he shared in a laugh with her, then took another bite of his shouldn't-be-good-but-it-was sandwich/burger. "Okay... then what about vegans?"

Star wasn't done with the humor. "Why would you want to fabricate a vegan?"

He tossed a chip her direction. "I mean it. If animals aren't involved in any of the food process, then would vegans be more likely to eat meat?"

Her surprise, rather than humor-based, seemed genuine. "Logan... are you seriously going 'twentieth century' when it comes to a plant-based diet?"

Logan paused at that. "Come again?"

Rather than be reproachful, Star simply began laying out her objection. "Logan, there are many reasons why people may have chosen a plant-based diet back when it was 'a thing' other than moral issues related to the animal-food industrial complex. Many chose their diets based on improved gut health, lower levels of anxiety and depression, or lower cost."

The young man added "And better for the environment?"

The Fox offered up a dismissive waive of her paw. "That claim was disproved with science in the 21st century. The difference wasn't found to be significant in any great degree considering nutritional accessibility, difference in types of arable land, and accessibility markup-- but the other reasons were still perfectly valid."

Logan tried to push the discussion back onto the topic. "So... veganism? It's still a thing, or no?"

Star offered the answer. "There are plenty of people who choose nutrition that comes from plant-based sources, yes, but, in most cases, the differentiation is theoretical since all food, plant or animal, comes from a chemical base that is constructed by nanobots into what it is we eat. Unless you're talking about an agri-hab... but that's an entirely different discussion altogether."

The young man set his PBJ burger down and sighed. "Things are so much more complex-- seems like it's impossible to get a simple answer."

The Fox's smirk returned. "Maybe you're just phrasing the question in an archaic mindset, Logan?"

He took the bait. "How SHOULD I phrase it then?"

She spoke the answer as casually as if she'd considered his question since before they sat down. "Do Transhumans have a food preference for cell walls and specialized plastids over those with centosomes and lysosomes?"

Logan stared blankly. "Meaning?"

Star pulled the top PBJ sandwich off her burger and held it between two fingers on one paw while she held the patty up simiarly with the other. "Plant cells have the former, while animal cells have the latter."

Rather than try to puzzle through the science that he'd never had any real interest in picking up, he pushed forward. Okay... do they?"

Her smile widened as she reassembled her meal. "Some do."

Logan tried to apply some of his prior learning. "I suppose that differs from hab to hab then, huh?"

She winked. "You're picking things up quickly. Yes-- hab-to-hab, but also person-to-person. Some people like food that doesn't involve meat and others don't like anything with animal-based protein. Some want food that is ONLY animal-based. Just like any other aspect of life, people are free to choose what they like. I know a Transhuman who eats a pork sirloin steak and only a pork sirloin steak for every meal."

Star's final statement struck Logan as odd. "Really? I figure people need a much wider variety of nutrition than that!"

Before he could second-guess his assessment, his niece jumped right in. "There's that twenty second century mindset again. Logan... first of all, a Transhuman can have their Corpus obtain nutrition in a number of ways to maintain their dietary health and, even if someone didn't want to go to that length, they could just as easily have their meal made with all necessary vitamins and minerals worked right into the food when it's fabricated."

Logan, once again, couldn't exactly object. He could, however, reassess his earlier statement. "Maybe a clear answer isn't impossible... maybe the trouble is a clear question."

Star laughed heartily in response, and the smiles continued for the rest of their time together. They exchanged more promises to meet up again, followed by hugs, and the Vixen gave him a kiss on the cheek. She grabbed a few more chips for the road, and made her way out of the restaurant. Logan hung out long enough to finish a few more bites from his burger, then exited as well.

Having finished yet another quality afternoon meet-up with his niece, Logan walked with a spring in his step back toward his residence. All-in-all, he'd had a pleasant day and was looking forward to getting back home to play some more on his VR headset. He was so distracted that he didn't realize that he was being followed, and it wasn't until Harper called his name that the young man understood that the trajectory of his evening was about to change. "Hey, Logan... wait up a sec."

Slowing to a halt, Logan grit his teeth, already starting to feel like his introvert senses were warning him to run. "Oh. Hey, Harper."

The messages on LHM didn't do justice to explain the obvious disaster that was Harper Knight. The once-popular Hollywood icon looked as though he hadn't slept in days. He had a thin sheen of what Logan hoped was only sweat on his forehead and his hair was disheveled. Despite the fact that, as far as Logan knew, facial hair on his own Corpus didn't grow unless he wanted it to, Harper definitely had a five o clock shadow, and his clothing looked as though he'd slept in it for days. The other man's voice croaked when he spoke. "Hey, pal... glad I ran into you. Care to catch a drink?"

Every neuron in Logan's brain fired at the same time suggesting that he should do anything but spend time with Harper but, as usual, he surrendered control of his evening in favor of an obligation. "Sure. Usual spot?"

Harper shrugged. "I guess that'll work. Fine."

As they walked, Logan tried to start a conversation to fill in the uncomfortable silence. "So... what've you been up to? Your messages've been pretty vague."

The former Hollywood start only grunted. "Putting up with more shit than a fertilizer farmer... that's what."

Logan tried to channel Satar, attempting to inject a little bit of levity into the conversation. "That great, huh?" It was the wrong move.

Harper spent the next fifteen minutes of their walk bitching about Transhumanity. He complained about social media, about how people 'in the future' had their heads on backwards and seemed to get a kick out of making him suffer. It wasn't until that point that Logan bothered speaking up, but he realized that he'd have a better chance of weathering the conversation if he was a more active participant. "Really? What are they doing?"

The two of them stepped into a lift and Harper hit the floor button. "What AREN'T they doing, you mean? Okay... so, I know you're not the star type and your life was pretty quiet, but let me tell you the number one thing that every Hollywood A-lister needs: a purpose."

Logan found the statement very down-to-earth and relatable. "Really? I DO know what you mean, actually. I was just talking to Star today about trying to figure out what I--"

He was shut down immediately by Harper as the door to the lift opened. "Logan... this is about ME, not you. You asked how -I- was doing... remember?"

The young man clammed up immediately. "Oh. Right. Sorry."

The next hour was spent going on an extended rant about how his Corpus Verto was some kind of joke to the Spire or something since the people went to the trouble of bringing him back to life, only to exclude him and ignore him and condemn him to a life without purpose. Eventually he brought everything hime with the statement "You'd think calling a god down from the heavens to manifest would be for the purpose of worship, or whatever."

At first, Logan almost thought that Harper was stuck in some kind of narcissistic delusion of some kind until he realized that the statement was a line from one of the star's movies. He offered an encouraging smile. "Oh! Seven Nights in Egypt."

Harper gestured to the attendant with two fingers and pointed at the table before looking back at Logan with the first genuine smile he displayed all afternoon. "Fuck, it's good to have you around, Logan. I think the two of us might be the only sane sons of bitches on this god damn hab."

Logan had spent far too much time around Star since the quit was out of his mouth before he could stop it. "Or maybe everyone else are the ones who have it together and we're the ones who are insane?"

The actor laughed heartily; Logan couldn't tell if it was desperate-to-be-genuine or else forced, but either way it left him disconcerted. Harper accepted both drinks presented by the waiter and downed em both before saying "And one for each of us."

Considering the drinks didn't have any alcohol in them, Logan wasn't all that concerned about inebriation, but he was concerned about Harper. "So... what IS it you want out of your life here in the 27th century?"

Harper's smile was almost vindictive. "I'm gonna be somebody again. Somebody who others don't look down on. I'm gonna make it big-- bigger than I was back in the 22nd. I am gonna kick ass and people'll take notice!"

Logan tried to be encouraging despite having increased misgivings. "Good for you, Harper. It's important to have goals."

The actor's smile disappeared. "Don't fuckin' patronize me. You didn't even ask how I plan on doing it."

"Ho--?"

Harper talked right over him. "Sim-Sense vids. It's this big huge thing-- especially when they involve fresh Class 1s doing the recordings."

Logan had learned about Sim-Sense Vids in plenty of round-about ways, especially due to their prevalence on LHM. Considering a Transhuman's ability to record their experiences with sense, perception, and thought all-included, they could share those. Some content creators were well known and had quite the following. Was Harper suggesting he was going to do that? "You plan on doing Sim-Sense content creation?"

The star grinned wildly. "Fuck yes, Logan! And I'll kick ass at it! Considering my Hollywood background, I'll know the best ways to handle all that shit, and I'll blow everyone's fucking minds with what I produce!"

Despite being doubtful, Logan figured the best thing to do would be to let Harper's plans blow themselves out. "Oh... cool. You going to post them on LHM?"

Harper waved away the question. "Haven't got that far yet... still planning out the series. I've been working on it for the past few days. Figure a few of em'll be all sorts of different fuck-fests. Those do REALLY well."

Realizing he was eventually going to encounter a cringe-worthy reveal, Logan was almost surprised it happened so quickly. "Like... a sex tape? Are you SURE you--?"

Harper downed another drink that was brought to him and spoke over Logan again. "Like I said: Transhumans are really interested in 'firsts' since life's lost the novelty for them. Considering this world's new, I should be able to give em what they want and more-- this kinda stuff sells BIG."

The young man managed to get a question in. "But... things don't really 'sell' anymore, Harper. What do you--?"

The star rolled his eyes. "Oh shove it. You know what I mean. There's a lot more than money on the line for real business anyway. The problem is finding the right foot-in-the-door into the field. I figured the first thing I'd do is try to get in touch with that Dog wandering around this place-- Nick? Nate? Norm? Whatever. Rumors say he'll fuck or get fucked by anything... can't seem to get a hold of him though."

Logan wasn't about to point out that the specific Transhuman Harper was seeking was Noah, choosing instead to sidestep the discussion in its entirety. "Well, you'll have to let me know when your first recording is out... I'm plug it on LHM for ya."

That was apparently the wrong thing to say; Harper soured immediately. Fortunately, someone else in the lounge called out. "Hey! Harper! Harper Knight?"

Surprisingly, the star paused, glanced that direction, then looked back to Logan. "Hey... this was fun, but I gotta get going. Catch ya later."

Logan was left confused at the whirlwind departure with how quickly the actor made his exit, but the discomfort of the situation only grew when the Transhuman who shouted at Harper came up to Logan's table. The man was a good half a foot taller than the young man, and resembled a humanoid bloodhound, complete with fur, floppy ears, and huge muzzle. He paused, picking up one of Harper's empty glasses before giving it a sniff before glancing at Logan. "Logan, right?"

Logan's response was straight and to the point. "Uh... can I help you?"

The Bloodhound flicked an ear. "Everything I've heard about you says you're a good guy. Piece of advice, if you're interested? Don't associate with guys like that. Not a good look for you."

The advice was unsolicited, and Logan gave a brief farewell to the Dog. On one hand, he knew exactly what the fellow meant but, on the other, he never much cared for being told what to do. The situation was made many times more frustrating when he stated receiving numerous messages on LHM agreeing with the Dog-- 'Gus' by name, apparently. In the end, he started obsessing over Harper and the vague parallels he found between himself and the actor; neither of them were sure what to do with their lives.

Laying in bed that night, Logan kept mulling over his lack of direction; would he end up like Harper? Would he self-destruct while trying to find purpose? His obsessing certainly wasn't doing him any favors and he remained awake long enough to receive a message from Lillian. "Hi, Logan. You up?"

He was, and acknowledged it with a quick message back. "Yep."

Lillian had a habit of meandering around in conversations but, surprisingly, she got straight to the point. "I wanted to invite you to my Corpus Verto party."

The timing seemed strange to him, and he said as much. "We got our new--" he paused because his implant informed him of the proper plural of the word "--Corpora more than three weeks ago. Why wait so long?"

Despite the messaging being non-verbal, Lillian was still able to convey emotion through the communication and he could tell she was laughing. "I'm changing my Corpus at the end of the week, Logan. I'm getting a NEW one."

He was taken aback that he couldn't really think of a reason he COULDN'T go. "I guess, as long as I don't have to do anything."

That was good enough for her. "Perfectly fine. Just show up and mingle! Lots of our classmates will be there too. Goodnight!"

It was a strange message to get out of the blue, and Logan continued laying in bed staring at the ceiling; at least his mind was finally going in a different direction. Having been blindsided by Lillian, the young man took the time to look up the rest of his classmates on social media to see what they were up to. Their activities were varied, but it seemed that most of them had started making lives for themselves. Logan started feeling even more self-conscious.

The time continued to tick by and he dissuaded his implant from releasing hormones to help him sleep as Logan started sifting through different messages he'd received over the course of the prior week. He knew that the 'status quo' wouldn't keep him happy forever and, at some point he'd need to chart his own course and get some kind of forward momentum. Star had mentioned once before that a trip could help provide some perspective and, as the young man looked over the eAdvertisement Pete had sent him after graduation, Logan began to toy with the idea of an Iactis.

He familiarized himself with what Ozar's Realm had to offer, and finally began to take it as a serious prospect. His trip was booked before he finally went to sleep. Lillian's Corpus Verto party first and then, less than a day later, Logan would get to experience "Swords and Sorcery of the Future!" (tm). He was cautiously optimistic.