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Sutopia

Ch 31, SSociety: Space Society

Logan had a strange sense of disconnect when he woke up in the new bed with such strange surroundings. For a split second he almost wondered if he were back in the 22nd century, awakening from the strangest dream ever but his mind quickly caught up to the present and his implant gave him a brief review of the events that saw him find his way to his residential quarters in L4. Sitting up, he wiped the sleep out of his eyes, glanced around the room, and considered starting his day.

He got up and made his way to the kitchenette; Logan technically didn't need a kitchen to prepare food-- at least, he didn't THINK he did. Double-checking to verify that L4's residential units had the same method of preparing meals; fortunately it did. A few minutes later he was seated at the small two-person table eating eggs, bacon, and hash browns. There was something unreal about the way the food 'creation' worked; Logan was used to hash browns being a little too limp and soggy for his liking (he preferred them extra crispy) and the ones provided to him had the EXACT not-quite-crispy-and-how-much-oil-did-they-use-in-the-pan flavor and texture... it was oddly reassuring.

With breakfast done, Logan took some time to familiarize himself with the schedule he'd obtained from watching the info channel the prior night. He sipped at some orange juice (the pulp was amazingly real-- his implant had to remind him that it really WAS pulp, it was manufactured that way) as he contemplated how the next few days would roll out. According to the schedule he had two days until the community events started so that would give him some time to get comfortable with navigating the habitat and get to know the surroundings of the L4 mega-structure.

With a very rough plan in place, Logan decided the first step would be to set his eyes on the hab for himself. Without social media and only the most basic of navigation service he knew that he'd have to rely on familiarity and that meant actually getting out there and seeing things for himself. What really surprised him was that he was actually looking forward to it; he didn't know if it was because the hab reminded him more of life in the 22nd century or if it was just a matter of being on more equal ground with the people around him-- there was a certain learning curve when it came to existing alongside people who LIVED on their super powerful social media.

He was still a little apprehensive when it came to socializing but, much to his relief, Logan quickly learned that the majority of the people on L4 were neither overtly gregarious nor excessively closed-off. Most of the residents at least nodded to him as he wandered by and a few here-and-there offered him a "Good morning.". All-in-all it was a relatively easy social interaction for him to process, and he managed to have a smile on his face by the time he made it past the third block on his many-block journey. He wasn't entirely sure HOW far he wanted to walk, but he figured he'd play it by ear.

Another large difference that Logan took note of as he walked was that the L4 hab made no attempt to have a 'futuristic' look; by all accounts the passages from residential block to residential block reminded him of the streets of a moderate sized town up to and including windows in many of the residential spaces. He was informed by his implant that any of the private quarters could also be made to modify their walls allowing for translucent materials so that the hab's lighting could shine through as if it were sunlight.

The entire aesthetic seemed so strange after spending time on the Lunar Spire but, as he wandered around the hab's "streets" it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. Logan was astounded as to how much the hub had a 22nd century feel to it. After an hour practically lost in the residential quarter he ultimately emerged into the lauded "Green Space" he'd heard referenced in the informational broadcasts so often and so he elected to seize the day and explore it himself.

He spent almost thirty minutes wandering around the park-like area, the young man was blown away at just how 'natural' everything felt. There was grass and all sorts of plant life; people were gathered together with kids playing games, families sitting for a mid-day picnic, semi-organized team sports, and even a few people with fishing poles. He kept his eyes facing generally forward or downward, the illusion of a community park wholly complete until or unless he looked up-- only at that point was he able to see how incredibly alien the sky was, reminding himself that he wasn't on the Earth; he was standing on the inside of a mega structure floating in space an equidistant from the sun as the Earth.

Not quite ready for the fantasy to end, Logan resolved to keep his vision from rising up too often. He walked the park for another forty minutes, watching the residents of the L4 hab go about their day; their form of socialization was much more like he was used to, and the familiarity brought him a degree of comfort. In some ways he had to wonder if the Luddite life of the Amish back in the 22nd century held the same kind of appeal for those people when exposed to what had been the modern world; he had to admit to himself that the lower tech familiarity was of comfort-- he actually laughed when he saw someone pull out a mobile phone that looked like it had been old back in his own time.

The number of people socializing verbally was astounding and, even though he was never overtly social back in the 22nd century he had to admit that he liked seeing it... but, at the same time, he also acknowledged that there were some amazing things he'd discovered since awakening after his Corpus Verto. Then again, he reminded himself, the lack of the coordinated, integrated, integral social media was a godsend. He had to start wondering if his life was just turning into one huge dichotomy of confusion over what he wanted. As he thought about it he realized that he didn't have an answer for himself.

Making his way out of the park, Logan concluded that L4 was definitely different, and that wasn't a bad thing. Certainly, he readily admitted that he missed some aspects of the metanet functionality; he was also able to laugh and his realization of that fact when he came to the conclusion that he'd taken a wrong turn and had to backtrack the equivalent of two blocks, but he was still able to smile. He used the retracing as a chance to revisit his familiarity with the navigation service available at L4, resolving to get better at paying attention rather than expecting it to do all the work for him.

That train of thought got derailed however when he heard someone shouting his name. Back on the Lunar Spire he would have taken that shout for granted but, on L4 it was a distinctive event to notice since people didn't automatically know who he was and he hadn't taken the time to introduce himself to a lot of the residents. Pondering the oddity of the call his first thought was that perhaps there was someone else on the the hab and perhaps it was just a coincidence, but that idea left quickly enough when the shout repeated, using his full name instead. "Hey! Logan Bradshaw!"

No longer to chalk it up to a possible coincidence, Logan turned toward the sound of his name being called and he stopped in his tracks: two Transhumans were headed his way, and one was unmistakably Tom. The large rock-man was strolling casually toward him and, beside Tom was a much smaller, far more human-like individual wearing a slim-fit dress. The Transhuman in question had long auburn hair and was slightly paler than even Logan.

At a distance, Logan first thought that Tom's companion was female but, as they drew closer he realized that he'd misgendered the second Transhuman; he looked to be about Logan's age and, despite his thinner hips and broader shoulders, Tom's companion filled out his dress nicely and, at the nearer distance, Logan saw that he had small perky cat-like ears poking out from his hair and an orange furred feline tail lashing behind him.

Before Logan could put any further consideration into the mystery Transhuman, Tom spoke up, his rumbling voice drowning out anything his companion had been trying to say. "Well damn, boy... you fit right in... almost didn't recognize you at first."

The rock-man's ton was surprisingly affable, and, if Logan wasn't mistaken, Tom wasn't scowling. Having fallen silent, Tom's companion took the opportunity to speak up once again; it was his voice that Logan had heard call his name. "Hiya, Logan! I'm glad I ran into you today!"

Logan had absolutely no idea as to how to respond, shifting his weight from one foot to the other before reaching up to scratch his cheek in thought at casual tone from the stranger. "Um... well... you found me, I guess?"

Tom elbowed the mysterious cat-boy. "He's used to social tags Kurt-- kid doesn't remember how to do introductions. Throw him a bone, will ya?"

Having grown up in the 22nd century, Logan took offense to that. "Hey! I spent more than twenty years without it... a few weeks with social media hasn't ruined me."

The rock-man planted his hefty legs a shoulder-width apart and folded his stony arms across his massive chest, apparently having completely ignored Logan's objection. He motioned toward Logan with his head while looking at the Transhuman beside him. "Alright, AMBASSADOR... go ahead and do your job."

Offering up a winning smile framed by a noticeable-but-conservative amount of lipstick, the Transhuman accompanying Tom flicked an ear and held up a manicured hand in greeting. "Hi, Logan. My name is Kurt Stanley, and I signed up to be the visitor ambassador for Kalpana L4 for this month. On behalf of the residents of Kalpana L4 I want to welcome you to our own little piece of the solar system."

Logan really wasn't sure how to respond. "Oh... that's... great. Nice to meet you, Kurt." He paused, rubbing the back of his head in thought, wanting ardently to prove Tom wrong. Unfortunately that was hard since he'd never been that socially skilled. "So... uh... what's an ambassador do?"

Kurt's face lit up, both ears raising excitedly as his tail lashed behind him. "Well, it's our job to be available to answer questions for any guests and help provide guidance and things like that."

Tom grunted, rolling his eyes. "Ugh... 'things like that'?"

The 'official Kalpana L4 ambassador' pouted. "Uncle Tom... you said you'd help me find him, not mock me."

The huge rock man lowered a hand to land between his ears and mussed Kurt's hair. "I can do both, kid... multitasking is just one of my many fine skills."

The statement stopped Logan dead in his tracks. "Uncle?"

The next twenty minutes consisted of a VERY lengthy story by Kurt with occasional interjections from Tom. According to Kurt, he came from a line of Kalpana royalty, which was clarified by Tom in that their family line was one of several hundred corporate funders. Kurt then proudly claimed that his uncle was the son of one of the founders. When Tom didn't refuse it, that led Logan to ask "Just how old ARE you, Tom?"

The young man recoiled the moment the question was out of his mouth, wondering if the rock man was going to pound him to dust-- instead, Tom only laughed. From there, Logan was treated to a lengthy discussion of how Tom updated his Corpus at the Lunar Spire every thirty years and that he'd already gone through over 20 Corpori... his birthday, as it turned out, was only a few years older than Susie's; Tom was a few years younger than Logan himself. To quickly get the focus off of himself, however, Tom thumbed at Kurt. "Although he calls me his uncle, Kurt is actually my GREAT nephew... my sister's son's son."

Logan's eyes meandered back to the 'pretty' youth seated beside him. "So... you're, like, five hundred-something?"

Kurt tittered, covering his painted hips with his delicate fingers. "Oh... uh... no. This is my first Corups after my original body and I only got it a few years ago. I'm twenty two, actually."

Tom grunted, rising up off of his place on the "street's" curb. "Well, ya found him, squirt. I gotta get back to the processing center. Do a good job, or Vance won't let you do ambassador work again in the future, got it?"

The petite young man nodded, offering a very animated wave to the rock-man. "Alright. See you at dinner tomorrow night, Uncle Tom?"

Heading off, Tom grunted to the affirmative. "Yeah. Say hello to your mom'n'dad. Let em know I'll have the shipment in next week."

The next thing Logan knew he and Kurt were alone, seated on the 22nd-century-looking bench situated off to the side of the street-like walkway. It was Kurt again who broke the silence. "So... you're a Class 1, huh? That must REALLY be weird."

Despite how recent the introduction to him, something about Kurt helped Logan feel at ease. "Yeah, I guess. The 27th century has taken some getting used to... that's for sure. Why? Don't see many Class 1s here?"

Kurt shrugged. "Well... actually most of the oldest citizens here are Class 1s and Class 2s... some of the largest concentrations of any habs are on the pre-war set ups."

Logan thought about that. "Pre-war set-ups? You mean habs that were under construction before the war started?"

His companion nodded. "Yeah. And then there's people like you who just, went to sleep one day and woke up several hundreds of years later rather than living it. I can't even imagine what that must be like."

Logan shrugged. "It's a trip, that's for sure."

Kurt's ears lowered slightly. "You know... most of the people from the 22nd century are pretty unique and whether they've been alive this whole time or were awakened after a few hundred years, all of you seem to have a lot in common."

Not exactly sure what the cat-boy was getting at, Logan glanced at him. "Well... based on what my niece Star said, it might have something to do with remembering what Earth was like before the whole war thing."

His companion's eyes went wide, ears rising and tail puffing out. "Star? The Fox from Lunar Spire? She's your niece?"

Logan nodded, having long-since become numb to the surprise that someone at random might have known his benefactor. "Yeah... but, like, my REAL niece... not a great niece or anything. She's the one one who sponsored me for Corpus Verto."

Kurt's smile was even wider. "She's a perfect example of what I'm talking about. A lot of Class 3s aren't alive anymore... they just... stopped wanting to live after a few hundred years, but very few Class 1s and Class 2s choose to unplug."

The turn-of-phrase caught Logan as odd. "Unplug? What's that?"

The cat-boy cocked his head to the side. "Oh... you haven't heard that term? Yeah... I guess not... it's something most habs don't use. 'Unplugging' means disconnecting from the Corpus Verto system... living out the rest of your Corpus' time, refusing rejuvenation therapy, disconnecting anti-aging augments... basically not... you know: keep going."

Logan blinked blankly. "Like... suicide?"

Kurt made a sour face. "No.... nothing like that! It's just... choosing not to continue. People who unplug don't KILL themselves, they just don't bother refreshing their time and they let things happen..." the cat-boy shuddered. "...naturally."

Considering what he was hearing, Logan took a moment to process. "I guess when you don't HAVE to die, choosing to might seem pretty weird. Why do you think they do it?"

Kurt shrugged. "No idea. Uncle Tom says that a lot of the Tier 3s just didn't know how to find value to the time they had... some Transhumans get bored of living after a few hundred years. I think it seems weird too. There's so much to do, how could anyone be bored?"

Logan had wondered the same thing himself, and found it odd that he was having to play devil's advocate... so he didn't try. "I know, right? It seems like most Transhumans are always up to SOMETHING."

The cat-boy nodded vigorously. "Oh, that's DEFINITELY me. uncle Tom says he thinks I have commitment phobia, but I just get bored easy. Why stick with just one thing when you can try it all?"

Smirking at the statement, Logan chuckled. "So... is THAT why you're a visitor ambassador this week?"

Kurt's cheeks and ears blushed, tail wrapping around his ankle. "Yeah... kinda. But I think it's fun to experience everything."

Shrugging, Logan couldn't contest that thought. He gestured to his companion's dress. "Does that explain your clothes? Back on the Lunar Spire people kept talking about how L4 was 'traditional', but cross-gendered androgyny was only starting to come into fashion back in my time."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Yeesh, Logan... this isn't the 22nd century! People can have Corpori however they want; why would anyone get hung up on something so silly as clothes?"

Laughing at the reproach, Logan gave up. "Yeah. That's a good point. Back on Lunar Spire some people didn't bother with clothing at all."

The cat-boy turned the tables on Logan, gesturing to him with a wry smirk. "Besides... if we want to get on the topic of CLOTHES, why don't we focus on how YOU dress?"

Logan looked down at his shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes. "What about it?"

Kurt grinned, poking him in the abdomen with a finger. "Logan... you dress like my great, great grandfather!"

Shooting a defensive glance toward his companion, Logan objected. "Hey! This is the way that people dressed back in the 22nd... I figured it was a good fit here since the whole residential area looks like it was pulled right out of time from back then!"

The two shared a good laugh about it, especially when Kurt acknowledged that Logan really DID understand the aesthetic. From there, the cat-boy offered to take Logan on a walk around the residential block; he was, after all, the ambassador! Logan took him up on the offer, and they continued their conversation while they strolled around the hab's many long, twisting streets and 'alleys'. From there, Kurt began showing him many unique sites that Logan was sure he never would have been able to locate if not for the guidance; he made sure to record their locations on his mental copy of the navigation record.

Despite not having the easiest time getting comfortable around people or making friends, Logan found Kurt to be incredibly approachable and likable. Kurt was an open book and had both opinions about and tolerance for just about anything and everything; he was as mercurial as a politician up for reelection, yet he somehow managed to do it without coming across as duplicitous or sleazy. In fact, Logan found himself having fun just wandering around with the visitor ambassador; for all the things Kurt was, and Kurt really WAS many things, boring was not one of them.

The two were quite a ways from Logan's residential hab when he noticed something strange: it was starting to get dark. Considering there was no sky on L4 and no sun, Logan found it downright strange. "Hey... Kurt?"

The cat-boy was leading Logan out of a large open-roof building dedicated to swimming and into a large plaza-like opening between buildings but he stopped, turning to look at Logan. "Yeah? what's up?"

Logan pointed upward. "So... uh... it's getting dark?"

Kurt needed no further prompt. "Oh... you're wondering why we're nearing twilight when there's no sun to set?"

Laughing, Logan nodded. "Sure-- that's one way to put it."

The cat-boy rotated in spot as if suddenly deciding he didn't like the direction he'd selected. "Well... when Kalpana L4 was first activated the founders thought that an artificial day/night cycle would help keep people functioning normally. Back then Transhuamnity wasn't a thing yet and Humans still relied on their unmodified biological systems to help them stay in homeostasis... so the light cycle was designed to help with that."

The answer made sense to Logan, but it did bring up another question. "But, now that Transhumanity doesn't rely on purely natural systems, why do they still keep the whole lighting thing in place?"

Kurt smirked. "Not everyone on Kalpana L4 is a Transhuman... and there are plenty of folks who are, but they only have minimal upgrades, and lots don't have implants to control hormone regulation, toxin synthesis, or metabolic function augmentation."

Logan stared at the cat-boy, taking a moment to process the explanation. "Wow... for a minute you almost sounded like a TIBOR."

The cat-boy smiled wider. "Oh... the Corpus Verto androids? I guess that makes sense... I spent a few weeks studying Corpus Verto at a clinic here on Kalpana L4."

The statement conflicted with something Logan had heard before. "I thought there weren't any Corpus Verto sites here on L4."

Kurt laughed, resting a hand on the young man's arm. "Oh... there aren't... but we still have clinics. People get ill or hurt and health providers still need to know what's what."

Logan slowed his pace. "I thought people don't get sick anymore."

The cat-boy winked. "Most Transhumans don't... some still do but, again, not everyone on Kalpana L4 is a Transhuman, remember?"

The discussion of the pros and cons of being 'modification free' followed, as did a talk about how clinics were important when a Corpus Verto site wasn't available. Logan was so caught up with the lively talk that he hadn't realized that Kurt had led him to a restaurant until the two were seated and a 30-something woman that looked like she stepped right out of the 22nd century appeared and sprang right into a full-on dialogue that Logan would have expected at a time-equivalent restaurant. Things got even more eerie when Kurt leaned over and said "They really DO prepare food here... so don't expect your food in two minutes."

Logan glanced between the cat-boy and the server. "You guys REALLY cook food here?"

The woman reached out and flicked Kurt's ear. "Since when did Vance approve YOU for a visitor ambassador, squirt?"

Kurt batted her hand away. "This is Chelsea. She's my sister."

The woman smiled at Logan. "Kurt's not bothering you, is he?"

Logan didn't have to be polite; he could be honest. "No, actually he's been really helpful. I've enjoyed being shown around today."

She took both their orders and, before leaving, she gave the cat-boy a nudge. "Looks like you found something you might get right, squirt!"

Kurt actively hissed at her, then slapped his hands over his mouth, waiting until she was gone before he spoke up. "She's over sixty and she's angry that I came along decades after her and took up mom and dad's attention."

Family squabbles were usually a major trigger for Logan but something about the silliness of the siblings' interaction, and the obvious love they each exhibited while picking on one another gave off a different feel. Logan had more experience with it when she came back to take their order, and again when she delivered it, and he found himself looking forward to how they'd interact next. When it came time to leave the two siblings embraced one another and Kurt's sister left, but not before tweaking his tail, adding "I pulled off the cat-girl look WAAAAY better."

Kurt didn't let her have the last word, shouting after her "Maybe, but I look better in a dress!"

Logan ended up laughing most of the way back to the residential quarters. Kurt escorted him back to his unit, smiling as they walked up to the door. "Make sure when you get a survey to give me high scores, kay?"

There was something about the request that caused Logan's good mood to wilt; had Kurt been so friendly and pleasant only because it was his job? The thought gave him pause... right until Kurt stood up on his tip toes and kissed him on the cheek. "G'night, Logan. I'm off tomorrow, so maybe we can hang out more!"

Before he could answer, Kurt was off like a shot, disappearing down the street with a wave. Logan reached up and touched his cheek where the cat-boy's lips had pressed against his cheek. The young man walked into his hab, moving to take a seat on his bed, hand still on his face. Kurt was a guy despite dressing like a woman, and Logan was into females; he wasn't into guys. The situation thoroughly confused him, and the dreams he had that night didn't help the matter in the least.