Saul - the missing link

Untitled Part 1

 I woke to the glow worms flickering and warming before I heard my alarm. It was a morning like any other, where I fired up my equipment to get breakfast to prepare itself as I walked into the kitchen so that it would be ready after I'd showered and changed. My quarters were modest, with a small bedroom at one end, adjoining a kitchen, and then a bathroom followed by my study and then my laboratory. The entry was in my study on an outside wall and the opposite wall of my quarters was one-way mirrored glass, so that I could see out and no-one else could see in. My roof was clear glass allowing me a spectacular view of the wildlife on the roof of the chamber my building was in.

My medical research project had been coming along well lately. So I was pleased as I was preparing for my day. In the past breakfasts had been stressful, since my mind had laboured over the day ahead. Soft eggs on toast, my favourite. I cleared my breakfast away and moved to my computer. As I logged in my messenger program blipped.

"Good morning Tony are you there?" I could see Evelyn's profile picture on my screen.

"Good morning Evelyn, you're not normally online this early, what's going on?" Evelyn was a hard worker and we would ordinarily only talk of an evening.

"I just got a call telling me there's been a minor fire at the courthouse overnight. No-one was injured, it looks like some youths set it. So, I won't be judging any cases today until the mess is cleared." I felt my heart begin to beat faster, I cared for Evelyn more than anyone. I had long worried that her involvement in the legal system would lead her into trouble of some kind.

"Are you alright? You don't think this is related to any of your cases do you?"

"No, no, I'm fine and I'm sure it's nothing to do with little old me." Evelyn was always so modest which was completely uncalled for in someone who had risen to the rank of judge within a few years of completing her professorship in law. Still it was a quality of hers that I appreciated.

"I hope this doesn't disrupt any of your cases or damage belongings?"

"No it's fine... it's only smoke damage to the roof. The fire was outside of the building in the tunnels". The tunnels connected our buildings as we live underground on our planet. The tunnels were formed by forests of Spongmass trees. These trees grow to over 150 metres with their leaves forming a layer up to 50 metres in depth that was so thick it held metres of soil above it. These trees protected us from the harsh elements of the surface. Spongmass trees feed from the harsh environment above and create our liveable environment below. Smoke damage to spongemass and supportive tunnel roofs was usually quite easily repaired, it was only health and safety laws that delayed the process.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay, my project is nearing completion and I'm looking forward to our next chapter together"

"Me too, I can't wait to see you again. Guess what?"

"Um, you got a pet?"

"No silly, the dress came back!"

"That's great Lyny ... It should only be a month or two now until we can complete our betrothal :)"

"See you then :) I've got to go now.... Phone's ringing...

"K"

Lyny had a beautiful mind, but there was something behind all the DNA selected by her parents that I knew made us perfect. We shared a deeper mind connection than either of has had experienced with any of our other mind reading species. Time would stand still with her and this was the only hard thing about being alone on this project. They had forced me to communicate with her only via text and gotten me to tell her I was researching DNA selection for cold resistance at the polar ice-cap. It hurt every time I had to lie to her, but I felt this would be the only time I would ever have too. Still, it was hard to know that she was not far away in the same city, despite her thinking I was far away at the ice-caps.