Page 14 of Thalen

My heart warmed hearing his manners in use despite how excited he was.

Jahr-el appeared before me, handing me a tablet. “Simply press your thumb there and then let it scan your eye. That sets it to you. The test will be the flashing icon on the screen.

He left me to it, and a few moments later, Frothir came over with a tray, which he set down on the coffee table after Jason made some room. The doughnuts were chocolate glazed with creme filling, and the coffee was excellent. I ate my doughnut first and sipped the coffee as I answered the myriad of questions. Boy, were these guys thorough! They wanted to know everything from my favorite food and color, what I thought an ideal date would be, what would be a perfect family day out, even what my fave TV show and movie were, and many, many more things. I even had to answer some questions which were more like the scenarios they had you answer when applying for jobs - like how would you de-escalate things with an angry person. I skipped the TV and movie questions, ticking ‘ask me again at the end’, as I needed to think extra hard on those, as there were so many I loved.

An hour must have passed as Jahr-el came and asked Jason and I what we’d like for lunch, then led him to the back where he got to order his meal from an honest-to-God replicator himself.

“Dad, that thing made fish sticks and french fries out of thin air!” he told me. “And a strawberry milkshake! Look, you can see parts of actual strawberries in it! They’re not all completely mooshed up!”

I looked and was duly impressed. I probably should have asked for something more than a ham sandwich and a glass of milk, but oh well.

I ate and returned to the questionnaire, startled to discover I’d only been four questions from the end. Two of which were the ones about my fave TV show and movie. There was plenty of space to write, so I wrote

It depends on the genre. If it's a drama, then my favorite TV show would have to be Reacher. There’s something about those broad shoulders and that take chargeness that I love, and the storylines are great too. Though that’s a streaming service one, so if you mean broadcast TV only, then it would have to be an oldie but a goodie - MASH.

Comedy TV, well, broadcast, another oldie, I Dream of Jeannie tied with Bewitched. I love watching the old shows on the cable channel for them. Streaming: Below Decks

And if streaming only content counts, I am a huge fan of and follow several YouVid streamers - The Real Green Acres, Farming with Phil, and many more, including Prince Jesse Wilson’s channel.

Now for movies.

One of my favorite movies is an old one that I first saw on the local independent TV station one Sunday afternoon years ago - Some Like It Hot, so that’s my pick for fave old movie that’s a comedy. Fave old drama would be any of the Charlie Chan films, which I watched on the same channel. I’m also a big fan of the old Abbot and Costello films and anything with Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, or Tony Curtis. Not to mention all the old original Disney films, animated and live action alike, particularly the live action ones from the 70s and earlier.

Modern film favorite, that’s a tough one to answer, but if I could choose only two, they would be Benny and Joon and The Sheep Detectives, which I only saw last week but already has become a fave.

That would have to do, I decided, standing up to walk over to the desk and handing it over. Jahr-el took it from me, beaming. “Excellent. The answers are recorded and processed immediately, and that’s now keyed to you, so is yours to keep. I just need to take a cheek swab so we can run your DNA.” He flourished a cotton swab he’d had ready, having just taken it out of the sealed wrapper.

“Oh, thanks. I’m sure the pad will come in handy,” I said, then opened my mouth wide and leaned forward so he could swab the inside of my cheek.

“Perfect,” he said, sealing it back up before turning to take it to a large machine in the back. He placed the wrapped sample inside, and lights began to flash.

“Any thoughts on what sort of farm or ranch you’ll have?” he asked, returning.

I shrugged. “I thought I’d grow cereals, and if they allow corn, then some of that. Depends on what we are allowed to grow, really. And a few animals, but not for meat. I couldn’t possibly eat anyone I knew by name.”

He chuckled at that.

“I hear you. If I’d named a kilt-ha and raised it, I’d get attached to it and would probably only eat replicated meat for the rest of my life.”

I nodded, then stilled as a chiming sound filled the air.

“Congratulations!” came Xeranos’s voice. “We have a match!”

Jason came to stand by me. “You mean I’ve got a dragon dad for real?” he asked excitedly.

“Yes, indeed,” came the AI’s reply.

“Oh boy,” I replied, feeling faint. I’d known it was a possibility, and man, were the Dragonii super yummy, as were the Mylos, but I’d never actually believed this would happen to me. “I need to sit down.” I stumbled over to the nearest chair.

“It’s okay, Dad,” Jason said. “He’s perfect for you. It’s how it works. All the ads say so, and my friend from my old school said it's true.”

I nodded mutely. There was that.

“Who?” I asked, needing to know.

“His name is Thalen Rukhor, and he was one of New Haven’s first colonists. He has an arable farm and specializes in new crop introductions and soil stabilization,” Xeranos replied.

So he’d been there for around five years.