CH2
It didn't take long from his standing position to notice things were a little different. He had begun to think he was back in time, through some computer generated worm hole (a discovery which would have guaranteed him a Nobel Prize for sure!) but the Penny look-a-like had, of all things, a remarkably large shoe closet.
Why a woman who had never had a bath wanted so many shoes, he didn't know. Especially since they all looked pretty well the same, made of natural fibers and animal skins, as were available in the ancient days of the Bronze Age. A low bed covered in pelts and furs was in one corner next to the shoes, and the other side of the hut had a vast assortment of weaponry.
Finally, he could keep quiet no more. "Who are you?"
She sat down on her bed and began to polish her sword. "Who are you?" She countered.
He sighed in annoyance. "I am Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper, I told you this already. I am a theoretical physicist, from Pasadena, California, Planet Earth."
"Welcome to Omadena." She replied.
Sheldon fell silent, horrified. He'd not found a portal to another time, or another place. He'd somehow plugged into Penny's Medieval Sims game. "Oh blast." He muttered. He must have left his computer logged into it from the night before when he had hacked in to see if he liked the game enough to purchase it. Penny had used the game to create a world that combined both Omaha and Pasadena, and was a bizarre mix of ancient and modern beliefs. This blonde creature then was the virtual Penny. He turned his eyes back to study her. The game had limitations, only certain types of clothing were available, only building materials specific to the medieval time period existed. However, that had not stopped Penny from accumulating for herself a closet of footwear. "Tell me about the people of Omadena." He requested. Perhaps the virtual version of himself could help him escape?
Penny smiled. "Well, you met my brother, he's a mystic and general ass. Smokes a bit too much of his own cure, if you know what I mean. Then there is my father, the Keeper of the fields which grow our food."
"And your friends?" He prodded, waiting to her his name.
"Amyix is in charge of the animal training. And Bernadettix is in charge of chemical warfare. And then there is the cart builder Howardus, though he's not really a friend, he's Bernadettix's mate. And Rajus, the moon-reader." She stopped with a nod.
"That's it?"
"Well, there was a Leonardus, but he was taken slave by a rival village. Rajus's sister took him." Penny shook her head wisely. "A terrible fate, but one he chose."
"Who is Amyix's mate?" Sheldon queried. Could it be that Penny had not made a virtual Sheldon? There was a strange feeling in his chest, what world would be complete without a Sheldon in it?
"Amyix is sharing a bed with Zachus." Penny smiled. "And then there is you, Sheldonus. We were warned you were coming. You will be my mate, I must procreate."
"I don't procreate." He said firmly. He must have plugged in at the exact moment that Penny created him, thus inhabiting his virtual character. Why had she made him last? Why was he to be her mate? Excepting the fact that he was clearly the most intelligent of the bunch, with the greatest stature of course.
"Then how will I get a Nemoyix or Nemoyus to rule Omadena when I am dead like my father before me?" She glared at him.
He raised his eyebrows. Interesting development. "Perhaps we will come to an agreement. Must I be tied to this post for much longer?"
A shout rang out from the clearing outside, and Penny stood up, sliding her sword back into it's sheath. "Feast." She smiled at him. "I will bring you some, tonight is dead carcass with a side of root vegetables."
