Jeanna in the sky with diamonds

I let myself go and Hank let it happen. At this point I didn't know him at all, but from my todays view I'm relatively sure, that he is one of the rare person who really could relate to my pain.

I cried until I haven't had any tears left and he was just there holding me patiently.

When I was finally finished he looked me deep in my eyes stroking tenderly over my fur.

"I will stay here, Jeanna a whole you need me longer, i can also ask President Cockrum for extra vacations. You should know that you're important to me. More important than any else in the world. I just want you getting better..."

Better? How should I ever been better? I would stuck in this body for the rest of my life. Nothing would change even the love of a father i didn't know at all.

But on the other hand was it nice and comfortingly to hear that I was still loved by someone and there was at least one Person in the world who cared for me that much.

Finally I felt a bit less lonely and lost.

Then he eyed me carefully, offering me one of his big hands.

"Whats your plan?" I asked him astonished.

"Nothing special, just enjoying the nice weather. Your body need to move and we both could do just a little walk"

WALK

"No!" I yelled louder as i had planned and pushed his hand away in anger.

That was the very only thing I truly couldn't do in any case with my new body.

And it ashamed me. From every single thing what had happen to me, was that the worst.

I was so not in the mood knuckling behind him, like his pet. Never.

I felt dehumanized even without the fact i couldn't walk upright.

It was embarrassing and humiliatingly.

Hank was looking totally lost. Obvious he had not the faintest Idea what was wrong with me.

"I never planned to do some we both wouldn't enjoy..." he shock his head slowly examining me, to understand what actually was up with me.

I gulped. Had Annie told him about? I was not sure how he would react when he found out that...

Lately when i would stand up he would know. He was a goddamn anthropologist, we would see what was up with me. That I would never be able to stand. Not for long.

There was no way to keep that in secret.

"I...I cant walk, it hurts so much, Hank...i cant..."

Suddenly he got my problem looking at me serious.

"You can walk, but not upright, thats the problem, isn't it?"

I nodded shy, watching angst y awaiting his reaction.

Instead of being totally shocked or disgusted he was doing a grimace and slapped his forehead.

"Arrgh...I'm such an Idiot, Jeanna. Hasn't Annie told you?"

I was lost.

She had told me...that i cant- walk any longer, but I swear I- I will try hard and one day..."

"You have cared about that much, don't you?", he asked carefully and looked concerned at me.

I didn't saw the point. He never looked like having problems walking upright by his self-just that he looked sometimes kinda stiff-

"You just see me in a suit, don't you?", he asked.

"Until today, yeah..."

He took my hands in his, looking very serious.

"When I wear my formal clothes, i commonly wear a corset. It helps me a lot staying and walking upright for a longer period of time. I wasn't aware that I hadn't told you- And when I was, I couldn't tell you any longer- since you were changing. I was assuming that Annie told you about that."

My fur in the back bristled, most obvious to him.

"You cant that either?", I whispered in disbelief."So it will not ANY better- no way?"

He shook his head.

"I will actually walk for the rest of my days on my knuckles?"

Initially I looked down to his own Finger. Horny skin were on his knuckles

I bit at my lip, not to cry again.

"On all fours..."

He repelled that.

"Traditional. In the very best tradition of the Hominid family!"

Hank stroked my hands, smiling a bit then looking at me straight.

"When I X-rayed your limps-the day you came here, I saw that you where made for this until you where born Jeanna, Even there you were ready to knuckle. You just never knew."

I had problems to breath.

"look at this Jeanna, these Hands, these wonderful Hands are a piece of art, a little miracle.." He said stroking my hands,"nothing to be ashamed of. They are much better then any human hand. Actually more modern then mine or the hands of any other human on this planet."

I looked kinda irritated at my hands. A lot of physicians told my mother and me how special they where, how unique, just like my feet. Now blue and Furry they don't look much differ than the day I had met my father first.

Hank sighed.

"And you actually will be able to be walk upright, kinda. Its a question of technique and try. Just keep in mind that you will never run, neither it will ever your way to walk in the first place. I don't like the corset at all, but its just necessary for my work-just like wearing shoes and a suit. A secretary has to do be representative, somehow.. "

While my father was speaking I realized sudden that I not just didn't match the image of a human- scientific- I had left just at that moment entirely the human race.

What a cruel thought.

But fortunately Hank was not telepathic at all, just talking on: "You should listen to your body well, Jeanna, trusting your instincts. It is constantly talking to you. Mine just told me: you're hungry Hank, you should try also one of the wonderful apples..." With that words he grabbed with his foot one of the apples Annie had placed there earlier.

I looked stunned, don't believing that anyone could ever do that.

"How did you do that?"

He grinned proudly:"Everything you can do with your hands you can do with your feet as well. For the beginning you might need a bit training. But it will be easy to learn, your toes are pretty perfect for such- and its very useful"

I personally thought that it was quite freaky.

When I was younger I had scared my mother to death eating from a bowl with my feet (my daughter do that period- Nique) so I cutted it down in a very early age.

"I can show you a lot of more stuff another Person never can do." He grinned and I had the feeling that he was a way to proud on all that. That was the total opposite to his further reaction. Did he actually enjoyed it that I was now like him?

This time Hank obviously saw what I was thinking and he shook his she Shaggy blue head seriously.

"Look, I just wanna show you that its not as worse as you might think. Just the opposite is right. Your Life hasn't ended here- you're only different."

"How can you cope with all this?"

"Nobody said its easy Jeanna. But nobodies life is easy, and there isn't a single person out there without any problems. Would you believe me now if I tell you that you will miss nothing. Your Life will be much more colorful, amazing and richer than most of your fellow humans. Its not worse, nor cruel...just apparently different."

More Colorful and richer?

Was Hank so speaking about my new senses? I was not entirely sure right now.

When he had eaten the apple he reached me again a Hand.

"May I asked you now for a walk, Missy Tilby?" he asked smiling. "I haven't said that for a very long time, never expect saying that again"

I smiled shyly back nodding.

Then I had to follow him trough the park. The sand was much nicer than the hot tiles at the terrace, but I thought by myself that i would never get used with that way to walk.

How could anyone taking me serious if I would knuckle in front of him?

"You should keep in mind that this way to walk contains the experience of nature for millions of years. Mother Nature never invent useless stuff and stick with that for a long time. But this is used since our forefathers came down from the trees the very first time. Todays Apes like chimpanzees and gorillas use it until today..." he told me."This has not accidentally happen, Jeanna."

"HA-ANK", I rolled my eyes,"This is ridiculous. It just sounds to me like you prefer it because its outdated once for all. Like you would try to sell records to me in the age of I-pods and CD s", I said annoyed.

"This is a interesting example you gave me there!", he replied."Are you actually aware, that digital music is nothing compared to savings in analog technique? A lot get lost on the digital way since we just have 1 and 0 to save? Its the same with art. you can scan and print it - but a original will always remain unique. Not to start about the fact that a CD or a DVD will be playable at most for 10 years- with a lot Luck may twenty- but a record, what is well treated will remain for a much longer time. My ears can also hear the significant difference between a digital copy and analog song. I bet yours also- So long you got the right equipment."

"But i can't put a record in my pocket, right now!" I said smiling.

"In this case you might be right. But if you ever come to Washington I'll show you the difference and you will never even think on playing Mp 3 home."

"Aside that it wasn't the point-" I told him a bit impatient,"I just wanted to say, that even the Australopithecus afarensis had found out that walking on two legs is much cooler than knuckling..."

My father shook his head vigorously.

"Lucy, Jeanna love, had much more with you in common than you ever would expect. She was- just like us- not a entirely bipedal creature."

I just had read the opposite-The topic was quite popular since they had just found a Australopithecus youngster. They where most likely the first who could walk like...like human- And she was most likely better than me, right now.

"Just say goodbye to the Idea she was more biped than you, Jeanna. Her hip has another shape than a gorilla trough but it was also much differ to human. It just lad in between. Just like our pelvic. Generally I'm not a agreeing with creationism at all, but these guys are in this particular case somewhat right. Lucy and her Family where stunning when it comes to crawl also. Its shown up in the dikika girl."

In disbelieve I raise a eyebrow

"How do you know about all this? I never ever heard a similar thesis before."

"I'm pretty interested in paleo-anthropology topics, even trough its not exact the subject I had graduated in. Also its kinda based on personal experience."

"Why don't you write a article some paper about that, when you are that sure about? I would, en-light the paleo- anthropologist out there."

Hank sat down on the lawn and I sat next to him.

"I got just now so many other stuff to do than dealing with that guys. Aside that, its a full-time Job to erase all the mistakes in todays science. So I just sit down, waiting and watching. Someday they will find out by they own."

He winked to me with a smile.

"Aside that?"

"What aside that?"

"I just got the feeling there is another reason...", answered.

He sighed.

"I tried that one or two times in the past you know..."

"What has happen?"

"Well, they where not so much amused."

So I found out that it was obvious not that easy as I thought. His colleagues didn't took him serious as they should do, what had hurt-ed him a lot.

"I don't like to tell you that, because you might believe, that its always like that-but i cant lie in this case."

He didn't looked happy about that.

"So its because you are a mutant?"

"having a different opinion than the mainstream its always dangerous in science. You will consider as a fool or a genius depending on the topic and the situation. But- yeah i guess so."

I closed my eyes and sighed.

"Jeanna, it would be the same even I wouldn't be entirely blue and fuzzy...but its still about our part you cant see..."

Intelligence. Our way to think. I shivered. That was it what Mike meant in the car. The Intelligence was a part of our mutation. So probably I never was normal. Not even without the fur...

"Did you ever heard of Oliver?", Hank asked sudden.

"Oliver whom?"

"A chimpanzee Mutant who could walk upright, he was pretty famous in the 70ties considered as a half-human for a long time. He isn't, but he is a perfect sample..."

"Actually i never heard about that", I told my father.

"The other chimps never liked him much. In fact they didn't came along with him at all. May they where jealous or scared. We never know what it was. Human tend to act sometimes like a bunch of chimps. But were are People appeal the human mind. teaching them acting better than a bunch chimpanzees."