I woke up the next morning before she did, well, I did that every morning. Barely able to contain my emotions with her laying right beside me. Being a side sleeper proved to be difficult for her as the stasis device would dig into her, so she could only lay on her right side. Thank the Maker for this heavenly mattress, it was like laying in a cloud. I ended up switching sides with her to accommodate this, but I would cut my own arm off just to make her more comfortable right now.

I'm kinda' starting to hate the Masters for what they've done, I wonder if they sense that. They've put me in an awkward position. They made her just for me. I cannot refuse her. She contains their DNA, but what does it do? What part is missing that they need us humans for?

Or is it something they can't feel or... Love, of course!, thinking process my ass! They've lost the ability to love, that's what this is all about. But why would they hide that? Would us knowing that fact skew what they wanted to observe? I'm creating more questions than answers.

I will have to grill Abzari when Minoo and him come over, and I do hope they come over. Culturally we're worlds apart, and any similarities between him and me will light a path to an answer to this mystery of why we're here and why us.

Why me?

As humans we often ask ourselves that question, why do we have the cards we've been dealt? Many people get a shitty hand and ask themselves the same question, why me?, as they shout to the heavens in a vain attempt of receiving an answer.

I got one.

But I would have been happy if they just would've fixed Earth, and essentially they did, although I would've just ended my own life, vs slowly starving to death as the world burned.

A Phoenix will rise from the ashes there, which deserves to live, and I would love to see this at it's fruition, but I have a new destiny. With the greatest do-over in human history.

I have been passed the torch.

To make new life, on a new world, in a new way. We've only met one other couple, and they don't possess me as the warrior type. Did the Masters fill this ship with geeks? This goes against nature, it's always the strongest that survive. But maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, I want to meet more of our 'guests' on the Ark first, before I start drawing too many conclusions.

Anna finally started to stir. she had rolled over and was looking right at me with her crusty eyes as she first opened them, I wanted to have this image presented to me every day for the next two centuries.

"Umm, how long have you be up?" She could barely form the words.

" 'bout a half hour."

"So you're just layin' here starrin' at the cripple?"

"Don't go there, Anna. That's not what you are to me. The parts I love are here, and here." I pointed to her head and her heart.

"I didn't fall in love with your arm, my tears when you left were for the fact that I had no idea what they'd do to you. They could have just kept you, like a parent who takes away a kids toy for breaking it, I didn't know..." Once again I'd find myself breaking down, damn them for these feelings!

Why me?

She rolled over to hug me, but there was no arm for which to accomplish this simple task.

"Ughhh!, I can't even give you a proper hug!"

"But you just did."

"Huh? your not making any sense."

"You wanting to hug me is ten times more important to me than the act itself."

"Awww." So we scooched around until we could finally position ourselves to embrace, from the outside it must've looked pretty awkward. Ummm, first kiss of the day, my favorite.

So I helped her get dressed and we made our way downstairs to handle breakfast.

"Are we still gonna' go for a run today?"

"I don't see why not, both of your legs still work, unless of course you wish to dance down another tree limb..." She wanted to smack me, but I was sitting on her left side on the couch, and she just ended up waving her nub at me.

"Haha, very funny! But it's gonna' look weird."

"Have you looked in the mirror lately? That just goes with the territory." She got up to slug me for that one.

There were many things I had to help her with that normally I'd just take for granted. Helping get her toothbrush pasted up.

Buttoning her buttons, tying her shoes. Getting her body glove running suit on proved to be quite a chore, and I loved every single second of it. She felt annoyed by all this, and that made me even happier that she was missing her independence. But she would start to see that I was enjoying this for all the right reasons, and she just rolled with it. Life is going to throw you a few curve balls every now and again, even in Utopia. It made me feel like our lives have been 'pre-disastered' and things should go smoothly from here.

That is of course a lie that I tell myself to feel better. There will be plenty of disasters to deal with in the coming years, but as long as we can handle them together, go ahead, throw that sucker as hard as you can.

Olaf popped out of his hole, what will it be this time?

"Michael, Anna, I have been informed that the Zahir's would like to pay a visit, do you accept this offer?"

"Yes, of course, Olaf."

"Excellent, they will be here in one half of an hour."

"Alright Olaf, that will be all." He knew that to be my cue for him to get lost.

"This is kinda' exciting, our first company!" Said Anna.

Ugh,... human interaction. I was so lousy at it in my past life. While the outside got all fixed up on me, that rattling garbage can that was my psyche was untouched.

Second chances, fresh starts. I had to face these things head on. It occurred to me that the couple who was coming to our house was just as alien as those people on the other side of that wall. I was determined to leave the past behind. As an American, I regretted that I was a part of a country where Muslims were completely misunderstood, and even if I wasn't a fan of their ritualism and their treatment of women, I was a fan of faith.

Although my faith was not based on any one religion, I still had some, that's why I'm here, and this is one boat I would've hated to miss.

The knock came at the door, I took a deep breath and opened it.

"Hello, Abzari and Minoo, wouln't you please come in."

"Salutations to you Michael and... Anna! Bismillah!, what happened to you?!"

"Compound fracture of the ulna and radius, and she shattered her elbow. She fell out of a tree."

"And they cut her arm off?!"

"They said the damage was too extensive, and somewhere on the other side of that wall, Anna's new arm is growing,... in a tube."

It looked like he wanted to examine Anna's stasis device, but I knew Muslim men had issues with another man's woman. To me he was a doctor, and I was more than happy for him to check her out. And free to boot!

"May I please examine her arm?" He asked me, but he should be asking Anna. We've got a long way to go...

"Sure. Anna, is this OK with you?" Abzari seemed a bit puzzled at first by me asking Anna's permission, but I bet the wheels are turning in his head. All these social taboos and lifestyles that we've carried around are going to have to get shit canned in order to make this work.

"Knock yourself out, Doc."

"Do you know how this device works?" He seemed absolutely fascinated by it. For a doctor, I guess that makes sense.

"From what Olaf can tell us, the severed end of her arm is in suspended animation, blood flow is rerouted, and it is somehow anchored to the bone. Which is probably a good thing. Blood spraying everywhere would be messy." While Anna was cracking up, the humor was somewhat lost one our friends here. I'm hoping we can change this in time.

Anna in her best British accent blurted out in English; "Tis' merely a flesh wound!" Looks like everyone found this funny.

Ah, Monty Python. The universal language of hilarious.

"Please feel free to use the replicator for refreshments, the tabs on me."

So we chit-chatted about what we have observed so far. Minoo was rather quiet. If she hangs around Anna long enough that'll change, much to Abzari's chagrin.

I remember seeing her face somewhere, but I can't place it. Her eyes were this laser-piercing light grey. I needed to talk to Abzari one on one, and I knew he'd be more comfortable in an all male environment.

"If you ladies will excuse us, I'll be conferring with the Doctor in the Mancave."

Now to find out what Minoo's story is.