Two weeks passed in what seemed like the blink of an eye and the pets had arrived .

Everybody that wanted one was notified to pick them up at the pier alongside pet food and toys .

Mary couldn’t be happier to finally receive her cat , Alex didn’t recognize the breed but had to agree that the little kitten looked cute .

Marie started talking how she always wanted this particular breed of cat but that because they had to worry about bills and moving from time to time they couldn’t risk it .

As if a dam was broken she started talking about everything that was happening in their little society .

Everybody was concentrating on building up their businesses and were grateful for the opportunity that Alex had given them .

Even if they had to give up 30 percent of their enterprises to Alex , they knew that without him all they had were unfulfilled dreams .

With the nanite treatment and the education course given to them they had little problems in setting up shop and attracting a willing workforce .

She also told him that a lot of new couples were forming among the residents.

The fact that they were no longer sick and back 25 years old with knowledge to boot , seemed to have a positive effect on their confidence .

Due to the investigation of Da’grass a lot of people shared the same hope and dreams and this made it easier to talk to other people .

The hospital had more doctors now but less patients , Mary already had submitted a proposal to staff the hospital of the colony with the entire group .

However a question lingered on her lips , she wanted to know if it was possible in the future to travel the world and heal people while doing so as long as there was enough staff on the colony .

Alex told her the truth , that it may be difficult to do so considering their situation but that if the future political climate allowed it he wouldn’t stop her .

Happy that Alex didn’t outright turn her down , she pointed out a scene that was happening behind him .

“Looks like a new couple might be on the verge of forming” Mary said with a smile .

Alex turned around and saw Sam talking to a blonde haired girl with a puppy in her arms .

“Well he always did like dogs , maybe that was the conversation starter he needed” Alex told to no one in particular .

“Pets are great for making connections , especially if they are cute” answered Mary.

That’s Cynthia , she was a starving artist 29 years of age , she was waiting tables just to survive.

Thanks to you she’s got her own movie company now , well , together with a few others .

“She’s going to spend a lot of time in the Nexus if this is the case , will her pet be ok ?” Alex asked .

“They are going to alternate with each other so that at least one of them is in the Nexus at al times , and she made special arrangements for her pet.” replied Mary .

Wel as long as there are no cases of neglect or abuse they are free to distribute their time as they see fit , I’ve got to go see Helena , she’ll be done handing out the pets and supplies .

“Goodbye Alex , see you next time” said Mary .

“Hi sweetie , everybody is happy to finally have their pets” started a joyous Helena .

“Did you see your brother?” asked Alex .

“If you mean that if I’ve seen him talking to a blonde , then yes I have” and she chuckled.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Her name is Cynthia and she is the co-owner of the movie company we approved.” replied Alex .

“Glad to have a name with the face , do you think we should invite her over ?” asked Helena .

“I don’t know , but knowing Sam a nudge or two could help him to get something started , I mean he’s obviously interested in her” answered Alex .

“You stay here I’ll go over and give it a nudge” smiled Helena and she took of .

Alex looked from a distance how Helena was talking to them both , at a certain point Cynthia started laughing an Sam looked embarrassed .

A while later Sam was smiling and Cynthia looked to be exchanging contact info with Sam and Helena .

Helena said her goodbyes to Cynthia and Sam and came back to Alex .

“That went well , she looks like a nice person , I’ve invited her at our home in the Nexus” said Helena .

After she settled her dog , she’ll be coming over for a short time .

Isn’t that a little fast ? asked Alex .

“I know Sam better than you do , if he loses to much momentum he’ll chicken out , he’ll be worrying about every single detail that could go wrong” answered Helena .

“Very well , let’s go home than and log in , do we still have wine ?” asked Alex.

“We’ve got plenty thanks to Sam” replied Helena .

Let’s go home !

Once home they logged in and prepared some snacks and drinks while waiting for Sam and Cynthia.

Sam sent a message he was picking her up in front of the Capitol to guide her to their homes.

He mentioned that the Capitol building looked like a beehive with all the people trying to get access .

Alex felt a shiver running over his back while reading this and hoped it wasn’t as bad as Sam suggested .

Fifteen minutes after Sam sent the message they arrived at Alex’s place and were welcomed in their home .

Cynthia started the conversation by thanking them for inviting her to their home at which Helena started probing her life .

Apparently she was an orphan who lived until her 18th birthday in the orphanage .

After the orphanage she had tried to make her way as screen writer for tv shows but was condemned to waiting tables to pay for her rent and food .

She was happy that she got an invitation to live on the island because she didn’t like the way her boss was looking at her but in the beginning she was afraid that there were ulterior motives .

When Cynthia saw the effects of the nanite treatment on the people treated , she realized that she ended up somewhere fantastic .

She vowed that if she ever got the same chance , she would pursue her dream with renewed vigour .

However , she was perplexed when she even got the chance to start her own company .

Her answers where short and Helena didn’t pry too deep in her personal life outside what she told herself .

They started talking about what her plans were with the company and if she enjoyed the thought of living on Mars in the near future .

Slow but steady Helena let Sam taking the lead in the conversation and only occasionally added something to steer the conversation in a direction she thought would be beneficially for both .

While this was happening Alex had a conversation through messages with John Carther.

The situation was as Alex had feared , and john had asked if he could offer asylum to the entire government and their families as a precaution .

They feared it was only a matter of time until the first government member would be captured by their country’s government for interrogation and persuasion .

Alex replied to him that the location he would send them to wasn’t entirely finished and that they had to make due with was available for a short period of time .

After John agreed this was not a problem for them , Alex send him the location of the island and said that he would make sure that the virtual traces of them moving to the island would be concealed by him .

However , he needed the names of every member of the government to be able to do so .

John asked if he thought that was enough countermeasures , to which Alex answered that it wasn’t the final destination , but that he wouldn’t disclose it before they got there .

Relieved , John started informing the other officials and sent the list with names to Alex with the message they all would be arriving within 2 weeks .

Returning his attention to the conversation between Helena , Sam and Cynthia he noticed they were all watching him until he disclosed the reason of his conversation with John .

After recounting the conversation he had with John with everyone they had a shocked expression on their faces .

Especially Cynthia took it hard .

She never imagined that there were such problems , and she was grateful to Helena and Alex that they entrusted her with this information , despite not knowing her for too long .

Alex assured her that within 2 weeks , everybody would know this anyway , but he would appreciate it if she didn’t start talking to people about it .

Helena told Cynthia that if she wanted to talk about it , she should discuss it with Sam , since he was informed about what was happening with the colony and the island .

At which Helena got a grateful look from both Sam and Cynthia .

Cynthia decided that it was time for her to leave since she had a puppy waiting for her at home .

Sam offered to walk her to wherever she decided to log out , which happened to be her company .

They all said their goodbyes and left .

Helena smiled , looked at Alex , and said “It won’t be long before they are together , they are both eager .”

“My brother is going to have a girlfriend” then with a smile on her face , she let herself drop onto the sofa .

“I’m happy for Sam , but shouldn’t the biggest news be that there are refugees on their way?” Alex answered .

“Spoilsport” she replied and logged off .

Alex smiled and also logged off .