-[18+] Sexual Story- This chapter is clean, the next chapter not so much.

When I was younger, I had always wondered where we sat in the universe. Not physically, but technologically. We always have people 'saying they've seen aliens, or been abducted' but have never had any real hard evidence. Nothing like, "Hello, my names Sven, our solar system is neighbors with yours. just thought I'd say hi." Nope, no cliché weirdo neighbor welcoming us to our new home with a pie, or old man warning you not to play any loud music. Just, silence....

All this thinking led me to a thought that maybe we are in a universe that perhaps is a lot younger than we thought. It just might be that our 'neighbors' are actually all pretty much at where we are, maybe a little further along due to how their culture developed. Or possibly really far behind due to weather conditions or some other factor that no one can accurately guess caused their lack of development.

So when I heard news that we had just successfully tested a space faring craft that could travel the stars I was ecstatic. People around the world exploded with chatter about how our government had finally done it. At the time it was nothing fancy, but just opening up the gate, no matter how tiny allowed for the pressure that had built up to slam a hole into the field that is space travel. Within 5 years we'd gone from sub-light travel to light-speed engines.

Surprisingly enough at the time the gap between the two was thinner than a membrane. Although it took 4 years to first discover it, after a grad student decided to use his parents money to build a smaller scale engine for an easy A in class. Funnily enough, he didn't expect it to take as long as it did and rushed the build. A safety device that the original maker of the sub-light engine deemed necessary to stabilize the plasma was forgotten. When it made the news that a student of SpaciaTech University had made a down-scaled engine, someone up top decided it would make good publicity to see it on an actual craft. coincidentally the model used for museum tours happened to be scaled almost exactly to the proper dimensions for the engine in question.

What no one actually knows is that the 'inventor' of the engine 'Alan Knight' actually just stole a copy of the schematics and copied that for his project. -Although, I am not really supposed to know that. Nor would anyone ever believe me if I attempted to try to tell everyone about how I slipped into the back of one of the seminars he held and heard him talking him self up... The guy really isn't too bright. -

At the time that happened I had just turned 12, a few days before it and begged my parents to allow me to go and meet him. You could say I was a little disappointed, even wanted to leave at one point before the man whom I had admired even went out on stage. Hoping against odds that maybe it would still be fun I talked my self into staying and I have to say that decision probably impacted my whole life.

Getting to my seat I happened to sit down to a man whom my first thought about his appearance was 'goofy'. He wore a brown suit jacket with patches on the elbows, had shades on indoors and had the kind of grin on his face you'd expect from someone touched in the head. I was still a no manners kid then and couldn't help my self from laughing after I saw him. Thomas as I would soon learn was his name looked at me, looked down at himself and laughed right with me. I would have to say that right there was the point in which we bonded and I found my mentor. I learned from him that he was a professor of a new university that came along shortly after the discovery of the light-drive, he wasn't a teacher there but was hired on to work with the Spacecrafts the university worked on. He said it was actually a university made by the government to bring up students with the knowledge to travel the stars.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Fascinated we talked non stop about space travel for the full hour that was left until the event started. Telling him of my thoughts on many things and listening to his opinions and theories. After asking him about his outfit he told me that he liked to dress how he did because when he used to teach it helped to loosen up his students if he wore clothing that was 'unpleasing' to the eye. Making them more likely to drop what ever inhibitions in class and pay attention to him. Most of them would look at him and laugh, by laughing right with them he was able to get to know them better. So when he actually started class they paid more attention. He told me he had actually mostly stopped doing it too but that it still kind of stuck. When Alan came up on stage finally to talk a bit about him self and his discovery, I just toned him out and thought about the new friend I had made.

At one point I happened to hear something that made me look up and focus on the podium. Alan had stepped to the side and an older man in military uniform had taken his place. I had missed out on part of the speech and tried to piece together what had been said. "..and due to the efforts of our brilliant minds including those such as the man standing beside me our military has decided to begin allowing enrollment into a new school. This university will be used to not only give students the necessary skills in life that all other establishments provide, but also train its students in how to survive in space. The school will have multiple fields of study including piloting, engineering, and security being the main focuses. These three will also be required to an extent to be studied and passed regardless of what path you choose. We will begin the enrollment process at the end of the school year."

By now I could hardly contain myself, something I had wondered about all my life, something that I had wanted to pursue was within my reach! The man continued on with his no-nonsense attitude. "The school decided after the results shown in studies that unless under certain circumstances, the school would only accept students whom are between the ages of 7-10. This was decided due to testing on the optimal condition our bodies must be in to allow for prolonged space travel. If anyone here would like to enroll today we will have that available after the convention ends. Now then on to..."

All I could think about was how I was off by two years, TWO YEARS. My chance to do something I had dreamt about for years all crushed because I was to old. Sinking further into my sorrow, I think at that moment Thomas noticed my odd behavior and made a guess that I was too old or young to enroll and for some reason or another make the decision to take me under his wing. While wallowing Thomas placed his hand onto my shoulder waking me up from my funk and simply told me "Don't worry." Then was called up onto the stage to give a speech.

Right after his name was called a large amount of gossip came up. "The eccentric genius.." "He never shows him self.." "Is he going to be teaching..." Confused I tried to think of who he might be. "..and here he is, I welcome to the stage Thomas Fargrove. The inventor of not only the sub-light engine but also the first ship to ever fly with it. Thank you for allowing us this honor." Thanking the announcer Thomas steps up to the mic and begins talking about his experiences in the past 10 years, 5 of which was the development of his masterpiece. "Now then, onto the real reason I am here tonight.." pausing for effect he continues. " I will be, AHHH!" Gasps and worried glances invade the audience. Wondering what happened. "Sorry, just wanted to make sure you were paying attention. The reason I am here tonight, is to let you all know that I will be working with the staff to raise the future personnel on our space craft." The crowd begins to murmur in excitement, I my self am still shocked that I talked to this man for an hour and didn't even know who he was. "But I will not be there as a teacher, I will assist with class but otherwise my main goal is to further the technology available, so when we are ready for the first far out expedition we will have the proper tools to handle any situation that may come about. Thank you for your time.."

As the announcement that Thomas wouldn't be teaching was heard lots of disappointment could be heard throughout the crowd. "Oh, one more thing." Thomas mentions as he steps back towards the mic. "I would like to introduce my protegé, Ale...."