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At the time of the Great Experiment, Pal was twenty-six, Tobais, Mera, and I were twenty-five, and Maurick and Inka were twenty-four. The twins, Kait and Pari, were twenty-one.

Can you remember how adult you felt at twenty-one, and yet when you recall, you weren’t, really?You were still a child, you hadn’t matured.

We all go through that stage. It was the same with the twins.

They were both hysterically funny, Pari more so than Kait. They had black hair and green eyes and were identical. The only difference was that Pari had a scar on his right wrist. Despite living farthest, they arrived earliest and departed last.

Pari was desperately in love with an eighteen-year-old girl called Emil, who looked a lot like my Inka. So, I couldn’t blame them when they had a baby daughter whom they named Cleo. They were totally devoted to each other.

Kait, on the other hand, was steadily working his way through all available girls in our province. His ready smile and easy manner, added with his good looks, made him attractive to the opposite sex.

Almost everyone knew Kait, and most fathers hoped their daughter would be the one Kait fell in love with. Kait was the person who coined the saying ‘love them and leave them’. Because he certainly did. When he left them, there was never any animosity, although I suppose there had been quite a few broken hearts.

Talking of fathers, Inka and I had a son. My beautiful boy, Mihal. At the time of the Great Experiment, Mihal was one. My entire life centred around him. He was such a happy baby.

Mihal had a round cherub face with sparkling blue eyes that, like his mother’s, would turn grey when he was angry. He also had light brown hair and rosy cheeks.

Although Inka and I didn’t live together, my father had given us a huge parcel of land to build a home on—and our friends were helping. My trade was the same as my fathers, but I wasn’t properly skilled or trained enough to run my own business yet. A young person of my people was not expected to settle down until their fifties, as my community had an extended life cycle.

Needless to say, my friends and I had bucked traditional ideas.

“Wait, what?” you cry. “An extended life?”

Yes, Kaltons lived up to about six hundred years.

I can hear your mind whirling with possibilities. Sadly, the only prolonged life now comes at the end of my pearly whites and almost dying.

Inka was a painter, and she had real talent. People came from all four provinces to see Inka’s paintings, and they would be highly praised. Inka only ever bargained a few away a year, so you can imagine the competition for them. Every day, ourfriends would make their way with us to where we had started building our home.

???

I need to take a break.

These recollections sadden me, and I dislike that feeling. I prefer to be merry and happy.Go rest if you wish.My memories threaten to overwhelm me, and I want to walk, smoke a cigar, and pull myself together.

Let’s meet again soon.

Chapter Two.

Did you enjoy your coffee break? Perhaps you had a cup of tea?

Whatever you had, I see you are still here. Personally, I had coffee a la blood. A bit naughty, but surely, you were not expecting anything different from little old me?Don’t be so judgy.

Such a delightful expression, easily bandied around, isn’t it? You’ve no idea of the real value of the word judgemental, but I shall show you.

It is simple to caffeinate a human and then drink from the vein. I gain the hit of caffeine as well as sustenance. I could be dreary and have a cup of coffee, and I did occasionally. However, one must offer a little pizazz, or you’d get bored!And I can’t allow that, can I? Not now I’ve got your attention.

How easy it was to slip from my abode, buy someone a cup of coffee and sip from his wrist?Effortless, I tell you.

Let’s return to Kaltos.

Life was simple, as I stated. Sometimes, we would build in the morning and play in the afternoon. We’d either go to the sea or sunbathe or spend all day playing. Picnics were a favouritepastime, or we’d help neighbours gather the harvest in exchange for a meal and a drink.

Inka and I planned to be united when our home was built. To show we were pledged, we wore silver bracelets embellished with gold. When we were formally joined, we would wear bracelets of gold decorated with silver. Simple, isn’t it? I did not lie when I claimed life was perfectly and absolutely effortless.

One afternoon, we’d finished laying what would be the bedroom floor, and with it being hot, we were lounging about on the grass under the shade of a huge oak. I remembered that day. It is ingrained in my memory, in my very DNA.

That was the day we volunteered for the Great Experiment.