Van Artell had finished his swimming lesson with Mab and was now getting a quick tour of the water park. "It's really nice of you to show me the around!" Van said as they walked along a river bank. "I can't believe they have lakes and rivers here as well!" "Lakes, rivers, swimming polls and water slides!" Mab answered. "They pretty much have it all!" "I feel so great now that you have helped me conquer my fear of water!" Van said. "I know it sounds dumb, but I wish I could give you a big hug, Mab!" Mab hesitated. He didn't like being touched, especially from someone he barely knew! "Why did he say it that way?" Mab wondered. "Does Van somehow know about my autism? I've try so hard to hide it!" "Why do you say that "you wish you could"? Mab asked warily. "Do you think I would get upset or something?" Van blushed and looked away. His hatred of Mab was flowing back and forth inside him. He felt both gratitude and anger toward Mab at the same time. "If I tell you why, do you promise you won't tell anyone?" Van asked with a pleading look. "I promise!" Mab answered, wondering how he got himself in this strange situation. "I think you should know! I think if I tell you....you might understand me!" Van stammered. "It's OK, Van!" Mab said. "You can tell me or not! No pressure!" Mab said. "I can't hug you, Mab! I can't show you or any male any kind of affection!" Van said with sorrow. "It's a constant struggle to even be nice. I am supposed to dominate you and bring you to heel. Showing affection to you, even in gratitude, would be showing weakness!" "Do you really believe that?" Mab asked. "Your friends with Avery! You don't try and dominate or push him around, so you are capable of friendship with other guys!" "My dad told me that Avery was better than me! That he was everything I should aspire to be! Avery was kind and helpful to me when he could have humiliated me for a month after I lost our bet. Those things gave me a kind of permission to let him have a special place in my life!" Van answered. "Why do you think this way?" Mab asked. "Why do you have to take everything your Dad says as some kind of fact? He was wrong about me! I never laughed at you or made fun of you! I never said I was better than you!" Van sighed and shook his head. "I don't have a choice, OK?!" Van answered. "I have a computer chip inside me! A computer chip in my brain! It tells me what to think and it tells me I have to obey my Dad! It's called a Retro-chron!" "A Retro-chron?" Mab said, astonished! "Isn't that what they experimented on captive soldiers with in the Great Tryon War? Those poor men were forced to fight for the opposing side!" "Yes! But my chip is custom made. it creates a past and personality for me to follow! My chip is programmed with a system called T.A.M.E.S. It means Totally Alpha Male Elite Soldier personality!" "Who did this to you?" Mab asked. "Your Dad?" Van felt like crying, but he couldn't. The chip in his head made that impossible. Still, his heart hammered in his chest as he let his secret deep, hidden feelings out to Mab. "Yes! My Dad!" Van shouted. "But, it's YOU that really did this to me!" "ME!?" Mab gasped. "How can you possibly blame me?!" Van's face went from downcast to seething rage as he glared right into Mab's eyes. "This is your fault! It's because of you I suffer everyday being somebody and something I am not!" Van said with anger, his mouth gnarled in rage. "My real self has been dead for years and it's because of you, Mab!" "That's crazy, Van!" Mab said as he put his hands out defensively. " I didn't even know you until today!" "No, I realize that's true, now!" Van said. "But you do know my Father, don't you?" "Who is your Father?" Mab asked. "Someone whose home you lived in for months! Someone who loves you! Someone who thinks you are the kind of person any man would be proud to have as a son!" Van spat. "Someone who called you "Soldier" as a pet name and who still has pictures of you on his desk to this day!" "NO!" Mab shouted. "Yes! My father! Vandal James Artell!" Van yelled. To Be continued!