Chapter 11

In the morning when he woke up she was already up and had gone outside with the dog. She was walking around the property and Thor stayed right at her side, each step she took he was right there. He watched them for a while. He knew that he had made a good choice buying the dog.

He went back inside and started breakfast for the two of them. He decided to sit down with her after breakfast and make a list of the clothes she would need. They could pick them up at the mall. This would get her the clothes she needed to function and also give her a bit more interaction with the people of his time.

They ate breakfast with Thor lying next to her, his eyes taking in everything in the kitchen. The dog had fallen in love with Thea and took her protection as his full-time job. He told her that they would have to go to the grocery store after they finished shopping for her wardrobe. He had to explain what a grocery store was and why the food was not delivered automatically as they needed it.

They were at the mall before 9 o'clock and by 11 o'clock had picked up a complete wardrobe for her. Her wardrobe was heavily influenced by what Roy liked to see a woman wear. Thea did not like the shoes that were on display, as she claimed that they were poorly designed. She finally agreed on casual shoes and low-heeled dress shoes. Roy had to make several trips to the car, while she shopped, to carry out the items she had selected. She was constantly telling him that she didn't need all of the clothes that they bought. After they left the store, she told him that the people of her time only had 4 changes of clothes. There was no style; men and women wore the same style clothes.

The trip to the grocery store was a new thing for her. She had told him earlier that the nutrition pills were delivered automatically to the people. Grocery stores did not exist in her time. When she saw the huge amount of food that was available, she was astonished. She asked if they could buy one of everything and try them all. He had to explain about refrigeration and the availability of space in his refrigerator.

He was finding out that her education was going to take much more time than he thought originally. Things that he had grown up with and took for granted were all new to her and had to be explained. Because she was so intelligent, he had to explain everything in greater detail than if he was trying to explain it to a child.

When they got home he showed her how to hang up her clothes and where to put her shoes and toiletries. She kicked off her shoes and put on the shorts and a shirt that they had picked up at the mall.

He fixed lunch for them and cleaned up the kitchen after they had finished. When he had finished with the cleanup he went looking for her. She was in the bedroom that he used as an office. She was looking around the computer, obviously trying to find something.

"What are you looking for?" he asked.

"I cannot find the remote to turn on this TV."

"He laughed, "That's not a TV. That's a computer."

She looked at him as if she didn't believe him, "Why is it so big? In my time, the computers fit in your hand. Even the Supreme Ruling Council uses a handheld computer to run the entire government. I don't think that there's a computer this big anywhere on earth."

He sat down with her and for 2 hours showed her how to operate the computer. He showed her how to access the Internet and had to explain what the Internet was. He left her to get accustomed to the computer and went outside. He wanted to sit by the lake and think for a while. He tried to get Thor to go outside with him, but the dog just looked at him. He was not about to leave Thea.

As he sat by the lake he tried get make a list in his head what he had to do to assimilate her into his world. She was making great progress so far. He knew that this was because she was so intelligent. One of the few ways that anyone might become suspicious was by her speech. Her speech was a bit stilted. She rarely used contractions such as can't, won't, shouldn't and such. He knew that this was a minor problem.

The biggest problem they faced was her identity. He had to figure a way to get her an identity. It had to be iron-clad. It could not be one of the false ID's that are available around the border areas. If she was ever found out, he knew that the government would put her in a room and she would never see the light of day again. He tried to think of a way that he could get her an ID. Everything he thought of, after he dissected the plan, had a flaw that could get her found out.

After a couple of hours he went back to the house. Thea was still in the room using the computer. He could hear her clicking away at the key board. He poured a glass of iced tea for the both of them and went to the room to see what she was doing. As he walked in the room she pushed away from the computer and stared at the screen.