Simon had a fairly tragic early childhood. He lost both of his parents at the age of two and since then, he had been to foster home after foster home. Every new family he joined soon gave up on him and returned him to the orphanage. It appeared that Simon created continuous friction with other children in those homes, but it wasn’t because Simon was delinquent, it was because Simon was so completely different. He was so completely advanced that the other children just failed to understand him; they could not even hope to see things from the same point of view.

As a result, Simon’s childhood years were fairly lonely. He had problems coping with friendship and as he grew older, he began to realize that he was ostracized because he was different.  He understood things that people around him did not.  Sometimes (most times), that left the children he tried to befriend feeling a little confused with the way Simon spoke and behaved, and while each child reacted to him differently, most chose to avoid him or resorted to teasing and bullying.  Simon did not bellyache about his loneliness, but turned his mind to other pursuits. He loved the stars. Watching them filled him with wonder and stimulated his already very active imagination.  He often imagined himself running with long, low leaps, as if in slow motion, along the barren surface of the Moon. In his mind, Simon would tumble and turn, dodging laser beams and shooting alien invaders and was often the savior of Earth.  He also loved to read and his mind was a knowledge sponge, but Simon lacked a focus for his exceptional mind power, until one special day. Simon was bored and clicked the monitor onto a new channel which displayed a documentary about the evolution of man. The subject captured his imagination immediately and lit the flame of curiosity in his mind.

Simon turned to research. He read everything he could find about evolution in the school library. It fed his curiosity until it grew into an unquenchable fire. When he exhausted the knowledge in the local library, Simon turned to the World Wide Web; it became more than a just a hobby for him. Solving the missing link and proving the origin of humanity, the greatest mystery of all time, became his deeply-embedded goal; almost, but not quite an obsession.

No matter how he tackled the issue, no matter what questions he asked the internet search engines or how many research documents he surveyed, the answer to human evolution and the missing link remained a leap of faith, and pure educated guesswork.  In the end, Simon’s research led him to one final conclusion.  There was no link. In Simon’s mind, the Neanderthal seemed to be as similar to a human in relationship, as a monkey is. So, if there is no conclusive evidence proving the origin of modern man on Earth earlier than sixty thousand odd years ago, then logic dictated to Simon that modern man originated elsewhere.  Also, why was it that all signs of the Neanderthal disappeared from the face of the planet at or around the same time as evidence began appearing to validate “Modern Man”? There was a definite mystery there and Simon was truly hooked. He had found the focus for his mental energy.

To prove that modern man originated off-planet? That would be Simon’s true challenge. Mankind had turned the planet upside down for hundreds of years searching for the illusive missing link, but with no luck. Again, to Simon’s mind, it meant the particular evidence he was seeking was either too well hidden on Earth, or he would have to find his answers off-world.  Simon was just eleven years old when he had come to these conclusions.

Simon’s continuous internet searching on the origin of humanity had attracted the attention of a unique and strange internet monitoring program which floated on the World Wide Net like a spider on her web. The program had been planted specifically to monitor for the internet search activities Simon was engaged in.

The function of the program was to identify the candidate performing the searches, track them and study them. Then, when the subject filled the minimum criteria and technology permitted, the program was to complete its designed function by insinuating a highly compressed program it cradled, into that candidate’s life.

Simon had set his sights on getting into space and to achieve that goal, decided to cement his future to that of the lunar colony.  Going to the moon would serve his own goals eventually and he could help other people along the way as well. He committed himself to that future by accepting the lunar council’s offer of guardianship and with that; a scholarship to enter the prestigious Western Alliance University.

At only twelve years old, Simon, would become the youngest person in history to be offered a scholarship from the major university in the Western world for five different specialist subjects at one time. Simon was a true prodigy and a phenomenon unlike any other in the history of man.

Simon also had an opinion on the state of the world. He believed that the planet was mere decades away from a catastrophe.  The East was catching up with technology and there were many groups gaining power throughout the East that increased the volatile status-quo. These nations had made it quite clear that when they were able, they would destroy the West. Simon decided it was pointless to worry. Besides, it would be a race to see whether pollution would get them first, or war.  Simon amazed university lecturers with his analytical mind and his courage, never hesitating to debate theory or offer alternative, sometimes far out, but sound arguments with the lecturers.  At only thirteen, Simon was accepted as an academic equal by most at the university, envied by many, and resented by some. It was hard for some lecturers to teach a boy that was far brighter than anyone they had ever met. Simon tried very hard not to embarrass lecturers and always deferred to them in lectures and would correct them tactfully and in private. Simon’s cautious behavior when correcting his lecturers was an indicator of his vast intelligence and his tact gained respect from them too. It was a lesson he had learned the hard way from his childhood and it worked for him now.

By the end of his third year at the university, Simon had achieved academic status by earning his doctorate in science and mathematics, and had almost completed his doctorates in astrophysics, engineering, and economics. Standing at one hundred eighty centimeters tall, Simon looked normal in every way for a fifteen year old. He was just very, very smart, among the most intelligent people on the planet at this time. The trials and tribulations of university life were a minor problem to Simon; he easily managed to excel at any subject and all at once.  Simon’s problem at the university was his age. He was fairly successful in hiding his desperate loneliness from his peers, but his problem with relationships was well known by those who were following his life and sponsoring his education. These people consisted of some very high-level movers and shakers who were very protective and even caring, in their own way, for this special young man. Simon had no idea what the president of the Lunar Council had in mind for him, but to the Lunar Council, it was important that Simon develop at least one sound friendship. There was a good chance that he would need a good friend in years to come. The councilors’ need not have worried, because the issue was about to be resolved on its own. 

At 9:30 p.m. on a Tuesday night, Simon was feeling a little restless after studying non-stop for hours, and as habit dictated, he left the campus and walked down the street toward his favorite kebab shop. He was a bit surprised that several street lights were blown leaving a good portion of the street in deep shadow, but thought nothing of it. He continued on; his head down, his hood pulled up, and his hands tucked deeply into his pockets. He walked into the shadows and straight into the fists of four young men. They said nothing to Simon, just started beating him, fists and feet thudding into Simon’s unprotected body. He was getting the beating of his life and could do absolutely nothing about it. Simon was knocked to the ground in seconds. Blood flowed freely from his nose, mouth, and ears as he was kicked repeatedly in the head and ribs. He felt bones crunch under the impact. He heard loud ringing in his ears and he started to see white flashes before his eyes. He knew then, that these men were going to kill him.