2.10 Excellent Hair

        The Green Serpent was touted as the hottest Night Club in Fina. No matter what night of the week, it was always steamy inside, there was no better place to seek out the sexiest gens and newest beats of the Atlan Empire. Unlike his friend Nolan, Josh enjoyed the Night Life, when Nolan was too busy with his personal interests he turned to the social scene for stimulation, everyone knew him, everyone thought he was cool, simply because he was cool with one of the gods. 

        From the bar, he could see the whole dance floor, and one would imagine a gen in his position would score big in the Vine Club, yet his eyes were glazed with troubled desire. The gens he wanted to select for the Farewell Celebration were the ones he was supposed to reject and it wasn't just the selection assignment, he had these difficulties all the time. Lately his malfunctioning desires had been over Karen, to his eyes Karen was the hottest gen in the Atlan Empire. He wanted to marry her more than anyone else in the world, she would make the Ultimate Breeder, the perfect compliment to his own genetic makeup. Karen had the right DNA in his mind, that was why he desired her; he was working on a thesis to prove this so-called 'malfunctioning desire' was Nature’s way of fixing things. But no one else saw it that way. Karen was irresistible; Karen was hands off.

         Jealousy only made it worse, like a tumor it ached to watch her with some other stupid merchant, he hated these feelings, they took over his whole body. He forced himself to look away. Reality was hard to take but he had to face facts. Only the gods had the right to design new bloodlines, he didn't stand a chance of breeding and marrying Karen unless he was a god himself, his only hope was to use Nolan to make that happen for him some day.

         Bound by the forty year marriage rules and mandatory contraceptive drinks, he didn't stand a chance of competing with Malodon, but he was blessed to have coveted opportunities like selecting Invites for social functions, opportunities like this made his life worth living, in spite of not being a god. He was friends with a god, and that got him as close to being a god, as he could get, for now.

         Through the steamy crowds Eden caught a glimpse of Josh's slumped figure sitting alone at the bar, nursing his drink. Knowing of his troubles, she wove through the dancing bodies towards him and took a seat, observing the full pack of Farewell Celebration invites sitting on the table in front of him. Obviously, he wasn't doing so well with the task. "Hi Josh, how are your selections coming along?"

         Eden had a magical way of  rescuing Josh from his troubled abyss, he ditched his personal woes the second she sat down beside him. "I'm just taking my time" he excused. "I know how serious Atalon is about choosing only the best gens for the Farewell Celebration." But as he spoke, he caught a glimpse of Karen, dancing in the corner of his eye. He turned to look, she happened to glance his way too, seductively, tempting him from the dance floor… Did she secretly still love him?

         Eden caught the brief interaction and took it very seriously. Josh wasn't good at hiding his deception at all, one day it would bring about his demise, she would need to file a report, it raised questions regarding his assignment. "Who gave you the assignment?"

         Josh returned his attention to the querent, as if she ought to know. "Nolan!"

         Eden rolled her eyes, she ought to have known. "Would you like me to help you select?"

         "Sure" Josh replied, relieved to have her expert opinion, it would definitely help his grade. Eden knew all of the students in Fina, she had inside intel on every one of them. Perhaps here, she would understand why Karen deserved to be selected. "I already selected one."

         "Karen."

         "How did you know?"

         "Just a hunch."

         Josh could tell she didn't approve. "Ok listen, don't just react negatively because of what happened last year, please just hear me out. I was thinking about inviting Karen because she actually is one of the best gens. Look at her hips! That's a HEART shaped ass, do you know how rare that is??? In fact..." he felt the rush of adrenaline surging as he dared voice his true intentions. "I'd like to pitch her for the Crystal Program too, have you heard about it?"

         Eden had to work hard to keep a straight face, he didn't fool her with his consideration for Malodon's project, he certainly wouldn't fool Malodon or Medena either. She let her gaze return to Karen, dancing so happily in her golden dress, Josh was definitely under-qualified for the job.

         "Nolan gave you the assignment?" 

         "Yeah, he said he would join me here, have you seen him?" Josh scanned the room for signs of support.

         "No, and Karen's a definite no, too."

         Josh admired Eden yet sometimes he questioned her qualifications. That Eden would have approved of Karen was a long shot, he knew that, but regardless of selfish desires, Karen was gorgeous and gorgeous Gen II’s were extremely rare, surely given the latest genetic breakthroughs she was one of the best selections in Fina? How could Eden not see that?

         Eden re-directed his attention to the sea of glittering beauties dancing on the floor.

         "I think Bella is a much better selection" she suggested. "Look at her hair, look how it cascades. Rule Number One: They have to have Excellent Hair."

         "Rule Number One?" Josh echoed as he spotted Bella, dancing on the floor. Bella did have beautiful hair... It did cascade over her shoulders like a golden waterfall... The curls sparkled in the lights as they bounced to the beat... Hypnotic to watch… It had an exotic hue too, Bella had a rosy blonde thing going on... He returned his focus to Karen. Suddenly he saw what he had never seen before. Karen's hair paled in comparison, it wasn't even a real shade and it certainly didn't cascade, either. "Ha!" 

        Now that he had studied her hair with educated eyes, he could see that Eden was right! He compared features again, now questioning his own personal desires, for a moment forgetting the significance of Karen's heart-shaped ass. Had he been malfunctioning? The things Eden was saying were true, he had just never seen that perspective before.

         His gaze returned to Karen, still dancing so happily on the dance floor, oblivious to these personal critiques. Now he could see the truth, it had been right in front of him the whole time he just hadn't seen it because he didn't know what to look for. Within minutes the spell was broken; Karen had a fatal flaw; she didn't have Excellent Hair.