John Benton is a big man. He does not look like an alien. He is six-three. About 220. He can be described as a big man with broad shoulders. Muscular. Powerfully built. He wears white shirts with the sleeves rolled up. Red suspenders complete his look. He wore bluejeans that fit him well. He has thoughtful blue-green eyes. He seems to get the real jest of you quickly. Some will think the words gentle giant when Professor John come to mind.
Easy to see why. His life centers around books. He graduated as a librarian at Solana’s University. When grants were being offered to live on Earth as a librarian explorer, he chose it. He was given Earth’s equivalent credentials, and a suitcase of American dollars. The time was 1960. John went to the main library in New York city and applied for a job as librarian. There were not many librarians. John was given the job. He settled into his work in a huge library of books he had not yet read.
He did notice as events of the time unfolded. The rebellion. The assassinations. The sit-ins. The marches. Progress as people started to assert themselves. He had books to read. He was focused. He read them all. He thought about moving to the Library of Congress. But instead he settled into the rare book division on the third floor.
He and Matilda were old friends. They were both librarians. At the time neither knew the other was mutant BlueStone. He enjoyed his home in the sky, an apartment in a skyscraper. He enjoyed his walks along the city streets of New York. And he enjoyed his days among the books. It was a peaceful life. A good one.
First and foremost Professor John Benton was a traveler among the stars. He felt it was critical to have a homebase. It was easy to have excursions from New York. He would not be missed for a week. His favorite place was a little galaxy just beyond the Milky Way. It had three planets that were busy communities, and jumping off points for deep space travel. These colonies were unique. They were a mix of people from Earth, from Solana and a big assortment of characters from deep space. This was where they all came together. Cosmopolitan. They exchanged ideas. Bartered for staples. Repaired their space crafts. Spent time together in the many, smoky saloons. This was where Professor John met Bertrand and Ahmed, fellow travelers from Solana. They became close friends. They traveled together into deep space. They found it teeming with life. They were just coming to the conclusion that the future for the mutant BlueStone on Solana was limited. They were increasingly criticized. Ostracized. The idea of a colony on Earth started with the three. So John realized his time in New York City would be limited. One day Bertrand would find his cluttered office on the third floor and he would say that it is time to join the colony. John would pack up his books and follow Bertrand to live in the BlueStone colony in Minnesota.
It was Bertrand’s dream. He saw how the aliens from many worlds came together peacefully. He knew he could find a home for mutant BlueStone somewhere in the universe .Ahmed shared Bertrand’s dream. Surprisingly Earth would be the choice because of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Both were green and both had plenty of waterways. Besides Bertrand bought large swaths of land in each during the eighteen hundreds.
Bertrand had insisted that John spend time at the Farm on Solana. The Farm was huge. It was a training ground meant to teach self-defense, and it was a place for mutant BlueStone to learn their amazing skills. Swimming underwater with gills. Walking through walls. Telepathy. Levitation. Mind control. Flying. And much more. The chief of the Farm was named Jasmine. She was the perfection of womanhood. And an excellent teacher.
She remembers the day she met John. As she looked him over, she thought gentle giant. She took charge of his program. He was a quick learner. He was confident. He was experienced and he moved through the program with ease. As his training program reached completion, it bothered him that he might not see Jasmine again. So he did something about it. First he wowed her. He took her to see the northern lights in America. He opened a bottle of her favorite Chablis and made a toast to a continued relationship. He took her hand. she could hear the music. He led her in an airborne waltz. Graceful. Romantic. They found his checkered blanket as good a place as any. They were both delighted at their sexual compatibility. Later they dined on a dinner of fresh crabmeat rolls. She was smitten. So began the long, secret romance of Professor John Benton and Jasmine.
Professor John returned to his library a satisfied man. It would not be long before Bertrand returned to help John gather his things and find his new home in the Minnesota colony.
