Gen 1 Ch 2: Controversial Science

When Arthur awoke the next morning he was more than confused to find Kaitlin sleeping in bed next to him! Had something happened? No... he had a vague memory of Kaitlin crawling into his bed and cuddling up to him last night, but that was it. He had been half asleep, thinking it was a dream. Kaitlin must have been so drunk! Had anyone seen her come to his room last night? And even though he knew that this whole situation should have made him feel uncomfortable, he couldn't help but smile. There was something about this strange girl that just dispelled his worries.

Kaitlin's curiosity was what impressed Arthur most about her. She had an unbelievable drive to learn and excelled at everything she did, even if her seemingly unlimited energy and apparent lack of focus took most people aback.

First only in his dorm, then all around the campus Arthur kept hearing more and more rumors about Kaitlin's reckless attitude to research. People questioned her morality and sometimes even her sanity.

He never believed any of the gossipers. With every passing day, Kaitlin grew closer to Arthur's heart and he knew that people only misunderstood her incredible enthusiasm.

His confidence in her motives wavered a little when he found her in the dorm's computer room one night, furiously typing away. Was she - no, it couldn't be. She wasn't hacking into a bank's database, was she?
Kaitlin assured him that she was simply doing some extra credit work, finding and documenting issues with popular security systems. Arthur gladly accepted her explanation, even though deep down there was still a smidgen of doubt in him.

All doubt was forgotten, however, when Kaitlin followed him back upstairs to his room.
"I slept so well in your bed the other night, I can't remember ever waking up so refreshed! Can I... come in?", she smiled and tilted her head almost shyly. Arthur could never tell whether it was a profound innocence or mischievousness that he saw in her twinkling eyes.
He was flustered, but relented. This unusual girl, whom he still couldn't quite figure out, had him completely mesmerized.

From then on, Kaitlin took to sleeping in Arthur's bed every night. He supposed they were something like boyfriend and girlfriend now, even though neither one of them ever brought it up. Again, this worried Arthur. But whenever they met by chance between lectures around the campus, Kaitlin greeted him with the sweetest smile.

Kaitlin's strange stories never failed to entertain Arthur. One day she even tried to convince him that she had met an alien!
"He asked me to hang out at the grocery store, so of course I went for it! I mean, extraterrestrial life! Too bad I didn't get a DNA sample... but I just had to leave when he tried to flirt with me. I told him that I wasn't interested, but he wouldn't stop. Apparently it's not a big deal in his solar system! Fascinating! But well, I told him that this is just not how it works for us Sims!"
Bewildered as he was, he supposed that this wild story was Kaitlin's way of declaring her love for Arthur. He thought it was sweet, albeit in a weird way.

Arthur would listen happily as Kaitlin told him about her newest scientific discoveries. She had been researching gene splicing and finally managed to have an enormous breakthrough. Later Arthur heard through the grapevine about the outrage Kaitlin's discovery had caused in the faculty. Professors had called her experiments morally irresponsible, her result an 'abomination'. There had even been talk about expelling her, but her outstanding grades had saved her from that.
When Arthur asked Kaitlin about this, she seemed exasperated.
"It's science, facts! Why would ethics play any part in it? There was a question hanging in the room and I answered it!"
"The question of whether you can combine the DNA of a Sim and a plant?", Arthur inquired cautiously.
"Well, yes! They should have given me a tenure for the discovery, not threatened to expel me... No matter, I don't need their help for my research."

So it came that in addition to his already full course schedule and extra credit work, Arthur ended up assisting Kaitlin with her various side projects. Weeks and months seemed to fly by, as all of Arthur's time was completely absorbed between his studies and spending time with Kaitlin.

He even helped her grow a little garden of experimental herbs in his dorm room. Arthur just couldn't say no when Kaitlin looked at him with her infectious smile!

Of course, the rumors about Kaitlin never ceased. She did not care though - in fact, Arthur sometimes wondered if she even knew. As unfocused as she sometimes seemed, she was the most single-minded person Arthur had ever met, and nothing seemed to exist for her besides her research.

Finally, Graduation Day rolled around and Arthur was ecstatic! He and Kaitlin both graduated with the highest honors.

When Arthur saw Kaitlin's cute little celebration dance as she received her diploma, he just couldn't hold back anymore.

"Kaitlin, I love you! I don't ever want to be apart from you again. Come with me, let's find a house and move in together!"
And for once, it was Kaitlin who was speechless.