* * *
Abe's back was pulsing a dull ache that woke him up the next morning. He had slept in the same position all night and he peeled himself out of the clutches of the arm-chair. He ran the bath and poured salts and oils into it before jumping in. He saw his reflection in the bathroom mirror; a lean and taut frame that hung over a pair of legs. Perched on his shoulders was a pale and grey face which was washed out by dark grey hair and a mottled stubble of black and white.
If Abe had been in some other place, in some other time, he would have caught the eye of many a female but that was long before the stress of living so powerlessly aged him. This was not uncommon amongst the Re-gen population. He hoped that Ophelia looked as good in the flesh as she did on camera and that she would still find him attractive when they met in a week's time.