I know you even if you don't know. We were together since the dawn of time. It's always been like this (quote from a song).

Caution: smoking scenes

We are in the year 2536. The world is completely changed. Earth is left behind, badly polluted, with its economy collapsed and with endless wars. Many planets and satellites are terraformed and inhabited, with a booming economy. They became new, independent states, since 2450. Humans are now spreading even beyond the Solar System. The most important thing has become human life. All new states are fighting to attract new settlers, to increase their population and boost their economies.

Many students from Earth are offered free access to universities throughout the Solar System. But, going there, means that you close all connections to your parents and everyone else on Earth. Usually, children don't want to go, but their parents force them, to have a better life on the New Worlds. This is exactly what happened to our two heroes, Julia and David. They had good marks and were offered free places at the Galileo university on Callisto, Jupiter. Forced by their parents against their own will, both children had to accept.

Life in Jupiter Federation is different from life on Earth. Low gravity affects you. The air is always wet, the sky is cloudy. The Sun barely shines. It is never hot and never cold. But the major difference for a newcomer is to break all connections to the past. It is hard, almost impossible, to send or receive something from Earth, because Earth is under embargo, caused by endless wars there. Most children suffer from depression and try to isolate themselves. They follow a hermit life: school, eating room, then back to their rooms. Each student has its own room, which increases the isolation of each one. But, behind closed doors, each one creates its own world.

What happened to Julia and David. They spent the first year getting average marks at school and avoiding to spend time with other children. At that time, they had no idea one about the existence of the other. The first time, they met in the second year. Until then, they avoided to talk with others. How they met and how they became close friends, let's ask them:

Julia's story

When I arrived here, I found myself like in a working camp for robots. Each one was following its own route, nobody cared about anyone else. I was hitting people on the way, as they walked like if they were remote controlled. It was impossible for me to make friends. There were many colleagues from Earth which were looking on how to steal something from you. Local children were looking for parties. Cloned children were all looking the same. Some guys were looking after me, trying to sleep with me. So, I said to myself: "Focus, Julia! Keep distance from all of them and follow your own road!" So, I ended-up with a simple life, looking like this: school, eating room, home. Nothing else. My world was in my room. There, I could be anything I wanted. Some guys had too much testosterone. I always avoided them.

Then came the day I found this guy. He was a guy at that time, later he changed gender, just as I changed too. That day, for unknown reasons, I did not go to the eating room. After school, I remained on a bench in the park. I was sitting there. I can remember to this day that I was thinking about Earth and the world I left behind, about my parents and my neighbors. Two girls asked me to come with them for a walk in the park. I refused.

When... David, as he was called at that time, came, I don't remember. He was sitting on another bench in front of me. I could see that he was sometimes looking at me, always hiding his eyes from mine. I also felt like I knew him. But how could that be possible? There was no way for me to know him. What got my attention were his gestures. He was holding his hands together, just like a woman. I said to myself that it is impossible for me to know him. Again,what got my attention to him, was his hair. He had a long, dark brown hair, painted, not natural. As he was hiding his eyes from me, I noticed he was playing with his hair, like a woman.

Then, I made a small noise and he looked at me. Our eyes met and he smiled. I smiled too. He tried to say something and I invited him to sit on the bench near me. Don't ask me why. I just did. It was like I found an old friend, even if I never seen him before.

Then, he offered me a cigarette. I accepted, even if at that time I didn't smoke. I've seen other students learning to smoke, how they cough and sometimes get tears in their eyes. Not for me. I smoked naturally, like if I smoked before.

Something told me that I can trust him. So, we started to talk. We talked for hours, until we could no longer speak. Our throats were not used to talk much. I remember even to this day what we were talking. It was not about school or where we are from, it was about anything else. Until then, I never accepted to talk more then a few words with anyone on Callisto.

At some point, colleagues came and seen me. I remember a girl saying:

"Oh my gosh! Julia is with a guy! How could that be possible?"

"She is smoking!" said a guy, hitting his face with his hands, like not believing this is happening.

We decided to meet tomorrow too. It was tomorrow when we found out that we both came from Earth and we both are in the second grade, but at different profiles. Much more shocked were my classmates. They asked me to smoke in front of them, so they could believe I am with someone. The world believed we were in love, but in fact, it was different. It was a strong friendship, but only a platonic relation.

David's Story

You ask me how I found Julia? First thing, I need to tell you how I was feeling at that time. When I arrived to Callisto, I felt into a big depression. Suddenly, I was alone, away from my parents and friends. It was very crowded, but I was feeling so lonely. That depression made me isolate myself. Classmates were laughing at me, because I never wanted to hangout with them. A bully even used to hit me. One day, someone dropped eggs in my hair. At that time, I discovered that I felt much more comfortable in the skin of a woman. I had good marks at school, but in the rest, everyone avoided me and I avoided to talk with anyone.

From school, I always went directly to eating room and then to my room. I avoided at all possible staying outside.

At that day, I felt the need to stop on a bench in the park. I don't know why. I always avoided the park and its jerks. Julia was just in front of me. I don't remember how she got there or if she came before or after me. She was sitting there, in front of me. At first, I did not bother to look at her. Why should I? There are many girls at the University. Seducing a girl, was something I never tried since I left Earth. I thought it would be quite impossible.

So, I avoided her, until I've seen her feet. She had sandals, low, flat sandals. Her toenails were painted with a demi-opaque light pink color, which got my attention. It is true that sometimes I used to look from distance at girls, but I never tried to enter in contact with one of them. But this time, it was like if I've seen these toes before. I was fighting with my self-defense instinct, which was shouting at me: "Leave this place! Get back to your room!" There was another force which was pushing me to stay and watch her.

As I was watching her feet, trying at all costs to avoid getting her attention, she popped a bubble of gum. I noticed before she was chewing gum and making bubbles, but this time, the noise made me look directly to her. In any other case, I would turn back and go, but this time, I didn't. Instead, she smiled and I smiled to her.

There was something familiar about her. It was like I knew her, even if it was impossible. But still, my conservation instinct wanted me to leave. How could I solve the problem? I tried to give her something. The only thing I had, was a pack of cigarettes. Nobody at school knew at that time that I smoke. Even my parents on Earth never found out about this. So, I gave her a cigarette and she accepted it. At that time, I had no idea that she was not a smoker.

This is how it all started. Then, we talked for hours. We started a conversation about sandals and gum chewing, then we talked about quite everything. I remember the next day, colleagues laughing at me and saying:

"Hey, that dork was trying to seduce a girl. Can you believe it?"

"Leave her, she is not for you. Your only girlfriend will be your right hand".

Narrator speaking

The two became close friends from that day. Even if in the eyes of the others it appeared that they were in love, in reality it was a very strong friendship and nothing more. Years passed and they remained close friends.

**********

At the University, both were at different profiles. They decided to join a psychology club in order to spend some time together. It was not a class they enjoyed, they did it only to be together more time. And at some point, their professor started talking about reincarnations.

Their professor is an aged man, with much experience, which passed the retiring age.

A student: "I went on a vacation to Saturn and when I visited its rings, I had the feeling I've been there before. Could it be that I went there in another life?"

Professor: "Could be. But you must be sure it really is a memory from another life and not something from your sub-consciousness. It happens many times that we associate something we've seen early, even in our childhood, with something we see today".

Another student: "I went to a hypnosis session and I revealed I was the reincarnation of an old king from the 1500's".

Professor: "I don't say that it is not possible, but you should be cautious. Many people during hypnosis reveal that they were important leaders, scientists, artists or great priests. This cannot be possible. Most of us were average humans".

First student: "How can that be possible? People don't lie during hypnosis!"

Professor: "I believe the explanation is another one. Some events get into a collective database, which can be accessed by everyone in a sub-consciousness state. I strongly recommend people to avoid hypnosis to see their past lives and get connected to a supercomputer, which analyses all neural activity. There, you can separate interferences and memories from this life".

Third student: "But it is very expensive".

Professor: "I know, but it is the best way to know the truth".

A fourth student: "What will happen if we meet someone in this life, who we met in another life? How would we know?"

Professor: "You will know. Be sure of this. It is like you knew the other person. Souls tend to reincarnate in bulks, so that our best friends were also our friends before. Sometimes, after they've seen each other only once, two people become close friends, while other times they are neighbors and don't talk one with each other for years".

Second student: "Like these two (pointing at Julia and David), they've seen each other and formed a couple".

Professor: "Like them. It is highly possible. And there is something else, that people don't speak often about. Between lives, souls stay in another world, where many things happen. Sometimes, before coming to our world, they set reference points, so that they will meet one with the other. And this is just what happens. Reference points are somewhere in our sub-consciousness written. We don't remember them, but we do as they tell us. For example, a man told a woman to wear a big necklace in the first day they will meet and this is just how it happened. Both set many agreements so that they will meet each other".

After the class, both Julia and David came to the professor, to ask more about this subject. He answered:

"What you describe is a sign that you both knew each other before. I strongly believe that you (pointing to David) asked her to wear sandals and make a bubble of gum the first day you will meet. And you (pointing to Julia) asked David to play with his hair and to give you a cigarette. All happened before you went to the world, in the world of souls. But I don't know for sure. Nobody knows. Even supercomputers sometimes come with a margin of errors. Well, Nick, my assistant, is working on a PHD about life between reincarnations. I will arrange a meeting with you and him, tomorrow. If you want, our supercomputer will analyze you both and you will know what happened. All for free".

They all agree. Reading your past lives with a supercomputer costs about five salaries. It takes only ten minutes, but it can reveal more information then a thousand hypnosis sessions.