Jase and the Katon

Arrival of the Space Kittens

By: Jack Coltrane, Marilyn Foxworthy

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

The Katons arrived in an interstellar transport ship three years ago. Ten thousand of them. All needing a place to integrate into society. I was about to meet one of them. I’d applied for the government program to be a companion for a Katon. They were human appearing in most ways, but had a simple manner and needed homes.

When the bus dropped me off at the Kat Café where I would meet with prospects, there were several other men who had their numbers drawn by the central database for the lottery this week, and we were all ushered inside for an orientation meeting. We were told that while the terms Kittens and Space Honeys were common, we should be careful to use the word Katon. We were shown examples of their unique style of preferred clothing and told about their emotional bonding habits. They were aliens, after all.

We would meet some candidates and spend the day with them. If there was a good match, we might be paired, and one would come home with me. I hoped my domestic mate got along with whoever was chosen for us. I’d need to explain the care and customs to her when I got home. We were getting a Kitten!