Astro laughed at the other teenager's amazement. "Yup!" He returned the wide grin, already sensing the beginnings of a friendship with this fellow. He could tell he was a good guy.

Reaching out, Astro grasped Peter's hand and gave it a shake. At first contact it was warm like a human hand - but an engineer might be able to feel some subtle differences in the structure beneath the pliant artificial skin.

"So where are you from? Are you new to the Nexus too?" Astro wondered, letting Peter's hand go so that he could continue to rifle through the pile on the table.