Dr. Benjimin “Ben” Shepard

Ben Shepard (Ben) met Daryl Daxler (Dax) in their freshman year in college. Both introverts and intense in their love of astrophysics – they soon bonded as close friends. Ben always had a “crush” on Dax, but she worked hard to ignore it. Over time she knew he had grown to love her, but she was fearful of losing him as a friend if the relationship went past the “Great Best friends” status – and Dax kept the situation at that level.

From college students to both achieving academic credentials (Ben as a “Double Doc” in Astrophysics and Mechanical engineering – and Dax as a “Triple Doc” in Astrophysics, Electrical Engineering and Parapsychology) their careers took them on to teach at the University of Texas, Austin. They often co-taught classes and lectures just to be in each other’s company. Ben and Dax’s resumes were soon noticed by the staff at SETI (the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) and they were hired together onto the staff at the VLA (Very Large Array) facility in the New Mexico desert. Dax’s “Telepathy Not RF” presentation to the SETI Management got her a grant to do her project budget to test her theory. Her 1st request was that Ben be assigned to the project. That series of events led to Ben being involved in the creation of Dax as Earth’s Protector, the CyberKnight.