173 replies to this topic

[isabellachanning]

Sigh... seems like Elliot has lost his chance and why would he give his robots human feelings? They're robots for goodness sake! Can't imagine he thought any good would come out of that. Obviously not.. spending so much time on fixinng and dealing with Claudia, he may have just missed out on Melanie.
I can't wait to read the next chapters.... this was an extra good post! Thanks DianeHanna

[DianeHanna]

“Alicia, you remember what we talked about the other night, the servos doing too much cooking?’
Yes, I do remember, but I haven’t seen any improvement. Are we going to have to wall off the fridges and keep the keys ourselves?”

“I’m thinking the problem is worse than that,” Elliott frowned. “I really got carried away with their programming. They’re completely out of control. I mean, they do work, but there isn’t enough so they just mess around all day. And Claudia is hitting on everybody.

Alicia added, “McGreggor was over this morning complaining about the telescope, again. I wish Marcus would lay off.”'

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“Gaius hit me with a joy buzzer! Where’d he get his sense of humor? And if they don’t even try to be quiet when I’m trying to sleep, I may lose my mind.” Elliott was completely exhausted and at the end of his rope.

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Alicia didn’t want to get him more upset but she felt she should tell him. “They ruined two of our good pillows having a fight. They are just too bored.”

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“I wish I hadn’t turned them on until there was more to do next spring when the gardens start up.”

“I’ve been thinking the same thing. They take too much attention and supervision. Is there a way to turn them off for a few months? Letting their batteries run down won’t work, they just go outside and recharge themselves.”

Elliott said, “I guess I’ll try to power them down for the rest of the winter.” He didn’t realize that Gaius was in the next room making beds and could hear the whole conversation.

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=====

The three servos gathered by the mailbox near the street. No one was suspicious, they often stood out there in the sun to recharge themselves.

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They spoke in their own language, but the meaning was clear. None of the three wanted to be shut down, and Claudia wanted revenge on Elliott for her hurt feelings. The more they talked, the angrier they became.

“They just wanted us for servants!” Gaius exclaimed. “Just look at what they call us. Roman slave names.”

Claudia added, “And Elliott was just leading me on, pretending to like me when he really wants that human.”

The three vowed they were not going to be shut off.

[wordlesswriter]

LOL!!! robot mutiny!!! awesome.

[DianeHanna]

Thanks wordlesswriter! I can't wait to see what your servo gets up to.

Carter was ready to climb the walls. He checked in with his group on an almost hourly basis. A lot was riding on this operation, not the least of it being his career. Mr. X, amused that one of his agents would formulate an independent plan, was watching every step. It was making him very nervous.

Carter tried to concentrate on his work. He was assigned to monitor emails that had been trapped by the agency’s keyword sniffers.

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The job consisted of opening the trapped emails, evaluating the content, checking the senders and recipients against watch lists and passing along any suspicious ones for follow up. It was routine, boring and hard to keep focused. However, it was an important task, he couldn’t afford to gloss over anything that might be a threat.

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When he simply could not sit still any longer he got up and made coffee. He made himself comfortable for a few minutes then stretched and went back to his desk.

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He sent a quick email to Josh.

“Any sign of her yet?”

“Nothing yet,” the reply came quickly. Josh must be nervous too and hovering over his computer.

Proceeding carefully, he opened and read another dozen messages from the traps. He felt his attention wandering again. Too soon for another cup of coffee.

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He tapped out another email, this time to Officer Mahoney at the RBPD.

“Any movement from our girl?”

“Nope, still watching her on Twikkii, she hasn’t budged.”

Carter started to panic. What if she didn’t take the bait? He’d sunk everything into this plan.

=====

Moon Child was very busy looking not busy.

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She’d had watchers ever since she arrived on Twikkii Island, and there was no sign that they were letting up. She never tried to hide from them, she was untouchable on the island. If she was going to give them the slip they would need to be complacent.

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She made herself very conspicuous for the next couple of days. She was spotted on the boardwalk and on the beaches.

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She was concentrating on a way to get her hands on that $250,000 without too much personal risk. She had no real compunction about violence, just not a lot of experience with weapons. She was better off using guile and subterfuge. Still, she couldn’t see any way to avoid a trip back to Riverblossom Hills. She’d have to make sure her disguise was perfect. She was confident she could slip away from the surveillance when she needed to.

She took out her phone.

“Hi, it’s Mary Catherine. Yes, it has been awhile. Are you still in the business? I need another set of papers. Same terms as before? No, not the whole works this time, just a passport and driver’s license. I won’t need a birth certificate or background cover.”

“I like the name Maria Celeste Valero. I’ll send you the photos by Fed Ex today. If you can turn it around in three days, I’ll pay double.”

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“Thanks, nice doing business with you!”

[DianeHanna]

“Marcus, come here a second.” Elliott called the servo over to him. “It’s time for a little tune-up.” Elliott got out his screwdriver and knelt down behind the robot.

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At first Marcus appeared to cooperate but before Elliott could complete the job he realized what was happening. “I don’t think so!“ Marcus shouted and turned to face Elliott.

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His eye began to glow and a bolt of electricity jagged though the air. Elliott was lifted off his feet by the force of the change, and fell to the ground, terribly burned. For the third time since they moved in Alicia had to call an ambulance. They arrived quickly this time. They were getting quite familiar with the address.

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The servos went back to their games, acting like nothing much happened.

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Alicia and Demetra called for a taxi and escaped the lot to head for the hospital. They held hands in the taxi, and spoke very little. Each knew what the other was thinking.

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Sharon Meyers met them in the reception area. “Elliott is alive, she said. ”I’ll let Dr. Rogers tell you the rest.” They hugged each other in relief and sat down to wait for the doctor. Hours passed.

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Dr. Rogers finally appeared in the waiting area. “Ladies, Elliott is stable. It was a very close call, and he will need to stay here for a few weeks. They restarted his heart once in the ambulance, and again here in emergency. I think he is going no need a plastic surgeon before it is all said and done.”

“Oh no,” thought Alicia. She turned to Demetra and asked. “What is today’s date?”

“It’s Saturday. December 15^th.”

“Is there any chance we can bring Elliott home by Thursday?” she asked.

“No chance at all,” replied Dr. Rogers. “You’re not set up to deal with burn treatment. Managing the level of pain he will have is impossible outside of a hospital.”

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Alicia was devastated. Another member would be missing from the protection of the compound.

“Dr. Rogers, when Brady was hit by lightning, he was home in only a few days.”

Dr. Rogers explained, “Lightning rarely causes substantial burns. What burns most victims in a lightning strike are objects like jewelry or perspiration that heat up and burn where they touch the skin. Most often lightning strikes other objects, like trees or the ground, that then transmit the energy to the victim. Brady was very lucky. The worst effects of lightning are neurological. He might have suffered problems of that sort but they were not obvious at the time. They could have led to some of the personality changes you noticed later.”

“In high voltage injuries like Elliott’s, massive internal organ damage occurs.”

“Can we see him?” Alicia asked.

“Just for a minute, we have him sedated now.”

They stepped into his room where Sharon was looking after him.

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“He looks so awful!” They were both shocked to see how bad he looked.

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They’d been at the hospital so long they were starving, so they stopped by the cafeteria for a sandwich. As they ate, they spoke about the Servos. “I’m turning them off if it’s the last thing I do.”

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They spoke again quietly when they got back home.

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“Maybe we can trick them. Get them apart and one of us could distract them while the other shuts them off.” Demetra suggested.

“I’m not sure what you have in mind, but I’m certainly not going to sleep with any machines.”

“Ewww,” said Demetra. “Me either!”

[isabellachanning]

Interesting names for Moon Child.. I can't wait to see what her next move is going to be.

Wow... poor Elliot...

[DianeHanna]

Carter spent a sleepless night. There had been no contact from Moon Child and he spent the night alternating between pacing the floor and flipping over in bed like a pancake. He finally gave up and walked down to the agency through the cold and darkness. He ran a quick email check and sat in the foyer, thinking about the coming operation. He finally slept a few minutes on the sofa.

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Around first light he woke again.

“What is she up to?” Carter couldn’t believe she would give a pass to such a juicy target.
He got into the agency van, stopped by the PD to pick up the arresting officers, and drove to the park where Josh and Mr. X were setting up.

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It wasn’t considered a dangerous mission so Mr. X was indulging himself. He wore a long black coat and a hat and was sitting at the table with a briefcase beside him. It had been a long time since he’d been undercover and he was having a great deal of fun.

Carter saw no alternative but to set the plan in motion. Moon Child knew about the date, time and place. He got out of the van to have a better look. He noticed a dark haired woman on the observation platform. It didn’t look like Moon Child. He carefully scanned the park, paying extra attention to large bushes. If she was going to make a move, it would have to be now. He had no idea why she had not inserted herself into the operation already.

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He signaled to Josh.

Josh strode into the park with a briefcase in his hand. He too had costumed, he was wearing a black leather trenchcoat. Carter began to worry that these guys weren’t taking his operation seriously. Here they were, professional spies, acting like TV characters.

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“I’m guessing you’re not Mr. Cai.” Josh approached the man at the table who was obviously not Chinese. He seated himself adjacent to him.

“Of course not. Mr. Cai is a busy man and it is a long way from China for such a small matter.”

They exchanged cases and each spent a minute inspecting the contents.

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Mr. X stood up and shook Josh’s hand. He then left the park with Josh’s briefcase, strolling casually to the south.

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Josh wondered what he should do next. He’d just sit here until Carter called him off, and hope it wouldn’t get any colder. At least it hadn’t snowed in a while.

====

“I’ll take that case!” She came up behind him and he turned to look at her She had changed her appearance. Again she would have been hard to recognize even to those who knew her well. No wonder the watcher missed her slipping off the island.

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“What makes you think I’d give it to you?” he asked.

“Because I have these. They’re tapes of your call to China and to your little patsy at 'House of Simolo.' Take a look at this, too.” She placed her cell phone on the table between them. “This is you making the exchange. It's a little fuzzy, since I shot it through the telescope, but you can see everything that happened here.”

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Josh made a grab for the tapes. “You can have them,” she said. “Of course, if I don’t make it out of the country my representative will send them to the police and to Roberto Simolo. You and your girlfriend are looking at a lot of jail time. I hear Simolo takes this stuff very seriously.”

Josh shrugged and handed over the case. He thought, “She’s pretty good. That would have worked if I’d really done anything illegal.”

He nodded to the parked van and officers piled out.

“Moon Child, you’re under arrest for the crime of embezzlement.” Patrick Mahoney had waited a long time to say those words. Carter couldn’t resist letting Moon Child see him as she was escorted to the van. It was an immensely satisfying moment.

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[DianeHanna]

The servos were going on about their business, cleaning, cooking, bedmaking, relieved that the threat of Elliott was removed. Still, Alicia and Demetra were being watched. The concept of privacy had vanished from the compound. Whenever Demetra and Alicia tried to talk together, a servo suddenly appeared by their sides.

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Alicia had surreptitiously removed a couple of Elliott’s notebooks from the workshop, they were secreted under her mattress. To minimize the risk, she had taken to making her own bed the minute she got up in the morning. As far as she could tell, the theft was unnoticed. It was rare that all the servos recharged at the same time, but she watched them closely. Whe she was not likely to be missed, she locked her door and began with the notebooks.

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Thankfully, Elliott was a meticulous note taker. Every step of the construction and programming was detailed on the pages, including tests that he had run and results returned. No wonder he had been confident that the servos would work.

There only seemed one aspect of the build that had given him problems. Something in the programming accessed the personality of the designer, which in Elliott’s case was based on an insatiable quest for knowledge. He had spent years building up his vast array of skills. He was creative, mechanically proficient, logical, physically fit. He had even spent time developing the personal arts. He was charming, socially adept and had even caught up with Carter in cooking skills. His brain was made for learning, and he had developed it to the fullest while living with the Freeloves. Alicia realized that it was inevitable that he would be confident, even overconfident in his ability to bring the robot project to a successful conclusion.

What he apparently did not take into account was that all his accumulated knowledge would be channeled directly to each servo. Their circuits were packed with facts and they knew everything Elliott knew. But the knowledge had not developed in a normal manner. They were suddenly given a great deal of data, but had not developed context. The servos had been given Elliott’s thirst for learning, but no goals. They needed a research facility or library, not a remote lot in the middle of nowhere.

Alicia realized that this was likely the cause of a lot of the childlike behavior they were displaying. Their curiosity was being replaced by a desire for entertainment. The endless pranks and mischief were an effort to put their knowledge into context with the human world. They simply had not sorted out appropriate from inappropriate behavior. Alicia assumed that with enough life experience this would sort itself out. She decided that she would not damage or destroy the Servos, merely put them into stasis until they could be looked at again. That meant waiting for Elliott’s recovery, as neither Alicia nor Demetra were family oriented enough to take on the task of raising giant electronic toddlers. Especially if their tantrums could prove lethal.

The trick was going to be turning them off without causing any more havoc, and storing them safely for the future. As Elliott found out so tragically, even servos have a strong sense of self preservation.

She and Demetra were going to have to work this out together. It was obvious that approaching them directly could have dire consequences, they needed to approach carefully.
As soon as Alicia saw two of the servos standing in the sun recharging she called Demetra over and they launched their shutdown plan.

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Demetra began entertaining Gaius in the kitchen with a dirty joke. He was listening intently, jokes were his favorite. Alicia crept up behind and deactivated him with a quick turn of the screwdriver. One down!

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“Alicia, we can’t just leave him here for the others to see. How are we going to get him to the shed? He’s really heavy.”

They lifted him into the wheelbarrow, then realized that they couldn’t fold him up. The load was top heavy. Finally they positioned him crossways on the wheelbarrow. It was awkward and slow going. But they were able to move him that way.

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When Claudia finished charging, Alicia invited her for a game of darts. As Claudia stood watching Alicia take her turn, Demetra was able to do the shutoff. Two Down! This time the wheelbarrow ride went easier.

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“We’re almost there!” said Demetra. “I’ve got an idea for Marcus. They say music soothes the savage beast.”

Demetra immediately ran to the sitting room and began playing the piano. Marcus, having nothing much to do, heard the music and went in to listen. This gave Alicia and her handy screwdriver their opportunity. Three down!”

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As they unloaded Marcus, making sure all three were secured in the shed and safe from the weather, Alicia spoke to them. “Don’t feel bad guys, just think of it as a product recall.”

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[wordlesswriter]

clever ways of turning them off. great team work Demetra and Alicia!!

[DianeHanna]

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
~Robert Frost

Alicia woke on the morning of December 20 with the words of the poet running through her mind. She debated even getting out of bed, but then decided she didn’t want to sleep away what might be her last day. She began a circuitous walk around the compound, as if needing a reminder of all that had happened.

She built a snowman for Brady. “There, someone to keep you company for a while.”

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“I wonder which it will be – fire or ice?”

Fire was simple to imagine. The cosmos was loaded with things that could burst through Earth’s atmosphere and light the sky. A meteor strike, even a relatively small one, would burn the planet to a cinder.

Ice? That would take longer. If a solar ejection was large enough, the power and communications networks would fall like dominos. Alicia was hoping for ice, she supposed. Her preparations had been made with that kind of catastrophe in mind.

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She walked out to the shed, content to find the robots were sleeping peacefully, so she continued around the lot. She paused to look at the telescope.

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How many nights had she watched and questioned, and had received no whisper of a clue?

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She marked her path with a little snow angel. Completing her circle of the property she paused at the mailbox to drop off a payment. She wondered if this would be the last time, or even if the payment would be collected.

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A limo pulled onto the lot and Faun and Uncle Martin got out.

“Faun!” Alicia sprinted over to greet her. “Come inside for some coffee you two.”

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Alicia collected their coats, stirred up the fire and turned to Faun. “I never got a chance to tell you in person how sorry I am I distrusted you. I’m glad you’re giving me the chance now. Please forgive me!”

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Faun faced her.

“It’s okay Alicia. I’m not mad anymore. When I heard about Brady and then Elliott, it just wasn’t important anymore. It seems like such a small thing in comparison. I needed to see you. I heard Demetra’s having a baby. How is she doing?

They chatted together for a few minutes and Alicia could tell things were right with them once again.

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“We have a lot of empty bedrooms, would you and Martin stay the night? If nothing happens tomorrow, you’ll have a good laugh at my expense and drive back to the city.”

“I’ll ask Martin. It somehow seems cowardly to abandon the others in our building. By the way, Alicia, Martin asked me to marry him.”

Alicia’s mouth fell open. She caught her breath. “What did you tell him?”

“I said I’m thinking about it.”

“And are you?”

“Your uncle is a lovely man. With everything that’s happened in the last year, I’m finding a new perspective. I think I could be a happy wife.”

Alicia hoped Faun would have the time to find out.

She glanced out the window and noticed that Spirit had arrived. She called to Demetra, “Your mother is here, and she has a guy with her.”

“Come on it, it’s toasty inside.”

Demetra rubbed her eyes and came out of her bedroom. This was the first day she wore maternity clothes. Spirit insisted on a grandmother’s prerogative to greet the baby with a pat.

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“I brought you my famous blueberry pie, just like last winter. Let’s go to the kitchen and cut it up.”

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“Demetra, this is Jason.” Spirit made a rather formal introduction, and Demetra looked him over with curiosity. “We’ve been seeing each other for a while now. I wanted you two to meet, just in case tomorrow is the end of time.”

The three of them and Martin sat at the table. The pie was so delicious, they ate like refugees. Demetra was checking Jason our microscopically. She was happy for her mother and cautious at the same time. Jason seemed a pleasant man but Spirit was special. She deserved kindness above all.

“I met Jason at my restaurant, but it turns out he really works with Carter.”

“Well if Carter approves, so do I!” Demetra announced.

“I’m not so sure about that,” Jason interjected. “We’re more rivals than friends. Carter is a lot more competitive than you’d guess.”

[DianeHanna]

“Speaking of Carter, look who’s here….”

Carter pulled up and parked in the street.

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“Draw up a sack, Carter,” Alicia invited, “Just like the old days.” They all knew it was not just like the old days.

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“I dropped by the hospital this morning.” Carter said. “They let me see him for a few minutes. He is in and out of sleep, but says he’s fairly comfortable. They had to shave his head. That will be a blow when they let him see himself.”

Alicia giggled. “He is very proud of his curls. They’ll grow back.”

“I really came by to give you some good news. I’m glad you’re here, Faun, it saves me a trip. It hasn’t made the paper yet: we arrested Moon Child yesterday.” The group exploded with cheers.

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“She’s now resting uncomfortably in the RVPD jail.”

Faun laughed. “If the world does end tomorrow, I am at peace. Although I’d love to get a look at her in yellow.”

“She’s a chameleon, you know.” Carter smiled. “You might not recognize her.”

The sun was setting when Carter stood to offer a toast. “To the Freeloves, wherever tomorrow finds us!”

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The others left the property the same way they had arrived. Martin and Faun in luxury, Carter in his spy mobile and Spirit and Jason hand in hand through the moonlit streets of Riverblossom Hills.
The night had turned frigid. Demetra said her goodnights and closed the door to her bedroom.

Soon Alicia heard her friend sobbing softly, like so many nights before. She banked up the fire for the night and sat staring at the embers.

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========

That concludes the story. I can't thank you enough for reading and commenting. Let's hope the Maya are wrong and we're all back to simming tomorrow as usual.

[isabellachanning]

Awww.... I'm sad this is the end.... I really enjoyed reading your Mayan story. I really hope you decide to continue with a next phase of everyone's life, that is... if we're still all here tomorrow...
Thanks for sharing this journey DianeHanna....

[BenjaminB]

Well they clearly weren't because we are still here. Shocker (not)

[DianeHanna]

Nope BenjaminB, not a surprise. We've heard this a bunch of times before. Seemed like a good place to stop the story though. Thanks for reading.