T.O.A.D. 5: The Reach

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    Cover Artwork is copyrighted by the author, whofor some odd reason seems to feel the undying need

    to create his own illustrations and designs.

    2010. All rights reserved.

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    T.O.A.D.Volume 5

    The Reach

    By Keegan Hennis

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    I love my family.

    My sweet wife supports me,

    My smart son and daughter inspire me,

    On to excellence.

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    This book is part of a series, written in

    chronological order. Pick them up out of order andyou may become confused or frustrated by the

    story.

    T.O.A.D.

    The Fall

    The RiseThe Run

    The Push

    The ReachThe Grasp

    The Pull

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    There are many other series and single

    books by Keegan Hennis.

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    1Lenny woke before his alarm would have

    sounded. Turning over in his bed, he considered

    falling back asleep, or just getting up a little earlierthan normal. He considered this with his eyes

    closed, knowing that in not long, hed fall asleepagain and be jarred awake by the annoying chirpfrom his nightstand.

    After what seemed like only a few seconds,

    he decided to get up and start his day a little early.When he looked at his clock again, he saw that

    mysteriously twenty minutes had passed him by

    during his prolonged blink. He still had another

    half hour before his scheduled alarm, so it didntseem that much of a stretch to get up for the day.

    In his shower, he did nothing out of the

    ordinary, washing his short hair, scrubbing and thenshaving his face smooth. He preferred to shave in

    the shower, whereas he knew that his friend Josh

    preferred to use his electric razor.

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    Once the water shut off, and he stood drying

    himself, he considered what he would do that day.And a strange thought occurred to him. He knew

    that he had left something unfinished. He tried and

    tried to remember what he hadnt finished, but the

    recall came slower in the early mornings. He knewit would come to him if he simply let it alone.

    His normal jeans and button-up outfit cametogether easily, with blue jeans and a white shirt.

    He put his various things in his pockets, a pen in his

    shirt, his keys and wallet in his left pocket, his smallcase of USB trinkets in his left. And to finish him

    out, he picked his smartphone from its charger and

    slid it into his shirt pocket next to his pen.

    Just before he put his shoes on, heremembered the project he and his team had left

    undone. How had he forgotten to continue it afterthey had moved to their island? It had been such abig part of their lives before the move, even holding

    a professional tournament to get the movement data

    from those that practiced the arts. Lenny decided topick up work again on Bruce, their half-built

    security android.

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    2When his team filled the cafeteria, as much

    as seven people could fill a hall large enough to

    accommodate a thousand souls, he began. Team,Id like to pick up where we left off with Bruce.

    Are there any objections?Josh slightly squinted his eyes, as heremembered the project titled by that name. Red

    smiled noticeably at the mention of that project.

    But the rest seemed to be confused. Lennyremembered that not all of them had actually been a

    part of the beginnings of the Bruce project.

    Lenny spoke again, I can tell by your faces

    that some of you dont know about Bruce, but thatsok. You will. Were going to start this morning by

    reacquainting ourselves with the project, so that

    those that have forgotten can remember, and thosethat never met him will be introduced fully.

    I was hoping wed get back to this one,

    said Red excitedly.

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    OH, Bruce! said Josh, obviously only then

    recalling what Lenny was talking about.Lenny continued, while hitting the button on

    a small remote. The lights dimmed enough to allow

    the people to see slides projected on a screen, but

    not to the point that they could no longer see theirbreakfast plates. Years ago, before we moved our

    operations from Alabama, we considered thepossibility of prototyping an advanced security

    drone for purposes of protection against physical

    assaults from one or more attackers. It was a veryambitious build, which combined several cutting-

    edge technologies into one shell. We named him

    Bruce, a name which we had planned to change, but

    which stuck with him.An image shown on the wall next to Lenny

    as he continued, We had designed a framework forhuman-like range of motion, as well as allowing itto have inhuman reflexes and abilities, should the

    need arise. Our first issue when designing his

    skeleton was faced when we considered how topower such a system and still keep it small enough

    and light enough to be effective. Motors and

    hydraulics were heavy and required other

    equipment to be useful, such as pumps and batteriesand fluid reservoirs.

    A slide came up with a few conceptual

    layouts of mechanisms and their variousrequirements. Lenny continued, A spark of

    creativity from our resident prankster reminded us

    of the ability set and minimal power requirements

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    of one of our proprietary secrets. From then on, we

    planned to utilize small Hatching Drive modules inhis primary limbs, as well as his torso, to give him

    the strength and speed to defend against any threat

    in a competent fashion.

    Another slide on the wall gave a conceptualrendering of what they had planned. Lenny

    continued, But even with that hardware allowingus to virtually build a super robot, the issue we

    faced was in the software. Shure we could build a

    mechanized gnome with the strength of a fivehundred ton hydraulic press, but if it didnt know

    what to do it was little more than a hundred pounds

    of dead weight. Then came Reds idea of giving it

    sight and programming it to see in 3D andrecognize people and its surroundings, just as a

    human bodyguard would.Red spoke up, I dont remember that beingmy idea.

    Josh quieted her, Shhh, just take credit

    where its given.After the chuckling died down again, Lenny

    continued, We sponsored and organized a

    competition and invited fighters from all fields and

    levels to contend, gaining as we did the right toobserve their matches and practices for our

    research. The information we got from the matches

    was far more than we had dreamed of, much morethan we needed, and will in the end give us the best

    chance to make a successful end product.

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    One voice spoke up, I remember that. My

    brother paid for the cable package and I lost moneybetting on one of the fights. That was you guys?

    Josh answered, Actually, we put up most of

    the money and had the idea, but an event planning

    agency handled most of the logistics of it.Lenny continued, We have the freedom and

    facility to continue our work. But I want to makeone thing clear. This project will be for our use

    only. No part of it will leave our lab, nor will any

    word of it ever get back to our primary client. Am Iunderstood?

    A few spoken agreements came in the room.

    The last thing we need on our conscience is to

    build a mindless soldier that will follow kill ordersupon whomever the buyer wishes to sic him. We

    are stepping into uncharted waters here, and wemust act now to be too careful. Before we takesteps that cant be untaken, we need to be sure that

    ALL our bases are covered. Am I understood? We

    will treat this with the same caution that we woulduse were we machining a nuclear device.

    A little mumbling and Lenny continued,

    Weve all seen the movies about rogue androids,

    and this project wont turn out that way because wewont let it. We start now to make sure it never gets

    out of hand. Any questions, concerns, comments?

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    3The team eagerly unboxed the parts and

    equipment that dealt with project Bruce. All items

    were placed out on the large benches in theassembly lab. Here and there, someone picked up a

    bit of this or that and turned it over in their handsbefore again placing it on the table. When it was allout and splayed for their collective viewing, Lenny

    addressed the team.

    Ok, folks, we have a lot of work ahead ofus, so lets get into it. Well be dividing labor into

    several groups, which will focus on different facets

    of the project. Well need a group to work on

    continuing physical assembly. That will be Josh aslead and who do you want to work with?

    Josh looked at his coworkers, as if choosing

    teams for a sandlot baseball game. He spoke after afew seconds, Ill take Doc.

    Dwight Webster, PhD, had been recruited

    from Ohio for his skills in mechanical engineering,

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    and he was also one of the youngest doctors any of

    them had ever met, in his twenties still. He andJosh were good friends, and Lenny felt their

    cooperation wouldnt harm their goals.

    Doc, do you have a problem with that?

    asked Lenny.Dr. Webster shook his head and walked over

    to stand near Josh. Lenny continued, The nextgroup will be systems integration and will basically

    make sure everything works together on Bruce.

    This team will be headed up by Kyle. Mr. Thorne,who would you like to work with on this?

    Kyle Thorne, alum of Penn State and all

    around attractive engineer according to most

    women one could speak with, had extensive skillwith designing and building electronics from start to

    finish. He drew up his own PCBs and had accountswith many circuit parts suppliers. He often said thatresistors were his best friends, though he also

    seemed oblivious to the fact that many a woman

    would trade places with those bits of ceramic in aheartbeat.

    Kyle looked around the group and then

    spoke up, Id like to work with Red on systems

    integration.Red felt an uncontrollable skip in her

    breathing, but showed no such thing in front of the

    others. She stepped over to a place near Kyle, butmade sure she wasnt standing too close to him.

    She didnt want others to think she was sweet on

    him, even though she was. And one couldnt blame

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    her, really. Though Kyles technical strengths were

    in prototyping, he also had physical strengths. Heappeared to be able to lift any girl on the island with

    one arm.

    Red made sure she wasnt blushing by

    checking her reflection on her phone, pretending tocheck the time. But she still felt the eyes of

    everyone on her.Lenny continued, And the third group will

    work on the intelligence of the project. The mind of

    Bruce, if you will. The remaining team membersStu and Pete, do you have any issues working with

    me on this area?

    Both Stu and Pete shook their heads in the

    negative. The groups went to their separate areas,beginning to start their respective processes. Pete,

    whose real name was Zachery Stuart, had a strongbackground in programming relating to math andunderstanding. He worked on a few basic AI

    models in his post-graduate work before he had

    been recruited from Colorado. He turned down alucrative position with the R&D division of a large

    company in Asia to go to Lennys island. And

    although the nickname Pete had been given him

    after he had arrived on their tropical facility,nobody really knew how he had earned it. It just

    showed up one day.

    But Stu, now she was a different floweraltogether. Though strikingly attractive given the

    proper environment, she chose to augment her

    appearance the majority of the time with

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    uncomplimentary glasses and clothing. There was

    even a rumor a while back that she used darkpowder makeup on her upper lip to simulate the

    growth of a faint mustache. All of this so that she

    would be taken seriously in her chosen field of skill.

    Her abilities were beyond question extremely welldeveloped in the way of programming, with large

    emphasis on machine code and how the programsinterfaced with and used the inputs from the sensors

    and other hardware.

    As a result of her efforts to remain morehomely, as she called it, seldom did anyone notice

    just how pretty she was. Anyone that is but Lenny,

    who had secretly cultivated a crush on her for over a

    year. He recognized her tactics and choices andtheir purposes, he picked up on her unspoken cues

    that she didnt want to be treated as just anotherpretty face. And so Lenny felt conflicted on if andhow he should approach her. And whenever he felt

    conflicted on an issue, he had to figure it out before

    he moved on with any actions. He hadnt moved onwith any actions toward telling her of his feelings

    toward her, because he hadnt figured out how to do

    it. He acted professionally around her, secretly

    hoping that she would make the first move,whatever it would be.

    Stus real name was Alicia Stuart. And

    there was no relation between her and ZacheryStuart, who went by Pete. She had earned a

    Bachelors of Science from MIT, had done some

    work on some well-known projects for other

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    companies and groups. But despite her substantial

    honorificabilitudinitatibus, she never mentionedthese projects in general conversation.

    Lenny stepped to the station he had prepared

    for his group. He pulled up all the information

    available on their original efforts, including the lay-spoken notes the original three had scrawled to get

    their idea down and figured out. He spoke, Ourgoal was to create a system that could differentiate

    between benign and threatening persons in a close

    space. The primary end would be a mostlyhumanoid machine that would act as a protector for

    those not able to defend themselves, taking into

    account surroundings and calculating best actions

    for disabling opponents with the least amount ofeffort expended as well as the least amount of harm

    to the assailants.A noble idea, remarked Stu.Why did this come to you? asked Pete. I

    mean, this was a pretty far jump from previous

    work of the time. What brought it on?Lenny paused and then said, Standby. I

    need to ask Red something.

    The confused looks on the faces of his team

    were unseen by him as he had turned to walktoward Reds group. He gently pulled her aside and

    asked softly, Theyre questioning where this idea

    came from. Is it ok for me to relate your story? Orwould you prefer I not?

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    Red thought for a second and then answered,

    No, its fine. I can explain it to them. Gather themall up, please.

    Lenny spoke up, Team, we need to hear

    one more thing before we get cracking. Can we all

    come over here please?In a minute the seven had again gathered

    around a bench. Lenny spoke, Someone askedwhere this idea came from. And Red is going to

    explain it to us, he paused to stare her in the face,

    however she sees fit.Red cleared her throat and began, Years

    ago, my momma and I were living in Alabama. We

    had just moved into a house on our own. One night,

    some men broke into our house with shall we say illintent. They were known around the region, and

    not for robbing people. Momma and me werepretty much on our own, except for this big pansyof a dog that Lenny had gave us as a house-

    warming gift. Now let me first say that Duke was a

    good dog, and would rather sleep than run about theplace. He seemed real mellow. But when those

    guys broke in, it was like a switch had flipped in

    him. Quicker than we could see, he turned from a

    hundred and fifty pound baby into a hundred andfifty pound beast.

    The faces listening to Reds story looked on

    in awe as she continued, One guy got tore up realbad and had to spend weeks in a jail clinic, the other

    got away but also carried with him scars from it.

    There was a lot of blood in the house afterward, but

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    none of it was Dukes. Right afterward, he was a big

    baby again, the deputies struggled to carry him outof the house to be held in the kennel for the trial.

    Of course the guys got years in prison when the

    other was caught, and Duke was given back to us.

    But we had had an experience no person couldforget. It was afterward that Lenny had the idea to

    build this robot, to protect people without their ownDuke.

    Stu asked, What happened to Duke?

    Red answered, Hes at our house, enjoyinghis retirement. Lazy as ever, except when the Navy

    came that one time. It was all momma could do to

    keep them soldiers from shooting him.

    Lenny asked, Does that help answer anyquestions you may have about our goals for Bruce?

    The group nodded and went back to theirareas.

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    4Work went smoothly along as each group

    concentrated on their task. Now and then someone

    spoke up over the dull hum of technical labor to aska member of another team a question. This would

    be paramount, the complete meshing of all thesystems into one coherent machine.As Stu and Pete poured over Lenny's notes,

    Stu spoke up, "I'm not sure you can really do all this

    with such a simple brain as you've planned to use."Lenny replied, "Well, since we were

    younger back then, and still filled with the belief

    that all doors can be opened through the proper

    application of technology, I can understand yourstatement. We were talking about building a system

    with the smarts to judge a possible threat to the

    person being protected, and act in a safe manner torepel it with minimal violence."

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    Pete added, "But the decision making skills

    alone would require processing power far beyondthe speed of the CPU in the net-top you chose."

    Humbly, Lenny asked, "In your opinion,

    how much processing power would he need?"

    Pete thought a second as Stu scrunched herface. Stu answered, "I think, based on what we

    know already, he'd need at least a minimal Beowulfcluster thumping a hundred teraflops. I'm

    estimating a little high, but not much. Imagine your

    tech-gnome is faced with two assailants in closequarters. He has to fully recognize the appearance

    of his immediate surroundings, taking into account

    perspective in three dimensions at all times. He

    also has to be aware of which objects around himare stationary and which ones are mobile, such as a

    brick wall verses a trashcan respectively. He alsohas to interpret changes to his environment throughsight and sound at the rate of at least a hundred

    samples per second, to have reflexes on par with

    your goals."Lenny quietly listened as Stu laid it all out

    for him. She continued, "He'll need to plan his

    movements in advance, based on the movements of

    his opponent, and be able to adjust that plan asneeded for every move the bad guy makes. He'll

    need to calculate probable next moves by his

    opponent based on experience with him and othersbefore him, which means a learning computer, not

    easy to design. He'll need to adjust his defenses for

    various weapons and tactics including martial arts

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    and plain dirty street fighting. He'll need to

    compensate for weather and other adverseconditions, also at an extremely fast rate."

    Pete interjected, "He'll also need to be

    constantly aware of the position and orientation of

    the person or person he's protecting. And to top itoff, he'll have to calculate the exact amount of force

    required to repel or incapacitate his target with aslittle energy expended as possible, as well as the

    minimum amount of harm to the bad guy as is

    absolutely necessary, and not go over that limit."Stu picked it up again, "And he'll need to

    keep all these factors in his mind at all times,

    adjusting his plans and goals as needed several

    times per second at the bare minimum. Thiscomputer is going to be by far the most ambitious

    build any of us has ever attempted, and it won't befinished anytime soon."Pete nodded agreement as Lenny stewed on

    the numbers they had fed him. It would not be

    impossible, but the energy requirements andthermal controls necessary to keep such a system

    stable would be a substantial factor in the body-size

    of their intended offspring. Based on commonly

    available parts, one could be built for under fiftythousand dollars, but it would be as large as a 33-

    gallon garbage can. And to boot, the orders of such

    parts would raise eyebrows. And as much as theyliked the distant relationship that they enjoyed with

    the government, they also had to make sure that

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    their baby wouldn't be repurposed before any

    morals could be given it, if such were possible.Lenny slowly nodded his head and then

    spoke up, "Ok, folks, we need to have another

    huddle. Bring it in."

    The three groups returned to a positionwhere they could all hear their boss. When they

    were all present, Lenny mused, "We've just beengoing over some numbers. And tentatively,

    building our little man is going to be a bit tougher

    than we had originally hoped. And when I say a bit,I mean a lot."

    Kyle asked, "Where's the problem?"

    Pete answered, "In his head. Or wherever

    his brain goes, anyway."Lenny continued, "We're going to need to

    build a compact supercomputer to do the math inhis mind. And we're going to have to do it withoutraising anyone's concerns. Which means we're

    going to have to get creative."

    Josh smiled and spoke up, "Yes! I love itwhen we get creative!"

    The group chuckled and then calmed.

    Lenny continued, "The best way that I've heard of

    doing this is to forge together a handful of graphicsprocessing units, or GPUs, from high-end boards.

    But it'll also have to have lots of fast RAM. Now, I

    think I can call up my contact in the Idahosemiconductor company and call in a favor."

    "Does that favor entail giving him a lot of

    money?" asked Red.

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    Again the chuckling before Lenny answered,

    "Actually, I think I had another form of payment inmind. Like a tour of historical sites, long out of

    reach of earth-bound man."

    Josh smiled and nodded his head knowingly,

    while Red just rolled her eyes and sighed. She feltcontinually surprised at how easy it seemed that

    they could trade their star tours for just aboutanything and everything they needed in the several

    years since they had first visited the Apollo 11

    landing site. In the end, these people walked awaywith nothing but a fun experience and yet they were

    willing to practically sell their souls for it. But it

    had worked up until that time, so she guessed they

    could give it another shot.They all listened as Lenny continued, "We'll

    also needed to bring in an outside consultant on this,an expert on cluster computing assembly, someonewho has experience in the area, not just book-

    learning."

    Doc piped in, "I have just the person inmind. And I think we can plan on her doing it at a

    fair and reasonable price."

    "Not her again," whined Pete mockingly.

    "The last time she worked with us I had to get atetanus shot."

    "And did it teach you not to reach across

    someone's work area?" asked Red."It taught me not to get bit," said Pete under

    his breath as others chuckled.

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    Lenny spoke up as the group quieted down,

    "So, we're going to have to move our operation toher place for this phase, but just this phase." Lenny

    shuddered as he said, "Pack your bags, people,

    we're gonna visit Blade."

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    5The cook spoke up over the sound of dishes

    softly clacking and metal spatulas tinging against

    the slab of a grill surface, "Judy, order up."A youngish looking waitress appeared at the

    window between the kitchen and serving area. Shepicked up plates and rested them on arms and wristsuntil one couldnt possibly see another level stable

    surface on her body. Then she walked gracefully

    out to the dining room and approached table numbersix. The soft ticking of the clock above the counter

    couldnt be heard over the lull of conversation in

    the booths and at the tables around the diner.

    As she placed the plates in front of theirwaiting owners, she spoke, "Ok, thats two eggs,

    scrambled with cheese, hash browns and sausage

    for Henry; biscuits and gravy, hold the gravy withfruit for Hubert; half-stack of buttermilk pancakes

    with extra butter and strawberry syrup for Leroy;

    Denver omelet with no mushrooms and extra onion

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    with four strips of extra-crispy bacon for Gerald;

    and Winston's cup of fresh coffee, the exact rightcolor." She pulled the mug from a pocket in her

    apron, magically not spilling it as she had walked

    from the window to their table. "And who's paying

    today?"One of the retirees handed her his bank card

    as he spoke in a grizzled voice, "It's my turn, Miss."The waitress took his card and walked to the

    register to run it on the small credit card machine

    with a role of paper on its top. She swiped it andpunched in the total. But after a few seconds of

    waiting, the small machine picked the wrong

    moment to report that Mr. Hubert Stum's bank had

    declined the transaction.With a swell of anger for both society at

    large and for his specific banking institution, shepunched in the complex set of digits that wouldoverride the decline and open a two way link with

    the bank's system. She entered instructions to

    deposit a small sum of money into his account,seemingly from the ether, and to accept his present

    transaction. The small terminal acknowledged her

    instructions, accepted the transaction and printed

    the receipt for Mr. Stum to sign.As she handed the small curled paper to the

    elderly patron, with a pen, she spoke, "Now, you

    gentlemen have a good morning. And enjoy yourbreakfast."

    Hubert handed the receipt back to her, and

    smiled, "You too, Judy."

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    As she walked away, she noticed that he had

    even left her a tip on the receipt, exactly fifteenpercent of the bill. She smiled and stuffed the paper

    into the register, remembering that Mr. Stum still

    had two weeks in the month before his retirement

    check would be deposited. Hopefully the tip shehad left him in his account would last him that long.

    The front door sounded the jingle of the belltied to it on the end of a short length of ribbon.

    Without looking up, Judy spoke toward the door,

    "Will that be a booth or the counter?"The man who entered replied, "Either is

    acceptable."

    Judy recognized the voice immediately, and

    paused for only a second. She called back to thekitchen, "I'm on a break Hal."

    She wiped her hands on her apron as habitand took it off, roughly folding it on the bar, andwalked out the front door. She didnt wait for her

    escort but walked around the back of the diner and

    leaned against the wall. In a few seconds Lennyappeared and approached her. Before he could

    speak, Judy called to him playfully, "I thought you

    said I'd never see you again."

    Lenny answered when he was close enoughfor normal speaking volume, "A new project we're

    working on requires someone of your skill set. If

    you're interested, I can offer you payment to yourdesire."

    Smirking noticeably and leaning toward

    him, Judy answered in a seductive tone, "My

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    desire? And tell me, Mr. Hatching, what do you

    know of my desire?"Noticeably uncomfortable, Lenny eluded her

    plans and answered as he should, or as he thought

    he should, "I am authorized to offer you a

    substantial sum in payment for your consultation,assembly of components and technical advice. But

    my offer is only on the table for a short time. Thereare a few others on our short list of candidates."

    Judy laughed, "Oh, come on, Lenny. We

    both know that I'm the only one on your list. Justadmit it and we can press forward with

    negotiations." She leaned a little closer and almost

    whispered, "You remember how I love to

    negotiate."Lenny took another step back from her and

    replied in a cool tone, "I am only authorized to offeryou payment on the form of money."Judy changed her expression to one of mock

    offense, "Lenny, you cut me to the bone. How dare

    you suggest that I had any other method of paymentin mind."

    Lenny answered as calmly as he could, "The

    job is yours if you want. Take it or leave it. But I'll

    need your answer now."Judy shrugged and flippantly replied, "Fine,

    I'll leave it. I don't need your money to keep my

    bills paid."As she turned to walk away from him,

    Lenny boiled with frustration. Just before she

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    rounded the corner of the building, he called out,

    "FINE! I'll go on a date with you."Judy paused as she listened, hiding a smile

    in her cheek for later. Lenny continued, "But I

    promise you that whatever you think you'll get out

    of me you won't. This is all I really am. I'm just atwenty-year-old guy, with no repressed romantic

    side. Dating me would be dating this man beforeyou."

    "We'll see," she whispered to herself. And

    then aloud, "Pick me up at the end of my shift atthree and we'll hammer out the particulars."

    She disappeared around the corner leaving

    Lenny to wonder if he had just made the biggest

    mistake of his life, or if this was one of those thingsthat he would be grateful for later. Somehow, the

    nagging feeling in his gut told him that he wouldntjust regret agreeing to date Blade, but he'd regretever meeting her at all.

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    6This is a bad idea," said Josh as the two

    men waited in their rented car, both staring blankly

    at the front of the small diner.Lenny spoke up from the front passenger

    seat, "I'm not denying that. But if this project hasany chance of success, we'll need her skills."After a few seconds of silence, Lenny spoke

    up, "This is a bad idea."

    As they sat waiting for her to exit the diner,Josh's curiosity got the better of him and he asked,

    "So her name is Blade, huh? Does she like knives?"

    Lenny took the opportunity to enlighten

    Josh. "Actually, there's a class of network serverswith a thin form factor called blade servers."

    "And those people were calling her Judy?

    With a name like that I'd go by something elsealso."

    Lenny shrugged, "I know for a fact that her

    name isn't really Judy. She has a handful of aliases

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    she cycles through depending on the use. Her

    drivers license says Conny something or other.""But her family lives in this town. Isn't she

    concerned about them walking into her diner and

    them calling her Judy?"

    Lenny shrugged again, "I guess not. Hereshe comes."

    Out the front of the diner the waitress-by-day exited. Josh hadn't been ready for her

    appearance. In her casual attire, with hair in a

    ponytail and no makeup on, he had to look hard tosee the girl they had worked with before. She

    walked toward the sedan in which the two boys

    waited, and promptly climbed into the back seat, as

    if the two were her servants. She spoke labored, asif she were in the middle of an exertion, "Head out

    on that road to the north. At the giant woodenindian, turn east." Josh was about to turn back toask her something when Blade added, "And if either

    of you look back here before I tell you to, you'll

    find out what it's like to pick up your teeth withbroken fingers. Clear?"

    Josh answered, "Crystal," as he decided to

    only use the side-view mirrors in his driving.

    The red, white and blue of Idaho licenseplates on passing cars soon lost their intrigue as

    more and more of them appeared. Some of them

    had what they knew to be county signifiers on thempreceding the body of the ID number. Most of them

    had an 8B, but a few had a 1J. And even fewer on

    average had others, 10B, 2F, 1A, 2C and a handful

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    of others just to mention some. The guys didnt

    know the names of the counties represented, butthat didn't matter at that moment.

    Josh at the wheel, the car approach a

    diagonal crossing intersection like others they had

    seen, owing to the fact that the road they drove rightthen cut across a normal grid at an angle. But this

    intersection had a feature he hadn't noticedimmediately. He was waiting at a red light, and

    looked over to the right to see a giant indian head

    carved from a tall tree. The feathers sticking upfrom the top of the head looked to be at least eight

    feet tall, on top of the thin face. No doubt the tree it

    had been carved from had been only a few feet

    across.But he realized just in time that he had

    found his next landmark. He put on his turn signaland started driving east when the path was clear.Josh spoke up, "I just turned east onto Lincoln

    Road. How far until the next turn?"

    The voice from the back seat sounded moredistant than he had expected, as if her head were

    under his seat. "Just keep going. I won't let you

    miss it."

    Resisting the urge to look back and see whyher voice sounded like it had, Josh continued his

    travel passing an ATV dealer and then a gas station.

    They continued east until they entered a roundaboutand Blade ordered, "Turn south."

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    Josh dutifully did so, and then drove until he

    again received his order, "Turn right at the nextlight."

    The voice had returned to a normal location,

    but he still refused to look in the mirror into the

    back seat. His only guess was that she had chosennot to wait to get home, but just change her clothing

    in the back of their rented car.As they drove, Lenny asked, Do you have a

    work area with tools and equipment? If not, we can

    provide one for you.Blade answered, I got my own dive. Just

    tell me what you want and Ill build it.

    Josh nodded and Lenny spoke up, We need

    you to build a cluster computer, with as small avolume as possible, using off the shelf parts. And

    we need it to exceed a hundred teraflops.And the OS? Turn left here, and then animmediate right on the next street, then right into

    the house just passed the corner.

    Lenny answered, Dont worry about thehigh-level software. Just make sure the Bios can

    maintain stable functioning with temperature

    control.

    As Josh gently pulled their car into thedriveway as instructed, Blade addressed Josh far too

    close to his ear, I was watching your eyes in the

    mirror. Thanks for not looking. And then toLenny after Josh nodded, Those are going to be

    tough numbers to reach with a small form factor.

    What kind of liberties do I get?

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    Lenny leaned a few inches farther from his

    contractor and answered, Be creative, but wellneed to know how to maintain the system. If it uses

    liquid nitrogen for coolant, well need to know.

    He handed her a small plastic card and continued,

    Use this for expenses and purchases for this projectonly. Well be checking the invoices and parts lists

    forinconsistencies.The card left his hand as the rear passenger

    door opened. It closed again soon after, revealing a

    different person walking away from their car towardthe house they had been navigated to. But the

    change from the waitress-by-day to her new

    appearance shocked them both. Not only had she

    completely changed her attire, but the longer darkblonde hair that had entered the car had vanished.

    She seemed to have replaced it with short blackhair. And she carried nothing more than the smallhandbag that they had seen her walk out of the diner

    carrying. No gym bag full of clothing hung from

    her shoulders. Did she keep it all folded up in herpockets?

    As Josh took in some air to ask Lenny about

    the difference in her appearance and lack of a place

    to hide the other outfit, Lenny spoke, Just donteven think about it. It doesnt make sense to me

    either. Just accept it and move on.

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    7The rest of the team waited in their rented

    work space, a storage unit not far from their hotel.

    When Lenny and Josh entered the room, all turnedto look upon them, waiting for their report. Lenny,

    not happy about the final cost of his interactionswith Blade, kept his mouth shut. Josh did howeverreport their progress, Shes in.

    Kyle asked, And what was her price?

    Josh looked to his friend, who simplyanswered, It was high, but not more than we could

    afford. I suggest tonight we take the opportunity to

    enjoy whatever pleasures this town has to offer,

    because tomorrow well start working withher.Stu spoke to Lenny as the rest of the group

    began to rumble conversation amongst itself, Hey,

    we were talking just now before you guys got hereand we were wondering. Do you want to go catch a

    movie? Like as a group?

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    Lenny hid well his excitement when she

    suggested this, and he replied, Yeah, I think thatdbe fun. Anything particular in mind.?

    Stu answered, Well, the other guys want to

    see the new robot movie with whats-his-name in

    it. Lenny caught her sub-vocal clues and asked,

    But what would you like to see?Stu seemed embarrassed to admit, Theres

    that other one showing, the one with the girl who

    likes the guy and they sneak off from the group offriends and have a date. I dont remember what its

    called, but I think Ill know it when I see it.

    Not necessarily knowing for certain that he

    was hearing what he thought, he decided to beagreeable, Sounds like something Id like to see.

    Stu smiled almost unnoticeably, but thensaid, Are you sure? It could be boring for yougenius types.

    You and I both know that term is bandied

    about far too liberally these days, defended Lenny.And if you dont mind going to do

    something with a girl five years your senior, then I

    guess I dont mind trying new things either.

    Age is just a number, said Lenny.Hippy, said Stu playfully as she left the

    area.

    Lenny smiled, his chest feeling like it had aballoon in it, swelling past the limits of his ribcage.

    For a few seconds he lost his mind in childish

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    exuberance, but before anyone noticed it, he had

    returned to his normal cool demeanor.The group sat at a few tables in the

    restaurant, eating and laughing and reminiscing.

    For the most part, they seemed to be divided into

    the same groups that they had been assigned towork in. The only difference was that Pete found

    himself sitting near Josh and Doc, leaving Lennyand Stu to eat as just the two of them.

    Their table sat a section apart from the

    others, simply because that was the only tables openwhen the group arrived. They didnt care if the rest

    of the group noticed them. Stu sat fiddling with her

    breadsticks, as Lenny folded his fabric napkin into

    this shape and that.So, asked Stu, if you were a tree, what

    kind of tree would you be?Lenny chuckled and replied thoughtfully,Well, lets see. I think I'm coniferous, began

    Lenny as Stu laughed a little, because they stay the

    same year-round. Theyre straight and tall, like me.And they smell good.

    Oh is that why I always smell pine around

    you? joked Stu.

    Lenny replied, Pine? How dare you? Usspruce trees hate those goody-two-shoes pines.

    Stu laughed heartily as Lenny smiled

    warmly. She defended, Sorry, you look like a pineto me.

    Lenny looked hurt, So we all look the same

    to you?

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    Oh, of course not, said Stu. I was just

    saying that pretty much all evergreens look thesame to MOST people. But I can so tell you guys

    apart. I mean, some of my best friends are

    junipers.

    Yeah, said Lenny with mock offense.Keep digging. Youre halfway to Australia by

    now.So, if Im halfway through the earth? Are

    you saying I'm hot?

    Lenny shrugged, feeling more confidentthan he had in a while, If the shoe fits.

    Stu smiled wide and said more calmly, You

    know, I havent had this much fun in a long time.

    How come you never told me before?Lenny felt a little confused, Never told you

    what? Stu stared straight in his eyes and in a softerlower tone, repeated, How come you never told me

    before?

    Lenny took a drink of his water andanswered, Truthfully? I think I just never knew

    how to start.

    Stu picked it up, And Leonardo Hatching

    never starts something if he doesnt know how?Lenny thought for a second before

    answering, I like to know what I'm doing. And up

    until we met, it was easy. I dont think I ever felt sohelplessly out-brained than when we met. When I

    saw how smart you were, on top of how beautiful

    you were under your disguises, I feltlikeI dont

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    know. I was intimidated. What chance would I

    have had?Stu took a long drink from her soda and

    replied, Probably better than you thought.

    Really? asked Lenny.

    I dress like this to make sure I'm treatedlike everyone else, like someone whos earned their

    place wherever they are. And even though you sawthrough it, and still treated me like the baccalaureate

    that I am, I have to say that you passed the test.

    Lenny asked sheepishly, You dont mindthat I have no college?

    Stu answered carefully, I value the training

    and education I received, and that is earned by those

    that try for it. But there are other ways to learnjunk. Youve had experiences that taught you

    things youd never get from a course. And in therelatively short time I've known you, you repeatedlydisplay intelligence and maturity I seldom saw in

    Boston. And your desire to continue learning and

    growing as an inventor says a lot about what kind ofstudent you would have been in any advanced

    programs. So I guess what I'm saying is, no, I dont

    mind you not having a degree from any institutions.

    But do you need one? I dont think so. Not in yourcase.

    Their meal arrived a little later than

    everyone elses, by design. They had taken a whilelonger to order their dinner so that the rest of the

    team would leave before them. Add to that the fact

    that they werent very far from the hotel, and they

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    were comfortable letting the rest of the group leave

    for their movie with the rented cars. They couldwalk around downtown casually and find their way

    back to the hotel when they wanted, after the movie

    had ended for the rest of their friends.

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    8Hank sat on the sofa in the common room

    near his apartment. Deep in the bowels of the

    underground fortress he called his home, he readfrom a thick volume in his leisurely morning break.

    As he finished a chapter and prepared to decide ifhe wanted to start another or set it down for the day,his phone chimed on his waist. Looking at it told

    him that an email from one of their financial

    institutions had signaled a purchase on an expenseaccount outside the normal range.

    Deciding that the phone had made up his

    mind for him, Hank set his book down on the coffee

    table and stood to stretch. He found his way to hisoffice and logged into his computer. The email

    showed that not only had the expenditure been

    outside the normal range, it was way out of thenorm. An online vender had charged their account

    for the sale of five dozen smartphones, along with

    costly overnight shipping charges. He was about to

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    call the bank and cancel the card used when he saw

    a message pop up on his screen. It said the shippingaddress had been updated to a town in Idaho.

    Realizing the expense was in fact legitimate,

    he clicked the link to approve it. He then closed the

    interface and shook his head. Blade, he saidfrustrated. Lenny, I hope you know what youre

    doing.Lenny, at that moment did know what he

    was doing. He was putting one foot in front of

    another, in a straight path near one of hiscoworkers. They wandered the well-lit streets of

    downtown Idaho Falls. Though there were a

    handful of larger buildings in the small city, for the

    most part, businesses had spread their footprintoutside the urban setting. As such, the downtown

    area looked a little more dilapidated than it couldhave. Here and there a store or shop had closeddown, with nothing taking its place, leaving a

    darkened area of sidewalk.

    They hadnt watched where they werewalking, and found themselves in an unfamiliar area

    of pavement. Lenny stopped walking and looked

    around trying to find his bearings, not easy in an

    unfamiliar geography. As he looked around, so didStu. She saw the signs on the businesses and felt

    lost. As Lenny pulled his phone out to get GPS

    directions to their hotel, Stu squeezed his arm.Instinctively he looked up and saw a single

    lone figure walking casually toward them,

    silhouetted by a yard light behind him. Lenny took

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    Stu by the hand and walked her away from the

    direction of the approaching person. They heard hisboots stepping on a metal plate here and there on

    the sidewalk. He seemed to not gain much distance

    on them, judging on the sound.

    They reached a corner and turned towardbrighter lights. Hopefully the environment would

    make those with ill-intent less likely to try anything.The pair walked briskly through the chilly night air,

    also hoping to see anything familiar. They stopped

    next to a lighted store front and Lenny pulled hisphone out again to look at his map app.

    As he did, they heard a soft voice near them,

    but from the other direction than their pursuer had

    appeared, Just act natural and nobody dies. Giveme your wallet and phone and anything else you

    have. Lenny looked up to see an unshaven man ina hat holding a gun next to his belly, more as a

    threat that he would point it, but still hiding it from

    the view of passing cars. Lenny glanced about himas he reached carefully in his pocket. As a habit he

    carried a few hundred dollars in cash in his wallet,

    but no valid credit cards or ID. Those he kept in a

    separate hard case in his jacket pocket. He neverthought hed need to make use of his system to fool

    a criminal.

    As he handed the prop wallet over, and thenraised his hands, the mugger glared and harshly

    whispered, Put your hands down!

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    But he hadnt heard another man walking up

    behind him, a man that both Lenny and Stu hadplainly seen before, approaching their direction on

    the poorly lit street. The man pulled a gun from his

    own hip and aimed it at the mugger. Lenny got a

    good look at the second man, and noticed right offthat he had the clean-cut respectable appearance of

    a law enforcement officer. He spoke, "Sheriff'sdepartment! Get down on the ground! Hands on

    your head."

    Lenny took the opportunity, while the crookpaused, to speak up, He was mugging us; he has a

    pistol in his left hand.

    The thief seemed to be trying to decide if he

    wanted to comply or risk a fight with an armedofficer. The police officer spoke even more

    assertively this time, shouting his orders, "Drop thegun! Get down on the ground! Hands on yourhead! Get down on the ground!"

    The crook decided to comply, to live to fight

    another day. He dropped the gun which hit theground with a clack. The crook knelt down and

    then laid on his stomach on the sidewalk. He put

    his hands on the back of his head. The whole time,

    the officer kept his weapon aimed at the crook. Hespoke to Lenny, You got a phone? Get it out and

    call 529-1200, please. And put it on speaker for

    me.Lenny complied as the officer produced a

    set of handcuffs from somewhere behind him. He

    cuffed the crook and then kneeled on his back while

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    Lenny handed his phone over to him. In a few

    seconds, the man was identifying himself as an off-duty officer and calling for assistance. It appeared

    that Lenny had dialed his dispatch office. The

    whole time, as the crook lay on the ground, the

    officer kept the gun on him, not for a secondtrusting that the mugger wouldnt try to break the

    law again in either assaulting the officer or trying toflee.

    Lenny and Stu kept their distance from the

    other two men, but stayed close enough to be seeneasily by the officer. Less than a minute later, two

    city cruisers pulled up and stopped with their lights

    flashing near the off-duty officer. A badged female

    stepped from one of the cars, a male stepped fromthe other one and addressed him. They spoke a

    little. The female took the cuffed mugger and puthim in the back of one of the cars. For the mostpart, Stu and Lenny didnt hear the words going on.

    They were too shocked by their experience, and

    lucky that police officer had been walking nearby.After the questions and interviews and

    statements, and after the police car had left, Lenny

    addressed the officer directly, I dont know how I

    can show you my gratitude.The officer answered casually, Dont worry

    about it. You two ok to go back to your hotel from

    here?Lenny dodged the officers deflection and

    continued, Im serious. I am a wealthy man and I

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    would like to repay you for your services to us and

    this city. Name your price.The officer waved his hand, Im good,

    really. But I'm not a city officer, Im a county

    deputy.

    Lenny persisted, Im serious. If moneyisnt what you want, maybe a change of scenery is.

    I can offer you a job on my island.The officer paused to give Lenny a funny

    look and then spoke up, Wait. You have a private

    island? I know this is a long shot, but do you knowa dispatcher named DaNell?

    Lenny answered, truthfully, Yes. I do. I

    recruited her from Idaho. I dont remember which

    dispatch center, though. It could have been thisone. She runs the secure communications center in

    my underground fortress. Do you know her?The officer answered excitedly, Yeah, shewas one of the best we had up there. Hows she

    doing?

    Oh, shes fine, doing good I think. I'mhappy with her performance, anyway. Her and her

    family seem to be happy there, too.

    The officer asked, Do you have a number I

    could call her on? Or do you guys not have phoneson the island?

    We have phones, answered Stu as she

    thumbed her way through her own smartphone, buttheyre buffered over the net. We dont even notice

    a difference, though. I can give you their number.

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    Remember that theyre a few hours behind

    us out there in the pacific. Lenny looked at hiswatch and continued, Its about midafternoon there

    right now.

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    9Once they were back in their hotel rooms,

    the emotions of the evenings events started to hit

    them individually. Stu spoke somberly, That wasawful.

    Lenny answered her, If we had had aworking model of Bruce with us, he could haveprotected us. Thats the reason for this project.

    Stu nodded her head and sat on the sofa in

    Lennys room. It appeared as if their excitementhad lasted longer than they thought because in a few

    minutes, the rest of their friends entered the room,

    talking about the movie they had just come from.

    They had no idea about anything that had justhappened to Lenny and Stu, and the two werent

    sure they needed to tell them right off. No use

    scaring them.But the events had happened, for real. They

    werent some simulation or scene from a play. Had

    they offended the mugger, or given him a reason,

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    hed probably have killed them both. He might

    have anyway after he got their money, just tosilence them.

    As the people separated to their rooms for

    the night, a few had the impression that something

    had changed the dynamic of Lenny and Stusrelationship, but of them, none asked about it. It

    wasnt their business anyway.Stu and Lenny sat on the sofa in his room,

    staring up at the ceiling, mostly talking about

    nothing important, both knowing that they hadshared a bonding experience, but not a pleasant one.

    At about midnight, just as Lenny was escorting Stu

    to her room, his phone rang.

    Answering it was a mistake. He greetedBlade in the usual fashion, What.

    Seeming not to notice his disconnection, shespoke with her normal energy, I just made an orderfor some parts, and I got curious about the limit on

    the card you gave me. I dont want to go over-

    reaching your credit limit.As he waved to Stu and she closed her door,

    locking all the locks afterward, Lenny answered,

    Dont worry about it. Just buy the parts and tools

    and materials you think youll need for this project.Let my accountant worry about the financial

    aspects.

    Cool-cool. So I had an idea that I thoughtId try out. It has to do with repurposing existing

    tech. You interested to hear it?

    Not really, replied Lenny distantly.

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    Your loss, said Blade. Give me a few

    days to work up a solid network and I should beable to have it ready for you before the week is out.

    Be thinking about where you want to go on our

    date.

    Lenny grimaced, remembering his promiseto Blade, in relation to new developments between

    he and Stu. He felt certain that she wouldnt care,but he still needed to clear it with her first. But to

    Blade he said, Yeah, ok. Bye.

    He turned and went back to Stus room andgently knocked on the door. He waited while

    looking up and down the hallway. After a minute,

    the locks began to sound through the solid panel

    door. The face that met his startled him. It was Stu,alright, but with a few changes from her general

    appearance. Her hair had been let down, and herthick frame glasses removed.How can I help you? she asked.

    Lenny felt himself staring and then shook

    himself back to his previous thoughts. Iuh, heseemed to get lost again. But it didnt last long, I

    just wanted to talk to you about Blade.

    Stu stepped aside, opening a way for him to

    enter her room. He stepped inside and let the doorsspringed hinges close it. What about her?

    Im not sure I told you, but the only

    payment she would acceptthe only way I couldconvince her to work on this for us was to promise

    something to her.

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    Yeah, said Stu casually, the date. Red

    told me. And?Lenny felt sheepish again, like a teenager, I

    just dont want you to feel like she and I have

    anything going on.

    Aww, thats so cute, said Stu, as if shewere looking at puppies playing. You dont want

    me to get jealous of her. Dont worry, I wont.What kind of girlfriend would I be if- she caught

    herself quickly. I meanthat is to say

    Lenny smirked and started to mock, Youremy girlfriend? Can we wear matching tie-dye and

    personalized bracelets?

    It was Stus turn to blush, this time. She

    hadnt intended to say so much, but the eveningsevents had cemented their relationship like not

    much else could. She spoke, Go ahead, get it outof your system. See how far it gets you on our nextdate.

    Lenny leaned in and kissed Stu on the

    cheek. Then as she stared on in shock, he said,Have a good night. Ill see you tomorrow morning

    in the breakfast room downstairs.

    And with those words hanging in the air, he

    walked out of her room, leaving her standing there,still shocked about his kissing her, but more

    intrigued about what the future held for them.

    Would they do more than date? Could they getmarried? In her head she attached his last name to

    her first name to see how it sounded. Mrs. Alicia

    Hatching. It sounded good.

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    As she nestled into her sheets, she dozed off

    wondering about the next days events, and how sheshould act around her boss. Was he her boss? Or

    her coworker? Or was he more?

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    10When the message came on his phone,

    Lenny put his bagel down. He selected it on the list

    of other emails received through the night. Hecoughed a bit at seeing the numbers that had already

    posted. During the night, it seemed that Blade hadindeed been busy. She ordered sixty high-endsmartphones at a thousand dollars apiece, sixty

    Bluetooth headsets at a hundred dollars each and

    selected the overnight shipping option, totalingsixty-eight thousand dollars. And that was just one

    vender.

    She also ordered a quartet of 512 gigabyte

    serial ATA solid-state drives out of Japan, also withovernight shipping, totaling forty-eight hundred

    dollars. And from a third vender she ordered what

    looked by the part IDs as just random bits ofelectronic guts, no doubt to tie all the bits together

    for assembly. And finally, she had ordered from an

    engineering house in Colorado a custom cooling rig

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    called a Cryose Turbo. Also with overnight

    shipping, though it would take a day for the supplierto assemble it before shipping. That last one cost

    Lenny a whopping thirty-thousand dollars and

    change.

    After a heavy sigh, Lenny sent his responseto Hank thanking him for keeping him in the loop

    with the purchases. He set his phone down with asoft click and closed his eyes. After a slight shake

    of his head, he noticed a chair moving next to him

    and he looked up.Josh sat down to the right of his friend and

    spoke up, Dude, you missed the best movie last

    night. It had so much explosions and metal

    clanking that my head hurt afterward. It wasflippin awesome!

    Lenny swallowed his bite of bagel andanswered, Good for you. But youre not the onlyone who had fun last night. It seems that our friend

    Blade has tried her hardest to find the limit on the

    card we gave her.Nervously Josh asked him, Whats the

    damage?

    Lenny replied, So far? Shes up to over a

    hundred thousand, and I dont think shes done yet.The look of surprise on his friends face was

    almost humorous, if one could laugh at such things

    right away. After a minute, Josh found the words tosay, Well, its still a fraction of what Clarence cost

    us. But I distinctly recall hearing a much smaller

    estimate tossed about in the workshop back home.

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    Me too, said Lenny.

    Some other people had made their waydown from the rooms and were putting food on

    their plates from the buffet table in the corner.

    Most werent a part of Lennys group, but a few

    were. Among the group Stu was the first to seatherself to the left of Lenny at his same table, across

    from Josh. Josh spoke up, Morning Stu. Sleepwell?

    Moderately, came her reply. She looked

    nervously at Lenny and then started eating.Lenny spoke up right then, Hey, Josh.

    Make sure everyone in our group hears this. Stu

    and I are dating now.

    Stu looked up sharply, but then looked backdown when she felt herself blushing. Josh noticed

    that she didnt deny it, and since Lenny reallywasnt one for practical jokes anyway, he took hisfriends words at face value. Sure thing, boss.

    After Josh left the table, to get his own

    breakfast, Stu spoke softly to Lenny, Why did youdo that? What are we going to do now?

    Not hide anything for people to find. You

    know these folks, they love figuring stuff out,

    solving a mystery. If theres no mystery, no puzzle,theyll just ignore it.

    Just then, Red approached the table where

    Lenny and Stu sat and spoke up in her usualsouthern manner, Kyle said that Josh said that you

    two are dating. But Josh doesnt seem to want to

    verify this fact. So?

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    Lenny nodded, Were dating.

    Stu also spoke up as Red looked at her,Were dating.

    Red shouted at Josh from across the room,

    They are so, Josh. You owe me a hundred bucks.

    Lenny asked curiously, For whatRed answered just before leaving them to

    eat, We had a bet. He didnt think youd dateanyone until next year. I won.

    Lenny raised his eyebrows and looked over

    at where his friend sat quietly eating toast. Joshdefended, I won twice before. Can you blame

    me?

    Lenny rolled his eyes and shook his head.

    But he had been right, as almost none of the peopletalked about his relationship. And as day wore on,

    they noticed the eyes on them less and less. At fivein the evening, Lenny got a call from Blade again,which he reluctantly answered.

    Hey, hot stuff. Where you at?

    Lenny answered, Were sitting down todinner at-

    Yeah-yeah, thats great. When can you get

    over here? interrupted Blade.

    Lenny looked at his watch and then at thepeople staring at him. He spoke, Give us an

    hour?

    Give and take, sweet-cake, she said andthen hung up on him.

    Lenny rolled his eyes again, this time for her

    sometimes enigmatic phrases. He put his phone

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    away and announced, For some reason Blade

    needs to see us at her place in an hour. Who allsgoing?

    A few nervous mumblings and some

    avoided eye-contact and Lenny realized his

    position. Look, dont make me go alone.Josh raised his hand reluctantly and said,

    Ill go with you, chief.Pete raised his hand, Ill take one for the

    team, too.

    Kyle raised his hand, It would probably begood for me to see what shes doing so far, for

    systems integration.

    Red raised her hand, And I guess I have to

    go also.Stu spoke, I might need to see the setup

    also.

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    11In just under an hour, Lenny found himself

    standing on the front porch of the house at which he

    had dropped off Blade the day before. Though mostof his team literally stood behind him, he still had

    the trepidation of a young man meeting his date'sfather for the first time. He knocked on the doorslightly harder than he had planned, and waited

    patiently for anyone to appear. They waited for not

    long when the door opened to reveal a young girllooking sheepishly from behind a middle-aged

    woman.

    The woman smiled and asked, "Yes?"

    Lenny spoke, "Hello, I'm LeonardoHatching. We're here to see...uh...your daughter?"

    "Come on in, Lenny," said the woman

    cordially. "She's waiting down in her lair. She'sexpecting you."

    The screen door opened and the group

    slowly filtered inside and through the house. As

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    they walked, Blade's mother spoke, "I'm

    embarrassed to say we were starting to think youdidnt exist. I mean, she talks about you quite a bit,

    and even shows us evidence of your operations

    from time to time, but to meet you in person really

    puts a face to the name.""I understand," said Lenny, though he wasn't

    sure he truly did.She led the group down a flight of stairs and

    then left them at the bottom saying, "She'll be with

    you shortly.""Thanks, ma'am," said Josh.

    As she walked up and away the older

    woman called back, "Pleases do be kind enough to

    call me Linda."The group looked around only a little, not

    wanting to be nosy. But the only doors open tothem were a bathroom, a laundry room, and anotherroom whose floor lay strewn with childrens' toys.

    As Lenny glanced at a bookcase, he did a double

    take. At first blush it looked like any otherbookcase, but a strange feature caught his eye. Not

    only was the bookcase recessed into the wall, not in

    and of itself shocking, but the shelf frame had been

    lined with molding, as if to hide a seam.He traced the segments of wooden molding,

    noticing the cuts in its lengths at top and bottom. In

    a moment of clarity the situation became obvious.Figuring out the puzzle of the molding took only a

    second before Lenny put his weight against it and

    pushed. A few voices from behind him offered

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    their dismay and then surprise at the hidden

    doorway he had found. The bookcase pivoted on aturntable, and a strong one at that, positioned off to

    one side. The whole shelving unit looked custom

    built and felt like it weighed in the neighborhood of

    four hundred pounds.Waiting just behind the swing radius of the

    shelf, stood there waiting contractor with asurprised smile on her face. She spoke up, "Well

    now. I think that's by far the shortest record for

    discovering the shelf secret. In fact you cut the nexthighest time in a third. Good job. But then I guess

    I shouldn't expect any less from such a singular

    person, huh?"

    Lenny shrugged, "I'm good at puzzles.""Well, let's go in my lair, I don't have all

    night." The group followed Blade down another halland then through a door to the right with a sign that

    read ominously, 'Lair of Woe'. Inside the

    appearance was so sharply different from the homeyenvironment through which they had passed to

    arrive, that Kyle had to speak up, "Nice place."

    "Like I care," retorted Blade, flippantly.

    With as little light as they could see, itsurprised Lenny that she could do any work at all in

    her 'Lair'. But to each their own, he thought. Here

    and there they saw an incomplete or abandonedproject or assembly, many of which had the general

    appearance that they would fit in quite well in some

    advanced post-apocalyptic dystopian future.

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    Blade stopped walking at a rather dense-

    looking shape with a few blinking lights here andthere. In all it looked just the size of an older VCR

    or twin-tape stereo deck. Lenny spoke up, "I see

    you've spent my money well."

    "You supply requirements, I supply results.Quit whining about the road between," defended

    Blade.Lenny replied, "Ok, then try this on. I need

    it to be half as wide and twice as thick. Can you do

    that?""Is pi irrational?" asked Blade with an

    unimpressed expression on her face.

    "Does it work?" asked Stu leaning down to

    get a closer look at the hodge-podge assembly."Does a car run?" asked Blade.

    "That depends on the fuel in the tank,"countered Lenny. "It has the potential to run ifproperly filled."

    "Exactly," said Blade. "I was contracted to

    build a scarecrow only, not stuff his head too. Toanswer your question, yes it will run, but only if you

    program it right. This thing won't run your off-the-

    shelf OS box. It'll require a custom software suite

    designed specifically for this machine only. And tomake your job easier, I'm tossing in the virtual

    machine of it also, free of charge. That way you

    code-monkeys can load up your proposed softwareand test it in the virtual machine first without

    threatening the integrity of my baby here. He's a

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    one-off, no replacements offered, no warrantees

    expressed or implied. Got it?"The team all nodded and Blade continued,

    "The cooling system is showing up tomorrow

    afternoon, you can pick up your finished prototype

    tomorrow night.""I'll see you then," said Lenny as the team

    left her 'Lair'.

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    12The drive back to the hotel seemed longer

    than it should have. It didnt take Lenny long to

    realize that they were lost and getting more so in abunch of one-way streets. Few porch lights shown

    to their sides and Lenny recalled his last experiencein unfamiliar areas. Without stopping he spoke up,ok, someone get me directions from where we are

    now to the hotel.

    A few phones came out, but when everyoneelse saw that they werent alone, most put theirs

    back. Josh announced, Turn left here.

    Lenny saw the unwelcome one-way sign and

    reported, I cant. Its a one-way. I'm taking thenext one.

    The next one doesnt go through, said

    Josh. Give me a second.Lenny passed another street with little sign

    of where they were going. He figured that if he

    continued driving straight, he had to leave the city

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    soon. And then it would be easy enough to follow

    the grid back toward their hotel. That was the bestpart of the towns he had seen in Idaho, though he

    felt sure others in the region had it also, the grid.

    Back in Alabama, many cities had their own

    kinds of cross lattices, but they were mostly allnamed and had less uniform parallel structures to

    them. Or the small grid they had was limited onlyto the small areas around their courthouses or

    capital buildings.

    But in Idaho Falls, the grid pervaded the citylimits and filled the unincorporated county lands.

    One could reach nearly anywhere by simply picking

    a road and driving a direction on the compass.

    Josh spoke up, Ok, I have it now. Turnright at the next intersection. Then turn right again

    on Boulevard. Then turn right again on 17

    th

    .Lenny complied, knowing that his friendwould give him more when they neared the end of

    his directions. The busier streets appeared and the

    presence of other cars on the roads encouraged thelost tourists. Lenny turned right at the light on

    Boulevard and followed it to 17thstreet. He turned

    right again and followed it until he came to a red

    light just under a train overpass.Josh spoke up, Turn right here on

    Yellowstone. And then-

    Stu interrupted, If you say right again Illkick you in the shin. Are you sure youre not taking

    us in circles?

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    No were good, said Lenny as he drove

    them north on Yellowstone. Were coming intothe downtown area again. I recognize a few things.

    The hotel should be just across the river.

    Turning left on Broadway, Lenny adeptly

    navigated his team back to their temporary lodgingon the banks of the Snake River. Once parked, the

    group walked to their door and entered. In thehallway, Josh spoke up, Im going to try out the

    pool, anyone with me?

    A few voices spoke up, but Lenny noticedthat Stu hadnt. He therefore didnt himself. It

    would be ok if he missed this one. Making his way

    to his room, he opened it and walked inside. Keys

    and change dropped to the desk near his bed, hisphone he placed near the pile of metal.

    As he sat on the bed and rubbed his eyes, aknock came on his door. Sighing softly he stoodand looked through the wide-angle glass at eye-

    level. It was Stu.

    Lenny opened his door and stood to the sideallowing her entrance, which she made use of. She

    flopped on the sofa and spoke, Well, the stay in

    Idaho is about over. Are you excited to get back

    home?Lenny thought for a few seconds before

    answering, Not as much as I assumed I would.

    This town isnt half bad once you get passed themuggers and confusing streets.

    I imagine its about like every other town

    in that way. If you dont know your way around,

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    just about any town or village can get you loster by

    the second.Loster? asked Lenny smiling.

    Yeah, the property of being more lost than

    normal lost. Didnt you get the memo?

    I must have missed it, said Lenny as hetoo sat on the sofa.

    After an awkward silence Stu asked, Doyou want to go get a drink somewhere?

    Lenny spoke honestly, Im underage still.

    But even if I werent, I dont think I would drinkalcohol. I like being in control of my faculties. But

    Ill go sit with you if you want company.

    I dont drink either, I just wanted to go do

    something with you. But I guess we can go dosomething somewhere else anyway.

    Lenny slowly smiled, he had an idea. Halfan hour later, they sat in a small diner booth sippingfrom milkshakes. Stu spoke after a mouthful of

    cherry, Yeah, this was a good idea.

    I told you, said Lenny cavalierly.The diner had a good amount of Americana

    hanging on the walls and suspended from the

    ceiling. The fifties dcor added a little something to

    the atmosphere that Lenny felt had been missing inmodern society: character. He loved the character

    of fifties-themed diners, had even thought seriously

    about having one built on his island. But would thathave cheapened the experience if he could go to it

    whenever he desired?

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    With the post-war music playing softly in

    the background, and the waitresses all wearingnametags that said things like Fanny and Lucy

    and Dede and 'Flo', it was hard not to get taken

    into the illusion.

    As he looked contemplatively about theestablishment, Stu caught his cues and spoke up,

    Have you ever wanted to live back then?It does appear that it was a simpler time.

    Things were different, more wholesome. People

    respected the government, the police, the army. Wehad just come off a win with World War Two,

    stamping out the Nazis and pushing back the

    invading Japanese. We were still high on life and

    loving to play. Yeah, I have wondered how I wouldhave fit in back in the past. I'm sure I would have

    had other problems, different than we have now, butnot less frustrating to the people of the time.After a few more draws from the milkshake

    straws, Stu spoke, This feels right. I mean, you

    and me, having fun. It feels like it fits. We fit.I feel it too, agreed Lenny. "We've been

    friends for a few years, and I think that right now

    the tab has finally dropped into the socket. The last

    cog slipped into the mechanism and our machine ishumming."

    They looked into each others eyes for a few

    seconds, the time passing into eternity in moments,the way it only can when realizing life-changing

    truths. Lenny finished his shake about the time Stu

    did. He took her by the hand, and stood her from

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    the table. Then he knelt on one knee and stared up

    into her filling eyes.Before he could ask anything, Stu

    whispered, Yes.

    Though they didnt know it, their small

    ceremony had been witnessed by other patrons andemployees, who clapped and cheered for the couple.

    Lenny placed a few hundred dollar bills on thebooth table and walked his fianc out of the diner.

    In the cooling evening, he had a new goal. He

    checked his phone for a minute and then drove therented car to a small store near a movie theater with

    a diamond-shaped sign.

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    13Inside Alpine Jewelers, the two held hands

    feeling more euphoric than they had ever felt

    before, drinking in the moments as they passed, theseconds stretching into years as they flew by.

    Walking into the front doors, they wereimmediately noticed by a dapper-looking salesmanwho approached them with friendly respect. His

    crisp white shirt and tie covered neatly by a pressed

    suit jacket, he spoke, "Can I help you folks findsomething?"

    Lenny answered, "My fianc and I would

    like to buy a wedding ring set."

    The gentleman nodded and said happily,"Sure. We have those over here. My name's Scott,

    by the way."

    Though Lenny had once helped his friendJosh buy a small bit of jewelry for his mother some

    years before, he noticed something different in the

    way this salesman spoke to him.

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    we can have that done in just a little while. More

    substantial repairs may take a few days. Andcleaning is always free for pieces bought here. It

    only takes about half an hour."

    Lenny asked, feeling more comfortable

    around Scott, "What's you percentage? I mean, ifwe bought a thousand dollar band, what would be

    your commission?"Scott proudly answered, "We don't have

    commissioned sales people. It helps make a better

    environment here, as well as making sure you getthe piece you want, not the most expensive one we

    can convince you to buy."

    Lenny spoke, "Well now, that I like! Your

    boss is playing a winning game here."Scott smiled, "Actually, I'm the boss, or one

    of them. I'm part owner of the store, Kevin overthere is the other boss."Lenny asked, confused, "Is one of your sales

    people sick?"

    "No, here the owners work the sales floorjust like everyone else. We're no better than them,

    and we prove it by doing as we ask them to do. We

    want our sales people to dress nice, to be respectful

    to the customers? We show them how."Lenny nodded, smiling. He knew the

    feeling. Even though he owned his operation, he

    still enjoyed getting up to his elbows in the dirt ofthe work his team did. "And what if we don't have

    the money up front for the purchase, will you help

    us find financing?"

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    Scott answered confidently, "We handle our

    financing in-house. You want 12, 18 or 24 monthsno-interest? We can figure that out with you.

    Whatever makes you happy, we'll try to do."

    Lenny spoke more freely, "Well then,

    honey, take your pick. Anything you want in thestore. I like how these guys do business."

    Gratefully, but respectfully, Stu replied,"Thanks, Lenny, but I'll just stick with the wedding

    set. Can I see that ring there, please?"

    Pulling a ring set in a wood-clad feltcushion, Scott asked, "This one?"

    As Stu looked it over in her hand, Scott

    offered, "And if you don't like the stone cut thats in

    it, we can trade it out for something you do like.""This one's perfect," said Stu.

    "Will you be needing financing?" askedScott.Lenny said, "No, sir. I'll just pay in full by

    debit."

    Scott clarified, "The ring she picked out isjust under three thousand dollars."

    Lenny spoke cavalierly, "Then let's make it

    an even five. What do you have for me?

    Something very durable, that might withstand a fallfrom low earth orbit?"

    Scott looked a little surprised and answered,

    "I don't think we have anything like that here. Butnormal men's rings I can do."

    Lenny laughed, "I know, it's ok about the

    orbit drop. I'm a better pilot than that anyway. Do

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    you have anything in harder metals? I sometimes

    work with hand tools.""We have some pieces in stainless steel and

    tungsten carbide. Would you like to see some with

    stones in them or without?"

    "No stones, please," answered Lenny.The one Lenny picked out fit his personality

    well. It had a little tooling on it, but for the mostpart wouldnt stand out too much. It matched pretty

    well the band on his other hand, the one with the

    concealed radio inside it. His wedding ring wasmade of tungsten carbide and would never dent

    under normal circumstances, though a drop from

    too high might cause it to break.

    Stu's engagement ring had a single 1/2 caratdiamond, with two smaller baguette diamonds to the

    sides of it. The white gold looked good on herhand, and the ring was sized before they left thebuilding. The in-house goldsmith did a flawless job

    on her piece, but Lennys ring in his size would take

    a few days to get shipped in. They estimated itwould arrive before the team had to return home,

    though.

    Lenny also offered again to his fianc to

    have her pick of anything else in the store.Earrings, necklace, bracelet, whatever she wanted

    for a matching set. But Stu gracefully declined his

    generous offer. She could be happy with herengagement and chosen wedding rings.

    Lenny happily paid the jeweler for the

    purchase, not caring how much he spent on his best

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    friend. Stu knew that hed gladly and easily drop

    hundreds of thousands of dollars on her, and that inand of itself seemed to be enough to make her

    happy.

    "You folks have a great evening," said Scott

    happily.As they walked to the rental car, Lenny

    spoke up, "That place is awesome. If anyone elseneeds jewelry, I'll send them to Alpine Jewelers,

    here in Idaho Falls."

    Stu snickered, "You sound like you're doinga commercial for them."

    "Well, it's a great store," said Lenny happily.

    "I respect everything they're doing there."

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    14Surprisingly, as Lenny and Stu walked into

    the pool area at their hotel, and the game of water-

    marco-polo got interrupted, not one person noticedthe sparkling gem on Stus finger. She wasnt

    hiding it either. It cast tiny rainbow clusters on theceiling if one were looking.But nobody looked. It didnt hurt her too

    badly. She didnt feel the need to brag about

    everything that happened to her. So she and herfianc waited on a bench near poolside for the rest

    of the group to be done playing.

    Like a magnet to steel, though, another set

    of eyes locked on the clear carbon gem from acrossthe room. She lay drying off on her towel and

    reading from her little digital e-reader. Her story

    flew from her mind as she noticed both the gem andthe proximity between Stu and Lenny. She noticed

    that both of them seemed to have the same elated

    absence of thought displayed on their faces. And

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    she knew her chances with Lenny had just vanished

    as quickly as molecular kinetic energy into coldiron.

    Silently and as unobtrusively as possible,

    Blade gathered her things and left the pool area out

    its side door. She too had her mind filled with anumbing cloud, but not the positively charged

    flavor that danced about in the heads of Lenny andStu. Hers was of the depressing color.

    She drove herself home, not caring if she ran

    yellow lights or even red ones. The world passedher by in those soul crushing seconds, not caring if

    she endangered her life or those of others.

    Once in her lair, she would prepare the

    invoice paperwork shed submit to Lennyscompany. Her time and labor were worth

    something after all. As she pulled her small car intoher driveway and down the ramp into the basementgarage she called the dungeon, her tear-stained

    cheeks showed her in the reflection from her side

    window the face of something pathetic.Did she really expect him to actually

    develop feelings for her? Punching the steering

    wheel gave her little comfort, so she tried it again.

    And she hit it again and again, faster and faster, herwrists hurting and eyes threatening to overflow

    again. When she stopped hitting her car, to lean

    forward and sob some more, her head hit her horn.But she didnt care.

    After a minute, she stopped and got out of

    her car. She hit the button for the rollup door to

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Reach vol 5

Reach vol 5

REACH MENA Regional Workshop 5-7 March 2014 Jordan

REACH MENA Regional Workshop 5-7 March 2014 Jordan

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