"Hey, how's it goin'?" Ryan greeted his friend as Matthew walked into the house. "Haven't seen you around in a couple of days. Where you been?"

"I was helping these two guys who were doing scientific research," Matthew replied. "They wanted me to spit in a test tube, and then they did some stuff I didn't understand. They wanted me to take off all my clothes except my shirt, and then they showed me all these weird pictures."

"What kind of pictures?"

"Women without their clothes on doing all these disgusting things."

He had Ryan's full attention now. "What kinds of disgusting things?"

As Matthew began to describe them, Ryan's jaw dropped, and then he burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" asked Matthew.

Ryan only shook his head. "You glorifieds!"

"Do you understand what they were trying to do? If so, please tell me, cause I don't at all!"

"Sure sounds like they were trying to get you turned on."

"Turned on?"

"In a sexual way. I guess that's something you glorifieds just don't understand,. Man, you sure don't know what you're missing!"

"I've never felt like I was missing anything at all."

"That's because you've never been a natural, so you don't know what it's like to have the hots for someone. Just look at Raymie and Bahira. You can tell they have a thing for each other, but since they're both glorified, nothing will ever come of it. Sad."

"But why would those guys have wanted to get me turned on?"

"Maybe they were trying to find out whether it really was impossible for a glorified to get turned on. Sounds like you sure showed them, my friend."

"But why would they have been curious about that?"

"We naturals tend to be curious about things sometimes, unlike you glorifieds, who seem to just take it all in stride."

"Maybe that's not such a bad thing."

"Maybe. Maybe not. I guess it all depends." Ryan grinned. "But those guys could sure experiment on me any time they want!"


Mercy picked a handful of daisies and took them to Cendrillon's grave. As the young woman had died prior to the establishment of the mortuary and cemetery, she'd been buried on her parents' establishment. As Mercy got closer, she saw a figure was already there, and she soon realized it was Sergei.

He glanced up as she sat beside him. "I try to come here as often as I can," he told her. "I don't think her parents ever even come, and she was their own daughter."

"They're trying their best to forget she ever existed," Mercy agreed.

"Is it just me, or does that seem cold and heartless?" asked Sergei.

"I guess the way they see it, she's lost forever, so there's no point in even worrying about it."

"But I do worry about it, Mercy." He propped his elbows up on his knees and gazed earnestly into her eyes. "If you love someone and they die, but a part of them still exists somewhere, you don't just stop loving them. I sure wouldn't."

"Neither would I." Mercy glanced in the direction of the cemetery. "You know, hardly anybody ever goes in there, and almost no glorifieds."

"I just can't figure them out," added Sergei. "They don't fall in love and marry, and they don't mourn the dead. Don't they have any feelings at all?"

"Chloe seems to really care for the children," Mercy replied after much thought. "She seems different from other glorifieds, somehow. Like she remembers what it was like to be a natural, so she can relate to us at least a little bit."

"Kenny sure pals around with Bahira and Zaki a lot, too."

"That might be 'cause Raymie's his uncle and he's really tight with them."

"Could be," Sergei agreed.


Mercy sat with her parents, listening to the Biblical patriarch Noah talk about his adventures on the ark. She looked across at Judd and Vicki holding baby Selah. Near them sat Lionel with Ryan and Darrion. Darrion's hand rested on Ryan's thigh, but he was obviously totally oblivious to anyone but Noah. Darrion looked a little sad.

Near the group sat Kenny and Kat making goo goo eyes at each other. They were surrounded by Raymie, Bahira, and Zaki, who all stared placidly ahead. Qasim was nowhere to be found, which Mercy thought was strange, as she thought he was desperate to join their clique.

Near Kenny sat Cameron and Chloe. Once husband and wife, they'd now be much better described as roommates or chums. If either of them was secretly unhappy with this arrangement, it certainly didn't show.

Mercy noticed that Luc and Cerise both looked happy. Apparently they'd already recovered from the loss of their only child.

She wondered where Sergei was.