Chapter Fourteen

"Hey, Luna… Have you ever thought of having children? I know we're young. There's still time. But we do most of our music from home. We travel around maybe once a year for tours and stuff like that." Sam said. Luna hesitated. On the one hand, she did want children with Sam. She liked kids and she knew that she wanted to have kids… Eventually. She wasn't sure she wanted kids just yet. She didn't know for sure, but she assumed that her parents had kids young. Her mother was about 45 now. Lori was 23 now, meaning that Rita had to have been about 22 when she had Lori.

Luna didn't know exactly what age women tended to want to have children when Rita was young. But Luna wasn't sure she was ready to have kids. And she was only 21.

"Sammy… I-you know I want children. But I'm not sure I want children just yet. I… Excuse me." Luna said.

"Hello?"

"L-Luna Loud? Oh my God! I can't believe I'm finally talking to you!" A young sounding man breathed, his voice trembling slightly.
"Um… Hi… Are you a fan?" Luna asked. She'd gotten calls from fans before. She didn't freely give out her number, but people got it sometimes. Luna wasn't really concerned about it.

"Y-yes… I mean no! I mean… Sort of… I-I know this is hard to believe, but you're my soulmate! I met you at your last concert! You signed the painting I did of you." The man said.

"I remember that. You're a really good painter, dude." Luna said, a little disconcerted by the fact that he'd just called her his soulmate.

"Y-thank you. Listen, I'm sorry to bother you, but I need to see you again! I know we only met for a few minutes that day, but I felt our chemistry! It burned within me! The fire of your soul burns in my heart!" He said eagerly. Luna nodded.

"Okay… Listen, I'm really flattered that you feel this strongly about me. But… I have a steady girlfriend." Luna said.

"Oh, y-yeah… I know… I know… But have you ever wondered if maybe you weren't with the right person? Maybe there's someone else who has even better chemistry with you. That's me! I'll be that someone for you! I would do anything for you! You are a goddess to me!" he said urgently. You're my moon! You're everything to me!" The man breathed.

Sam looked over, seeing how uncomfortable Luna looked.

"Hello? Who is this?" Sam asked. The man gasped, hanging up. Sam hung up as well, sitting down in Luna's lap, kissing her lovingly.

"Lunes… It's gonna be okay. We'll talk to Lisa, we'll set up more security. We'll make sure our concerts are secure, our cars, ourselves. We're not going to let that creep get to you." Sam said, kissing Luna again. Luna nodded, still shaking slightly.

He hadn't threatened her, but his comments had made her extremely uncomfortable. Why had he made her so uncomfortable? He hadn't made any threats. He hadn't threatened anyone she loved. But somehow, his comments had unsettled her. Of course they had. He was obsessed with her. Sam held Luna close, stroking her hair lightly, calming her down before she called Lisa.

"Hello? LoudTech Laboratories. Lisa Loud speaking. How may I help you?" Lisa asked.

"Lisa… Hi, we're having a bit of a problem." Sam said.

"Hmm… Yes, I can see that. That last call you got is quite worrying." Lisa said.

"Wait… How did you know about our calls?" Sam demanded.
"… Never mind that. I'm certainly not tapped into the phone lines and internet servers of all LoudTech outfitted homes. I can increase security measures on your home. But you'll have to be willing to have certain… AIPs in your home or Artificially Intelligent Persons.

"They can act as security, servants, whatever you need and they'll patrol your home, both inside and outside in shifts. There will be seven of them, which based on the size of your home and property, should cover everything quite nicely. They will be tapped into your phone lines and internet, which will allow them to trace any calls made to your home, regardless of where the call is made from, whose phone it is or any security measures on the phone to prevent tracing." Lisa said.

"The AIPs will also prevent unauthorized entry onto your property. I'll set up a computerized screen at your gate that will allow people to announce themselves and you can speak to them on an app on your phone. I can upgrade your alarm systems, both inside the house and on your lawn that will turn on all lights at night if unauthorized entry is detected. I can't guarantee with absolute certainty that your home will be impenetrable. But the odds are next to nil that someone without an intimate knowledge of your system could penetrate it." Lisa said.

"Lisa, I… Appreciate this all. It sounds like an incredible system. But what is the likelihood that it will affect our own lives? Will it prevent us from going out? From doing our own things?" Sam asked.
"Absolutely not. In fact, I can program into your nanomachines an alarm that will allow you simultaneously to repel unwanted advances and alert the police to your predicament should you be accosted by said stalker. No matter where you are, the nanomachines will alert the police, give them your location as well as a description of the assailant by tapping into your bionic eyes." Lisa said.

"Wow. Lisa, I… Don't know what to say," Sam said.
"There's no need to say anything. Luna is my sister. I would be devastated if she were harmed in any way. By the way, how are the Lousmophone and the Xolmucor doing? You and the band are getting good use out of them?"

"Yes! The Turin is also a big hit. Its deep, raspy sound adds an incredible base to the songs we use it for." Sam said.

"Ah, you can thank Lincoln and Lynn for that one. The Turin was their suggestion, based off of a fictional instrument in an episode of American Dad." Lisa said.

"Anyhow, I can be over within two hours. I need to finish up a thesis I'm writing on transubstantiation of elements using heat and electricity. Currently, at the level of heat that humans can produce, it's impossible. But theoretically, I believe the possibility is there." Lisa said.

"Okay, wait. Transubstantiation? You mean like turning water into wine?" Sam asked, remembering her CCD classes from when she was a kid.

"Haha… No. This isn't magic. It's using a very rigidly controlled scientific process to destabilize the atoms of an element and attempt to control their realignment into new elements." Lisa said.

"Think less Jesus Christ and more nuclear fusion, which is already able to convert Hydrogen atoms into Helium atoms." Lisa said.

"So it's more like alchemy. Turning lead into gold."
"Well… If you want to look at it in such primitive terms, I suppose you could use that description. I really do have to go. I'll be over to your home within two hours. Please make sure to lock up your home and turn on your security system. I wouldn't want Luna's stalker to manage to break in." Lisa said. Sam nodded.

"You got it, Lise." Sam said, hanging up.

-0-

There was a knock at Luna's and Sam's door. Luna hurried, turning off the alarm and letting Lisa in.
"Hello. This project will take more than one day, so I'm going to set up the most important aspects first. The security team. I assure you, they won't hinder your daily life." Lisa said, going to a spot in Luna's and Sam's spare room and setting up her computer, typing in some commands. This lasted for about fifteen minutes before there was another knock at the door.

Sam answered this time and there was a crew of seven robots.

"Robots?"
"We prefer the term 'AIP'. Artificially Intelligent Person." One of the AIPs said.
"Ah, my mistake. Well, come on in." Sam said, standing back and letting them walk in in single file. They stood still for a long moment before splitting up and beginning rounds about the house, some going out into the yard.

"Good, you can control the AIPs with your phones. I'll install the app you need to do so. You can have them do nearly any kind of work from gardening to cooking to cleaning and even work on the toilets or drains. They've been programmed to do almost any kind of domestic work. However, they can also program computers, clean up laptops, repair alarm systems, including LoudTech alarms and they do self-repair when not in use. If the seven I've given you don't seem to be enough, I can give you three more so that they can run the house in teams of five." Lisa said.

"We really do have to do something for you." Luna said.

"I don't require any gifts. I appreciate it though." Lisa said. Luna nodded. She would increase the amount that they donated to Lisa from 15% to 20%. Not a huge increase percent-wise. But they made a good amount of money each year between their concerts, souvenir sales, CD sales, song sales on iTunes and other music apps, their crowdfunding sites, their YouTube and other sources of income. So it wasn't like that extra 5% would be inconsequential.

For such young musicians, they had a good income.

"Very well. I've already programmed your nanomachines to respond as I mentioned before. You should be fine. But if this security is insufficient, we can involve the police." Lisa said. Sam and Luna nodded, going inside and getting some liquor from the cabinet, pouring some for both of them and just sitting together and having a drink.