After radioing the control tower, Sinclair landed his plane at Heathrow Airport, which had various runways arranged somewhat like the Star of David. He sat in the cockpit, alone, driving the plane to a gradual halt.
"Welcome back, Julian. Did you seriously fly that plane alone?" the air traffic controller asked.
"I could fly this by myself even blindfolded. Should have seen me in the Memphis Belle during the war! I was the reason she flew over twenty successful missions without a single casualty. We shot down eight German aircraft, too," Sinclair replied, various runway personnel scurrying about outside.
Once the plane was motionless, Sinclair got up and headed to the airport.
"Ya'll sound awfully quiet back there!" he remarked as he left the cockpit.
Eleanor and the Little Sisters lied in a mess of themselves, exhausted from their playing and most asleep in odd positions. Even Tenenbaum was sleeping in her seat, mouth open. "Hah, kids..." Sinclair mumbled, doing his best to step over the little ones without waking them.
Eventually, everyone found themselves in a classic red double-decker bus, everyone paid for my Sinclair. The Little Sisters scurried around in the upper deck to have a look at everything. Brigid sat quietly, watching over the kids as they ran around. The other passengers had mixed feelings, some finding adorable girls running around cute, others finding it annoying, and some didn't care. Eleanor got quite a few weird looks from people, as she did not wear shoes, but she did not seem to mind.
"Are they your kids?" an old Englishwoman asked as a few Little Sisters squealed and bounced.
"Hm? Oh, yes. Yes, they are," Tenenbaum replied, her accent giving the old lady a slightly sour look.
"What are you? A pad rat?" the old lady asked.
"Hm? What?" Brigid replied, not understanding British military slang. For the most part, she ignored most of what was spoken to her, replying with an occasional nod. Her main focus was occasionally looking at the little ones.
"Ha! They're so cute!" a passenger remarked.
"They all look the same," another commented.
"Must be sisters."
"Must have had a very, very busy mama," a woman chuckled.
Nearby, a man and woman, both in brown suits, argued about something.
"Very healthy? As compared to what?"
"You mean the work, or the mother?"
"No, the experiment."
"The experiment?"
"Yes, the experiment."
"Ah."
"Hadn't expected it to get his far. At least the girl understands experimentation."
"She never was a girl who sought someone else's life to use as her own. She often knew how to use protocol."
"She is, after all, Utopian."
"An A for effort."
"And an A for result."
Not paying too much attention, Eleanor found the passengers' comments both unusual and pleasing. In Rapture, people would be trying to kill the girls, but on the surface, there was just love and curiosity. She felt so glad to be out of that fever dream, but the interactions she had with Mr. Spirry troubled her. This odd bond she had with him was not something she could understand, yet at the same time, she felt safe. Nevertheless, Mr. Spirry, you're staying outside my head.
"Eleanor! Look!" a Little Sister chirped, tugging on Eleanor's dress to get her attention and snapping her out of her thinking. Eleanor complied, spending time with the little ones in their sightseeing.
Most of the passengers found the girls cute and funny, and nothing bad happened. Eleanor saw Sinclair, sitting while leaning against the window, sleeping, probably needing a little nap after the flight.
"Eleanor!" a Little Sister squeaked, jumping up and down repeatedly, getting her attention.
"Yes, Cindy?"
"How's your nosey? Is she alright?"
Eleanor smiled, shoulders lowering a bit by how cute and sincere Cindy was. "Yes, Cindy, she's alright." Eleanor rubbed her nose. "How about you? How are your arms?"
"I'm good!" Cindy nearly cheered, genuinely happy, which was all Eleanor would ever want. Cindy's smile soon faded, as did Eleanor's, the Big Sister looking away. "Eleanor? What's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing."
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, really, I am."
"Eleanor, my dear Big Sister, you're...not happy? Hmmm..." Cindy cocked her head, sensing that something was wrong, but couldn't figure out what. Eleanor patted Cindy on the head.
"Oh, don't worry about me, Cindy. I'm just...tired." Eleanor took her seat again. She stared out the window and crossed her arms, looking rather depressed, something she did not want the little ones to see. I miss you...
"Eleanor?" a few Little Sisters asked at the same time, Eleanor looking at them, the bus bouncing a little from bumps.
"Is Eleanor sad?" a Little Sister asked. Eleanor hesitated, moving a few fingers along her hair, and then she looked back at the girls.
"Eleanor needs to have a little break, that's all," Eleanor responded, then smiled. "But I'll be ready to play again very soon."
"Yay!"
The double-decker bus reached a destination somewhere in Westminister that evening. This was a very busy, governmental area of London, the River Thames running past, always on the move like everyone here. Tenenbaum had to wake up Sinclair, then gathered the girls, and they all went off the bus together.
"Stay close, little ones, don't want to get lost in city," Brigid warned as the girls swarmed about happily, eager to look at the sun, the mailboxes, telephone booths, and anything else they could get their paws on, rippling their cuteness everywhere and for everyone.
"Hunh, the tall houses don't even need water." a Little Sister said to herself, looking up at the immense buildings in awe. Eleanor was also interested in the architecture, which reminded her of Rapture, yet was distinctly different in its own way.
"I guess the water went high up," another child commented, staring at the blue sky and thinking hard.
Eleanor caught up with Tenenbaum, Sinclair staying back and keeping an eye out, sometimes having to run after a Little Sister who wandered too far off.
"Tenenbaum?" Eleanor asked, getting the old lady's attention. "So, where are we heading, now?"
"To friend's place. It is where we all start new life, especially for you, Eleanor."
"Especially for me?" Eleanor asked.
"You will see," Brigid assured eagerly, smiling warmly.
It was rare to see Tenenbaum smile, and Eleanor felt pleased with that. "Hunh... You really are quite resourceful, Brigid. I don't know how you do it."
"Sometimes, I just know."
Later, Tenenbaum led everyone to a rather large, pretty townhouse, a terraced building with a welcoming feel.
"Housies here is so squished," a Little Sister observed.
Tenenbaum knocked on the door, and soon, it was opened by a middle-aged Black man.
"Good evening, Tenenbaum, how are you? Please, come on in, all of you," he greeted politely, then made a rather surprised face by how many Little Sisters were with her. Everyone entered the townhouse, the little ones immediately exploring.
"Hello, Mr. Porter, good to see you again," Tenenbaum said.
"Yeah! Good to see you, too, Papa Porter! Where have you been?" a Little Sister cheeped, Porter smiling.
"I was very busy, sweetie. I'm so happy you made it back as well," Charles replied, then noticed Eleanor's absence of shoes. "Ah, and you must be...Eleanor? Pleased to meet you." He shook Eleanor's hand.
"Hello, Mr. Porter, I don't think we've ever met. And what's this about The Thinker? I used to take your computers and robots apart as a kid," Eleanor said.
"Did you, now? Huh. Well, I would love it for you to be a student at the University of Westminister. Tenenbaum was talking about it all the time after she...saved me."
Eleanor looked at Tenenbaum, unsure of how to react.
"Just as The Thinker predicted, Eleanor was at Ireland. It even gave me phone number to contact her exact location."
"Really?" Porter asked, amazed. "The Thinker isn't even two percent complete, and it told you that already? That can't be possible, I...hm. The ADAM inside it must have continued increasing its intelligence, or... Well, an incomplete computer should not be able to make such an accurate prediction... I can only imagine what wonders The Thinker can do when we finish rebuilding it," he continued while thinking heavily.
Sinclair, however, had little idea of what was going on, or perhaps did not care. He watched the Little Sisters scurrying around instead.
"You're rebuilding The Thinker? Where? How did you get the funds and people for that?" Eleanor asked, genuinely curious. Surely, it would be impossible for two people, after rising out of the ocean with nothing, to suddenly be working on a megaproject?
"After Tenenbaum cured me, we went to Westminister to show the government and the university my codes. They were so impressed by it, we made a deal." Porter looked excited. "Now, the University of Westminster is helping to rebuild The Thinker with government funds, stocks, and investments! The best scientists around the world will be coming to Westminster when The Thinker is complete, I just know it. Stephen Hawking, Richard Feynman, Fred Singer, Arthur C. Clarke, Gerard Kuiper, Frank Drake, Carl Sagan, and so many others... Turing wouldn't even believe it. And now, with Tenenbaum's knowledge of ADAM, and your expertise in electronics, I can only imagine what scientific advances we will be making!"
Eleanor paused for a second. It would certainly be nice to be in an educational institution, where her upbringing could be utilized properly. Porter was putting on his boots while Eleanor pondered to herself. Would she be living with Porter, Tenenbaum, her Sisters, and be going to university? Eleanor smiled, but then... Father, if only you could be here...
"Oh, Ms. Tenenbaum, do you mind if I take Eleanor to the university? I would very much love to show her the operational data interpreter network, and have a chat with The Thinker."
"Of course, Porter. This can give me time to arrange the rooms for deh little ones," Tenenbaum replied, smiling. Porter nodded and took car keys from the wall.
"Need help moving things?" Sinclair asked Tenenbaum.
"Yes, Julian, I not finish with some furniture. I would very much appreciate your help." Brigid noticed that things were awfully quiet. "Girls? Where are you? Where you go?" she called, overhearing a few giggles further into the townhouse.
"Sounds like they wanna play hide and sneak," Sinclair remarked.
"You're on your own this time, Tenenbaum," Eleanor joked, the girls chuckling.
"Ha! Alright, Eleanor, I'll drive you to the university, show you around. We won't be able to get much done tonight, but it's a start."