CHAPTER XVI
A Lesson In Time
"It is said, that time will heal all wounds. A common misunderstanding, rather, it covers them in thick scars. Scars we will carry for the rest of our lives, reminding us of who we are. They act as mental reference points, leading us back to where we are from and physically seal in the emotions of our past. Do our scars not become us? And we them? Can good ever emerge, from such an encasement of pain?"
R.D.M
Tremerton: Newly Designated Hero's Point: 8/2/2084
One year later...
The first, warming rays of sun light stretched out across the land. The wind picked up, pushed onward by the impact of countless photons. The now restless air brings the particles radiant warmth to the skin of one Bradly Carbunkle. He brushes aside a few wayward strands of his red locks, set dangling in his line of sight from the warm breeze. He briefly pondered trimming it's length. It had, after all, grown a bit longer than his usual taste, though it did carry the added benefit of distinction. The months of recovery following his injuries were a blur of rehabilitation and lab tests, leaving little time for himself, let alone haircuts. It did however, help that Melody found his new hairstyle appealing. An occasionally obscured view was a small price to pay, he supposed, considering that he should be dead. He brought his hand from his head and took a moment to study it against the backdrop of the rising sun. It would be a long time still, before the fresh coat of stark surprise wore away from the striking sight of himself. Vexes's attack had left lasting affects, far beyond the anticipated scarring. The over heated equipment burned it's way into his body, boiling through his muscle tissue and into the bone. The electric pulse she fired through him had enough intensity to destroy his nervous system. What happened next defied logic, and could only be described as a miracle. The nanites that Axle had injected into him, as a last ditch effort to save his life, began to work, baffling both Nora and Mogg. Sheldon theorized that the residual energy left in his body produced a similar signal as damaged circuitry, signaling the nanites to activate. Once activated, the nanites began to restructure the burnt out nerves just as they would in a robotic body, incorporating the foreign metal in the process, "Whatever." He poetically surmised, letting the Gray, metal plated hand fall to his side. He heaved out a deep sigh, partly for his self but, mostly for the entirety of his experiences. Whatever indeed, the end result was all the same, he was alive and living a normal life, well, more-or-less. The Skyway equipment was now a permanent part of his being but, not so much in an unflattering way. The nanites managed to make the transition between metal and flesh look natural, more-or-less, and left him with the ability to activate the flight systems as well as the gravity gloves. Although, with great mental effort. He gazed out across the land. The spectacular view stirred thoughts of the past, which in turn, run rampant through his mind. The peak at which his feet sat had once known the name Look Out Point, a popular place amongst teens in his hay day, a place he himself had once spent a few blissful afternoons, "Jenny..." The thought passed as he focused on the busy little dots scurrying about the town below. Most would be wrapped up in the site of the Sunrise itself, bringing new light to the recovering city below, but not him. He saw the beauty in everyone coming together to rebuilt their home.
"Beautiful day huh?" Melody's voice landed on his ears, "Your up early. Been testing your bio-flight systems I see..." The iron maiden landed softly a short distance behind.
"Yeah..." He somewhat sighed, "Just needed some air..."
"It's only been a few days since your discharge, maybe take it easy? For me?" Melody's tone clearly conveyed her concern. She approached him on the left and gripped his metal hand. He briefly glanced down, hearing the gentle scrape of metal from her touch, then to her optics and smiled. She reciprocated, and the two gazed out across the awaking town, "You know..." Melody broke the silence, "It's this exact spot where they'll set the monument." She smiled at him, then glanced over her shoulder, "She'll look beautiful...All carved out of marble..."
"Yep...This place sure will look different." He replied at length.
"I think it's fitting...A memorial wall with the names of everyone who lost their lives..." She tried to calculate it's grandeur, "Jenny standing out-front...It'll be a wonderful site, especially when the Sun rises." Brad nodded in agreement. Melody frowned a bit to herself, it pained her that he was uncommunicative, "Things are slowly getting back to normal." She changed the topic, trying to strike up the conversation again. This time it worked.
"It's pretty amazing what can get done when we're all on the same page...As sad as it is, the war brought the whole planet together like never before. Even got the United Governments to actually unite." He smirked, "I wouldn't call it normal, but I sure hope it's the new normal." Melody squeezed his hand a bit, she loved to see him full of optimism. He released her hand and turned to look over the area designated for the monument himself.
"Speaking of getting back to normal...I got a message from Skyway..." Brad turned back to her with a stern but curious stare, "All the way from the guys overseeing the Skynet project. They're putting together a new mission and, with Dale gone...They've nominated you to lead it. With supervision of course..." This definitely grabbed his attention.
"Why me? I'm just a guy...I was just doing what anyone else would have..." He asked, trying not to let a smile crack his naturally calm, cool demeanor.
"Well, pretty much the whole world knows what you did. Man and robot, fighting against an alien threat to our planet. It's inspiring...People need to see more of that." She quickly replied, "That's the actions of a person that they want representing them." Brad thought on the information for a moment.
"What kind of mission are we talking about?" Melody was almost to enthusiastic to speak on the matter.
"Recently, they've picked up a new signal from Cluster Prime..." She baited, "They're not sure what to make of it yet."
"Survivors?" He prodded.
"It's unclear right now. It's all just static and random binary. All they know is that something is sending a signal. And they're picking up more of them everyday." She paused briefly, just to admire his presences, "The U.G. already had plans for an expedition to the planet. Earth is still recovering, we could really use the resources left on a world full of deactivated robots. With Dale's training and me by your side, I can't think of anyone better to lead the mission and besides, you're the only person to ever see your fathers files. Couple that with your first hand knowledge and experience with lifeforms like Jenny and I...It's the logical choice."
"What do you mean only person?" Brad questioned, "Those reports had Skyway all over them."
"Your father was reporting directly to Skyway, until Dale signed on as head of Skynet operations. Dale actually trained under your father when he was going through the academy. He was under orders to review all of Derrick's information before reporting back to Skyway with it. Dale knew Skyway had nothing good in store for the data your dad was gathering, so they worked out a plan..." She trailed off, noticing that he was a bit uncomfortable with talk of any kind about his father, "Look, I know you've had your heart set on being this famous football player but, the truth is, you really do have a talent for this kind of thing. Your a born leader, not afraid to take action, and a practical thinker." She grabbed both of his hands and looked them over while running a thumb across their metal ridges, "Your a beacon of what we can be..." She slowly pulled her eyes to his, and in doing so, found a bit of doubt. Her personal interpretation of the Skyway General's message were not enough to convince himself of what she knew to be true, "You've done something that no one else has...You brought the humanity out of machines. The first time you met Jenny, you didn't judge her, you accepted her. You didn't question her, you understood her. She was just another person in your eyes and has been ever since." Brad seemed to pick-up on her meaning, Melody could literally see a change in his demeanor, "You accepted me too...As more than just a friend...You showed me that good can bloom from evil roots...and that love truly has no bounds..." She lightly pressed her left hand against his cheek, "You've loved me...And your love has shown me what it truly means to be alive..." Brad looked into her optics once more, noticing every detail of her synthetic facial features. All of which seemed to say that she, at least and perhaps alone, held the faith in him that her words suggested, "Come on. Mogg wants to test your fine motor skills and debrief you on the details." Melody hovered a few feet off the ground in-front of him, pulling gently on the hands she still held. Brad paused for an instant. Though he had always made a point to never say goodbye, the phrase had always seemed so final to him, the lack of closure weighed heavy on his heart. He turned towards the memorial site once more, forcing out the long withheld but now necessary words.
"Goodbye Jen. I'll...See ya around..." He whispered quietly. He turned his attention back to Melody, concentrating, focusing on his recently discovered flying ability. With a bit of assistance, his feet left the ground and his grief remained where he stood. Looking upon his love, Brad couldn't help but ponder on their relationship. There hadn't been much time for them since their reunion, what with the war going on and the resulting recovery periods for both. He smiled at her, "Ah, to heck with those tests. Lets take the long way around." Melody practically beamed with delight, as the two soared off into the sky.
Skynet compound: Location top secret
The guttural sounds of deep, mechanical moans reverberated throughout a hallowed chamber. Affixed the center stood a narrow plateau, rising several meters high, it's peak nearly touched the rooms grand, dome shaped ceiling. The phantom glow of starlight cascaded through the open observation port, vaguely highlighting a large optical array, and one lonely soul. A sigh slipped through the speakers of the Gray giant as he watched the telescope retract back into itself, and the large curved doors come to a close. A dim sliver was all that remained of the night sky's grandeur, which basked him in it's twilight. Removing himself from the observers seat, he stepped into the shadows. Hours a night spent watching, as the bluish tinted cloud of charged particles slowly spread and dissipated, fading over the course of seasons, much like his hope of finding her again. How it had worn him. The passage of time has done little to quell the tempest of his heart. Usually enthralling tasks, such as upgrading the XJ line, had become mundane at best and served little more than to dull his mind. But the hole in his heart still burned for her, driven by resent, vivid dreams of her. Thoughts about the latter plagued Sheldon as he set foot on the small elevator platform and it descended him to the darkened rooms floor. Rhythmically, his feet clomped against the the floor, echoing as he made his way to the exit. A faint blue light passed over him as he approached the door, "Recognized. Sheldon. Oswald. Lee." The voice of the complexes A.I. signaled his authority to pass. He proceeded towards the laboratory. It was, after all, time for Bradly's motor function test. The various personnel going about their daily schedules stepped out of his way. Some gave him a glance and quickly adverted their eyes, "Was it out of fear? Or respect?" He pondered briefly and decided to leave the thought at that. Some questions are better left unanswered. After a short stroll and the same authorization process once again, the door to the lab opened. Nora immediately turned her attention to him as he entered.
"Good day Dr. Lee." Nora greeted swiveling around in her computer chair, "Or perhaps it should be good morning? It is 0647 hours." She corrected herself, "How fairs your ongoing research?"
"The same..." He sighed, "The clouds expansion rate has slowed down...The solar winds are beginning to overtake the explosion's momentum. In a few months time, the left over radiation will be pushed into the Oort Cloud...Has Brad arrived yet?" He quickly changed the subject. Nora could still read the emotion in his voice.
"No, I'm afraid that his and Melody's signal went off line." She sighed, "Oh, well...There are other more interesting matters that need our attention..." She motioned for him to come and examine the information scrolling across her monitor, "Tell me, what do you make of this?" She pressed enter on her keyboard, starting a audio loop of harsh, sharp, scratchy tones. Sheldon listened with keen interest.
"Hmm...As always with you, I know it's something more but, it just sounds like static white noise to me. No different from the ever present hiss of background radiation left over from the big bang, save for the occasional sharp pitch." He responded. Nora huffed out a cloud of smoke.
"This sound byte just recently came down the line from the Skyway heads. Mogg brought it to me before leaving. It was recorded by Voyager 3 during a flyby of Cluster Prime." She informed him.
"Cluster Prime? I thought it was confirmed that Vexes and DV-2 had left it a waist land before coming to Earth?" He questioned, "What interest does the U.G. have there anyway?"
"A planet of deactivated automatons? Just think about it." She replied, "You could imagine what that would contribute to Earth's recovery if we could harvest those resources. As for the signal, all evidence still points to no life on Cluster Prime. We can speculate for weeks, and I'm sure we will, about the origin of the signal..." Another Gray cloud left her lips, "It could be anything from residual electromagnetic energy in the atmosphere released from the bots upon deactivation to-"
"Some type of virus left behind..." Sheldon interrupted, "Nanobots could be reactivating the deactivated bots. Vexes told me that she planned to leave behind a piece of herself on all the planets she conquered."
"All topics will be cover before the mission is Green lighted. In the mean time...I've been fiddling with the hard-drive recovered from beneath my home..." Sheldon thought for a moment.
"The one damaged by radiation exposure? As I recall, the data was scrambled beyond recognition due to Melody and I's...Scuffle." He gave her a curious stare from behind the steel chest of the Silver Shell suite, "You yourself deemed it a lost cause."
"That would be the one. The hard-drive was stored deep enough underground to be safe from even lethal amounts radiation. After first accessing the data, I theorized that the vibration from your battle damaged the containment around the hard-drive, thus allowing radiation to leak in but, after extensive review, I could find no evidence of containment breach..." Nora stroked a few keys, "And since there was no breach..." The window of information on the screen slid down and out of view and a new page of equations appeared, "See? Even at the levels the two of you were producing, there is no way that any radiation could penetrate through 10ft of reinforced concrete, 3ft of dirt, and the photonic shielding around the hard-drive." Sheldon took a few moments to examine the calculations of Dr. Wakeman.
"Hmm...Everything seems to be in order. The question then, is what caused the data to scramble?" Nora fidgeted with a cigarette in her left hand.
"What if I told you, that the data was never actually scrambled? What if I told you that it was all rearranged, into a highly complex construct?" Nora smiled brightly behind her cigarette, "A construct so complex that, viewed up close, it's information would seem random, damaged, or scrambled."
"I understand what your saying, but not your point." He crossed his massive arms, "Just what are you getting at?"
"Perspective, Sheldon." She hastily rapped upon the keyboard, "It's like viewing quarks and leptons under a quantoscope, without realizing that they are just parts in an atomic structure." Sheldon listened intently, "Or that said atomic structure is only part of a compound or element."
"We've been missing the forest for the trees." He responded, "So, if it's not scrambled, merely changed, then into what?" Nora continued her rapid typing. Exiting from her calculations, the previous window of seemingly scrambled data expanded across the huge monitor once again. As the typing continued, Sheldon dropped his arms to his sides and leaned closer to the screen. It was interesting enough to watch her implement her custom algorithm on the fly, but what it decoded, what it revealed was truly astonishing. The random numbers and text seemed to rotate within a 3 dimensional space and condense, bringing to light a familiar, pulsating form, "Is...Is that what I think it is?"
"If your referring to it's uncanny likeness to a heart, then yes. It is what you think it is." She stepped back from the computer and admired the image, "The program I've been running is slowly decoding it all, making it possible for us humans to see." She flicked the burned out butt into the trashcan, "But, as you can imagine, it's going to take quite awhile to decode something as complex as a living being."
"Are you serious? An artificial intelligence?" He stared at her, "I don't understand. I mean, I understand the principles involved but, how did this result come to be? Something that complex has to be designed, for it to just, spontaneously happen is..."
"A miracle? I have never claimed to be a religious person Sheldon but...Something, somewhere is definitely working in mysterious ways." She added.
"This is almost to much..." He rubbed at his optics, "Do you know what exactly it is, growing inside your hard-drive?" Sheldon asked with an ominous tone. Nora answered with equally ominous silence. He tried again, "What data did you have stored on it?"
"Backups of Jennifer's A.I." She responded quickly, "Along with all of their original and updated design schematics, experimental weapon ideas..." She was reluctant but, finally revealed what Sheldon had suspected, "And the information DV...Axle willingly divulged." Sheldon pondered the possible implications of Cluster code mixed into Dr. Wakeman's own personal information.
"Have you considered-"
"Yes." She blatantly cut him off, "I have considered the possibility of this being a Trojan Horse of Vexes. A highly calculated strike. She would finally have all of my data and the ability to use it to destroy me...But I trust anything that has a fraction of my daughter within it." Sheldon allowed her a few moments of silence before asking the all important question.
"What will happen next? That is, once the information is fully decode, and you find yourself starring down the barrel of a digital being, what will you do?" She bowed her head and huffed, "You could, and probably should, erase it. End any possible threat it may pose..."
"I don't feel it is anyone's place to judge a life form before it has even had the chance to live. I'm going to do what I have always done...I will give it life. It's design will be programmed into the fabrication tank and carried through to full production." Though her voice was confident, it was clearly evident that the decision weighed heavy on her, "I trust that this information will remain between us..." She brought her eyes to his optics, "God only knows what Skyway would do if they found out." Sheldon drew his arms behind him and rested them in the small of his back, letting out a huff as he did.
"Kenny." He spoke openly.
"Recognized. Sheldon. How can I help you?" The complexes A.I answered.
"Where is Elena located?" Sheldon asked
"Moscow, Russia." Kenny replied.
"Inform her that her new weapons systems software is ready."
"Affirmative." Sheldon turned, preparing to leave Nora to her studies but stopped briefly.
"Your secret is safe with me. I would never want you to end the life of Jennifer's...Child...I look forward to being a part of it's development." He somewhat asked with his tone.
"I can't think of anyone more qualified." She answered, "Besides, he or she will need a...Father figure to look up to and guide them through this life." Sheldon smiled to himself, "Someone who understands." His smile faded, and the suits large shoulders slumped somewhat.
"Do you think me...Foolish? To hold on so long..." His voice trembled slightly.
"I always wanted her to find someone who cared for her, and treated her the way she deserved to be treated. I only wish she could have seen that, despite everything, it was you all along. In this Universe of infinite possibilities, I like to think that she saw that before the end." Sheldon thought about telling her of the vividly realistic dreams he had been experiencing, of the strong feeling of something approaching but, decided to remain quiet, "By the way, a number of satellites have developed malfunctions while passing over the Atlantic." This certainly peaked his interest, "With all that is going on, no one has had time to investigate." She copied the data onto a flash drive, "It would seem that the malfunctions have been associated with an odd pattern of radiation..." She finished as she pulled the drive out, "If it isn't to much trouble..." Sheldon's heart pounded as he took the device.
"I'll be sure to look into it." He muttered, "I could use a break from my usual routine." The lab door opened once more and Sheldon passed through. He glanced back, "Science does not refute the existence of God...Absence of evidences, is not evidence of absence." Nora listened quietly, "I've seen miracles happen, only now do I know how to recognize them." The door shut behind him.
"It's a mad world indeed..."
Moscow: The Warriors of Earth Memorial
An 8ft tall White and Violet automaton casts an ever darkening shadow across a tombstone. Elena has come to this place several times, trying to process and quantify the most human of human qualities, death. She knelt down and brushed aside the dead flowers of her last visit before placing a single fresh rose in their place, "Sidorov..." She read softly to herself.
"I thought I might find you here." A Russian speaking man approached her from behind, "Even in such a grave place, your beauty still lights the world."
"I just...Just wanted to understand..."
"What it means to be human? You know more about it than you think." He placed his prosthetic hand on her side and kissed her on the upper arm, "And we have the rest of our lives to indulge in it's wonders." He turned his gaze towards the grave, "My father was a great warrior. He gave his life to defend his country...I joined the military to follow in his foot steps. I was suppose to die in battle that day just as he had...But that day, I met you." He returned his eyes to her's, "You saved me...Looking back, I know he would have been proud of what I've done, but I believe he would want me to live my own life." He took her hand in his, "With a beautiful women." Elena smiled, even though she could not quite process why, his words just felt...Good. They walked, hand in hand, towards the exit.
"What of your sisters? The ones you've told me about?" Sidorov asked just before the gate. Elena went silent for a moment.
"XJ-6 is living with XJ's 1,3, and 4 in a temporary shelter back in Tremorton until we are able to rebuild our Mother's home. The three of them are...Not as capable as I am and are unable to live alone." He could hear the sadness for her siblings in her voice, "Even with the improvements and repairs, their systems will not be able to progress to adult hood for a number of years...They will attend school to help them develop." He pulled close to her, sensing her unease.
"There, there my light...Do not feel sorrow for them. They will be able to grow and change, just as Jennifer did." His words comforted her, "I'm sure they will become great, just as you and Jennifer have. We should go see them one day. I would be honored to meet such brave warriors." Emotions were still very new to her but, she enjoyed the feeling of being close to him. Despite his attempt to ease her mind, one thing still plagued her.
"What...What happens to humans when they die?" It was I difficult question, even by human standards and certainly caught him off guard.
"There are many different theories...Thousands even. No one can really agree upon one and even less are certain if there is any truth to them at all." She listened intently, "I will say this, who we are can never be erased. Our loved ones live on in our hearts and minds...They are never really gone as long as we love and remember them. They are all around us, you just have to look for them." She soaked it all in as he opened his car door for her. She sat quietly for a time as he took his place behind the wheel and drove towards his house, watching the sky as they went. After a short time, she received Kenny's message.
"We may be going to see them sooner than we thought." She spoke.
"Oh?"
"The software for my new weapons system is ready...If I install it, I'll be able to use my full range of abilities...I will become a weapon again...If anything else where to happen...I would be duty bound to assist...We would never be able to have a normal life..." She looked to him for an answer.
"Haha..." He slightly chuckled, "What is this normal you speak of?" She smiled, "You always have been a hero, you may as well be a well armed one."
"You...Wouldn't think differently of me?" She asked.
"Of course not." He grabbed her hand. Emotions where still very new to her and the one she was currently processing was delightful to her C.P.U., "It must be what humans call happiness..." She processed to herself, before speaking again, "I Understand I...think. What you were talking about earlier. I have this ever present feeling that she is here..." He glanced at her.
"Your sister? Jennifer?" He asked.
"Yes...I know it doesn't compute but...I can feel her...Even though her remains are disappearing into space, I can still detect her signal. Faint and scattered but..it is...Here." She pressed a clenched fist over the center of her chest, opting to for a visual demonstration when words failed her. He could tell that what she spoke, she truly felt.
"You will see her again." He squeezed her hand and she turned to him, "Have faith. Have faith in this and believe. As long as you do that, you will see her again." The two continued their drive in quiet, simply enjoying each others company.
Later that day: Earth's orbit
Sheldon Lee found comfort while adrift in the silent void above his native world. A mind numbing place of endless emptiness to the vast majority, a soothing blanket of comforting silence for one who grew and blossomed in life's shadow. Hours he had spent, carefully removing the paneling from the side of one of the satellites in question, only to be confronted by charred relays and melted fuses,"The damage I'm seeing here doesn't add up. According to the output rating of these solar panels, they alone could not have produced enough power to fry the electronics..." He tried to check the solar weather conditions over the past month but, to no avail. A weak connection being butchered by interference made the task impossible at the moment. He scratched at the back of his head inside his shell, "Strange..Very strange..." He spoke aloud but, to himself as he began reading through his own logs of Sun activity.
"What? What's so strange?" Nora asked, hearing the words over the communicator she wore on her ear. Agitating her further was the lack of video feed, "How can you be sure that you are even at the right coordinates?" She snapped while hastily trying to deal with the complete inability of her technology to preform is designated tasks, "I can't get a location lock through the radiation interference..."
"Oh I'm sure..." He responded staticly through her earpiece while taking in the spectacle happening around him. Watching in awe, he found himself at a loss for words, "I'm not quiet sure how to describe it..." He thought for a moment, "Are you familiar with St. Elmo's Fire?"
"Of course I do Mr. Lee..." Nora somewhat hissed as she franticly pulled at a tangle of fiber optic cables, desperately trying to improve her reception, "Most commonly found on aircraft when passing through the upper atmosphere-" Sheldon tuned out what he currently considered a drab, static filled, monotone, drilling into his preoccupied mind. And who could blame him? Lost he was, in a stunning visual display of dancing particles and light frequencies only his artificial optics could fully take in. An ungulating sea of light photons ebbed, to and fro, all around him, and seem to permeate from the void around him on some quantum level. It took only a few moments for him to notice a pattern in it's movement, a slow condensing of the phenomenon. He extended his left arm towards the thickest portion, smiling behind the inches of metal that shielded his fragile life, "-Reaching a level of intensity that, in some cases, allows visual conformation by naked eye alone..." Sensing her words falling on deaf ears, Nora tossed down the bundle of wires in a huff and wiped her frustrated brow, "Honestly Sheldon, what the Hell is going on up there?!"
"...nders, Nor...Wonders..." Was his only scratchy response, less than satisfying to Nora's information requiring mind. Deciding to abandon her fruitless communication efforts, she began tapping into the sensor arrays of nearby military satellites
"I'll just analyze the radiation field itself..." She keyed in her clearance code for control of Skyway's geosynchronous military hardware, "Seeing as how my assistant is unavailable..." She quipped, dropping the earpiece on the table before her, "I'll just have to gather as much intell as possible and sift through it manually..." Almost instantly, huge amounts of data came flooding in as her finger lifted from the final key. She herself was no stranger to the heavy cascade of ones and zeros. She decided to study them for a moment before relinquishing the task of compiling it to her equipment. It was as she turned way that she noticed it. The patterns. She would notice them anywhere, in any form. She thrust her face to within inches of the monitor, daring not to even blink, she examined every digit, "Th...That is a start up command...My start up command..." The words barely fell from her lips as she fumbled madly for earpiece.
Author's Notes:
Normally, I wouldn't do this, I consider it somewhat distasteful but, seeing as this will be my final FanFiction, why not? This is the Author's notes anyway and I have had so many fans so, here is a small window inside my mind. Some would say that writers often place themselves into their stories in an attempt to live vicariously through a specific character. Some would even say, that character is Axle. I disagree. This story, in it's entirety, is a representation of my life. Littered throughout this tale are parodies of my own experiences. I have literally woven myself into the story. Ironically enough, I identify most with Sheldon. Does this surprise you? Here are a few songs that I listened to during my writing.
The Lacs – Left For Me
Imagine Dragons – Radioactive / Demons
Shinedown – What A Shame
Ben Howard – Oats In The Water
3 Doors Down – When You're Young / When I'm Gone
These, and others like them, are what drove the fight scenes. Not only Sheldon's. For those of you wondering what may have been going through my mind when ending this story: I feel, and I feel most of you would agree, that if you were to really give it some thought, that an important part of Jennifer being able to live out a normal life is for the Earth, as a whole, to learn to deal with it's problems without Jennifer's help. This fact is an essential part of the story. When the weight of the world rests on her shoulders alone, people will become dependent instead of independent.
To all those faithful to my story, your reviews pressed me onward, and I thank you.
To all who criticized me, thank you. No one is perfect, sometime I miss errors.
To all who may read this story in the future, I dream of a world filled with fantastical tales that stretch the imagination. Much of which was once considered to be fictitious has become a daily part of modern life.
Never stop imagining. A story lives on inside us, far after its finished.
I leave you with this, I most now move on to bigger things. I swore to myself that I would write a story, weather or not it became popular. It calls to me, EATS at me...This fiction was but an obstacle for me to climb. I promised myself I would not write an original unless I first conquered this story. You all have shone me that I can write, and that there are those who want to read. If ever it does become popular, there will be a short message to you, my fans, in the forward. I hope to hear from you again.
Your Author, Ivanwright.
R.D.M.