Kyle and Jessi had made reservations in the same restaurant that they had met Mike Kasperson. They had arrived before their guest and been seated at their table. While they waited, they admired the warmth of the fire in the brick wall.

They looked up to see the Maitre d' approaching followed by Allana Sellers, a thin, Asian woman. He seated her at the table and said, "Your waiter will be with you in a moment."

Brian Taylor had told us that we should build relationships with individual board members who might be our allies. When Cassidy had forced me to do work with the Latnok group at UDub I had been surprised to see how many of the students were bright people, trying to do good things. As we learned more about the Latnok board, I realized that many of them had once been like those students. Adam had inspired them to build Latnok to change the world for the better. I hoped that there would still be some embers left of the fire Adam had started which could burn again. Allana still seemed to have some of the fire within her.

As he left, Kyle said, "Thank you for coming."

"Thank you for inviting me," Allana said warmly. "I was really pleased to get your call." She smiled at them and said, wonderingly, "The two of you represent a fascinating development. On one hand you are a couple of bright teenagers, on another you strongly inspire memories of Adam Baylin, and," she nodded to Jessi, "Sarah Emerson, and finally you are the result of a project of almost twenty years duration. One that was at the cornerstone of the vision that Adam had when he brought us together. You may well represent the next phase in human evolution."

"That's a lot of things to be," Kyle observed with a smile.

"Yes," Allana smiled, "And various people are focusing on different aspects of what you represent. Different people are seeing you in different ways."

"And how do you see us?" Kyle asked.

"Another chance," Allana said.

"Another chance?" Kyle asked.

"When I was a young, idealistic grad student, I met a visionary named Adam Baylin, he told us that we could enhance human abilities and that it would let us change the world, end war and poverty. We were all brilliant, of course, but he was so far ahead of us. His vision collected us and inspired us. We had such hopes for the future." She looked into the distance, remembering, "We have fallen far short of our dreams." She shrugged, "We've done some good, made a lot of money and we manage a rather extensive technological empire. But the world has changed very little. Adam drifted away from us. And now he's gone." She looked back at Kyle and Jessi, the glint of tears in her eyes, "You're another chance."

Kyle and Jessi looked at each other. Kyle reached out to take Jessi's hand and squeeze it. The waiter arrived, interrupting the discussion to take their order. Jessi said that she would have the quail again but Kyle opted for the scollops.

Allana asked, "Is the quail good?

"I liked it," Jessi said.

Allana smiled, "Then I'll have it too."

After the waiter left, Kyle assured her, "We want to be another chance. After Latnok kidnapped Amanda and me from the Prom, I wanted to meet with the board and arrange a deal to provide safety to the ones I love. Jessi urged me to do more. She said that we could restore Adam and Sarah's vision. Now we find ourselves on the Latnok board, trying to find a way to do that. We need help."

"I'm terribly sorry about that kidnapping. The people who viewed you mainly as an experiment pushed for that as a test of your abilities. I didn't agree, but we were in the minority. It was a terrible mistake," Allana said. "I want to help you any way I can. What do you need from me?"

Kyle explained, "We want to get to know you. We want to know more about the other members of the board. You said that there were people on the board who couldn't be trusted. We want to hear about that. We want to know what Latnok is today."

"I want to hear about my mother," Jessi said. "You said you were a good friend of hers."

Allana looked at Jessi and smiled, "I liked Sarah. Not everyone did." She thought a moment and explained, "Sarah Emerson wasn't as advanced, intellectually, as Adam, but she was smarter than the rest of us. While Adam was confident and inspirational, Sarah was competitive and driven. She wanted to be the best at anything she tried. Sometimes that rubbed people the wrong way. People who are really intelligent aren't used to having someone more intelligent show them up. Sarah could be blunt about that." She chuckled to herself in memory. "And, of course, there was the jealousy."

"The jealousy?" Jessi frowned.

"Adam was brilliant, kind, understanding. Of course we were all in love with him to one degree or another. The men platonically, for the most part, the women were more hopeful." She looked at Kyle and smiled, "I never really had more than a crush. I wasn't stupid. Adam loved Sarah; the two of them were always together. Anyone could see that they were soul mates. Or at least anyone could who wasn't determined to deceive themselves."

"This jealousy caused trouble?" Kyle asked.

"Yes, people tried to drive a wedge between them. And there were people maneuvering behind Adam's back. Sarah tried to warn him, but they were his friends and he wanted to think the best of them. They fought over it. Sometimes she would express her frustration to me over coffee. I tried to encourage her to be patient with him." She shook her head, "Patience wasn't one of Sarah's virtues."

"What happened between them?" Jessi asked. "Why did Sarah leave?"

"I don't know," Allana said. "I know they had been arguing over the experiment. Adam wanted her to be your egg donor, Kyle, and she was reluctant. There were other things going on, too. We were starting to have serious money involved in what we were doing. Millions of dollars were at stake. Some of us were beginning to be tempted and there were outsiders involved as well. Sarah could see this and it worried her, Adam didn't want to listen." She sighed, "All I know is that one morning she was gone."

"And no one knew where she went?" Jessi asked.

"Sarah Emerson was smart, if she wanted to disappear, even Adam couldn't find her. He tried, but as far as I know, he was unsuccessful." Allana shook her head sadly, "One day we got news that she had been in a car accident and had been killed. Some of us suspected that it might not have been an accident, as I said, there were some sinister things starting to happen. My theory is that someone made an attempt and failed and she took advantage of it to disappear. That's just a guess. I had hoped to see her when she reappeared, but now she's gone again." She looked at Jessi, "She really is dead this time?"

"I wasn't lying," Jessi said with a hint of defensiveness. "I heard her heart stop beating."

"I'm so very sorry, Jessi, "Allana said. "I've always thought things would have been better if she had been able to stay with us. She could have kept Adam engaged."

"Are we just going to let Cassidy get away with killing her?" Jessi demanded.

"I don't want to," Allana said frankly. "But Grace and her faction have blocked any action so far. We don't have any evidence other than what the two of you told us." She held up a hand to forestall Jessi's objection, "and I believe you completely. Even those of us who want to take action don't really know what to do. We can't go to the police. And we are not the kind of people to hire hit men. That's the specialty of the other faction."

"They would hire hit men?" Kyle asked, concerned.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Allana nodded. "There have been rumors, veiled threats. People have disappeared besides Sarah. I can't prove anything of course, and it could be a bluff." She said with a sense of anger, "If you think of anything that can be done, you have my complete support. You're right, her death should be avenged."

Kyle hesitantly asked, "Do you know why Grace was the egg donor for me?"

"I don't know, Kyle,' Allana shrugged. "In those days Grace was more of a believer. She adored Adam and was probably the most jealous of Sarah for that reason. Why Adam chose her for the project, I can't say. I do know that as the years went by she became bitter and cynical. I suspect she hoped that when Sarah disappeared, she could have Adam. I could have told her that was hopeless, but we really weren't on close terms."

"What can you tell us about Brian Taylor?" Kyle asked.

"He was Adams best friend," Allana said, "his right hand man. I know that he had trusted him for years. I was quite surprised when Adam insisted that Brian had betrayed him and wanted him exiled from Latnok. We did what Adam asked, of course, but he never explained the details. I understand it had something to do with you, Jessi. But beyond that I don't know. Brian always struck me as someone who believed in our vision. But then there have been a number of people who didn't live up to my expectations. I could be wrong."

"What can you tell me about the other board members?" Kyle asked.

"I can give you my opinions," Allana said, "I could certainly be wrong. I like Abbie Hawkins, she obviously still believes and is frustrated. Ryan Melland still retains a certain childlike enthusiasm. I think he can be counted on. Mike Kasperson is a bit stodgy but he seems pretty straightforward."

Kyle nodded, "Mike asked us to review Madacorp, we've been working with him." Kyle smiled, "I think I agree with you."

"That was smart of him," Allana observed. "Ben Crossgate believes, but he is a follower, not a leader. They push him around. You know about Grace. Brad Keels really scares me. When I thought someone had killed Jessi I suspected he was involved. Robert Lukesen is cold, I'm not sure he ever really believed. I feel much the same way about Paul Milworth." She paused for a moment and continued, "I'm not sure about Julie Fairburn, we never were close. I know she and Paul were an item once and she usually goes along with him, but what her personal views are now, I can't guess. I don't know Craig Tamblyn well anymore either. He used to believe but he's become discouraged and cynical over the years." She shrugged, "I don't know if that helps you at all."

"It does," Kyle said, "We are trying to understand the personal dynamics. It's good to have different perspectives."

"What are you going to do, now?" Allana asked.

"We are going to sort out which members can still believe and which are taking Latnok in dark directions," Kyle said. "We are going to have to track down and document what they are doing. We want to rebuild Latnok. We want to be your second chance."

Allana said, "I thought I was foolish to hope that a couple of teenagers could undo the damages that the years have done. But seeing you, talking to you, I begin to believe. It's like being around Adam again. It's good to have hope once more. Thank you for that."

"Allana, Adam Baylin and Sarah Emerson built an organization 'for the betterment of mankind', it is capable and powerful but it has lost its way. We have access to amazing technology, with more of it coming online every day. We can do tremendous things. But too many children go to bed hungry and afraid. For some of them their bed is in a cardboard box on a sidewalk." Kyle looked Allana in the eyes, "We can do something about this. Jessi and I are going to remake Latnok into the force for good it was built for. Will you help us?"

Allana looked at Kyle as if he were the morning sunrise, tears welling in her eyes. She said, "With my last breath."

Kyle glanced at Jessi and was surprised to see a similar expression on her face.