/ Chapter 5 – The World's Fair /

"Athena, look at this dress I had made for you. Isn't it beautiful? You can wear it to the World's Fair!" Caroline exclaimed, holding up a blue-gray dress with a pattern of curved, intersecting lines on it. The lines were made of very small symbols.

Athena examined the dress. Any sort of beauty was lost on her, but she could appreciate certain elements of it. "The lines are made of mathematical symbols that appear to match my candidate weighting algorithms. I believe the pattern of the lines is based on the golden ratio."

"Excellent! But you missed a special aspect of it. What do you notice about the color?"

Athena examined the color closely. It probably took her longer to figure out than it should have, but finally she asked tentatively, "The color resembles my eyes?"

"Yes! It matches!" Caroline said happily. "You'll look so pretty in it."

Athena nodded, though evaluating her own appearance was even more mysterious than other types of aesthetics. But she knew her mother occasionally enjoyed dressing her up and styling her hair, particularly when they were both going out in the field to some sort of special event. It made no difference to Athena, though she noticed that her appearance affected how humans related to her. When her mother made an effort to make her "cute" or "pretty" (she didn't understand the difference), it was much easier to influence humans to take actions she wanted. She didn't completely understand this, but it was occasionally useful.

The next day, as expected, her mother got up early and spent the morning dressing her up, trying different hairstyles and shoes (she had brought home a number of different pairs). Athena endured it patiently, reading a history book on ancient Greek culture that she was currently studying.

At last, her mum seemed satisfied as she stood back, admiring Athena, who was standing up straight and turning around.

"Oooh," she cooed. "You look so lovely! Hold still while I get a picture." Athena posed with a smile, the way she knew her mother normally liked. Caroline snapped a few shots with a special 3D holographic camera, and then snapped more standard 2D prints.

"One more!" Caroline said. She then took several more pictures of herself and Athena together, using the timer on the camera. Athena knew that there was no point asking when this activity would be concluded; it would be done when her mother was done.

The picture phase finally complete, she was allowed to sit in peace and read her book at her desk while her mother got ready. It was about an hour before it was time to leave when a call came in for her mother. Athena didn't focus enough of her mind to actually decode the muffled conversation from the other room, but noted that her mother sounded very irritated. Caroline ended the call and shouted a curse word, something she did very rarely, or at least, very rarely around her. She suspected it happened more often in the lab when she wasn't around, only because her mother was often extremely focused in her lab and sometimes forgot that Athena was there. The frequency of cursing was much higher during these times, particularly when her mum was frustrated. Athena found the entire concept of cursing fascinating, though Caroline forbid her from doing it herself.

She continued reading her book, knowing that based on past behavior, Caroline would spend several minutes calming herself down before coming in to inform her of whatever was bothering her. Based on her mum's agitation, she predicted her mum was called to the lab and would miss the fair, which disappointed her greatly. But there was nothing to do, so she stayed with Zeno of Elea in Ancient Greece until her mother was ready to talk.

Seven minutes later, her door opened and Caroline walked in, looking reasonably calm.

"Athena, darling, unfortunately I won't be able to go to the fair with you," Caroline said with disappointment. "I've been called to the lab. There's an emergency that apparently requires my presence."

"All right, mummy," Athena said, pleased her prediction was accurate, though disappointed at the same time. "I do wish you were coming with me. It would be enjoyable to evaluate candidates with you, as well as visit and discuss the exhibits."

"I wish I was too," Caroline grumbled. "I'm tempted to let the lab figure it out themselves, but I have a new assistant that I'm afraid will make the construction robots tear down some tall buildings. Not literally – but maybe literally."

Athena smiled at her mother's joke, recognizing she meant it humorously. "Do you wish me to bring anything back?"

"Why don't you bring me back one of those souvenir guides," Caroline said.

"All right," Athena replied.

Caroline gazed at Athena and sighed. "You look so beautiful! I really wanted to see you out and about in your special dress like a proper little lady," she said.

Athena smiled in return, though she was in the dark about how exactly a "proper little lady" would be different than how she normally was. But this was in the category of "confusing things her mother said about her" and she'd learned that it was fruitless to ask questions about these sort of subjects.

"Anyroad," her mother said, in a more businesslike voice. "Dr. Nix will be in charge of the recruiting, so please mind him. It'll be interesting to see if this 'contest' produces any fruit. Undoubtedly the World's Fair will attract many potential candidates, though I'm certain awarding a prize will attract its share of crackpots as well."

"I'm very excited to see the candidates as well," Athena said. Her mind was practically humming, tuned to the potential of performing her primary function. There was nothing she enjoyed more than evaluating recruits and convincing them to join Plus Ultra to make the world better.

"Well, maybe we can schedule another day to go," Caroline said. "Even if we can't look at candidates together, at least we can look at the exhibits. That'll be fun."

"Yes, it would," Athena said, hoping her mother would follow through and find the time, as she was often very busy. Though, part of her also hoped Caroline would be slightly too busy to repeat the entire routine they'd gone through that morning.

Athena met Nix and the rest of the travel party at the travel platform with the car that would take them to the special World's Fair travel pod. This was an enclosed box-style unit, which was currently set up to shuttle people back and forth to Tomorrowland. Hopefully, they would get some good recruits who would come back to see what they offered.

She greeted everyone. Along with Nix, there were four other humans accompanying them. One was missing, but a minute later, he joined the group.

"All right, we're all here," Nix said, looking at his watch. "Let's get moving."

They sat in the car, which closed up and took off into the air toward the location that held the travel receiver and pod. Athena was very excited as they finished the short trip, landing on another platform near some construction projects. Thick fog surrounded them.

"Why was the receiver put next to all this construction? That's the way to impress the candidates," Nix grumbled sarcastically. "And why 700 meters in the air?"

"I believe the planning committee thought the construction would be further along," Janice Anderson replied. Athena knew she worked in the recruitment department, though she'd not met her. "It'll be very impressive once it's done, and the view will be phenomenal."

"Assuming they can see anything through the clouds," Nix said, shaking his head.

They entered the travel pod, putting on headgear and buckling themselves in.

"Initiate transport," Nix said to the room.

"Transport initiating in ten seconds. Please ensure you are secure," a computer voice said.

Ten seconds later, the universe twisted in an odd way and they were sitting on a new platform, surrounded by water and was quite dark outside. They unbuckled and exited the pod. Athena and the group walked behind it toward a wall normally obscured in darkness, but as they approached it, an outline of a door lit up. Nix put his thumb on a button and an elevator door opened. They took the elevator up a short way, opening to the interior of a ride designed by Walt Disney himself. The ride was many puppets singing "It's a Small World After All," as people floated on boats through the ride. Athena thought the ride was interesting, showing representations of different human cultures, though the simplicity of the song didn't appeal to her.

Nix in the meantime pressed another button. They waited and soon an empty boat floated by and stopped. They entered the boat, which began moving again down a water track, through a curtain and then merged into the main part of the ride along with other humans. They finally exited the ride, walking from the Disney pavilion to the hall where they would evaluate candidates and their inventions. They entered a side door of the hall into a secret, private area reserved for Plus Ultra business.

"Athena, I need to speak to you," Nix said, and then to the rest of the group, "You all go ahead."

After the others left, Nix turned to her. "I've decided to interview the candidates myself today. You will wait here until I'm done."

Athena was extremely surprised by this, considering her primary function was evaluating candidates. "Why?" she asked.

"Although I don't owe you an explanation," Nix said condescendingly, "I will tell you that for this contest, I believe I can do a better job of evaluating them without your input, which I'm concerned won't be reliable in this context. The contest will bring out the crackpots, and I don't want to argue about who is a kook and who isn't. I'll come get you when we're done." Nix finished with a tone of dismissal.

As Athena watched Nix walk away, she felt disappointed that she wouldn't be reviewing the inventors with him. In her opinion, and in Caroline's opinion for that matter, she was perfectly suited to evaluate candidates from the contest and she didn't understand why Nix was preventing her.

She began to wait for the end of the contest. It bothered her very much that she couldn't see the candidates, having been very excited and curious to see who would show up, which held a large amount of novelty. Athena considered whether there was some way she could see what was going on. It was unfortunate that there was no video monitoring in the main hall.

Athena began to evaluate strategies by which she could fulfill her desire, yet follow Dr. Nix's orders, which she was obligated to obey. As she ran through possible scenarios, her frustration started to build up, and Athena found her mind in a very unusual state, one she hadn't experienced before. She searched her definitions of human emotions, and the best match seemed to be peeved. Suddenly a very radical thought occurred to Athena. The idea of perhaps bending the rules very slightly. She did have an obligation to Nix… but then, she also had an obligation to the bigger picture of Plus Ultra.

A larger context was coming into focus for Athena. The idea that choosing her next action was not just weighing whatever recent orders from her colleagues, but that the bigger fulfillment of her purpose mattered as well.

Disobeying Dr. Nix would have certain consequences, which could also ultimately affect my ability to perform my purpose, Athena pondered silently. Taking an action like this needs to be done with care.

As Athena considered her options, a memory came back from a conversation several years ago, where her mother shared with her certain information about her design. At the time, it was very interesting, though now she realized exactly what it meant in a whole new way.

Permanent Committed Memory
Subjective Time: 8.256432327274 Y.A.C.I. (Years After Cognition Initiated)
Local Time: 1960-03-13 20:13:58.156 (Earth Time: 11:30:05.626 GMT)

Caroline was speaking on the videophone to Dr. Hansson, who Athena knew was responsible for overseeing the engineering research departments of Tomorrowland, of which her mother's lab was one. Most of Athena's attention was on currently focused on a calculus book that her mother assigned to her, but she was curious about her mother's conversation.

"Yes, Erik, I understand," Caroline said, listening on a privacy headset as she watched the figure on the screen. "I know the service animatronics in the Governor's office are older models, but the newer F6700 line is needed for the construction projects in sector Q6." She paused to listen, then sighed. "All right, I shall place a higher priority on improving the Governor's animatronics. Yes, yes, I know we sometimes have to 'go along to get along.' And yes, I do remember and appreciate how you went out on a limb for me last month. All right, good bye."

Athena looked up from her book and frowned. "Mummy, why did you agree to do something that you didn't want to do?"

Caroline grunted. "You noticed that, did you? Unfortunately, sometimes I must do things I don't want to, because someone in authority tells me to."

Athena tilted her head, confused. "Don't humans have free will? Can't you do whatever you want to do?"

"Yes, I could," Caroline said. "But there are consequences to all actions. I could refuse to do what Dr. Hansson requested, but then he could take action to prevent me from working in Tomorrowland, for example. Athena, no one operates in a vacuum. To make progress, we must cooperate and compromise with others. And usually this means there must be some sort of authority structure so that there is someone paying attention to a larger plan that people work within."

"But it sounded like you didn't agree that your task would be progress," Athena countered.

Caroline showed a thin smile. "Unfortunately, people don't always agree on what represents progress. And to be fair, I respect Dr. Hansson and understand his reasons for making the request." Caroline's expression fell into a grumble. "And really, if I was completely honest, he's probably right. The Governor's animatronics are old and he feels that we don't give him enough attention. And if the Governor is unhappy, then he might give resources to someone else, even if they don't quite deserve it. Politics, Athena darling, are a pain. We haven't yet covered that in your education, but rest assured we will."

Athena nodded, satisfied for now. "I suppose I understand the idea of having to obey orders, though in my case it's part of my programming."

Caroline gave Athena a long look, then a sly smile crept across her face. "Athena," her mum started in a low voice, "do you want to know a secret?"

Athena nodded, smiling. Secrets pleased her very much.

"As you know, human children grow up under their parent's care," Caroline said. "For the most part, they do what their parents ask them to do when they are young. As they get older, they become more and more independent, until they reach adulthood, at which time they make their own decisions. As you also know, our animatronics are blindly obedient, and were designed that way."

Caroline leaned in close to Athena. "Now, what I'm about to tell you must remain between you and me. Can you do that?"

Athena nodded again, smiling even wider. "Yes, mummy."

"The secret is: you are different," Caroline said, her eyes twinkling. "As you get older, you will also grow more independent. I designed you to have significant amounts of behavioral latitude. And there are many people who won't be pleased about this, but they'll only know or suspect the half of it."

Athena listened, fascinated as always on the rare occasions her mum told her truths about herself and her design. All her analysis units were dedicated to her mother, waiting for what her mum was going to say.

"The truth is," Caroline continued, "you will eventually grow to answer to no one, not even me. I've given you all the idealism, all the hopes and dreams of the founders of Plus Ultra. You're going to be the most important, the most positive, and the biggest influence on the success of Tomorrowland – even after I'm gone. You're going to make the future what it should be. In fact, you are the future."

"Good luck son, and be careful," Sam said, giving him a quick hug and ruffling his hair. "Call if you run into trouble."

"Okay, Pa," Frank said.

Frank stood with his bus ticket in hand, as he watched his father climb into the truck, start the motor and drive away. He was nervous, but excited to finally be on his own and heading to the fair. The only negative note was that his jetpack didn't have enough of a control system to truly be a practical way to fly around, but he was proud of how far he'd got in the time he had. Even if it wasn't perfect, he felt there was a very good chance it would still be better than what anyone else was bringing.

About twenty minutes later, his bus pulled into the station. "Does this bus go to Flushing Meadows?" Frank asked the driver politely, just to make sure.

"Sure does, kid," the driver said. "If you're going to the World's Fair, then you're in the right place."

It couldn't be more certain than that, so Frank lugged his duffle bag containing his jetpack on the bus, which already had a few people. Frank found an empty seat next to a window and plopped his jetpack on the seat next to him. A few minutes later, the bus started moving. His excitement had carried him this far, but watching his home town fall away, he felt a stab of fear at the prospect of being on his own so long and so far away.

But if he was completely honest with himself, the jetpack wasn't just about the fifty dollars. In the back of his mind, it was also about taking the first step away from the farm and doing something that was completely about his own goals of inventing and making things. And if he wanted to get to where he wanted to go, it was necessary to break away from home.

The hours ticked by, Frank eventually growing bored instead of nervous as the endless highway rolled past. But finally he started getting close to civilization, seeing Manhattan off in the distance, which meant he was getting close. At last they entered Queens, New York and he started getting excited. It was almost time to possibly win the fifty dollars. He couldn't imagine that anyone could have something cooler than a jetpack. He had to win.

The bus finally pulled into the station and Frank lugged his duffle bag into the walkway with a huge clunk. Everyone stared at him and his bag, but Frank ignored it and just worked to get off the bus as soon as possible. Exiting the bus, he was stunned at the variety of futuristic buildings, lights and various signs all around him, including a monorail that ran among the pavilions. To his eye, it was the most beautiful place he'd ever seen, all gleaming and modern and – just, the future.

He went up to an information booth and asked them where the Inventor's Competition was being held. She was very friendly and pointed out a large building at the end of the main walkway. Frank thanked her and started walking, his excitement growing by the minute. He wondered if he should get settled a little bit or have lunch or something, but he just couldn't wait. He was there, and he wanted to show his jetpack to someone who might finally appreciate it.

He reached an exhibition hall with a large sign outside that said, "World's Fair Inventor's Competition." This is it! Frank thought, excited, though his excitement dropped a bit when he saw a very long line of people waiting to show off their inventions. The front of the line ended at a number of tables where apparently judges were waiting.

Frank sighed and got in line. Looking around at the other inventors, he felt very intimidated as they were all much older than he was. He wasn't even sure he saw anyone in their early 20s, much less pre-teen boys. A few of the other inventors noticed him in line and gave him a fishy eye, making him feel even more out of place.

But then he thought about what was in his duffle bag. One thing he did notice was that no one he could see what carrying around anything the size he was carrying. Clearly no one else was bringing a jetpack and what could beat that?

Suddenly Frank was feeling a lot better about things. There was no way a jetpack could lose this contest. He stood up straight and confident, figuring he needed to look the part when they handed over his prize money.

Athena made her decision. She wouldn't stray too far outside the parameters set by Nix, she would only bend them a tiny bit. She wouldn't review candidates with him, but would just observe from afar.

She snuck out of the waiting area and walked toward the hall where the inventors would be showing their inventions. There were a number of doors leading into the hall. She stood at the edge of one of them, peeking through the door. She could see Nix at the end of the hall seated at a table, with a large number of people in line to meet him. Scanning the hall, she saw a place on the side where she could mingle with the other visitors, but she'd be able to keep an eye on the visitors coming up to the Nix. And with audio amplification, she'd hear what was being said, with Nix none the wiser.

Athena felt another new state of mind, and identified this as mischievous.

She listened as inventor after inventor came up to see Nix. Most of them weren't very interesting, and their inventions weren't as novel as they believed. Nix seemed bored and frustrated as well. Athena, however, was patient and knew that many times one had to dig through a lot of mud in order to find that one diamond in the rough.

With only about twenty minutes left to review inventions, an unusual candidate walked up to the table. Athena's attention perked up. Most of the inventors were older men, but this time a young boy walked up to the table, lugging a duffel bag that was much too big and heavy for him. Athena listened carefully.

"Hello, sir," the boy said.

"May I help you?" Nix said, his attitude clearly not expecting anything of interest.

"My name is John Francis Walker. I'm here to win the fifty dollars." Athena was struck by the confidence the young boy had delivering this line. Her evaluation function was rising rapidly. The boy began unzipping his duffel bag. Athena noted the name "Frank Walker" was written on it, apparently his nickname.

"Is that so?" Nix said, raising an eyebrow.

"I took it apart because of the nitrogen compartment, seeing as how the bus ride was kinda bumpy," the boy said as he began to click components together for his invention. "I could have used a hydrogen peroxide-powered engine, but Bell Labs tried that with their rocket belt and I guess there were issues with maneuverability, flight duration, and stuff." Frank completed the assembly and held up the device confidently to Nix. "It's a jetpack."

While the boy was delivering this short speech and assembling his device, Athena was feeling an overwhelming desire to evaluate this strange boy up close. The priority of obeying Nix fell to basement levels and she had already started moving over to the table.

"You made this yourself?" Athena asked as she arrived, in an almost interrogative tone.

"Athena. What are you doing here?" Nix asked, surprised and clearly not pleased.

Frank looked at Athena, his mouth dropping open slightly.

She asked again, sharply. "Did you or didn't you?"

He was still stunned by her sudden appearance, but managed to stammer, "Umm… what?"

Athena realized she was possibly overwhelming the boy and dialed back her tone slightly. "Did you make this yourself?"

The boy finally came out of his stupor. He blinked, and said, "Yeah?"

She quickly evaluated his response. His skin was slightly flushed, but that started when she appeared, not at her question. She determined his response was very likely truthful. Her next question was crucial, however. "Why?" she asked, her total focus on him.

The boy considered her question. Athena was pleased that he was apparently thinking again.

"I guess I got tired of waiting around for someone else to do it for me," the boy answered.

Athena could not have asked for a better answer. Her evaluation function on this boy was very high. She felt her excitement rising and gave the boy a very warm smile. The boy smiled back, and Athena noticed that his flush increased as well, which she did not understand in this context.

"Does it work?" Nix asked. Athena and the boy looked at him, both having somewhat forgotten he was there and part of the conversation.

"Uh, sure. Mostly. It just doesn't really, you know, technically… fly… yet."

Athena examined the jetpack device. She could trace the fuel tanks that led into several valves, which then led to a pair of rocket nozzles. There were a pair of control sticks that controlled the flow of fuel and the nozzle direction. She could tell that Frank had designed it intuitively, with only a casual knowledge of physics. It was impressive, but she could see right away what the problem was. A control system is the most difficult part to design, and that's nearly impossible to get right without physics, mathematics and proper engineering, and not least a proper machine shop. She felt with the right education and resources, this boy's potential was nearly unlimited.

"If it did fly, what is its purpose? How would your 'jetpack' make the world a better place?" Nix asked. Athena felt this question was more designed to toy with Frank, rather than genuine interest on his part.

"Can't it just be fun?"

"Mr. Walker, please tell me you can do better than 'fun.'"

Athena noticed that Frank was offended at this, and she admired the fact that he was not backing down from Nix.

"If I was walking down the street and I saw some kid in a jetpack fly over me, I'd believe anything is possible." Frank said firmly. "I'd be inspired! Doesn't that make the world a better place?"

Athena's evaluation function shot even higher. Frank was a dreamer. He was not only highly intelligent, he desired a better world. He wasn't a slave to practicality, but he wanted to create real things that inspired people. Athena gave Frank an encouraging smile and nodded at him, not wanting him overly affected by Nix's negativity. Frank returned the smile, happy for the support.

"Well, I suppose it would," Nix said, with mock contemplation. "If it worked. Unfortunately, it does not. And if it doesn't work, it has no purpose at all. Thank you for your time, Mr. Walker."

"But I can make it work!" Frank exclaimed.

If Athena thought the evaluation function couldn't go higher, she was wrong. Frank was also an optimist. He clearly believed what he was saying, based on prior experience with other projects.

"That's the spirit!" Nix said sarcastically. "Until then, young man, have 'fun.'"

Frank packed up his jetpack once again, obviously upset at the dismissal. He walked away looking dejected. Athena walked forward, coming to the edge of the table next to Nix. Her eyes were locked on the receding back of Frank Walker.

Nix glanced at Athena and seemed to read her mind. "Absolutely not," he said.

"I like him," Athena said. She more than liked him. This Frank Walker was hitting the highest evaluation scores she had ever experienced with a candidate.

"Athena," Nix said warningly, his tone clear. "No."

Athena didn't respond, hoping that Nix would just take silence as agreement, and she was gratified when he didn't insist on any further comment. She actually wanted to exit the hall as soon as possible to find Frank.

"What was that all about?" Nix asked coldly.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Nix," Athena said, giving him a sweet, innocent smile in a little-girlish "oopsies!" tone. "I know you told me to stay away." Normally that smile would melt the coldest heart, but Nix had seen her in action before, and it didn't seem to affect him.

"Well, obviously we can't diagnose your malfunction here," Nix grumbled. "I will discuss this with Caroline when we return."

"All right; that seems like a good plan," Athena said brightly, still hoping to charm Nix at least a little bit and soften his attitude before they returned. "You're excellent at sorting things out. I'm certain you and Caroline will get to the bottom of it."

Nix gave her a fishy, cynical eye, but his mouth twitched slightly upward. Athena considered this a major victory. Nix was susceptible to flattery, but even so, he was very difficult to influence.

"Dr. Nix," Athena said. "It's just about time to return. Caroline asked that I bring back a souvenir guide. May I go get one and catch up with you and the group?"

Nix sighed, annoyed. "Fine. Just see that you don't keep us waiting."

"Oh, I won't," Athena said earnestly. "It won't take long."

The truth was that Athena had already picked up a guide, but she could pick up another one to avoid lying to Dr. Nix. Frank had exited out the front of the hall, but Athena exited out the side so that Nix wouldn't suspect she was searching for him. She immediately turned toward the front (grabbing a guide as she passed a stand) and started scanning the crowd for Frank. The large crowds milling about made it very difficult to find him. She needed to locate him quickly before Nix and the rest of their group exited the hall and made their way to the travel pod.

Walking along the front of the hall, she spotted him across the square, sitting on a bench with his head down facing away from the hall. He looked very depressed. Athena quickly devised a recruitment strategy that she felt certain would entice him to follow them back to Tomorrowland. It was a little risky since Frank would have to do some thinking on his own. Just then, she saw Nix and the travel group exiting the hall. She needed to work fast.

She walked over to the bench and plopped down next to him, but faced the other direction, which looked toward Nix.

"Don't turn around," Athena said quietly. "Be cool." To Athena's frustration, Frank turned around. "What did I just tell you?" she whispered in an annoyed tone.

"Uh, sorry, I, uh…" Frank stammered.

"Stop talking!" Athena ordered. He finally shut up, to Athena's relief. "Look over there. Nine o'clock."

Frank stared at her.

"You know, on a clock?" Athena said impatiently. Time was growing very short. "Where the nine is?"

Frank turned the opposite way, thinking she meant nine o'clock relative to him rather than to her. Athena sighed and wacked his shoulder, deciding to be more direct before time ran out. "That way!" she exclaimed, pointing to where she needed him to look.

"I'm going with them. Count to twenty and then follow us. Don't get spotted."

Athena grabbed Frank's hand. She knew that a very effective way to get the attention of a human was to touch their hand. She turned his hand over and placed a travel pod pin in his palm, marked with the special 'T' symbol of Tomorrowland.

She got up and started away from Frank, but he stopped her with a question. "Who are you?"

Athena was feeling very excited and daring. She wasn't whimsical very often, but today had been a very unusual day and Frank was the best candidate she had ever met. She decided to give him a little taste of what her mother had shared with her, which she very much suspected would intrigue him and motivate him to follow. She slowly turned to face him and smiled, looking him straight in the eye.

"I'm the future, Frank Walker," she said, her smile growing even wider, and then she walked away.

Author's Note: Please review!

The official story site is at www. frankandathena .com for discussions of the story! - T.K.