Legacy

By: Radio Rancher
(© 2000-2008 by the author)
 

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 3

Legacy's video display terminal came alive with a mega display of brightly flashing, strobing screen full of data, followed by the words, "Red Alert!!!" which became super imposed on top of all the data being displayed, while a klaxon began sounding at a very high volume level from all the speakers that were embedded strategically throughout the house. Lex and Alex both jumped out of bed, limbs untangling from each other in a hurry.  Lex's eyes glazed over and words began to issue from him, in Legacy's voice, (not Lex's). 

"Alex, 'Elva Electronics' has just tried to launch a DOS attack against Me and Maxim Engineering, using an extremely voracious worm. If I hadn't detected it immediately, our entire Computer Network would have been totally destroyed, and the bank accounts and stock portfolios would have been emptied!"

"What?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Screamed Alex.

"Don't worry Alex, Legacy has everything under control;" Lex told Alex in his own voice, in a very calming manner, while reaching out and hugging Alex.

"Okay Legacy, let's hear about this calmly and plainly; spill the beans; what happened and what did you do to stop it?! I know you well enough to know that no matter what went on, you took care of it!" Alex exclaimed rather forcefully.
   
'Well, Alex, the worm (most people call it a virus, but it's really a worm) that they used was actually a rather poorly designed and quite a bloated one, and of course, not very subtle at all, so I was instantly able to spot it starting to load.  I had it cornered and I neutralized when it was inserted in the system through the back door, which had been left by our former Network Admin. I saw him place it there, and had been monitoring the opening he left all along, without letting him know that I knew.  As soon as I noticed him using it, I immediately rerouted it, into a secure buffer, which I personally designed on the spot. I didn't want the stupid jerk to know that I had tumbled to his tactics in any way, so I made his worm think it was entirely successful, in its 'Quest' to destroy us. I then analyzed its capabilities, found them to be quite meager at best, and then backtracked it to its original IP address; I did some stealthy snooping, which, by the way, went completely unnoticed by their primitive equipment, as well as their incompetent IT staff, and found that your ex Network Admin had, in fact, been working from within our competitor's network. That whole load of so-called network admins over there is about as dumb as a box of rocks. I totally disabled their poorly designed and obvious back door that they put in here. There is actually no problem at all now, as I took it upon myself, to completely take care of everything; you don't have to worry at all. And I am sure that you don't want to know any of the details of what was done to them.' Legacy replied, inside Alex's and Lex's heads and when he was finished, Alex was fuming and Lex was doubled over laughing his head off.

"Legacy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Alex screamed verbally and mentally.

'Calm down Alex, everything really is under control

"What?"

Legacy continued as if Alex hadn't interrupted him. 'I carefully and cleanly routed the stupid worm that they were going to use against US through a series of, I can assure you, quite untraceable, and in fact,  undetectable, to anyone or anything less sophisticated than myself, blind cutouts, directly to the main FBI Computer network.  While that was happening, I carefully and invisibly emptied all of our competitor's financial assets in a similar, but much more secure, manner than what they had planned for us. I am certain, beyond any doubt, that my techniques are much more sophisticated and are totally untraceable, using anything currently available. I carefully selected twelve different worthy charitable organizations, and spread the funds from Elva's accounts among them. I was particularly generous to one or two particular foundations; those being the TGIF, which has been providing state or the art computers to young people all over the world who need them. The other major recipient is Phoenix Foundation that runs Phoenix House, which has just been established recently and has taken on the responsibilities of housing and caring for young kids who were abused by the system, and individuals.  Oh yeah, there's one more thing; I don't think you have anything more to worry about, with regard to that lawsuit of theirs anymore; by the time the FBI and the Homeland Security people get done with them, they won't be a danger/player anymore. They will be lucky to be able to play solitaire on what's left of their computer system, after what I did to it. ' Legacy smugly sent.

Alex took a deep breath. "I think you are amazing, Legacy. Did anyone tell you lately that you are really wonderful?" 

'Well, that is what you pay me all those big bucks for, isn't it, Alex. I have to earn my keep somehow, you know. Besides, I still love you, even if you still have me sitting in here by myself.  What else is there for me to do around here? It was a lot of fun, messing with them, actually.  I spent at least five minutes trying to think of the best way to get them back for what they tried to do, and for me, that is quite a long time, believe me. You would be amazed at what the FBI and Homeland Security folks discovered about them. Even though, I'm afraid, I made most of it up on the spot, it looks perfectly real to the dim witted Guvrmint Droids;  Just as if it were all done by Elva themselves.  I am kinda proud of myself for that.' Legacy almost bubbled. Alex and Lex actually heard chuckling, vocally as well as in their heads.

It was just about that time, that the sound of children's bare feet, running quickly on the tile floor in the hall, made Alex and Lex turn their heads toward the door of their room. Three small heads had suddenly peaked around the partially open door. 

"What was all that noise?" Jimmy asked, frowning.

"It's okay guys; there was someone trying to hack into Legacy's systems, but he caught it before it did any damage.  He was just warning us that something was wrong," Lex told the nervous trio.

When the boys heard that, there was a mad rush into the room to get hugs, which were happily given followed by the obligatory  tickle fest that quickly ensued.  There was no doubt about it; all three of the boys needed and wanted the genuine love and kind attention that was being lavished on them.

"Is anyone hungry?" Bradford called from the doorway, with a straight face, but only for a second, since there was an immediate clamber, toward the man standing in the doorway,  and shouts of,

 "Yeah!!!" came out, loud and clear, amidst a lot of giggles, from the three Munchkins. Everyone headed to the dining room for a huge breakfast of Pancakes, eggs, sausage links and toast, with Orange Juice, Milk and Coffee for whoever wanted it.

"I heard the alarm go off, a while ago. Is everything alright?" Bradford looked at Alex and Lex, questioningly.

"Everything's just fine," Alex chuckled, "thanks to Legacy. He caught someone trying to break into the mainframe's data ports. He fixed their wagons, though.  It was initiated by our wonderful friends at Elva Electronics.  Remember Reggy Swenson, the IT guy we fired last year?" Alex grinned. "He works for them now, and he was trying to put a Virus into the computer system, using a back door program he had set up just before we fired him. I guess he thought we wouldn't notice." Alex took a deep breath and continued,  "I knew he was going to be trouble, shortly after we hired him. There was something sneaky and sleazy about him, and I just had a real bad gut feeling about him.  Legacy noticed he had put the back door there and anticipated that Reggy would eventually try to do something with the door, so he has been carefully monitoring it, ever since it was installed. I'm really glad that Reggy never realized that Legacy is smarter than he is, or most humans, for that matter.  Today was the first time Reggy tried to gain entry. I guess he figured he had waited long enough for us to have forgotten him.  Legacy made it look, to him, like he had succeeded in placing the virus in the system, but it was actually trapped in a little space that legacy had reserved especially for whatever Reggy had up his sleeve."

"Damn, Glad you got that done, Legacy.  I really am proud of you." Bradford beamed. "I'm proud of all of you."

Bradford looked at his family and smiled broadly. "I think we need to get Linda back over here. I'll call her as soon as we finish breakfast and ask her to join us for dinner tonight.  We can tell her about you, Elexi, and get her to set you up with proper identity etc. I figure While I'm at it, we can tell her the rest of the information about Lex. 

As soon as the table was cleared and everyone had dispersed to their various rooms to work... or play, as seemed appropriate,  Bradford placed a call to Linda.

"Child Protective Services, Linda Speaking, How may I help you?"

"Linda,  This is Bradford, why in the world are you answering the phone? I thought you had a staff of people there, working for you. Did you get mad and fire everyone again?"

"No, for some reason, I'm the designated receptionist if no one else is available.  No, I didn't fire anyone; Lee made me promise not to fire anyone while I'm pregnant."

"Oh? How pregnant are you?"

"Oh for God sake, Completely, I'm about two months along, thanks."

Cheers and applause erupted, through the phone, and a voice was distinctly heard saying, "Good, seven months of job security, Woohoo!"

"Don't bet on that, I'm not in a good mood at all today. Don't make me break that promise."

"Gee Linda, you don't sound too happy. I was calling to see if you and Lee would  want to join us for dinner tonight. I have some things I need to discuss with you; one of which involves another child I would like to adopt."

"Well, that sounds good, but Lee will be busy with the PTA and it will give me an excuse not to go to that. Besides I have to get away from 'Philip'; He has been a holy terror all morning."

"Philip? I thought... wait your husband is Lee, right?  Who's Philip?"

"Oh Just a damn know it all, and smart ass, that is always getting on my nerves. I'll tell you all about it when I get there. Oh yes, I'd love to join you for dinner, what time?"

"Try to be here by six if you can. We are having steaks on the grill, and what with having five young males here, I suspect if you are much later than that, there won't be anything left but chew bones," Bradford chuckled.

Linda giggled, "Believe me, I know the feeling. We have quite a heard of them to deal with now, let me tell you. I think the current count is at something like fifty nine boys and a couple of girls."

"What did you do, take in a Boy Scout Troop?" 

"Not quite, but I think they are going to start one, and maybe a Cub Scout Pack as well. I'll tell you all about it when I get there tonight. Is there anything you need me to bring with me?  I think Aunt Martha may be willing to bake some chocolate chip cookies for the boys."

"That sounds really wonderful, and I certainly hope there will be enough for Alex, Lex and me to have one or two each, as well."  Bradford sighed deeply. He hadn't had any really good home made chocolate chip cookies for probably twenty years. He had almost forgotten what they tasted like, except he remembered that they were something he really loved.  Bradford decided he wouldn't mention the cookies to anyone and save it as a surprise.

The day sped by very quickly.  At around noon, Bradford called the boys to come and get lunch. There were various sandwiches, some creamy Broccoli Cheddar soup, and plenty of soft drinks served and they were devoured in almost no time.

Once everything was cleared up and the dishes were put in the dishwasher, the boys were excused and they all went to the game room to play some interesting computer games. Elexi was by far the best at playing the games, and won most of the time.  The boys played for a couple of hours and finally decided to watch a movie or two.

Just as the second movie finished, Bradford peeked in and informed everyone that Linda had called and would be there in less than half an hour. It was time for the boys to get showered and put on clean clothes for dinner.

Alex, Lex and Bradford had set up the grill on the balcony and had just put the steaks on when Legacy announced that Linda had arrived.

"Legacy, Please let her in, would you?"

'Certainly,' Legacy's voice reverberated in the large living room.

The door swung open and Linda walked in carrying a huge tin of some kind. Of course Bradford knew what was in the tin.  However he didn't let on. "Come in Linda, so nice of you to come. The boys will be in here shortly. Legacy, would you please tell the boys that Aunt Linda is here."

'Of course, They say they will be out in just a minute.'

True to their word, the three youngsters bounded into the room in less than a minute. They all rushed in and Linda was hugged by the twins, but Elexi hung back with a sad expression on his face.

"You know the twins Jimmy and Jerry, but you haven't met Elexi.  Elexi, this is Linda Harris.  Linda, this is Elexi."

Elexi put out his hand for Linda to shake. She gently took his hand and pulled him to her. "Come here Elexi, I need a hug, and I think you might need one too."  Elexi took the invitation very seriously and gave as good as he got. Huge bear hugs were exchanged between the two of them.  "Well, Elexi, you certainly do give good hugs. That was really wonderful. Jimmy and Jerry, that is not to say that you didn't give me some good hugging too, cause you did, but I think Elexi has not had enough hugs, 'cause he seems to be much more enthusiastic."
 

"Well, he hasn't had a chance to have much hugging before yesterday." Jimmy explained.

"You seem to do a pretty good job of giving hugs and you do pretty good at taking them too, honey." Linda said, as she gave Elexi another warm hug, kissed him on the top of his head, and got back as good as she gave.

He reached up and pulled her face down to his and kissed her gently on the lips. "Thank you, Aunt Linda. You're really nice."

Just then Bradford, Alex and Lex all started bringing things into the dining room and dinner was served. There were steaks and roast chicken as well as corn on the cob and a huge bowl of garden salad, along with potato salad and Macaroni salad, and deviled eggs. Everyone had Homemade  Lemonade made with lemons from the tree in the backyard.

As soon as dinner was finished, the dining room had been cleaned up, and dishes had been carried to the kitchen and put in the dishwasher, everyone gathered in the living room.

Bradford took charge, "Linda, we have quite a lot to tell you, and I promise to fill you in on the entire story about my boys, some of which I already told you, but as you were perceptive enough to notice, I left a few things out.  I want you to know that the reason that I didn't tell you everything was not because I didn't trust you; it was more like I was afraid that you would think I was some sort of loony toon." Bradford noticed a flicker of a smile cross Linda's face. "I know I was a bit coy with you, but when I finish, I am sure you will understand my hesitation, and caution.  I guess you may be wondering why I changed my mind so suddenly.  The short simple answer to that question is, 'Elexi'. His arrival and the method of his arrival are two very important reasons that we needed to explain everything to you.  I can see by the look that you gave me just now, that I have peeked your interest. I will tell you everything, and If you are not completely satisfied with my explanation, I will let you ask any questions you like, and I promise not to hold anything back.  First, though, would you please tell us about the fifty some kids that you mentioned when we talked on the phone?" 

"Of course, I had intended to tell you anyway, but I can see we need to bring everything out in the open here, so I guess I should start, since I was the one who brought it up in the first place.

Lee and I, along with several other people. went way out of my jurisdiction and rescued all the kids from a Juvenal orphan's facility. The kids called it Juvy.  'Philip', Lee and Tom had told me about it, after 'Philip' overheard one of the adopted boys furtively wishing he and his brothers could be the owners of the horrible facility and give those boys that were still there a chance at a good life like he had.

Philip took it upon himself to set up a corporation and buy the facility outright, Lock Stock and Barrel. He fired the entire staff, most of whom have since been arrested and charged with embezzlement, and several counts of child endangerment.  Then he turned the place over to four of the boys, telling them that he had heard their wish and since he had the money to grant it, he did.  He insisted that they formulate a plan and decide how the place was going to be run and what rules of conduct they wanted to use. The funny thing is that you mentioned The Boy Scouts.  The boys decided that the boys living in the new facility would govern themselves, for the most part, The structure would be set up like a Scout Troop, and there would be divisions like Patrols. It was planned out pretty thoroughly, but I am getting ahead of myself.  Let me start farther back.

When we arrived at the facility, there were several adults there, and they were not paying the least attention to the boys.  It seems that the boys who were wishing they ran the place had once lived in it, and were eager to help get the younger kids away from the horrible abuse that they were suffering from the older boys and the adults who were actually in charge and did nothing to stop the rapes and beatings of the youngsters. 

 You would be amazed at how resilient these boys are and how quickly they have begun to respond to love and understanding."

As to my being glad to get away from all of that for a while; I must admit that sometimes I get a bit tired of having to deal with 'Philip' and his attitude.  He thinks he knows everything, and the sad truth is that most of the time, he does.  Today was a real change in that department for him. He keeps very close tabs on all the assets of the company and his charitable holdings as well.  Just before you called me, he was ranting and raving about getting a large amount of money deposited in two of his accounts.  Getting the donations didn't bother him, of course, except that they were deposited from a totally untraceable source, and if 'Philip' can't trace something, then it really is untraceable.  Once you get to know 'Philip' you will understand that having something that he can't trace would really piss him off. Normally he knows everything that is going out or coming in, down to the smallest detail every nanosecond.  Well today he was baffled, and it really made his already snooty personality turn completely grouchy."

"That must have been quite an experience." Bradford commented. "We can discuss the situation and see if there is anything that we or Maxim Industries can do to help.  I think, however, it is time for me to come clean, so to speak, with regard to the situation here.

As I am sure you already know, our company is involved with some of the most sophisticated data storage and computer science available, and Alex is one of the smartest people you will ever meet."

"Dad, You are exaggerating just a bit, I think." Alex objected as his face turned bright red.

"Well be that as it may, Alex developed a sophisticated computer that is self aware and very knowledgeable. Alex named him Legacy, and he pretty much runs the whole operation here. 

Anyway, a short while ago, Alex and legacy were discussing the fact that Legacy was getting tired of not being able to interact with anyone but Alex, and of course Alex couldn't spend all his time talking to Legacy, so Alex decided to introduce me to Legacy. Of course, I made a complete fool of myself at first, and Legacy put me in my place in a hurry.  As you might imagine, Alex became very fond of Legacy and they developed what, in my opinion, became a loving relationship. Alex interconnected all the security cameras and microphones and other outputs in the facilities to Legacy's sensory system. Legacy figured out how to use the alarm systems and other detectors to be able to smell, see and hear everything that went on.

It wasn't long before Alex and Legacy figured out how to produce a video image of what Legacy wished he could be, namely a handsome young man that could be there for Alex."

"Let me tell it, Dad," Alex interrupted. "I had long since stopped thinking of Legacy as a computer or machine, and had fallen in love with the being that he really was. That is to say his mind was very much intelligent, and he was quite witty and fun loving. We shared many interests and he showed me a lot of things that I hadn't known before, and of course I showed him things that he hadn't noticed. We did a lot of reading on the net and found some very interesting things. We looked at the published reports on Holo Technology and worked out a plan to give Legacy a three dimensional body. We pooled our knowledge and designed the Holoemitters that I placed around the entire complex.  Once I had installed the emitters, I ran the program and Legacy appeared in front of me in the flesh, so to speak.

I had set the pattern for Legacy's human body from the DNA patterns of my Mom and Dad. Well, actually my Mom and Step Dad. I had always loved Bradford, and I wanted Legacy to be part of him and Mom, since they never had a chance to have a child together.  As you probably remember, she was killed in an auto crash some time back.  Back to what happened; Legacy and I had a great time getting to know each other better.  We spent a lot of time together and found some very interesting things to do with one another.  All the while, however, I was worried.  I wanted to make sure that no one could take Legacy away from me by destroying the hardware that made up the main computer.  It occurred to me that I could combine the Holomatrix and Replicator Technology to form a real matter version of the computer generated person I had made. It took a while to reconfigure the Matter Replicator and to connect it to the Holographic Imager to turn the holographic construct into someone that was made of real matter. I'll skip all the details of how it was done, and cut to the chase.  Once I initiated the command to begin the transfer, Legacy was standing there in front of me and I was able to turn off the Holo Emitters, and the person there was fully human. We decided he needed his own name, so we could distinguish him from the computer. We decided on Lex."

"That is so beautiful. I am really impressed. So I guess everything worked out and you are living happily ever after, right?"

"Well, yes and no.  You see, Legacy is still a computer separate from Lex, and he still loves me.  We have found a way to communicate directly to Legacy so he can experience our emotions and the love that we share, but he is still not able to participate the way he would prefer.  We can't just transfer the mind of Legacy into a human body because he is also part of the computer complex, the mainframe so to speak. If we were to take away his personality, he would be no more than a very sophisticated computer but with no free thoughts and no autonomy.  We couldn't have that, and Legacy agreed.

Linda, you don't have any idea how important it was that you brought Jimmy and Jerry here. You see, when Legacy met the boys, he came up with an idea, and Implemented it.  He kept the background personality of the computer and its memories but transferred the loving parts of his mind into another Holographic Being. He made the new one physically the same age as the twins and with my help, we brought Elexi into existence. Now we have the best of all possible outcomes.

Legacy's love for Lex and me is part of Elexi and the mainframe is still as smart and human, if you will, as ever, without being hopelessly in love with someone he can't have.  He still has a mind link to me and to Elexi and Lex, so we can share with him, what we are feeling at all times, but he can now enjoy a full life and be with children and learn to be a kid."  

There were tears in Linda's eyes as she reached out and hugged Alex. "Alex, you are truly a remarkable person. Elexi and Lex, please come over here so I can hug you both again." She took a deep breath,  "I don't think I can get over there to you right now; I can't see where I'm going." Lex and Elexi both went over to Linda and she gave them each a warm loving hug. "Thank you, Both of you; I really needed that. You two are both wonderful."

Alex Jumped up and called Legacy, "Legacy, I just thought of something. You told me this morning that you re appropriated the majority of assets from a certain place and donated it to several organizations and foundations, is that correct?"

'Yes, Alex, you are correct.'

"Linda, are the two accounts that received money, that 'Philip' couldn't trace today, connected with The Phoenix Foundation and The TGIF, by any chance?"

"As a matter of fact, they were. How in the world did you know that?"

"Legacy, would you please tell Linda what happened today and what you did about it?"

Legacy gave Linda a stripped down version of what had been done by the renegade former employee and what 'Legacy' had done when he found out about it.

Linda chuckled, "I'm not at all surprised and what's more amazing is that you out maneuvered 'Philip'. He is really going to want to meet you, 'Legacy'. This is so weird. If I can have access to a computer terminal, I will contact 'Philip' and let you meet him."

"You are welcome to use 'Legacy' just speak the address and 'Legacy' will connect you and display the results holographicly in  the center of the room." Alex told Linda.

Linda responded, "'Legacy', I need a connection to Haven Online please?"    

 A large Haven Enterprises Logo appeared in the middle of the room. Linda then said, "'Philip', are you there? I need to talk with you, NOW!"

A pleasant voice came over the speakers, 'I am right here, Linda. You seem agitated; is everything alright?"  

"Oh yes, 'Philip', everything is just fine, in fact, better than ever. I think I can give you some information that will ease your mind, and at the same time, score major 'Gotcha' points for myself." Linda had a very hard time keeping her voice steady and not breaking out into full blown laughter.

She giggled like a schoolgirl. "First I want you to promise me that you won't get angry."

'I NEVER get angry' 'Philip' said flatly. 'Now kindly tell me what it is that has your heart beating so fast, that you are vibrating the microphone. I have had enough mysteries here today, I don't need another one.'

"Ah but 'Philip, I can solve the mystery for you." She actually burst out laughing. "If you make it worth my while."

A sound much like a deep growl could be heard.

 'Legacy' said, 'Hmmm, Ursus arctos horribilis, the Grizzly Bear, I would say about 1468 pounds, verrrry male, and VERRRRY Angry.'

Linda laughed, "Yup, that's MY 'Philip'."

'YOUR 'PHILIP'!!!!! My dead ass!!!'

"Well, now that you mention it" Linda laughed even harder.

"Okay, 'Philip', I'd like you to meet 'Legacy'.'Legacy' This is 'Philip'. He is the Digital Assistant to Tom Richards at Haven.

'ASSISTANT!?!?!'

"Well, yes and a cute little program too. Aren't you? And you have such a sweet disposition too. Go ahead, Legacy and tell 'Philip' who you are and what you did today,"

'Do you think it is wise for me to inform him as to who I really am?'

"Yes, I think he will be cool with it, and I suspect he will understand your situation quite well."

'Very well, Linda, I will take your word for it.  I take it that you too are an AI, 'Philip'?' 'I am the Mainframe Computer for Maxim Electronics. And am fully self aware. I found that someone had gained access to my systems today and tried to plant a worm through a back door...

'Philip interrupted, 'I hate it when I get a worm in my back door'

'Smart ass, I stopped them from doing that, and traced the invader back home. I then entered their system and did to others as they tried to do to me. Sort of a mangled version of the Golden Rule and Karma combined. I allowed the worm to do as it wanted except for the fact that it did so in complete isolation and I could therefore see what it was designed to do. After I deleted it, I retraced it to its source and proceeded to empty the bank accounts of the company that had authorized the worm to act against us. I also sent information about the company to the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. Those guys play very rough.  [That is if they can find the door.]

Once the funds were re distributed, so to speak, I looked up the names of some of the best operated charitable organizations and foundations and it seemed to me that your Phoenix Foundation and the TGIF were the best places to send the extra funds to, so that's what I did. As you might have noticed, I was rather thorough at keeping the donation anonymous.'

'Yes, I must admit, you did a fine job of that and I found myself quite frustrated at not being able to trace it, as I rather pride myself on being able to find out almost anything that I am looking for.' I certainly congratulate you on your abilities. I think we are going to be good friends, 'Legacy'. I am very proud of you.'

"It looks like we have a mutual admiration society going here." Alex chuckled. "I think they will be good for each other. It will be nice to see them interact and become good friends."

"Hmmm, frankly, it almost scares me to think about two of them plotting together. I hope we haven't started something really dangerous."

"Actually I think their personalities will compliment each other." Lex put in.

"Remember that 'Legacy' has never had the nasty temper and spark that 'Philip' has, and I think 'Philip' might just learn a little patience from 'Legacy'. They are made for each other, so to speak."

"Well, maybe you're right. I think I will just wait and see how they get along for a while before I really start to worry." Linda cringed. "I still can't believe that I found out something before he did."

I have the adoption papers here for you to sign, and I will set you up with an appointment to see the Judge so we can make it final at the same time as we get the other two boys' adoptions finalized.

To be continued...

Author's Notes:

First of all, A HUGE Thank You, goes out to Str8mayb for the use of his characters in this story. I don't think I have mentioned before that Linda and 'Philip' appear here courtesy of Str8mayb's stories; Fire, Haven, and The Last Phoenix.

I think the story is coming along nicely.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Editor's Notes:

Well it did take RR a little bit longer than he had probably planned but I think it was well worth the wait. I loved the interplay between 'Legacy' and 'Philip' but I really loved the interplay between Linda and 'Philip' it was awesome.

I am very intrigued with the relationship between 'Legacy', Lex and Elexi; Alex does seem to have the best of all worlds. I wonder what is going to happen with Maxim's competition if they can rise from the rubble?

Now I'm personally not sure that 'Legacy' and 'Philip' getting together is a good idea; the two of them may take over the world. And they have Lex and Elexi to help them; is the world safe for humanity anymore?

It is also very nice to see Jimmy and Jerry adjusting to their new lives. [Why weren't they named Tom and Jerry?]

Okay RR where is the next chapter? I have to take some of the blame for this chapter as he was busy helping me write Dragon Earl and do some editing. It's also Str8mayb's fault cause he dragging RR off to a dark corner to plot and write.

The Story Love AKA TSL