The butler opened the door to the Trodden residence, "Miss Schweitzer!  What a pleasant surprise!  No one was expecting you!" he exclaimed upon seeing who had knocked.

"Sorry Harold, but this is an emergency.  Where's my brother?" Elaine asked him, stepping inside.

"Out of town on a business meeting." The butler stepped behind her and helped get her coat off, "Your sister is with Dr. Pearce in Bethany's room."

Elaine frowned, "Is she-"

"Oh no!  Miss Bethany is in perfect health.  Merely some concerns about some dreams she has been having."

"Good.  Harold, could you be so kind as to bring to her room a wide, black marker, a very large artist's pad, some tape, and a vial of sustenance, please?"

"I believe Mr. Trodden has some of those things in his office with which to prepare presentations, and I have a vial on my person in the event of an emergency.  I will fetch them immediately."

Elaine hurried up the stairs, walked down the hall, and knocked softly at the door covered with crayon drawings next to the bathroom.

"Come in!"

Elaine walked in to find Bethany sitting on her bed holding her teddy bear.  Serena, Techno 54, was sitting next to her.  Dr. Reba Pearce, Cyber 5000, was sitting in a chair, one leg tucked under her, the other dangling several inches above the floor,  an expensive designer shoe swinging off of the toe.  She was scribbling notes onto a notepad, occasionally biting the end of her pen as she paused to gather her thoughts together.

"Auntie Elaine!" Bethany hopped off the bed, ran to Elaine, and wrapped her arms around her ankles.

"Hey girl!" Elaine grinned, picked her up, tossed her into the air, caught the squealing girl, and walked to the bed with her hanging under her arm, "How are you today?" she asked.

Bethany made a face, "Bad dreams!" she complained as Elaine slung her to a sitting position on her lap.

"Did you eat too much ice cream before going to bed?" Elaine accused her, poking at her nose playfully with a forefinger while admiring the facinating patterns of blue, green, and purple in her irises.

"First question *I* asked." Cyber 5000 muttered.  Louder, she said, "So Bethy, you saw lots of guns firing, right?"

"Yes.  Out of a big, black car, right at a store.  People were hiding inside.  Then another car hit it.  Lots of smoke.  Then an amba-, ambe-"

"An ambulance?" she supplied.

"Yes!  a 'nambulance!"

"This happened real quick-like?"

"Yes."  Bethany clapped her hands together, "Like that."

"Umhmmm."  She nodded, taking more notes.

Although Von Richter was a brilliant geneticist, he had made his share of mistakes.  Cyber 5000 suffered from one of them.  Some of the genetic variances set for the initial 5000 cybers were too wide.  This was not a problem with the majority of the Cybers, because only one or two of the variant parameters were set at their limits, and those were often not the limits in error.  Being the last one in the series, her variances from her batchmates were set at the extremes of five parameters, three of which were in error.  The mistake was not discovered until many years had passed, and she had failed to physically grow and mature beyond a body age of 10.  It was then that Von Richter went back and discovered his mistake after many months of research and careful examination of Cyber 5000.

The discovery came close after the heels of the Engineer disaster.  The Engineer series were to be the builders of the world's housing.  Adaptive, inventive, clever and strong, they would be able to tear the raw materials of the buildings and bridges out of the most unpromising ground and erect the most useful and beautiful structures.  Due to their large size, a larger set of growth tubes were ordered.  The vendor was unable to make the tubes, so sublet the contract out to another manufacturer at a reduced cost in order to ensure a profit.  The new vendor, in turn, cut corners to make THEIR profit.  The tubes were delivered with an unauthorized and undocumented inner chemical coating to pass certain crack tests, to ensure that the tank would not shatter half-way through gestation.  Unfortunately, during the rapid growth phase of the Engineers, the chemical leached out into their sustenance bath and got into their circulatory systems.  When they came out of their tanks, they were unable to think in any other pattern but that which was strict, narrow, and linear: A condition of mind that was totally unable to perform the complex, parallel thinking necessary to formulate a building plan and to carry it out.  They were renamed the Fixed Idea series, and were limited to the original batch of 500.  The decision was made not to try growing a new set of Engineers until all the Fixed Ideas had died.

Von Richter was in a very bad way, beginning to doubt the wisdom of growing his children if the possiblity of accidents and mistakes could not be eliminated.  The simple, child-like, accepting nature the Fixed Ideas displayed in the face of the huge differences between them and their brothers and sisters, as well as the clumsy efforts they made to fulfill the builder-programming built into them made the pain worse.  When the Evolved Cyber effort inflicted too much pain on Cyber 7, Von Richter halted all work on growing new Cybers, Types, and Technos, withdrawing into the main residence to brood on his failures.

Cyber 5000 was one of the bright spots during "the dead time," as this period was called.  Given her condition, she was unable to fulfill her own destiny as a guardian soldier for the simple reason that she couldn't pass the minimal height and weight requirement of any army in the world.  But during the time Von Richter worked on her problem, she became facinated with the fields of biology, genetics, and medicine.  She left the compound and joined the very first Types sent to America as their daughter, and was able to get enrolled in college, then in Medical school.  There, she displayed extraordinary skills and insight, and became something of a wunderkind among those in the know in the medical field.  Her residency was no less brilliant, displaying a form of extreme competence in areas as diverse as pediatrics, reconstructive surgery, pathology, and diagnostics.

Her ER skills became something of a legend during a period of intense gang warfare in Baltimore: No matter how badly shot up or cut up someone was, if they were not dead for more than 10 minutes when they came through the ER door, she could revive them, stitch them back together, and keep them alive.  Of course, after they awoke, they were a captive audience, forced to bear the scolding of an (apparent) 10 year old girl giving them a piece of her mind, often making them end up wishing she had failed after all,  On top of humiliating the gang members by constantly reminding them that they owed their lives to a girl younger than their kid sisters, she had fiendishly parked members of opposite gangs in shared recovery rooms which she had thoughtfully furnished with large bins of Nerf balls so that they could settle their differences, she told them, in a manner worthy of their true maturity level.  The gang war ground to a halt as the members left the hospital feeling a grudging respect for each other, as well as sharing a perverse sense of kinship that comes only after having endured the torments of a shared adversity.

When her residency ended and she was preparing to return to Meridiana to take up the practice of critical care pediatrics, the City of Baltimore held a farewell ceremony at City Hall.  There was a great deal of concern when members from both gangs showed up at the festivities, but to everyone's relief, they chose to express their "displeasure" with their treatment/imprisonment by chucking a multitude of Nerf balls at the podium when she stood up to express her thanks.

Cyber 5000 returned in triumph to Meridiana, having fulfilled her Cyber destiny in her own way.  Later, after having attended the sad funeral of Cyber 29, she travelled to Yugoslavia to help treat the child victims of the war.  She was able to find the orphans 29 had rescued, and told them of the sadness in the heart of the father whose son had died because he had saved them.  She returned bearing the crude pictures and messages of thanks, comfort, and appreciation made by the grateful children.  Von Richter went through them for several days, with a photo of the newborn Bethany sitting on his desk watching him.  He then called in Techno 1834 and ordered the restart of the birth program with a new batch of 500 Cybers, with Cyber 5029 to use Cyber 29's genes.  He then passed the pictures and messages on to Cybersix.  Although not healed by them as completely as Von Richter, she recovered enough to return to the classroom so that her students could complete the process.

Although having scorned the idea of being made a Special, Cyber 5000 enjoyed a more rare privilege: the professional courtesy and respect that Von Richter extended to a fellow professional.  Something experienced only by Marryn and Dr. Zacharias until then.  Naturally, Von Richter would not have trusted his granddaughter's health to anyone else.  It was only a matter of time when she would return to the compound to take over Techno 1834's job of creating the future members of Von Richter's family.

"Did you see who was hurt?"  Elaine asked Bethany.

"No.  There were a lot of people in the way." Bethany shook her head.

"Could you tell how they felt?" Cyber 5000 asked, scribbling down the information.

"They were sad.  They loved whoever was hurt, and were afraid for them."

"Um hmm!" she scribbled some more in her notebook, then beamed at Bethany,  "Very good!  You're beginning to learn how to recall your dreams and describe the details very well.  You still are not getting any during the day, right?"

"Not yet."  Bethany replied.

"Are you done?"  Elaine asked Cyber 5000, hearing Harold bearing the supplies she had requested arriving outside the door.

"Yeah." she thought a moment, then scribbled some more in the notebook.

"Come on in, Harold!" Elaine called.

"Oh goody!" Bethany clapped when the butler entered, "BIG pictures!"

"Umm, not exactly!" Elaine said seriously, "There is a little girl, whose name is Ikikko, who has been kidnapped by some bad men.  You know about the Cyber who's run away, haven't you?"

"Yes." Bethany nodded, and recited, "If I see him or her, I'm supposed to tell them to go straight home, and that grampa and gramma won't be mad at them."

"Very good!" Techno 54 nodded.

"Yes!  Very good!  We think it's Cyber 356, who was stationed in Peru.  The others have reported back in, or turned themselves in."

"Oh dear!" Harold shook his head, "They will not be treated well at all!"

"Hmph!" Cyber 5000 snorted irritably.

"What, Reba?"  54 asked her.

"Cyber 5000, mommy!" Bethany chided her mother gently.

"I don't know their motivations, of course," the Cyber winked at Bethany, "But it appears to be a pretty blunt statement that they'd rather take their chances with the Normals and their military courts than the Training Board that shafted their batchmate."

"Ouch." 54 winced, "If they go to prison, it's going to be tough getting sustenance to them."

"Now, from what I remember about 356, she's been really ticked off by the macho men in the officer corps.  Has a stubborn, never-give-up streak as bad as Six's.  I find it hard to believe she'd crack and run, although-" She stopped and decided not to pursue the thought.

Elaine laid the big pad out and pulled the marker cap off, "Bethany, I want you to print a message to Cyber 356, telling her about Ikikko and where to find her." she pulled out the slip of paper Yashimoto gave her and wrote a message down for Bethany to follow.

Cyber 5000 nodded as she put her pad in her brown leather Gucci shoulder bag, "Yep, gotta exploit that programming, don't we?"

"It's who we are." Elaine shot a glance up at her, irritated, "It's what stands between us and slaughter."

"Bull-" 5000 started to retort, but changed mid-word, "It's no protection for us at all.  How many people like Harold or Dr. Zack are going to understand it's intended for the protection of normals from us monsters?   Pretty few, if you ask me."

"Begging your pardon, Dr. Pearson," Harold interjected, "But any loving couple who produces such a wonderful child like Bethany cannot be monsters."

"Touche!" 54 grinned.  Cyber 5000 raised her hands in surrender at that logic, shaking her head.  She walked over and watched as Bethany finished writing the message and insisted on drawing a picture.  She drew an unhappy looking stick figure in a cage, surrounded by other stick figures sporting horns and very big guns.

"Hmmm." she was thoughtful.

"DON'T THINK ABOUT IT!" Elaine glanced up at her warningly, "I'd do it myself, but I never took hand-to-hand, and neither did you, if I recall.  The place is crawling with guards.  We need a fully trained Cyber to get in there, grab Ikikko, and get her out alive and intact."

The cyber's smile was lopsided, "Programming." she replied, as if the word was an adequate reason and the most obvious excuse.

"Who are these people, if I may ask?" Harold inquired.

"I have it on good authority that a new underworld kingpin is getting an empire together." Elaine explained, "The recent murders of underworld leaders shows that they are pretty ruthless.  When probes were started by a local paper, their response was to grab Ikikko, the little sister of one of the investigators.  Whoever it is, they value their anonymity." Elaine glanced back at the poster, "Well done, Bethany!  Now let's put this outside, on your window, and tape a vial of sustenance to it so that Cyber 356 sees it when she visits tonight."

"Are we THAT predictable?" Cyber 5000 groaned, shaking her head.

"Yes, WE are." Elaine replied with a chuckle as she went to the window, poster in one hand, scotch tape in the other.

"I'll do that." Cyber 5000 volunteered, kicking her shoes off, "I can get through the window easier than you can, sister."

After it was put up and the lights turned off so Bethany could see and admire how pretty it looked, they left her with her mother, since it was very much past her bedtime.

"You're not going to rescue her yourself, are you?" Elaine asked 5000 when they got to the front door hallway.

"I may be a Cyber, but I'm not stupid!" she replied, "Child molesters are easy pickings compared to these guys.  I'm heading back to the hospital."

"But you just left work, did you not?" Harold was concerned.

"My speciality may be pediatrics," she said, grinning, "But I pretty much have the run of the hospital.  I have a standing invitation from the ER staff to drop by and lend a hand anytime I feel like it.  Something tells me they're going to need a hand tonight."

They left the Trodden residence and walked through the path to the front gate, "What do you think of her dreams?" Elaine asked.

"Beats me." Cyber 5000 shook her head, "But I'd take it seriously.  I gave her the Rhine test for Telepathy.  She scored 24 out of 25 several times in a row before she got bored with it.  Positive identification.  She also foresaw Type 37's kidnapping and the gunfight at the Cornazon corral.  Named the rescue team too, including Terra and Jose, two of the most unlikely candidates anyone but Cybersix would have picked."

"And this one?"  Elaine paused at the street.

Dr. Pearson looked concerned, and paused before answering, "None of her dreams have ever involved a non-family member." she murmured, "I don't like it one bit."

"I gotta get back to Lucas." Elaine said, shouldering her bag.

"Where are you going to be?"

"At Ikikko's house waiting with her brother."

Cyber 5000 frowned, "Hmm, Bethany didn't write down his address.  Cyber 356 will either drop her off here or at the police station, so how will you guys know when she's been rescued?"

Elaine slapped her forehead, "Ohhh!  You're right!  I've got his card and phone number.  I'll give it to Harold!" She turned around.

"Oh boy!  You got your mind so fixated on getting back to him, you forgot that detail!"  Cyber 5000 laughed, "Enjoying the assignment?"

"The best is yet to come!" Elaine winked and headed back to the house.

As soon as the shrubbery hid Elaine, Cyber 5000 ran across the street to a nearby building.  After swapping her fashionable shoes for the more sensible sneakers stored in her shoulder bag, she jumped to the top of the five story building and leaped along the roofs of the buildings surrounding the Trodden mansion until she came to one with a view of Bethany's window.  Hiding behind a chimney, she waited, watching the rooftops and occasionally glancing at the glowing, greenish-white spot on the side of the mansion where she had taped the message and the vial illuminating the lettering.

After a half hour, a black figure came leaping across the rooftops.  It paused at the edge of the building Cyber 5000 was on.  5000 caught sight of someone clad in a black catsuit, and black hat.  A velvet lined black cape flowing in the soft evening sea breeze caressed the slim form.  Leaping off the building, the shadow ran along the wall, and went through the hole in the Trodden security system that only a member of Von Richter's family would know about or could take advantage of.

"Yeah.  We ARE that predictable!" Cyber 5000 thought ruefully.

After a few minutes, the green glow that the vial of sustenance cast on the poster moved, then disappeared.  Cyber 5000 watched as the black figure backed out through the security system and leaped back onto the roof.  After a pause, it began running and leaping off in the direction of the harbor warehouse district.

"It's showtime!" Cyber 5000 grinned as she headed across the rooftops to Meridiana General.

It was going to be like old times.

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Chapter 9
Chapter 11