"Mom!" Jacinta asked nervously as her mom went to the window, "You're not letting her IN, are you?"

"Well, I KNOW I can't keep her out." She replied as she flicked the lock and pulled the window open.  She then stood back as Cybersix stepped inside.

The two regarded each other for a very long moment.

"Well, welcome to my home, Cybersix.  Such as it is." Techno 254 said.

"I live in a worse dump than you do." Cybersix replied, "But still, it beats sleeping in the dorm.  Or the barracks."

"Or in a tent out in the field?" 254 smiled.

Cybersix just smiled back.

"Sooo," 254 asked casually, pulling back on the oven mitt she'd taken off to open the window, "What brings you to my humble abode?"

"Your batchsister was worried about you."

"Which one?" she asked while pulling out a cookie tray and two loaves of bread.

"Probably all of them, but 54 was the one who asked me to see you and find out what's with you and your self-imposed isolation."  Cybesix said, walking up behind her and looking at the baked goods herself.

"Serena?  Hmph!  With her daughter, husband, and all that money and stuff, I'm surprised she'd bother with me.  Why didn't she come herself?"

"She's sent letters and left phone messages for you.  She didn't know if her own sister was mad at her or not.  When you don't even bother to send a note in reply, saying you were okay, what DO you expect her to think?"

"WOAH! WAIT A MINUTE!"

Both women turned to Jacinta.

"I don't exactly like being treated like a fly on the wall, which I feel I am with you two adults yakking away like that, talking about stuff I've never heard about.  Mom!  I've got AN AUNT, UNCLE, AND COUSIN?"

"Ummm," her mom glanced at Cybersix, "Yeah.  One cousin."

"Two." Cybersix corrected, "Don't forget Jose."

"I'm trying to forget Jose." Techno 254 made a face.

"He's better now." Cybersix assured her.

"He is?  Since when?" she asked, suddenly interested.

"Since last month.  See what you're missing staying away from the family?"

"HOLD ON!" Jacinta interrupted, fearing that the conversation would get away from her again, "Okay, I've got two cousins.  And an aunt and an uncle?"

Magdalena sighed.

"More than that?" Jacinta asked, staring at her.

"Well, yes."

"How many?"

She glanced at Cybersix, "Anybody in the tanks?" she asked.

"No." She made a face, "And you don't want to know why."

"Ummm, about 9,517:"

"10,511." Cybersix corrected her, looking disgusted, "You ARE out of touch."

"Well, okay, so maybe..."

"MOOOOM!"
--------

"Hello?"

"Dr. Charles Sorbie?"

"Yes.  I'm Doctor Sorbie.  Who is this?"

"I am Dr. Josef  Von Richter.  I attended a symposium at which you spoke in Toronto some years ago about one of your patients.  May I ask you some questions about her condition, which I believe is showing up in some patients?"

"I'll try my best.  What are the symptoms?"

"Thank you.  We're seeing massive deterioration of the calcium structures in the bones of children in their second decade..."
------------
"Heads up!" a techno said on the conference call, "It's an automated wire tap!  Direction?"

"It's through the Chicago trunk!" another piped up.

"On my way!" Mouser plowed into the Chicago phone exchange and shunted the trace east, toward New York City, "Did you catch the key word?"

"Yes!  Bones!"
------------
"Unfortunately, my patient's condition caused the bones to turn to the consistency of cartilage.  I didn't see any brittleness as you described."

"Do you think the rapidity with which the virus acts does not permit any time for cartilage to replace the bone?" Von Richter came back.

"Hmmm." Dr. Sorbie thought a few moments, "Viruses do take strange turns when it comes to degree of virulence.  Why, yes, I do believe that would be logical.  In which case the virus, if it IS the same one, has become more dangerous."

"How did you handle it, Dr. Sorbie?"
-------------
"Uh oh!  THAT was close!" A techno gasped as she frantically recycled the Southeast Parisian exchange to cut another trace short.

"Damn!  That came in from Tel Aviv!" The London Techno said with undisguised admiration, "I'm gonna check out Moscow!"

"These guys are good." Mouser muttered, "Somebody watch Seattle!  I'm checking out Kansas City!"

"Will do!"

"Think I should watch ComSat 8?" another asked.

"Yes!  Use the dish outside of Mexico City!" Mouser replied, injecting a sniffer program into the Kansas City exchange, "Who's monitoring Caracas?"
-------------
"I can't go into details.  Patient privacy."

"Of course, but could you give me an idea?"

"Massive intervention.  Surgical replacement of major bone structures with metallic substitutes.  Periodic red blood cell replacement to make up for the loss of marrow.  Other-, ah, measures I can't go into.  Very traumatic for the patient."

"I was afraid of that."

"However..."
--------------
"A few more minutes!" Cyber 1217 urged.

"Hmm.  Who's watching New York City?" Mouser said.

"I am!" A techo piped up.

"Let the next trace through." Mouser said.

"WHAT?" the techno gasped.

"Trust me!" Mouser repeated

"17!"

Cyber 1217 thought quickly, "Do it!" he ordered.

"Thank you!" Mouser thought as he planted another sniffer program into the Dallas Exchange, then headed for New Orleans.
--------------
"...the patient actually became a medical researcher of sorts into her particular affliction.  I could e-mail her and have her contact you."

"That would be so much better." Von Richter agreed,  "Give her the following e-mail address..."
--------------
"Oh no!" A techno moaned, "We're tagged!"

"GOTCHA!" Mouser exulted, "It's Atlanta!  We're in luck!"

"It's too late!"

"Not really!" Mouser tapped in a command, then punched the ENTER key with a flourish.
---------------
"Thank you, Dr. Sorbie.  I appreciate everything you've given me."

"You're welcome, Dr. Von Richter.  I hope she'll be able to help your young patients."

Von Richter cut the connection, "Now, we wait." he said to the others, "Any hits yet on that gene sequence?"

"None yet." Techno 1529 replied, "We had to give up 20 CPUs to block any traces, but they're coming back to the search now."
----------------
"Almost had us." Mouser announced as he returned to bed, "In fact, their computers completed the trace."

"Uh oh!" 1512 murmured, "Are we in trouble?"

Mouser grinned, "Naw!"

"But, you said their computers completed the trace!  They know where the compound is!"

"Their COMPUTERS know."

"So?  What's the difference?" she turned to face him.

"The computers knowing doesn't necessarily mean that their OWNERS know.  After all, it does take time for a human to read a display."

"I'm still clueless, hon.  You're the computer expert, not me."

"Well," Mouser said, slipping under the covers, "Let's just say that tonight was the night the lights went out in Georgia."
-----------------
"Sir?"  The door to the office of Gen Core's CEO opened.

"Right here!  Finally, a flashlight!  Watch out for-"

"YIIIII!!!!"  There was a crash as a body struck against the coffee table after slipping on a golf ball on the floor.  The flashlight went spinning, then went out when it hit the wall.

The CEO swore lividly, "When the HELL ARE WE GETTING THE LIGHTS BACK ON?"

"I've called Georgia Power on my cellphone, as well as the, OW,  fire department."  The voice was coming from the floor.

"What the hell happened, by the way?"

"I've talked with the system operator.  There was a high priority trace initiated while he was helping with a problem at the Hong Kong office, and from the beeping that was coming out of the operator's terminal, it was being rather effectively blocked.  He was glancing at the terminal while still on the line when all the lights popped, like they did up here.  It was immediately followed by several explosions from the battery backup banks.  He had to manually activate the sprinklers when he smelled burning wire insulation.  He thinks he saved the backup tapes from this morning, since the power surge scrambled the hard drives."

"High priority?"

"Yes.  From Meridiana in South America to Doctor Sorbie."

"Did Sorbie spill any info?"

"Can't tell for sure since the voice recordings were being written to the disks that we lost.  However, the operator does recall that Dr. Sorbie was contacted about a virus similar to, but worse than, the one afflicting our wayward agent.  We don't know who initiated the call, since the name had scrolled off the screen, but Sorbie offered to forward a request for help to our subject."

"No recordings?  No transcripts?"

"None, sir."

"I want the system operator sent to the company shrinks.  Maybe deep hypnosis can help him remember some details.  South America, you say?"

"Yes sir."

"Hm hmm."

The assistant waited a few minutes, "Her grandparents are still at that orphanage in the middle of the Amazon.  We could bring them in and-"

"-and have her come here?  Damn it man, you want a repeat of the Battle of Atlanta?  Start getting a team ready to get down there pronto.  Send some advance agents out there IMMEDIATELY to bug the airport security system so we'll know when the metal detectors light up like a Christmas tree.  What's the status of the Gauss Rifles?"
-----------------
"I figured they might be out of Atlanta, which was a good thing." Mouser said.

"Why?"

"Atlanta has the most advanced automated power switching system in the Southeast United States.  I ran a program that monitored the trace, located the block their data center was on, correlated it with the nearest transformer, then had the transformer shoot full line voltage, all 10000 volts of it, down their main power feed.  I don't think there's anything electronic that's still operable in that entire building, even if it was turned off."

"That's great, honey!" Cyber 1512 said, snuggling up close to Mouser.

He grinned, then blinked.  He put a hand on his wife's shoulders, and felt bare skin barely covered by something less substantial than a shoelace.  At the same moment, he felt her hand on his abdomen.

"You promised..." she said, slipping her hand southwards.

"Ohhh SHIT!" Mouser thought.
---
"I don't believe it." Jacinta stated, staring at the glowing tube of sustenance in her hand, "I need this stuff to live, as do my cousins,. aunts, and uncles?  All TEN THOUSAND of them?"

"I'm not sure, honey." Techno 254 admitted, "I didn't want to experiment and find out."

"Bethany doesn't really need it, but Jose does.  I guess it depends on the genes." Cybersix said.  She turned to 254, "So how DO you give her sustenance?"

254 grinned, "You're eating it."

Cybersix stared at the delicious chunk of hot buttered bread in her hand, "You spiked the dough?"

"In a low enough concentration, you can't really tell."  She chuckled,  "Now, I DID have a neighbor take the wrong loaf one time..."

"What happened?" Cybersix asked, eyes sparkling with anticipation.

"She came back wanting to know from where I got my hot sauce."

All three laughed at that.

Jacinta sighed, "Ten thousand aunts and uncles.  And this morning, I was envious of Lisa because her cousins were coming over this weekend, and she was griping about having to sleep on the floor!  And I was thinking, 'If only...'"  She glanced over at Cybersix, who was looking at her with undisguised affection, "It's all, all so-so SUDDEN."

"I imagine it will take some getting used to." Cybersix conceded, "It would have been better growing up with the knowledge, like your cousin Bethany."

Jacinta turned to her mom, "Why?" she asked simply, "Why hide THIS from me?"

Cybersix turned her attention to her techno sister also, but didn't say anything, since the look of misery on 254's face was evident.

"I-I-guess I was afraid.  If you compare your age with your cousin Bethany's, it's obvious you were the first naturally born Von Richter.  I guess I was afraid they'd take you away, study you, study me,  try to figure out how it happened."

Cybersix stared at 254, "But-that DIDN'T HAPPEN with Bethany!  53 and 54 were allowed to keep her, love her, and raise her the way they saw fit.  I mean, why would Mama and Father do such a cruel thing to them?  Or to Bethany?  Or to you and Jacinta, for that matter?"

"Mama and-" Jacinta said, "You mean, I have grandparents too??"

254 just nodded, covering her face with her left hand.

Cybersix flared, "DAMMIT 254!  Father abandoned the Mad Nazi Scientist Schtick decades ago, and you know why he did!  He made you, me, and all our brothers and sisters to help him make up for what he did!  Can you tell me what the HELL a man has to DO to be forgiven?"

Jacinta shot a glare at her aunt as she got up to hug her weeping mother.

"I'm sorry, honey!" 254 blurted, "Guess, I should have realized things would have been okay when your cousin was born, but-"

"But what?" Jacinta asked.

"Your father."

"Mom!  You said he left just after I was born!"

"Yes.  I know.  I know."

Jacinta returned to her chair and waited for her mother to calm down.

"I-never really told him about the family." 254 finally said, "I loved him so much that I was afraid he'd leave me if he ever found out.  When I got pregnant, we were in heaven.  But the moment he saw you open your eyes for the first time..." she shook her head, "He didn't even bother to say goodbye to me.  I guess I projected his rejection and disgust with us onto the rest of my family, expecting the same reception from them." She turned to Cybersix, "So, how many divorces have there been in the family?"

Cybersix sighed, "If you'd asked me that question this morning, I'd have said none..."

"Oh great!  ANOTHER fine first for me!"

Cybersix didn't know what to say about that, and looked away from the miserable techno to the clock on the wall, "Oh no!  I've got to go to an appointment..." she said, rising.

"Where to, Aunt, umm?" Jacinta started, then blushed.

"You can call me Aunt Cybersix, or Aunt Six." Cybersix grinned, "Bethany calls me Auntie Six.  As it so happens, I'm going to meet a brother, Type 37, about a job he offered me."

"Another uncle?" Jacinta's mind raced, and she decided to take a chance, "Mom!  Can I-"

"Oh, sure you can!" Her mother with a wave of her hand and a small, wry smile, "It's about time I shared you with the rest of the family!"

Jacinta blinked, a bit startled at this sudden, unexpected, but welcome change in the normal Velasquez "be home before dark" policy.

254 noticed her daughter's momentary puzzlement, and nodded her head slightly toward Cybersix, "Honey, Your aunt is a CYBER.  I'll sooner feel sorry for the dumb bastard who tries to touch you in her presence than worry about your safety.  Now go!  Before I change my mind!"

Jacinta leaped up and followed a grinning Cybersix.

As they went down the stairs, Jacinta turned to her aunt, "Now THAT'S a switch!  So, what DOES being a Cyber involve?"

"Ohh," Cybersix said lightly, "You'll find out..."
===================
Jacinta (C) Black Inque
Gen Core (C) Fread Of The Universe
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Chapter 12