I do not own seaQuest or it's characters. I am not profiting from this story, it is for entertainment
only.


AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, this story is pure trash, I admit. My only excuse for writing such a
hokey story is that I recently overdosed on massive quantities on Halloween candy. Yeah, that's it!!! I
blame the candy. But honestly, as cliche as this story is I had a blast writing it. I hope you enjoy it ?




Frankenstein's Monster

By: Kaitlyn Rose


Nathan greeted Kristin and Lucas as they got off the shuttle. Today had been Lucas' last day
working on the seaScape. The job had actually taken a little longer than expected since Lucas was still a
little sore from being injured at the mine, not to mention that Kristin made him take plenty of rest breaks
everyday.

At least they had been allowed to return to seaQuest each night.

"How did it go today?" he asked.

"It went well," Lucas told him. "Not only is the program installed, but Fred and Chuck were able
to learn how to do the installations with no problems. So there won't be any problem with getting the other
subs on line with the new system."

"Good work," Nathan said, patting Lucas on the back. "What do you say we head down to the
mess for dinner."

"Sounds wonderful," Kristin said.

"I'll meet you there," Lucas said. "I'm going to go drop off my stuff in my room."

"Okay," Nathan said.

"So did everything really go well?" he asked her once Lucas was gone.

"Yes it did," she told him. "I'm glad that he was able to train two replacements to take over for
him. Honestly, I think he's sick of that program. His entire life has revolved around it for months and
months now. He seemed relieve to be giving up this job."

"Lucas is a scientist. He'll forever crave new things to do, luckily for him he happens to be the
one place where there is always something new going on."

"He mentioned that he had a new idea for the Stinger. Since the old one was stolen he's anxious
to build a new and improved one," she laughed.

"That sounds like Lucas," Nathan agreed.

"He also mentioned that he'd like to work on the Professor's program again."

Nathan had forgotten about that one. "You mean his artificial intelligence program. A computer
that can think by itself?"

"Yes."

"He hasn't worked on that one since before he started working on the new system for the boat,"
Nathan said.

"He didn't have the time to work on it. Now that he's job free at the moment his mind is swirling
with one idea after another," Kristin said.


___________________________________



Lucas sat happily in front of the big screen TV playing games. It was pretty cool. He had nothing
to do tonight. Technically, he had nothing to do tomorrow or the next day, or he next day. He was still part
of the crew on seaQuest, but he wasn't the head of a department, and he was no longer in charge of
installing his system on every boat in the fleet, thank god.

He needed to think. Doing the same thing over and over day after day was sapping him of his
imagination. He couldn't wait to get started on some new field of work, something original, or maybe even
pick up one of his abandoned projects.

"Gotcha," Lucas yelled as he blew up the intergalactic space station.

Nathan looked up from his paperwork. Lucas had been playing that game for almost three hours.
Luckily for him it was almost bedtime, then he could have some piece and quiet. He looked at the
headphones tossed absentmindedly on the floor. The only reason he hadn't demanded that Lucas use them
was because technically the boy was here first, and besides, he was half watching Lucas play the intricate
game.

He looked over when he heard the vid-link go off. He walked over and yelled for Lucas to turn it
down so he could take the call.

"Sure Dad," Lucas replied and hit the volume control.

Nathan clicked on the vid-link.

"Hey Captain, is Frankie there," came Wolfman's voice.

"Hi Wolfman," Nathan said. "Frankenstein, it's for you," Nathan teased.

"Cool," Lucas said. "Hey, what's up?"

"Dude, I'm sending you something in the mail, which isn't an easy thing to do by the way. Just
how in the heck do you send mail to a submarine. I had to hack into the UEO systems and find out your
schedule so I could figure out where you'd be in the next ten days so you could get it."

Lucas looked over and saw Dad shaking his head about hearing that Wolfman hacked into the
UEO systems.

"Honestly," Dad said, "I'll never understand why we spend billions on intelligence and security.
We should just stick a bunch of teenage hackers in a room and let them go to town."

"Cool," Wolfman said. "I'd take that job."

"Uh, that was sarcasm," Lucas told him.

"Yeah, I know, but I'd still take that job. At least I wouldn't be risking prison every time I did a
hack," Wolfman laughed.

"Listen you two," Nathan said. "I know that I'm old, therefore what I have to say isn't going to be
taken all that seriously by either of you, but be careful. Don't go taking unnecessary risks just because you
can. Kids who possess your…talents…have been known to disappear and turn up years later working for
the UEO. So you aren't just risking prison every time you hack something."

Lucas and Wolfman looked at the Captain, a little shocked by what he said.

"Don't worry, I'm not saying that's going to happen, but don't think for a second that the UEO
doesn't know about you guys, and that they aren't keeping tabs on you."

"Guess I never thought about that," Wolfman said. "Well, anyway, Frankie, I best let you go. I
have to go visit relatives tonight. Just keep an eye out for the mail in the next week."

"Will do. Talk to you later." Lucas reach over and broke the connection.

He turned to go back to his game when the vid-link went off again. He clicked it right back on
thinking that Wolfman had forgot to tell him something and had called right back. Instead he found
himself staring at a stranger.

"Uh, hello?" Lucas said. The man on the other end was just a little creepy looking. He was in his
mid sixties and had intense eyes.

"Are you Lucas Bridger?" the man asked.

'Yes, who are you?" Lucas asked.

"Excuse me, but can I help you?" Nathan asked, stepping into the picture.

"I hope so," the man said. "I'm Dr. Vincent Price. I'm calling in regard to a rather urgent matter.
I have been working on creating an android. I have successfully built its body, but I'm afraid that hardware
is what I'm best at. I need software. I recently saw Lucas' article that he published a few months ago, the
one on artificial intelligence. I need your program. With my hardware and your software we can actually
create the first sentient robotic being."

"Dr. Price, I don't know if you read the whole article, but if you had you would have seen that I
failed. I admit that Professor Martinson is a break through, but it's hardly sentient."

"I disagree. I think your problem isn't your software, but your hardware. I have just created a
new processor unlike anything else. I'm positive that my new processor will allow your software to
achieve its goal."

"We are already using a Pentium 44. It's the fastest thing on the market," Lucas said.

"Like I said, my new processor is unlike anything ever created before. Trust me. We can make it
happen. If it works I'll give you full credit for your software design. Think about it, my boy, we'll have
created the first sentient machine ever. You can't tell me that you aren't interested."

Lucas chewed on his lip. The truth was, he was interested. He was interested big time.

Kristin entered their quarters and saw them talking. She had a seat on the sofa to listen.

"Dr. Price," Nathan interrupted, "may I ask just where are you located exactly?"

"I'm in Lutvia Romania," Dr. Price said. "It is a small community not far from Bucharest. It
would be about a two hour taxi ride."

"Dr. Price, we're practically on the other side of the world from you. I don't think we can come."

"But, Dad," Lucas interrupted.

"Lucas, we can't," Nathan said.

"Please, don't make a final decision right this minute. Take a day or two to think it over. I'll
leave you my number so that you can get in touch with me. Please, seriously consider my offer. I know we
can make this work."

"We'll be in touch," Nathan finally said.

"Thank you," Dr. Price gave the necessary information before finally breaking the connection.

"Dad, we have to go. This would be incredible."

"Lucas, we don't know anything about this man, and Romania is a long way away from where we
are."

"I can find out who he is and if he's legit," Lucas said quickly. "Really, Dad, I want to go. This
has been a dream of mine. I've always wanted to create a thinking computer. One of the first things I did
when I got to seaQuest was to bring Professor Martinson on line. It was the perfect chance to use my AI
software that I had worked on while at Stanford."

"Why can't you just keep working on the Professor?" Nathan asked.

"Because Dr. Price is right. I've taken him as far as I can go here with what I have to work with,
but if he's really developed an android with hardware that can handle my program, then it could really
work."

"Lucas, I just can't go to Romania and I'm not going to stick you on a plane by yourself."

"Please, dad, call Noyce or something. If the UEO knew about this I'm sure they would be
interested. Think about it, androids in space or going to the bottom of the ocean, going places humans
never could, and being able to work and think on their own."

"It would be incredible," Kristin spoke up. It was the first time she had participated in the
conversation.

"I'm sure it would be incredible," Nathan said, looking at her, "but there is still the problem of us
being here and Dr. Price being in Romania."

"Lucas, why don't you leave the two of us alone for a bit," Kristin said. "Go play with Darwin for
a while."

Lucas looked at her and then he looked at Dad. Both had a look on their face that was equally
determined and equally stubborn.

"Uh, yeah, I think I'll go play with Darwin," Lucas said, and quickly left the room.

"Kristin, you shouldn't have done that. You're getting his hopes up and there is no way we can go
to Romania."

"Why can't we go to Romania?" she asked.

"Because we can't," Nathan said.

"If I remember correctly, you had said that you would see about getting Lucas away for some fun
after the seaScape was finished. Well, the seaScape is finished."

"I meant take him to a concert, or maybe to a ball game, I never meant a trip halfway around the
world," Nathan insisted.

"Fine, then I'll take him to Romania to work on this android. We can visit Nana on the way."

"What?" Nathan asked.

"I said…"

"I know what you said," Nathan replied, "and absolutely not. You and Lucas are not just going to
leave like that."

"Excuse me, but we aren't married yet, and that means that I'm still free to leave when I want,"
she said.

"Kristin, be reasonable," Nathan said.

"I am. You can't leave, but we can. Personally, I have to say that this project is rather fascinating,
whether it works or not, it'll definitely be a first of it's kind."

"Kristin, I don't want you and Lucas to leave."

"It'll just be for a couple of weeks," she said.

Nathan was getting incredibly frustrated. He knew she was doing this on purpose to get him to go,
and damn if it wasn't working. "We don't know anything about this man. For all we know it's some kind
of trap or something."

"I agree, that's why I'll have Lucas find out all he can on him before we go. Besides, I actually
need to see mother. I have to go to England for my dress fitting, and Lucas can get fitted for his tux while
we are there. Remember, the wedding is in a couple of months.

Then we can take the Orient Express to Bucharest. I haven't been on it in years, and I'm sure
Lucas will just love it. It'll be another one of those things that he's never done. I'm positive he's never
been on a train before." Kristin tried not to smirk. She was getting under his skin she knew. She was
describing a little adventure of fun and sightseeing with Lucas that didn't involve him and it was driving
him nuts.

"Fine, I'll call Bill," Nathan finally relented. "I'll see what I can do about going to Romania. I
hope Lucas was right about the UEO being interested in this sort of thing."

"The UEO is interested in almost anything that Lucas cooks up," she said.


__________________________________



Lucas entered his quarters quietly. He had been gone over an hour now. He didn't want to walk
in on Mom and Dad fighting or something like that. To his surprise they were sitting at the table writing
something out.

"Uh, hi," he said. "What are you doing?"

"We're making our travel plans," Nathan said.

"You mean we're going?" Lucas asked, smiling brightly.

"Yes, we're going," Nathan told him. "It seems that Dr. Price is the world's leading expert on
robotics and you were right. The UEO is positively drooling over the possibility of a sentient android."

"Cool, so when do we leave?" Lucas asked.

"We'll be leaving in two days," Nathan told him.

"We are going to stop in England first to see Nana and get fitted for the wedding, and then we are
going to take the Orient Express to Bucharest."

"The Orient Express!" Lucas gasped. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," she laughed.

"Cool," Lucas said.


_____________________________________



Lucas went to find Ben. He couldn't wait to tell his friend about his upcoming trip. He ran
through the corridors and stopped when he got to Ben's room. He made a point of knocking really really
loudly this time, just in case Ben wasn't alone.

Ben opened the door. "Hey kid, what's up?"

"Ben, I'm going to Romania to help build an android."

"What?" Ben said, not sure if he was hearing right. He opened the door all the way so Lucas
could come in. Both had a seat on his bunk.

"Now, say that again."

"A Dr. Price called me this evening and he's building an android using the latest in hardware
technology. He wants to use my AI software. He really thinks that we can build the first thinking
machine."

"Wow, kid, that's…wow."

"Yeah, I know, isn't it cool," Lucas said.

"It's cool, but a little scary."

"Why do you say that?" Lucas asked.

"Well, you saw Terminator didn't you? I'm not sure if I want my machines having minds of their
own," Ben said.

"Ben, that was a movie," Lucas pointed out.

"Still, it's a little frightening. What if one day the machines of the world realized that they didn't
need us anymore."

"And people say I have to much imagination," Lucas laughed.

"Listen, Lucas, now that you're all better, I need to talk to you about something."

"What?" Lucas asked.

"Well, um…you know that Katie and I are having problems, right?" Ben rubbed his hands
together trying to keep himself steady. This was harder than he thought it would be.

"Yeah, but you said you'd get over it," Lucas said.

"Well, I guess I'm not getting over it like I thought I would."

"Ben, what are you trying to tell me?" Lucas asked, suddenly feeling nervous.

"Lucas, tomorrow I'm going to the Captain and ask for a transfer."

Lucas sat on the bed and stared at him. He felt like he'd just been slapped in the face. No, Ben
couldn't go. He was his best friend. Suddenly Lucas jumped up.

"You can't do that," Lucas said. "You can't just leave."

"Listen, I know that you're upset, but…"

"You're my best friend. How can you just go like that?"

"It's not easy, but I think it's for the best."

"So that's it," Lucas asked. He was pacing the room like a caged animal. "You're just going to
quit."

"Yeah, that's it," Ben said.

"Ben, please don't," Lucas begged. His eyes welled up with tears but he didn't let them fall.
"You're the only person around here that really understands me. You can't leave."

"Lucas, you have plenty of people around here that understand you."

"But you're the only one that I have fun with. You can't go."

"Listen kid, someday when you're older you'll understand what I'm going through, how hard this
is."

"What? You think I don't know what it feels like to not have someone love you. Please, my
whole life I just wanted someone, anyone, to love me."

"I know, and now you have it. You've got more love now than you know what to do with." He
stood up to try and comfort his friend. Lucas was on the verge of totally losing it. He put a hand on the
kid's shoulder but Lucas shrugged it off.

"Fine, then leave if that's what you want," the boy yelled. "I don't care." Lucas bolted from the
room and took off like a hurricane down the corridor.

Ben sighed and ran a hand through his hair. That had gone pretty much as he had expected, truth
be told, but he felt bad. He didn't like hurting the kid. He knew not to go after him. It would only make
things worse.





Lucas ran into the moon pool and found himself a small nook in the corner where he crawled into
to have a seat and cry in peace. He couldn't believe Ben was just going to leave him like that. It was all
Katie's fault. Why did she have to go and hurt him? What was he supposed to do now that his best friend
would be gone? Ben was the only person he had to play with on this whole boat.

Lucas pulled his legs up to his chest and buried his face in his knees.


_________________________________________



Nathan went looking for Lucas. He knew something was up. He went to Ben's door and knocked
on it. The Lieutenant opened the door and looked a little surprised to see him there.

"Sir," Ben said.

"Lieutenant, is Lucas still here. He was coming to see you."

"He came, but he's not here now. He left," Ben said quietly.

"Did something happen?" Nathan asked. "I…I thought I felt something from Lucas."
Suddenly Ben understood why the Captain was there. Of course, the Captain had felt Lucas
having a melt down.

"Sir, when Lucas left he was upset with me."

"Why?" Nathan asked, confused. Lucas practically worshipped Ben.

"I told Lucas that I was going to come to you tomorrow to ask for a transfer. He didn't take the
news well."

"A transfer? Why do you want to leave?" Nathan asked.

"It's personal, sir," Ben replied sheepishly. He wasn't about to tell the Captain about his romance
troubles.

"I see," Nathan said. "So are you planning to go through with your transfer request?"

"Yes sir."

"Fine, submit it in writing tomorrow."

"Yes, sir."

Nathan turned and left. He needed to find Lucas, but he needed to find someone else first. Maybe
he couldn't read Ben's mind, but luckily for him his Lieutenant wasn't that complicated to figure out.
He walked in to the mess and spotted the person he was looking for. He walked up to the table
where Katie and Tim were seated.

"Excuse me," Nathan said.

"Captain," they greeted.

"I was curious to know if you knew where Lucas was?" Nathan asked. Truth was he already
knew, but he needed to have a reason to be here.

"No, we haven't seen him," Tim said. "Is something wrong?"

"I was looking for him. He's rather upset," Nathan said.

"Why?" Katie asked.

"Ben just informed him that he's leaving seaQuest. He's putting in for his transfer tomorrow.
Lucas took the news badly."

"Ben's leaving?" Tim said. "I knew nothing about that."

Katie didn't say anything. She looked at her cup of coffee as she stirred it repeatedly.

"Commander, are you okay?" Nathan asked.

"Uh, yes sir," she replied.

"Well, this must come as a relief to you, I would imagine," he told Katie. "I'm sure it was
awkward having your ex on board."

"Uh, excuse me," Katie said. She stood up and left the mess quickly.

Nathan smiled to himself. One down, one to go.

"Do you need some help looking for Lucas?" Tim asked.

"No, I'm sure I'll find him," Nathan said, and then he left the mess.


________________________________________



Katie pounded on Ben's door.

"What?" Ben yelled as he yanked the door open. "Oh great! This is just perfect. First Lucas, then
the Captain, and now you. What do you want?"

"Ben, may I come in?" she asked.

"What for, to tell me good riddance? You can say that from the hallway."

"Ben please, may I come in?" He voice had a ring of urgency in it and Ben found himself opening
the door to let her in.

Katie walked in and spun around to look at him. "Just what are you doing? You're really going to
leave seaQuest?"

"I think you know perfectly well why I'm leaving. Are you really going to tell me that you're not
happy to see me go? Once I'm gone your life will be a lot less complicated."

"Ben, think about what you're doing to Lucas. You're breaking his heart. You're his best friend."

"Lucas has plenty of people to take care of him. He'll be fine."

"Ben, you can't go," she said. "This place is your home. You have Lucas, Tim, Miguel, and a lot
of other people who care about you here."

"Katie, I can't stay here and look at you everyday and not be able to be with you."

"Fine, then I'll go. This is my fault anyway. You stay and I'll go."

"Katie, don't be ridiculous. If you leave seaQuest you'll be throwing away your career. I'm the
morale officer. I'm a dime a dozen." Ben looked at her for a minute, trying to figure out what was going
through her head.

"Katie, why are you here? I mean really, why are you here?"

"To ask you not to leave," she said.

"Why?"

"Because," she replied.

"Not good enough," Ben told her. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have packing to do." He walked to
the door and held it open for her. For a moment she stood her ground, but then she marched out of the
room.


____________________________



Nathan entered the moon pool and silently approached Lucas, who was still huddled in the corner.

"Lucas," he said quietly.

Lucas looked up at him, his face stained with tears.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Nathan asked.

"No," Lucas said. He got out of the floor and wiped his face. "I'm fine." He walked out of the
moon pool and left Nathan standing there.

Nathan hoped that Ben wouldn't really go. He didn't want to have to spend the next couple of
months dealing with a depressed teenager. It was hard enough dealing with a happy one.


___________________________



Lucas entered their quarters and Mom looked up at him.

"Good, you're back. It's time for you to go to bed, young man," she said. "It's getting late. I
know you're excited about the trip, but you can tell everyone about it tomorrow."

"Fine," Lucas said and went to his room. At the moment he was anything but excited. He closed
the door to his room and changed for bed. He skipped brushing his teeth and just went to bed. He held
R.B. in a vice like grip and felt fresh tears fall.

He felt like he was losing another brother. He remembered how sad he had been when Robby
went to the academy. Now he felt like that all over again. He hated losing people he loved. It reminded
him just how little control he had over life.


__________________________________



The next day Ben had tried to talk to Lucas on several occasions, but every time he got close to the
kid the boy took off in the other direction. He really wanted a chance to talk to him one more time.
Tomorrow the kid would be leaving for Romania and Ben was pretty sure he'd be gone by the time they
got back.

He gave up on Lucas for a while and went to the stock room. He needed to get the room in order
for his replacement. He had his own way of ordering the room, which didn't exactly meet UEO
regulations, and the new guy wouldn't know how to find anything in here.

He got involved in his work and didn't hear when someone came up behind him.

"Lieutenant."

Ben practically jumped out of his skin. "Oh, Captain, sorry, you almost gave me a heart attack."

"My apologies. Actually, I'm here to ask you a favor," Nathan said.

"What can I do for you?"

"As you know, tomorrow Lucas, Kristin, and I will be leaving for Romania. We will be gone for
about two weeks. I would greatly appreciate it if you would come with us."

"Sir?" Ben asked, clearly confused. "Uh, I don't know if that would be a good idea," Ben said.

"Nonsense. You can keep Lucas company so Kristin and I can actually spend a little time alone
once in a while. Besides, it's going to be a great trip, all expenses paid. We'll be stopping in England first,
then taking the Orient Express to Bucharest, and from there we will be going to a small village that's about
two hours away. I must say, I was actually against the idea at first, but it sounds like quite the adventure
now, don't you think?"

Ben was speechless. Actually, it did sound like the trip of a lifetime, but still, Lucas was really
angry with him. But then again, this would probably be the last he would get to be with the kid. At the
very least he would have the chance to say good bye to him.

"Well?" Nathan asked.

"I…I'll go," Ben said.

"Excellent. The shuttle leaves tomorrow at eight am. Make sure you pack for cold weather. It's
October so it's rather cold in Romania this time of year."

"Yes, sir." Ben wasn't the idiot everyone thought he was, and he had a feeling the Captain was up
to something, but he'd play the Captain's game for now. Who knew, it could be fun.


__________________________________



Nathan went to the bridge with a huge grin on his face. Teenagers weren't the only ones who
knew how to manipulate. He just hoped this little plan of his worked.

He entered the bridge where Katie and Jonathon were discussing some kind of report. He walked
up to Jonathon.

"Commander, can you please take care of this," Nathan said.

Jonathon took the paper from him. "What is it?" he asked, opening it up.

"This is Lieutenant Krieg's transfer notice. He'll be leaving tomorrow with us. We're giving him
a lift to his new position."

"What?" Ford said. "Why is Ben leaving?"

"He said it was personal." Nathan didn't fail to notice the crestfallen look that came over Katie.

"Also," Nathan added, "I'll need you to get a replacement for Ben. Here is the name of the man I'd like to
fill the position. See if you can arrange it."

"Of course, sir."

"Thank you Commander." Nathan took his seat on the bridge. He almost wished he could stay
and see how the new "replacement" worked out, he thought with a grin. Something told him that buy the
time they all got back the crew would be very happy to see Ben in deed.


________________________________________



Lucas packed his suitcase for the trip. He really didn't know why he was bothering to pack since
Mom was just going to come and repack it anyway, but it was something to do. He knew he was being a
big baby, not talking to Ben like this, but he didn't want to say good-bye. As long as he avoided saying
good-bye then he could pretend that Ben wasn't really leaving.

"Lucas, did you remember to pack your pajamas and plenty of underwear?" Kristin asked.

"Mom," Lucas groaned.

"Don't Mom me," she laughed. She stepped into his room and began to look through his suitcase.

"I don't see a tooth brush in here anywhere."

"That's because I'm going to need it tonight and in the morning before we leave," Lucas said.

"What's this?" she asked, holding up a small black case.

"That's Professor Martinson," Lucas said. "At least, that's all of my software for him. Twenty
two disks worth."

"My goodness. You have been working on him for a long time, haven't you?"

"Yes. I wrote about half of the program while I was in college before I had ever even heard of
seaQuest. Then I wrote the rest here on the boat, adapting it to fit the holo-projector." Lucas looked at her
for a minute before saying, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"I know you talked Dad into this trip. He really didn't want to go."

"He was just worried is all."

"I know, but I'm grateful you talked him in to it none the less. This is like a dream come true,"
Lucas said. "Even if I fail, at least I got the chance to try."

Kristin smiled at him, then she walked over and gave him a hug. "I'm glad to hear you say that. I
know how personal you take it when things don't work. Just remember, no one has ever come as close as
you already have to making this work. That in of itself is a major accomplishment."

"I know," Lucas said. "Thanks again."


__________________________________



That night Nathan went to check on Lucas. The boy had been unusually quiet all day, which
wasn't like him, especially considering they were leaving the next day. He found Lucas in his room,
huddled on the bed, staring at the aqua tubes. He looked at the computers and saw that they were all turned
off.

He wondered if it were possible for Lucas to be anymore depressed than he already was. He
walked over and sat on the bed next to Lucas.

"I don't want to talk," Lucas said.

"We don't have to talk," Nathan said. He sat back on the bed and propped himself up against the
head of the bed.

"Dad, don't."

"Don't what?"

"I know what you're doing. You're going to hang out here until I start blabbing."

"Is that what I'm doing?"

"Yes!"

"Lucas, I said we don't have to talk, and I meant it, but you definitely look like you need some
company."

Lucas stopped staring at the aqua tube and looked at his Dad. The older man just smiled at him
and lifted his arm up. Lucas rolled on to his side and moved under Dad's arm. Nathan squeezed the boy's
shoulders as Lucas laid his head on his chest.

Nathan was tempted to tell Lucas about Ben coming on the trip but decided not to. It would be
better for everyone for Ben to just show up in the morning.

The two sat in silence for quite some time, until Nathan finally looked down and saw that Lucas
had fallen asleep.

"Pleasant dreams," Nathan told the sleeping boy.


___________________________________



The next morning found everyone waiting in the shuttle bay. Everyone except for Ben that was.
He was running five minutes late. Nathan was suddenly afraid that maybe Ben had changed his mind and
wasn't going to come.

"What are we waiting for?" Kristin asked.

"We're giving someone a lift," he said.

"Who?"

"Sorry I'm late," Ben said, walking in dragging his suitcase. "I would have been on time, honest,
but Katie stopped by to yell at me some more."

Nathan just smiled. "No problem. Just get in the shuttle."

"Aye sir."

"Nathan why is Ben here?" Kristin asked.

"He's going with us," Nathan said.

"He's what?"

"He's going with us. It's a long story, one that I'll gladly share with you, but right now we have
to go or we will miss our plane."

"This should be an interesting trip," Kristin said.

"That's an understatement," Nathan laughed.





Ben entered the shuttle and stopped when he saw Lucas sitting there.

"What are you doing here?" Lucas asked.

"I'm going with you," Ben said, surprised that Lucas hadn't known.

"You're what?" Lucas asked.

"The Captain asked me to come along and keep you company," Ben said.

"Great, so we can hang out for the next two weeks and then you can leave for good. Just
wonderful."

"Look kid, the way I see it, we can spend the next two weeks having fun, or you can spend it
pouting. Personally, I prefer to have fun," Ben said.

"Well good for you. I think I'll pout if you don't mind." Nathan and Kristin saw Lucas stand up
and go sit in the back of the shuttle by himself.

Ben turned to look at them. "Listen, I think this is a bad idea. Thanks for inviting me along
Captain, but I think I'll skip the trip."

"Too late," Nathan said with a smirk. "We're already pulling away from seaQuest. Listen, he's
upset, but give him a chance to come around. You know Lucas. Everything happens only when he's good
and ready. Do you really want your parting words to be mean and hurtful ones."

Ben sighed. "I guess not." He turned and had a seat, carefully positioning himself away from
Lucas and the Captain and Doctor.

"Nathan, I think I'm ready for that long explanation now," she said. "Just what on earth is going
on?"

"Have a seat," he said.


___________________________________



Lucas could feel all the sensation leaving his rear end. He usually didn't mind flying, but this trip
was a ridiculously long one. First there was the five hour flight from Pearl to Seattle. From there they had
caught their next five hour flight from Seattle to New York. Then they waited patiently for three hours at
the air port to catch their five hour flight from New York to England.

"We seriously need to convince Nana to move closer to Pearl," Lucas said.

"Just wait," Nathan told him. "We get to make this trip again in two months for the wedding."

"Happy happy joy joy," Lucas griped.

"Remember, this little trip was your idea," Nathan reminded.

"Yeah, I know," Lucas said.

"So, are you ever going to talk to Ben, or are you going to give him the silent treatment for the
entire two weeks?"

"Dad, you shouldn't have invited him. I know why you did it, and I give you kudos for your
sneakiness, but still, it was a bad idea."

"Lucas, Ben is your best friend. He's not transferring to hurt you. The fact of the matter is he's
hurting himself. That's why he's transferring. And instead of you trying to help him deal with his pain,
you're adding to it."

"I don't want him to go," Lucas whined. "It's not fair. The people I love always leave me, or
throw me away."

"Do you really believe that's what Ben is doing to you? Throwing you away?"

Lucas didn't reply at first, he thought for a minute before saying, "No, he's not throwing me away,
but gone is gone, and in two weeks he's going to be gone."

"You don't know that for sure," Nathan said.

"Why, what else are you up too?"

"Nothing much, exactly. A little plan of my own that might work, or it might not. Either way,
you have the next two weeks to spend with your best friend. If there is one thing I've learned in this life,
it's that time is a gift. Don't you throw that away."


________________________________



Commander Ford stood in the launch bay waiting for the arrival of their new supply/ morale
officer. He hoped this guy was good. The mood of the entire boat seemed to be down with Krieg's
leaving. Katie was the glummest one of them all.

It was during their lunch together today that he realized that Katie had been lying to herself for a
very long time. Katie may care for him, but she was in love with Ben. If only Katie would open her eyes
and see who it was that she really loved.

He hated to lose her, cause he was really starting to like her a lot, but he knew from experience
that he would be better off not getting involved in a love triangle of this magnitude.

Finally the shuttle arrived. First Ensign Tate got out, then the new guy.

"Hello, I'm Com. Ford. Welcome to seaQuest."

"Well, hello there. I'm Lt. Dirk, but just call me Tex, everyone does." The man's voice oozed a
heavy southern accent.

"Well, uh, welcome…Tex. I hope you'll enjoy your time on seaQuest."

"Oh, I'm sure I will. I usually enjoy myself anywhere I go. Of course I'm sure you don't really
want to hear that, but it's true you know. Anyway, at least that's what my ma always used to say. She used
to tell me that I'd be the only person at a funeral who could have a good time. Do you have a good
relationship with your mother? I'd love to meet her one day."

"Uh, excuse me," Ford interrupted, but I have to get back to duty.

"Oh sure, don't let me keep you. I can find my own way. I'm very good at directions. I never get
lost."

"Yes, well good-bye," Ford said, hurrying out of the launch bay. He could still hear the man
talking to him. He picked up his pace till he was almost running down the corridor. "Just what in the hell
was the Captain thinking bringing this bozo on board," he complained to himself.


___________________________________



Lucas picked up his luggage at the terminal along with everyone else. They were all exhausted.

"Thank goodness, one more hour and we'll be at Nana's," Kristin said.

"I don't know about you, but I can't feel my legs or butt at all," Ben said. "Honest doc, you could
give me a dozen shots in the ass and I wouldn't feel a thing."

"Uh, yes, well, thanks for sharing Ben," Kristin grinned.

Ben smiled when he heard Lucas giggle behind him. He was wearing the kid down. No one could
stay mad at him for long. It was one of his better charms.

Nathan also heard the giggle and smiled himself. "Come on, lets get a taxi."

They walked to the front of the airport and were surprised to see Thomas waiting for them with a
large black car.

"Oh Thomas," Kristin exclaimed, "you are a sight for sore eyes."

"Welcome home miss," Thomas said. "Your Mum sent me to fetch you."

"How is she?" Kristin asked.

"She's doing well, and looking forward to seeing all of you again. She spent all day baking lot's
of goodies for Master Lucas."

"Did she make brownies?" Lucas asked.

"She most certainly did. A double batch I believe."

"Cool."

They slung their luggage into the trunk and Kristin introduced Ben to Thomas. The ride this time
was definitely more comfortable than last time being cramped in the taxi. Ben sat up front with Thomas
and everyone else was in the back seat. Nathan was in the middle and wasn't surprised in the least when
after a few minutes he felt both Kristin and Lucas lean against him and fall asleep. He looked up front and
saw that Ben was also snoozing, his head leaning against the door window.




When they got to the house it was technically morning since they flew east, but as far as their
bodies were concerned, it was about two in the morning and they were all exhausted.

They entered the house and said hello to Nana. Nana quickly set them at the table and fed them a
large breakfast, and then ushered them all off to bed. Thomas took them back to the same rooms they had
used last time, Ben staying in Duncan's room.

Lucas kicked off his shoes and changed into his pajamas, and then went to Dad's room to go to
sleep. He loved Nana's house. It was incredibly beautiful, but honestly, the giant bedrooms just didn't feel
natural.

Nathan had just finished putting on his own pajamas when he saw Lucas come in carrying R.B.
He smiled when Lucas entered the room. He had expected the boy to show up. He knew Lucas didn't like
the big beds and the big bedrooms here.

"Ready to go to sleep?" he asked.

"Oh yes," Lucas yawned.

Nathan pulled back the covers and tucked Lucas and R.B. in. He rolled over immediately and was
out like a light. Nathan wasted no time getting in to the bed himself.


__________________________________



"It's funny that people call me Tex, especially since I'm not from Texas. Actually I'm from
Oklahoma, but they hear the accent and that's it. They just call me Tex. So what do you like to do around
here for fun? I could probably arrange a party or something. I could arrange my own welcome party. Ha
ha ha ha, ho ho, wouldn't that be funny if I threw my own welcome party. Ha ha ha."

"Wouldn't it be funny if I took my fork and rammed it into his skull," Miguel asked Tim.

"Here, use my fork, it's already dirty. This way if the fork fails to kill him, than at least he'll
develop an infection and die."

Katie kicked the two in the shins under the table.

"Ou!" they both chimed.

"Oh, you two okay. Either you hurt yourselves or you're trying out for a hollerin contest. He he
he he."

Miguel and Tim just rolled their eyes.

"Uh, I have to go," Tim said.

"Yeah, me too," Miguel added.

"Well I hope I see you again real soon. I'm sure I will. We are on a sub after all. How could I
miss ya?"

"Yeah, well, bye," Tim said and practically took off running with Miguel close behind him.

"I can't believe we lost Ben and ended up with this guy," Miguel said.

Tex turned to Katie and was about to talk to her when she held up her hand and said, "Don't." She
stood up form the table and left the mess.

Tex watched her leave and practically cracked up laughing. "Nathan, you owe me big time for
this one," he chuckled.


___________________________________



Hands. He felt hands all over him. Grabbing him, pulling at him, then tying him up. He
struggled but the hands were stronger. Hands also covered his eyes and his mouth. Suddenly another hand
covered his nose and he couldn't breath. He thrashed back and forth trying to break free and get air.

"Lucas, you're okay. It's just a dream. There are no hands." Lucas zeroed in on his Dad's voice
and suddenly his invisible attackers were gone, and only Dad was there with him.

"Hey kiddo," Nathan said.

"Sorry, I did it again."

"It's okay," Nathan said, and then he vanished from Lucas' dream.

Lucas rolled over and sat up in the bed. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He could see that
sunlight was peeking in from under the curtains. Great, that meant there was still time to go riding. He
wondered if Ben had ever gone horseback riding before. He couldn't wait to show Ben how to jump a
horse.

Then he suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be mad at Ben. He sighed. It was hard
work to be angry with someone. Maybe Dad was right. Maybe he should just take advantage of the next
two weeks.

He got out of Dad's bed and tiptoed to the door. He wanted to go get dressed. He'd have time to
pig out on brownies before Mom got up and could stop him.

"Oh no you don't," Nathan said. "I will not let you pig out on brownies all by yourself. But I will
let you pig out on them with me."

Lucas laughed. "Well you better get dressed fast, cause if Mom beats us to the kitchen neither of
us will get to pig out."

"Deal." Nathan said and got out of bed.




Nathan and Lucas were surprised to see that someone else had beat them to the kitchen. Ben was
sitting with Nana and Beatrice eating brownies and drinking tea.

"Oh, hello," Ben said.

"Hi," Lucas said.

"Did you two sleep well?" Nana asked.

"Yes, we did," Nathan said.

"Well, then come over here and give your Nana a big hug," she told Lucas, which the boy did. "I
swear, you've grown at least two inches since I saw you last, but we need to fatten you up some. You're
much too skinny. I would have thought that my daughter would have done a better job at feeding you."

"She feeds me, Nana. Honestly, all Mom does is hassle me about eating and sleeping," Lucas
laughed. He sat down at the table and grabbed two brownies. He thanked Beatrice when she poured him a
large glass of milk.

"Well, that's good to hear. So how have you all been doing?"

"We've been doing well," Nathan said. "Life is never boring living on a sub at the bottom of the
ocean."

"That's what Kristin always says. So are you getting nervous about the wedding. It's only two
months away."

"Not me," Lucas said. "I can't wait."

Nathan laughed. "No, I'm not nervous. Honestly, though, sometimes I forget that Kristin and I
aren't already married."

"No one would ever know that those three weren't a family," Ben said.

"We are a family," Lucas replied.

"I know, that's what I meant," Ben said.

"Oh."

Nathan ruffled Lucas' hair. Then he grabbed his own brownie.




When Kristin finally came into the kitchen an hour later Lucas had eaten six brownies and Nathan
had had three.

"Hey Mom, can we go horse back riding?" Lucas asked. "Ben's never been. I want to show him
the trail out back." The boy was practically bouncing in his seat.

"Lucas, how many brownies did you eat?" Kristin asked.

"Uh, I don't know, a couple. Why?"

"Because I think it's safe to say that you're overdosed on sugar," she smirked, then she gave
Nathan a love tap on the back of the head.

"What was that for?" he asked good naturedly, "I didn't overdose on sugar."

"That's for letting him do it, and mother I'm surprised at you."

"Oh relax, dear. The boy needs fattening up."

"I'm still in the room, you know," Lucas said. "So can we go riding?"

"Oh for goodness sake, Kristin get this boy on a horse already."


_____________________________________



No sooner had Lucas mounted his horse he kicked the animal and was off. "Whoo hoo!" he yelled
as he flew out of the barn. Nathan instantly kicked his horse and was keeping stride with the kid.

"I take it Lucas likes the horses?" Ben asked nervously.

"To say the least. Come on, up you go," Kristin said.

"Uh, I don't know about this," Ben said.

"Oh, don't be chicken. It's not that hard." Kristin gave Ben a crash course in the basics and after
much coaxing he got on his horse.

He was just leaving the barn when Lucas and Nathan both came up to them.

"Are you coming or what?" Lucas called.

"Lucas, take it easy. Ben's never ridden before. If I remember it took you a bit to get the hang of
it," Kristin said.

"Oh Ben," Lucas said.

"What?"

"Just so you know, the horse doesn't know when to jump. You actually have to tell it to do that."
Ben saw Kristin and Nathan start to laugh. He figured there was a good story there and if he
survived this little trip he'd like to hear it.

"With all do respect, I don't want to jump anything."

"It's not that hard. Trust me."

They went through the trail that circled the property and Lucas and Nathan both jumped the stream
and back. Ben had been impressed with Lucas. He knew the boy had only had about three weeks of
practice, but looking at him now one would have thought he'd been born on a horse.

At the end of the ride Ben was glad to find that he was still in one piece and hadn't been thrown
even once.

__________________________________



That night Lucas changed into his pajamas and went downstairs. Nana was sitting in the library
by the fireplace. Once again she was knitting. Lucas went in and sat down across from her.

"I'm surprised you're still up," Nana said. "I would have thought you asleep by now."

"Soon," Lucas said. "So are you looking forward to the wedding?"

"Oh yes," Nana said. "Weddings are always fun. I've got everything ready. The caterer has been
selected, all the clothes have arrived to be fitted, the decorations are in storage, and I've reserved the entire
hotel in town for all of the extra guests."

"Wow."

Nathan had been showing Ben around the house and they stopped when they got to the library.

"All you three have to do is show up. So have you figured out where you're going to take you
father for his bachelor party yet?"

"What?" Lucas asked.

"Well, you are the best man. That means you are responsible for the bachelor party, not that you
have to have one, mind you."

"I hadn't thought of that. That's usually the type of thing Ben would take care of, but he won't be
around to do it."

"Why's that?" Nana asked.

"Because when we go back home he's leaving," Lucas said sadly.

"I take it you don't like that idea."

"No, I don't. He's my best friend. Truthfully, he's my only friend, unless you count Darwin. I
mean, the other people on the boat are nice and they all care about me, but none of them actually want to
goof around with me. Only Ben does that. He's kinda like a big brother. I always wanted one of those."

"Does Ben know how you feel?"

"I think so," Lucas said. "Although I've been kind of mean to him the last couple of days. I was
angry that he was leaving."

"Well, at least you still have time to make it up to him," Nana said.

Nathan looked at Ben and saw that the Lieutenant had a tear running down his cheek. Ben quickly
wiped it away and then excused himself. Nathan smiled. He hoped that after that Ben wouldn't be able to
leave now. He cleared his throat and walked into the library.

"Hey son," Nathan said. "It's time for bed."

"Okay Dad." Lucas stood up and kissed Nana good night.

"Sleep well sweetheart," Nana said.

"You too."


________________________________



Two days later Thomas drove them to the train station. Nana made sure to send them off with
plenty of goodies for their trip.

"Kid, I am like totally jealous," Ben said.

"Why?"

"Because, you got the Captain, who's loaded and spoils you rotten, and your Mom is just as rich
and will inherit a mansion one day, which she'll probably pass down to you."

"Cynthia will get the house, Ben. It rightfully belongs to her, not me. Besides, I'm already rich.
Between what the UEO paid me for my system, and the stuff confiscated from Lawrence, it adds up to a
whole lot. Dad is managing my trust and when I turn eighteen I get it."

"Boy, some people have it rough," Ben teased.

"It's only money. I really don't care about it," Lucas said. "Honestly, I prefer my little room on
seaQuest over the bedrooms at Nana's."

"Well, if you ever decide to give away your trust fund I'll be more than happy to take it off of your
hands."

"I wouldn't go that far," Lucas laughed. "Actually, I plan on putting that money to use."

"How so?" Ben asked.

"Well, I got the idea from Cynthia actually. She opened an orphanage for refugee children. She
helps them get adopted and placed in good homes. I was thinking about starting a foundation for abused
children."

Ben looked at Lucas and found that he wasn't a bit surprised by Lucas' plans. It was without a
doubt something that Lucas would do.

"Good bye, Thomas," Kristin said. "I'll see you in two months."

"I look forward to it, ma'am. Have a pleasant trip."

"Thank you."

They boarded the train and waved a final farewell to Thomas.

"Wow, this is so cool," Lucas said. "It's like going back in time."

"I'm glad you like it," Kristin said.

"Let's find our room. We have a cabin suite so technically the four of us are staying in the same
room."

"May I be of service?" a conductor asked.

"Yes, please," Nathan said. He handed the man their tickets.

"Please, follow me," and the conductor took two of their bags and led them to their room. "Here
you go. The dinner car in towards the front of the train, and the bar lounge is towards the rear, as is the
observation car. If you need anything at all simply press the call button in your room and I'll be right there
to accommodate you."

"Thank you very much," Nathan said. They went inside the cramped little space.

"Feels like home," Lucas smiled.

"It certainly does, except a lot classier," Ben replied.

"Well, Ben, Lucas, why don't you two bunk on that side, and Kristin and I will take this one."

"Okay," Lucas said. Lucas walked past the closet and the enclosed sink cabinet to his half of the
suite. "Do you want top bunk or can I have it?"

"You can have the top bunk as long as you promise not to wet the bed," Ben joked.
Lucas didn't laugh at Ben's joke. A memory of him being trapped in the floor on seaQuest
wetting his pants came to his mind.

"Lucas, I was just kidding," Ben said.

"I know," Lucas said. "Don't worry, I haven't wet my bed since I was like four, so I think your
safe."

"Well, that's a relief, cause you know, there's nothing worse than getting an unwanted shower in
the middle of the night."

Now Lucas did laugh.

"You think I'm kidding," Ben said. "Remind me to tell you about the weekend I spent drunk in
Reno one day."

"Actually I think the spew factor might be a little too high on that story for my taste," Lucas
laughed. He sat down on the seat and opened up his bag. He pulled out his laptop and started up a game.

Ben was looking around their little space and was surprised when he saw the top of a teddy bear
sticking out of Lucas' bag. He decided to have a little fun with this. He nonchalantly reached down and
picked up the bear.

"So, who do we have here?" Ben asked, holding the bear up and shaking it back and forth.

"Ben give me that," Lucas said, his cheeks blushing.

"Oh no, I think I might have to hold this hostage for a little while. Maybe I'll take a few pictures
for the guys back on the boat."

"Ben, give me R.B.," Lucas said, standing up to grab the bear.

Ben quickly held the bear up in the air, and since he was taller it was out of Lucas' reach. "Oh,
but he seems to like it up here," Ben teased.

"Ben I mean it. Give him back." Lucas jumped up in an attempt to grab the bear.

"Or you'll what?" Ben laughed.

Lucas tried a different tactic. He started to tickle Ben at his sides.

"Hey, cut that out," Ben laughed. He dropped his arms to protect his sides and Lucas grabbed
R.B. "Oh you little sneak, I am so going to get you."

Ben grabbed Lucas around the waist and lifted him off the floor.

"Put me down," Lucas yelled.

"Nope, not until you say uncle," Ben said. He rotated Lucas in his arms and the next thing Lucas
knew he was being held upside down. Ben would lift him up and then bonk his head on the floor only to
do it again and again.

"BEN! Put me down!"

"Say uncle," Ben said.

"NEVER!"

"Ben, what are you doing?" Kristin asked. All the noise had drawn her attention.

"Nothing," Ben smiled.

"Uh, Lieutenant, maybe you should put him down now," Nathan chuckled.

"Not till he says uncle," Ben laughed.

"Ben, I am so going to get you for this one," Lucas hissed. Ben's response was to bonk his head
on the floor again. "Ouch!! Okay, okay, uncle!"

"Good boy," Ben said. He slowly lowered Lucas onto the floor so as not to hurt him for real.

Lucas got up out of the floor and lunged at Ben, both of them flying into the chair.

"Okay kid, you made your point," Ben groaned.

"Lucas, that's enough," Nathan ordered as sternly as he could.

"Yes sir." Lucas grabbed R.B. and stuffed the bear back in his bag.

"Don't worry kid, I won't tell anyone about your bear," Ben said. "I was just messin with ya.
Where did he come from anyway? I never saw him before."

"You remember when Dad and I disappeared in the shuttle?"

"Yeah."

"Well, when we came back from where ever it was we were at, he was there. I have this memory
of Robby giving him to me the day he left for the academy. I was six years old at the time. I remember
having him forever, it's strange."

"I guess that would make him pretty special," Ben replied.

"You promise not to tell the others?" Lucas asked.

"Don't worry kid, your secret's safe with me."



Kristin sat with Nathan in their cabin watching the antics going on in the adjoining room.

"Well, it looks like those two have made up," Kristin said.

"I certainly hope so. Lucas was getting down right unbearable. I think after last night Ben might
even reconsider his transfer."

"Why? What happened last night?" she whispered.

"He over heard Nana and Lucas talking. Lucas was telling Nana how important Ben was to him.
Ben actually got a little misty eyed."

"Lucas has a way of doing that."

They stopped talking when they noticed the train was pulling out of the station.

"Well, it looks like our little adventure is about to begin," Nathan said.

"Thank you for doing this," she said. "I know I sort of tricked you into coming on this trip."

"Yes, you did, but believe it or not I'm actually glad."

"Well, that's good to hear," Kristin said.


______________________________________



They sat in their room for a while playing poker and just watching the beautiful scenery go by.
Finally it was time for lunch and they walked down to the dinning car.

They were escorted to a small but very luxurious table. The train had been designed so that every
table was next to a window so the passengers could continue to have a beautiful view of the French
countryside.

The waiter brought them all water and bread basket and announced that their meals would be right
there.

"Don't we get to order ourselves?" Lucas asked.

"They only prepare one meal for everyone," Kristin told him.

"Oh."

A few minutes later the waiter came and placed the beautifully presented food in front of them.

"Oh, this looks wonderful," Kristin said.

"Yes, it does," Nathan agreed.

Lucas on the other hand just looked at it. "Uh, what is this?" he asked the waiter.

"Brouillard d'Oeufs au Saumon fume, Homard Rôti au Beurre de Cresson, and Pommes Rosettes,"
the waiter replied.

"Uh, what is that exactly?" Lucas continued.

The waiter looked just a little put out but put on a smile and replied, "Scambled eggs with smoked
salmon, broiled lobster with fresh cress butter, and potato swirls with chives."

"Lucas, just eat it," Nathan told him.

"Yes sir," Lucas said. He picked up his fork and put a bite of the eggs into his mouth. He hated it.
He quickly swallowed it down and then took a big drink of water.

"Is it not to your liking?" the waiter asked.

"By any chance, could I get a grilled cheese sandwich?" Lucas asked.

"Grilled cheese?" the waiter asked, dumbfounded.

"You take a slice of cheese and put it between bread and fry it," Lucas offered.

"I know what grilled cheese is," the waiter said. He picked up the boys plate and walked away.

Ben started laughing. "Well, you've been in the country for only a few hours and you've already
insulted the French. Honestly kid, you had a fifty dollar meal in front of you and you gave it back to get a
two dollar sandwich."

"You eat what you want and I'll eat what I want," Lucas replied.

"You could have at least tried the other items on the plate Lucas," Kristin said.

Lucas just rolled his eyes.


______________________________



After lunch Kristin went back to the room to lie down for a bit and Ben said he was going to the
lounge car to mingle with the disgustingly rich and famous.

Lucas wasn't tired, and mingling with stuck up snobs was not high on his list, so he said that he
was going to go to the observation car. Nathan offered to come with him.

"So are you having fun?" Nathan asked him.

"Yeah, this place is pretty cool, although I think I embarrassed Mom during lunch."

"She'll get over it. I'm a little more used to your unusual eating habits I guess."

They had a seat in the observation car and Lucas replied. "I'm just not used to that fancy food.
I've spent the past five or six years living on freeze dried cafeteria foods like on seaQuest and at college."

"You had homemade food for four months at the beach house."

"Yeah, but you and Mom at least cooked normal food," Lucas laughed. "Are we allowed to go
outside? In the movies you always see people on the back of the train on a little platform."

"I don't know, but I guess we could ask."

Nathan got up and spoke to a train employee who nodded his head yes and pointed in the direction
they needed to go. Nathan came back for Lucas and motioned for him to follow.

They walked to the end of the train and stepped out on to the platform. The October air was crisp
but not overly cold and Lucas immediately decided that this was his favorite place on the train.

"This is great," Lucas said.

"It is."

"How long will it take to reach Bucharest?"

"Almost two days."

"Cool. I could spend two days out here. Thanks for doing this," Lucas said. "For coming on the
trip."

"Well, I was sort of outvoted. First you, then Kristin, and after I contacted the UEO both Bill and
Frank ordered me out here."

"I'm sorry you got forced into it."

"Lucas, I'm glad we're here. This has been very nice. It's not that I didn't want to go before, I
just didn't think the UEO would let me, not to mention at the time Dr. Price was a total mystery."

"He sure wanted us to come," Lucas said.

"Well, I get the feeling that he's devoted the better part of his life to this project. I know what it's
like to spend years working on something. If you're not careful it can totally consume you."

"Why is it that I feel like I was just given a warning?" Lucas asked, smiling at his Dad.

"I didn't mean it as a warning, but I hope you never fall into that trap."

The two stood in silence for the next few minutes until Nathan noticed that Lucas was shivering
just a bit. He was wearing a blazer, but Lucas only had on a dress shirt. They had bought formal clothes
yesterday for the trip.

"Do you want to go back in?"

"No," Lucas said. It was just too prefect and peaceful here to go in already.

"Alright, but I'm going to go get your jacket. We don't need you coming down sick." Nathan
slipped off his blazer and draped it over Lucas' shoulders and then went inside to grab his coat.

Lucas leaned against the railing thinking about how lucky he was. He had never thought himself
lucky before, in fact he had thought himself cursed, but not anymore. No, he knew he was lucky. He had
so many people now who just wanted to love him and take care of him, and he wasn't afraid to admit
anymore that he liked it when they did. His whole life he had wanted to feel loved, protected, and to even
be a little spoiled.

It was comforting to know that no matter how badly he might screw up that Mom or Dad would
never hit him. Sure, he complained about Mom always babying him, telling him to eat and sleep, but the
truth was, it was nice, because it meant she loved him enough to bother him about it.

It was also cool the way Mom and Dad did things for him, like this trip. Over the past year and
half he had seen more things, gone more places, and had more fun than he had had in the fourteen years
that he was a Wolenczak. Camping, horseback riding, trips to England, Disney World, Salem Mass., the
mountains in Virginia, volleyball on the beach with his friends, even things as simple as staying home
watching TV with other people in the house. Now here he was on the most famous train in the world
speeding through France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, and then into Romania. Lucas had always dreamed
of seeing the world, and he didn't want to miss a minute of this trip.


_____________________________________



"I just need a pair of socks!" Crocker said to Tex.

"I know sir, but you have to fill out a requisition for them. It's UEO policy, and I always follow
policy. I'll submit the requisition to the Captain when he returns and then you can have your socks."

"This is ridiculous, Ben used to just give me what I needed and got the Captain's signature later."

"Well then Ben was breaking the rules," Tex said. "As soon as the Captain okay's the request you
can have your socks."

"The Captain is going to be gone for two weeks," Crocker said.

"Well then you'll just have to wait until he gets back. Wear your old socks till then."

"They all have holes in them, that's why I'm here for new ones."

"I'm sorry but I can't help you," Tex reiterated.

"Why, I'll be…" Crocker was positively fuming. He marched out of the supply room.
As he went to his room he bumped into Miguel and Tim.

"Hi chief," Tim said.

"Oh stuff it," Crocker said and marched right past them.

"Why do I get the feeling he just met Tex," Miguel said.

"Because everyone who meets Tex acts like that. The man is positively infuriating," Tim said.


____________________________________



Lucas was still on the platform of the train. Dad had spent quite a bit of time out there with him
but he had finally gone back inside. Lucas had stayed though. He couldn't explain why he liked it out here
so much.

"Hey kid," Ben said.

"Hi Ben," Lucas replied.

"Kristin ordered me to come and drag you back inside. She says you've been out here long
enough and she's afraid that you're going to come down sick. Besides, it's almost time for dinner."

"Ben, are you really going to leave seaQuest?"

"Truth. I'm not sure anymore."

"How come?"

"Because I really care about you and a lot of the other people on seaQuest. Still, it's hard to be
around Katie."

"Please don't leave," Lucas begged.

"I can't say for sure, but I promise to think about it."

Lucas did something that caught Ben completely off guard. He hugged him. Ben knew that Lucas
hugged the Captain and Kristin, but he had never seen the kid hug anyone else, ever, so he understood what
a big deal it was for Lucas to do this. Ben patted Lucas on the back, and then without a word Lucas let go
of him and headed back inside the train.

Ben just stood on the platform and grinned. A few days ago leaving seemed to be such an easy
thing to do, but now the mere thought of it ripped his heart out. He definitely had to rethink what he would
do.


__________________________________



Katie sat in her room. Her shift was over and right now she just wanted to be alone. She was
supposed to go to the mess and have dinner with Jonathon, but that was the last thing in the world she
wanted to do.

She walked over to her closet and pulled out an envelope. She removed the few pictures that were
inside. They were pictures or her wedding day. She and Ben looked so happy together. She tried to
remember just why it was that she had left him, and as the reasons came to her mind she realized that none
of them were very good. Ben hadn't done anything to deserve her leaving him.

First she left him, and now she drove him away. She wondered just what was wrong with her.
What kind of person forces away the one person who loves you unconditionally? Now it was too late for
her to fix it. Ben was gone and it was all her fault.

It was a good thing that no one else on the boat knew that. Everyone absolutely hated Ben's
replacement. Then she cringed. There was one person who knew. Lucas. He had been devastated upon
hearing of Ben's transfer. The kid would surely hate her when he got back from Romania.

Katie laid back on her bed and wiped at her eyes. "Just great," she told herself. "You realize you
love him after he leaves."


___________________________



Lucas, Ben, and the Captain all got ready for bed while Kristin changed in the other. The rooms
were very small and really not accommodating for three people moving at once. The adjoining door
opened and Kristin let Nathan back into their room. With Ben being present she was being just a bit more
proper than usual.

Lucas sat down tiredly on Ben's bed since he still had to brush his teeth he didn't see the point in
climbing up in the top bunk just yet. As small as the sleeping rooms were Lucas really liked them. They
were cozy, and very beautiful.

He saw Mom was at the only sink. He knew Dad would go next, then Ben. In other words he
wouldn't be washing his face or brushing his teeth any time soon. He tilted sideways and laid his head on
the soft pillow while his legs still hung over the edge and touched the floor.




"Captain, thank you for inviting me along on this trip. I know you had an ulterior motive for
doing it, but I'm really grateful," Ben said.

"I'm just glad that you and Lucas are getting along now. Even if you still choose to leave us at
least you and Lucas will have had a proper good-bye, instead of parting on bad terms." Nathan paused a
moment before asking, "Are you still going to leave?"

"Actually," Ben said softly, "I think if it's all right with you, I want to stay."

"Of course I want you to stay. In a strange way, you are part of this family," Nathan grinned.

"Does that mean I can call you Dad?" Ben joked.

"Don't push it, Lieutenant."

"Yes sir," Ben laughed.

Ben took his turn at the sink and then was about to tell Lucas that he was done when he saw that
Lucas was asleep. The motion of the train had knocked him out.

Ben walked over to Lucas and gently lifted his legs onto the bed and pulled the covers over him.

"Good night kid," Ben whispered. He pulled R.B. out of Lucas' bag and stuck the bear under the
covers with Lucas. Then he turned off the bedside lamp before climbing up into the top bunk.

Nathan and Kristin both smiled from their side of the room. Nathan was glad that he had made the
right decision to bring Ben along. Things on this side of the world were working as planned. He didn't
want Lucas to go through the pain of losing another big brother.

As he crawled into his bunk he wondered how his plan was working on the other side of the
world. He hoped "Tex" was putting on a good show.



_____________________________________




For some reason Nathan couldn't sleep. He was sure he had nodded off for a few hours, but here
it was the middle of the night and he couldn't fall back off. Not that he really minded. He seemed to have
a lot of things on his mind at the moment, and it was nice to just lie there and let old memories fill his head.

Maybe it was because the wedding was right around the corner that he found himself thinking
about Carol. He remembered their wedding, and how excited they both had been when she announced she
was pregnant with Robby. As much as he loved Kristin, he would always love Carol too. He realized that
he was truly blessed. He had been allowed to experience true love not once but twice in his life.

He was torn from his thoughts when he heard moaning coming from Lucas in the adjoining room.
He sighed. He wondered if the day would ever come that the boy would see peace during the night.
Suddenly the moaning stopped and he heard Lucas sit up in his bed. He couldn't see him in the darkness
but he sensed that the boy was wide awake.

He heard Lucas stand up and walk around in the room. Then the door to Lucas side of the room
opened and Lucas tiptoed out. Nathan didn't panic over Lucas' leaving, he knew where the boy was
heading too. He shook his head. The kid was going outside and he was only wearing his pajamas. He
hadn't even bothered to put on his slippers or his robe.

Nathan sat up in the top bunk and stretched his muscles. He decided to give the boy five minutes
to pull himself together before he went after him.


______________________________________



Lucas walked though the narrow walkway in the train. Luckily it was the middle of the night and
everyone but staff was in bed. No one paid any mind to a teenager walking around in his pajamas.

He needed to get outside. He needed to breath the fresh air. It seemed that lately he only dreamed
of slowly suffocating in his sleep. He knew that little idea was a remnant from being bound and gagged in
the floor of seaQuest.

He made it to the end of the train and stepped out onto the small platform. The air was cold but it
felt refreshingly good against his skin. He rubbed sleepily at his eyes. It felt nice to wake up and go
outside. Even though he loved his home on seaQuest, he did miss the fresh air and seeing the sky.

He sat down on his bottom on the platform and leaned back against the train. He stared at all the
stars in the night's sky. There were millions of them. He wrapped his arms around himself as the cold air
stopped feeling refreshing and just started to feel cold, but he wasn't ready to go back in just yet.

He wasn't the least bit surprised when Dad stepped out onto the platform. Neither of them said
anything. There really wasn't a need to. Dad handed him his slippers and his robe. He stood up to put
them on. He was surprised when Dad sat down on the platform and motioned for him to sit back down too.

Lucas sat next to his Dad and the older man covered them with a blanket that he had brought.

"Have you ever wanted to go into space?" Lucas asked. "I mean, look at all those stars."

"I think I've always resented space," Nathan said. "It was my biggest competition in life."

"I understand that, but still, look at that. Surely you must wonder what is out there."

"Sure, I wonder what is out there, but all the things that are really important to me are right here,"
Nathan said.


___________________________________



Nathan sneezed a couple of times and then blew his nose as they departed the train.

"Serves you right," Kristin admonished. "Honestly, sleeping outside all night in the middle of
October. I don't know what you and Lucas were thinking."

"We didn't mean to fall asleep. It just happened," Nathan replied. "Besides, it's just a case of the
sniffles."

They picked up their luggage and went to find the driver that was supposed to be picking them up.
They didn't have to look far. Standing there holding a sign that said Bridger was a tall elderly gentleman.

"Hello," Nathan said. "I am Nathan Bridger and this is my son Lucas, my fiancé Kristin
Westphalen, and our friend, Ben Krieg." Nathan decided to drop the titles of Captain and Lieutenant while
they were here.

"Yes, it is nice to meet you, Mr. Bridger. I am Dr. Price's assistant, Dr. Christopher Lee. I'll be
taking you to stay at Dr. Price's castle."

"Castle?" Ben said. "As in…castle, an honest to god real castle?"

"Yes, that is correct. Please, allow me to help you with your luggage. If you'll follow me, the car
is this way."

As they walked to the car Lucas was intrigued by the little he could see of Bucharest. The
buildings were very old and very beautiful. He could feel the history here. They came upon a large old
style black car. Once the luggage was loaded in the trunk everyone got inside.

"How long will it take to get to Dr. Price's?" Lucas asked.

"About two and a half hours," Dr. Lee replied. "He is located in a very small village. It's very
lovely, but a bit remote."

Kristin couldn't explain why, but Dr. Lee made her feel uncomfortable.


_______________________________



The ride to Dr. Price's castle had started off simple enough, but soon the roads became rather
bumpy, and it didn't take long for them to become almost impassable. Everyone in the car was bounced
and thrown around as the car moved slowly across the broken and often missing concrete.

This went on for just about two hours. The car entered a small village and Kristin asked if they
could stop for a bit.

"I just need to stretch my legs," she said.

"I could use some aspirin," Ben said.

"We can stop here. There is a small tavern where you can get something to drink and use the
facilities," Dr. Lee said.

"Oh, that would be wonderful," Kristin replied.

Dr. Lee parked the car and everyone climbed out.

"I will stay here. The tavern is right there. Please don't wander off alone. It is not always safe for
strangers. Many of the villagers are rather superstitious and wary of outsiders."

"We aren't in danger though, are we?" Nathan asked.

"No, just stay in pairs so you don't end up getting pick pocketed," Dr. Lee warned.

The four went into the tavern and immediately everyone inside stopped talking to stare at the new
comers.

"Whoa," Lucas whispered.

"Let's have a seat," Nathan said.

"I'm going to the ladies. I'll be right back," Kristin said, excusing herself.

Lucas, Nathan and Ben had a seat. A minute later a man came up to them. He didn't speak
English, but they had no problem asking for just glasses of water and some coffee.




Kristin stepped into the small ladies room and washed up a bit. She was startled when she turned
around and saw a beautiful gypsy woman standing next to her.

"You came here with the doctor?" she said with a heavy accent.

"Yes, yes I did. We are going to stay with Dr. Price."

"You should not go there," the woman said. "That is a very bad place. It is evil. Dr. Price is a
very bad man."

"Yes, well thank you for the warning," Kristin said politely and then left the bathroom to rejoin
her group. Honestly, evil indeed.

She was grateful to see a hot steaming cup of coffee waiting for her when she sat down.

"I met the most unusual person in the bathroom," she said.

"Really, who?" Nathan asked.

"A gypsy woman. She said that we shouldn't go to Dr. Price's place. That he and the castle are
evil," Kristin said with a chuckle. "It seems that Dr. Lee was right about the villagers being superstitious."

"I don't know Doc," Ben said. "That Dr. Lee is just a little odd if you ask me."

"Ben honestly, don't tell me that you buy into that foolishness."

"I didn't say that, just that he's odd is all," Ben replied.

"Well, we should finish our coffee and get back to him," Nathan said.

"Great, so we can finish jarring my brain right out of my head," Lucas grinned. "These people
need to fix their roads."

"These people are very poor. It's a miracle they have roads," Nathan pointed out.
Nathan threw some money down on the table to pay for the coffee and they went back outside. On
the way to the car several men approached them. Kristin saw that the gypsy woman was with them too,
hiding behind the men.

"You should not be here," a man said. "Go back from where you came."

"We aren't here for trouble," Nathan said calmly. "Excuse us, we are leaving now."

The men didn't move though. They stood their ground.

Everyone jumped when a gun fired.

"Get away," Dr. Lee yelled at the villagers.

The people quickly backed away.

"What are you doing?" Nathan demanded.

"Protecting you," Dr. Lee replied. "Please get in the car."

Nathan felt this was far from over, but he saw that the villagers were looking more and more
nervous and he was afraid of things getting out of hand so he motioned for everyone to get back in the car.

Dr. Lee got behind the wheel and started the engine. Nathan was half tempted to tell him to take
them right back to the train station.

"Just what in the hell was that about?" Nathan demanded. "Why on earth did you fire a gun into
the air."

"I think that was pretty obvious, don't you?" Dr. Lee replied.

"No, I most certainly do not," Nathan said. "Maybe things were tense, but I hardly think that what
you did helped to ease those people's conceptions of you and Dr. Price."

"The people are afraid of us. They think of us as the boogey man," Dr. Lee said. "They hear the
strange noises that come from the lab and think we are doing evil deeds when all we are doing is building
machines. Plus apparently the castle has something of an infamous history. Over the centuries many
people died there. The cellar has a crypt filled with bones, plus when the structure was built children were
sealed inside the walls so the structure would be blessed and withstand battle. So like I said, the villagers
think we are some sort of devils."

"Why would you live in such a place?" Lucas asked.

"It's just a place," Dr. Lee replied.

The rest of the drive was pretty much silent. It only took about another thirty minutes to reach the
castle. Once they arrived Lucas was tempted to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't having a dream.

"Wow, this place looks like something right out of one of your old horror movies," Lucas said to
Ben. "You know, the ones that are in black and white."

"Yeah, it most certainly does," Ben agreed.

As they exited the car they were greeted by another person. "Welcome, I am Mr. Cheney, I will
help you to get situated."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Nathan said. He shook Cheney's hand.

Cheney and Lee helped them to carry their bags into the castle. Lucas was once again surprised to
see that the inside of the castle was just as spooky as the outside.

"This is the neatest place I've ever seen. Did Dr. Price hire the grim reaper to be his decorator?"
Lucas asked.

"Lucas!" Kristin gasped. "I apologize for that. He's usually not quite so rude."

"Actually, I did call the grim reaper," a voice called from the top of the stairs. "But since he was
too busy to help I had to consult a lot of old style books and circulate a lot of antiques stores to get the look
just right," the man said as he walked down the stairs.

"Hi Dr. Price," Lucas said, recognizing the man from the vid-link.

"Hello, and thank you so much for coming. I'm sure all of this must seem rather strange,
especially the castle. What can I say, I simply love the place just the way it is," Dr. Price said. "I do hope
your journey was a good one?"

"Yes, it was fine, thank you," Nathan said, "except for the bizarre incident that happened in the
village."

"Oh my, I hope that the villagers didn't upset you? They can be rather tiresome at times."

"I'm afraid that Mr. Bridger was not happy when I fired my gun into the air," Dr. Lee supplied. "I
was simply trying to protect them."

"I'm sorry for that," Dr. Price said. "But outsiders are not typically welcomed around here. I'm
sure Dr. Lee only acted in your best interest."

"Well, perhaps we could put our things in our rooms," Kristin said. "Then we can take a look at
this android of yours."

"Yes, of course, where are my manners. Lon, please escort our guests to their rooms."

"Yes, doctor," Mr. Cheney replied.

Lon led them up the tall stone staircase to the left wing of the house. Lucas couldn't stop looking
around at the old tapestries and portraits that hung on the walls. There were even coat of arms and ancient
weapons on the walls.

"Wow," Lucas gasped when he saw the shining suit of armor at the end of the hallway.

"Madam, this is your room," Lon said.

Kristin stepped into her room and saw that it was as big as the rooms at her home in England, but
the room was darker since the walls were made of thick stone instead of pretty wallpaper. A giant four-
poster be was centered in the room. She realized that Lucas was right. This place did look like it came
right out of an old movie.

Ben was the next to be given a room. He tried not to laugh as he looked around. This Dr. Price
was one crazy guy, Ben thought.

Nathan and Lucas ended up getting rooms at the end of the hallway, next to the suit of armor. The
rooms were very luxurious, even if they did look like everything in them was at least two hundred years
old.

Nathan left his room and went to look at Lucas'. He stepped inside the room and he immediately
knew that Lucas would never be sleeping in here. First off it was too big for the boy's liking. Second, the
room was just down right creepy, as were all of the others.

Lucas dropped his bags and began searching though one of them. He pulled out the little black
bag that contained Professor Martinson's program and then turned to face Dad.

"What do you think of this place?" Nathan asked.

"I think it would be just perfect for Count Dracula," Lucas said.

"Well, we are in Romania, this is where Vlad the Impaler lived."

"Yeah, but I thought he was in Transylvania."

"He was," Nathan said. "So I guess we won't have to worry about wearing turtle neck sweaters
while we're here."

"Very funny," Lucas smirked. "I hope we can see the android right away. I'm interested in seeing
this processor that he's invented."

"Well, let's go see about that."

They ran into Kristin and Ben in the hallway, along with Lon who was waiting patiently for them.
Lon led them back downstairs to Dr. Price and Dr. Lee.

"All settled in then are we?" Dr. Price asked.

"Yes, thank you," Kristin said.

"Can we see the android now?" Lucas asked.

"Most definitely. The lab is this way. While you're here you can have access to the entire house,
except for the tower off the east wing. I'm afraid that that area of the castle is structurally unsound and for
your own safety please don't go there. Follow me please." Dr. Price led them to the second floor of the
east wing and they stepped into a very large room.

"This used to be the ball room, but as you can see I've turned it into my lab. I have the best
equipment money can buy and I'm sure that Lucas will be able to find everything he may need. Is that
your program you are holding?"

"Yes," Lucas replied. "All twenty four cd's worth."

"My, that's a large program. It's no wonder that your equipment on your submarine couldn't
handle it."

"It could handle it," Lucas said. "I'm just not sure if the program itself is actually capable of
being sentient. Like I said in my article, the software is an incredible break though, but it failed to qualify
as artificial intelligence."

"Don't sell yourself short my boy. We'll up load it into Herman and see what happens from
there."

"Herman?" Ben asked.

"I'm sorry, that's the name we call my creation by, something of a joke. Remember the old TV
show, The Munsters. Well we named the droid after Herman Munster. It's kind of a Frankenstein joke."
"That's Lucas' nickname on the internex," Ben said.

"Herman?" Dr. Lee asked.

"No, Frankenstein," Lucas said.

"Well then Dr. Frankenstein," Price teased, "let's see if we can raise a monster."

Lucas laughed. He liked Dr. Price. The man was strange, but funny too.

They walked over to a table that had what looked like a person with a sheet over it.

"This is Herman," Dr. Price said, lifting the sheet.

They all stared at the android. He looked like a giant sized Ken doll to tell the truth. Lucas didn't
know what he had expected it to look like but this wasn't it.

"Does it do anything?" Lucas asked.

"Watch," Dr. Price said. He flicked a switch on the back on the android's left ear and the machine
came to life.

It sat up and looked at them. "Good after noon, Dr. Price."

"Good afternoon, Herman."

"What can I do for you today?"

"Herman, I would like you to say hello to our new friends. This is Lucas, Captain Bridger, Dr.
Westphalen, and Ben Krieg."

"Hello Lucas, Captain Bridger, Dr. Westphalen, and Ben Krieg."

"As you can see," Dr. Price said, "building the machine is what I know how to do. Programming
software is not. This is where you come in. I need you to give him more than just a basic comprehension
of language. Even if your program fails to be sentient it will still be an improvement over his current
state."

"Well anytime you're ready I can upload the software. It'll take some time to do it," Lucas said.

"I say we start now. Here's a computer for you to use. I'll plug Herman in to the system and the
computer will transmit the data into Herman."

"What is the deal with this new processor you have invented?" Kristin asked.

"The processor is located in Herman's head. It takes up most or what would be considered his
cranial area."

"May we see it?" Lucas asked.

"I'm afraid not," Dr. Price said. "For one, it is currently in sterile environment inside Herman and
I wouldn't want to expose it to dust and such, furthermore, I have yet to patent the processor, and until such
time I am keeping it under tight wraps. Don't take this the wrong way, but I have had my work stolen from
me before, and I won't chance that again. Not on something this significant. Herman here is the end
product of almost a decade worth of research and design."

"I guess I can understand that," Lucas said. He moved to the computer and opened his case of
disks. They were all labeled and numbered so that they were uploaded in order.

"I'll have to upload the program and then make modifications for Herman's three dimensional
design since the program was originally used for a hologram."

Lucas inserted the first disk and began his work.

"Well, how about if I take you on a tour of the house," Dr. Price said to the others, unless you
wish to stand here and stare at the back of his head."

"I vote for seeing the castle," Ben said.


__________________________________



Hours passed as Lucas continued to install his program. He only had two more disks to upload
into the system. It had taken longer than he had expected because on several occasions in the middle of an
upload he had run into compatibility problems, so he would have to stop and write a bypass for that section
of the program, and then at the same time rewrite the piece of the program using the new system. It wasn't
hard to do, but it had been very time consuming.

He pulled out the disk he had just finished and started uploading the last one, all the while praying
that there would be no complications.

"How's it coming?" Dr. Price asked.

"Almost done," Lucas said.

"Splendid," Price exclaimed.

Everyone had left him alone for a bit, but they kept coming to check his progress, and for the past
half an hour everyone had stayed. It seemed all were eager to see this android in action using Lucas' AI
program. Finally the computer screen flashed the message, upload successful.

"Finished," Lucas said.

"Then turn the big lug on," Ben said.

"Just a sec," Lucas said. He typed a few last commands and then turned to Dr. Price. "He's all
yours."

Dr. Price walked nervously over to Herman and began to delicately disconnect him from the wires
attached to the computer. Then he flicked the switch that was hidden behind Herman's ear.

"Hello Dr. Price," Herman said using Professor Martinson's voice.

"Why is his voice different?" Dr. Price asked.

"Simple," Herman answered. "The program in me was based off the real persona of a Professor
Martinson, and it is currently his voice that you are hearing. I believe all would agree that it is an
improvement over my previous one."

"My god," Dr. Price exclaimed. "It worked."

"Now slow down," Kristin warned. "Lucas' program allowed the Holo-projector to be very
realistic, but it wasn't sentient. We'll need to run some tests to see if Herman is just operating off of Lucas'
program or if he can really think and grow like a sentient being."

"Yes you're right," Dr. Price said. "I'm just rather excited." He looked back to Herman. "It's
just so remarkable."

"So, Herman," Ben said, "what is your favorite color?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Herman replied.

"Well, you know what colors are right?" Ben asked.

"Yes, they are the visual hues created by the reflection of light."

"Well, look around the room, and look at the colors, and then tell me which one you like the best,"
Ben ordered.

"Ben, I don't know if he's ready for something like this," Lucas said, but he watched as Herman
did as Ben asked.

Herman walked around the lab and examined the items in the room. He finally came to the
window, which was open slightly, causing the white lace curtains to billow in the sunlight. Herman
seemed to spend a great deal of time looking at the curtain.

"I like this," Herman said. "I like the way the light changes the color as it moves."

"Wow," Lucas whispered.

"Okay, I'm impressed," Kristin said. The android had just done something no other computer had
ever done. Described a preference for something based on esthetic values.

"Professor Martinson never did that," Lucas said. "He never "liked" something."

"My boy, I think you and I did it," Dr. Price said.


_______________________________________



The rest of the day was spent taking Herman from room to room and "teaching" him. Herman
quickly realized that he liked the color blue, and that he preferred to sit in chairs that were soft instead of
the ones that were hard. That revelation had really surprised Lucas and the others. They had been unaware
that Dr. Price had actually developed a type of nervous system in the android so that the machine actually
felt touch.

Herman walked, talked, and looked like a real person. In fact, Lucas suspected that if they put
Herman out in public he would probably pass for a real person.

A loud gong went off.

"Ah, it's dinner time," Dr. Price announced.

"Should we put Herman back in the lab?" Dr. Lee asked.

"No," Dr. Price replied. "I think it's time for Herman to learn table manners."

"He can eat?" Nathan asked.

"Not like you or I would. He doesn't need to have food to survive, but I did design him so that he
can take food into his body cavity and then pass it later without damaging hi inside. It was important to me
that he be completely able to pass as human," Dr. Price said.




Dinner proved to be rather interesting. Herman was able to not only eat like a gentleman, but he
was surprising good at making dinner conversation. At times Nathan, Kristin, Lucas and Ben had to
remind themselves that Herman wasn't a real person.

Nathan actually found it a little silly, but he was actually getting jealous of the machine. Herman
was being extra charming to Kristin and seemed to spend a lot of time talking to her personally. Ben and
Lucas had noticed the same thing.

"So Herman, how does it feel to be you?" Ben asked.

"I think it feels good," Herman replied, "but I don't know what it would feel like to be something
else."

"That makes sense," Kristin laughed. "I think everyone at the table could say the same thing."

"You are very insightful," Herman said to her.

"Thank you," Kristin replied.

"Well," Dr. Price said, "I guess we should call it an evening. It's getting very late."

"I agree," Nathan said.

"Do you want me to put Herman in the lab?" Lucas asked. "I need to collect my disks while I'm
there."

"No, I will do it," Dr. Price said.

"Don't worry about your disks," Dr. Lee said. "They are safe in there. You all have had a rather
hectic and busy day. You should go and get some rest now."

"That sounds good to me," Kristin said.

"Would you like me to escort you to your room, Kristin," Herman asked.

"I don't think that will be necessary," Nathan replied for her, pulling her chair out for her.

"I wasn't speaking with you Mr. Bridger," Herman replied with a smile.

"Easy there big guy," Ben teased.

"Please Herman, come with me," Dr. Lee said.

"Yes doctor. Goodnight everyone. Goodnight Kristin," Herman said.

"Goodnight," they all responded.

Dr. Lee, Dr. Price, and Herman all left the dining room.

"Okay, is it my imagination or was the big guy hitting on Doc here?" Ben asked.

"It wasn't your imagination," Nathan replied.

"Oh you two, really, don't be ridiculous. He's a robot, I highly doubt that he would even
understand the meaning of flirting or love."

"Actually, Mom, the program was designed for it to learn those types of things. If Herman can
like the way curtains move in the sunlight, then he can certainly like one person over another."

"Well, I really don't think it's anything to worry about. I assure you I'm not going to run of with
an android and elope."

Even though Kristin thought it rather amusing, both Nathan and Lucas were just a little bothered
by it, especially the way Herman had spoke to Nathan a moment ago.

"I guess we should go upstairs," Nathan said.

They all went up for the night, each going to their own room to change and wash up. Nathan went
to Kristin's room once he was changed and knocked on her door.

"Yes," she said.

"It's me," he replied.

She opened the door and let him in. "Everything okay?"

"I just wanted to say good night to you is all." He gave her a kiss and held her tight. "I want you
to lock your door tonight."

"Nathan what do you really think is going to happen. That Herman will turn himself on and come
up here and ravish me," she laughed.

"Maybe I am being ridiculous, but just humor me and lock the door."

"Fine," she smiled. "You know, if you really want to protect me you could just stay in here
tonight."

"I'd like to," Nathan said. "Believe me, but I have a feeling that Lucas is going to end up in my
room."

"I sort of had that same feeling," she admitted. "This place is rather creepy at times, and I think it
will be even creepier once the lights are out."

"Are you going to be all right?" Nathan asked.

"I'll be fine," she replied.


_________________________________



Lucas sat on his bed. He was all ready to go to sleep. He was going to go to Dad's room, but
from what he had seen, Dad was going to stay in Mom's room. So he closed his door and went back to his
bed. He was grateful that the lamp next to his bed had three settings. He left it on the dim lighting, since
he was sure he didn't want to be in the dark here.

The wind was blowing fiercely outside making the tree outside his window tapped forcefully
against the glass. Also, there must have been a crack in the trim somewhere because an eerie whistling
noise was also coming from the window.

He sat up in his bed and made himself comfortable against the headboard using pillows to prop
himself up. He flinched when suddenly a flash of lightning lit up the sky and a loud thundercloud rumbled
violently overhead.

"Okay, this is so not happening," Lucas laughed to himself in a shaky voice. "I am not in a
haunted castle in the dark on a stormy night. This is just too cliché for words." But the truth of the matter
was he was currently living a cliché, and he was afraid. He clutched R.B. just a little tighter.

He pushed his back further into the headboard when he heard the door to his room creak open, but
quickly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Dad stick his head in the room.

"Hey there kiddo," Nathan said. "Are you going to stay in here or are you going to stay in my
room?"

Lucas didn't even bother with an answer. He hopped out of his bed raced out of his room still
holding R.B.

"That's what I thought," Nathan laughed. They went to his room and he tucked Lucas in good and
proper, giving the boy a quick kiss on the forehead, then he crawled into his side of the bed.

"I can't believe I did it," Lucas said. "I mean...I really did it. I created an artificial intelligence."

"You mean you and Dr. Price created an artificial intelligence. You may have wrote the software,
but he created the computer that would process it."

"True. I still wish I could see this processor of his. I mean, just what did he do to make it so
much better than the one I have for Professor Martinson."

"I don't know, but I don't think you're going to find out anytime soon. You heard Dr. Price. He's
keeping it under wraps until he gets his patent."

"Yeah, I know. But still, I shared my software, it seems he should share the info for his
processor."

"Yes, but the patent already exists for the holo-projector and the software. Dr. Price and Dr. Lee
can't sell their androids without giving you credit for your work and a share of the profits now."

"I don't care about the money," Lucas said. "I have plenty of that, but I admit, I do want credit for
my work."

Lightning flashed again along with another loud thunderbolt. Lucas flinched once again and

Nathan put a hand on his arm to calm him.

"Whoa there," Nathan said. "it's just a storm."

"I know, but this place is just…well…"

"Scary," Nathan offered.

"Yeah," Lucas admitted, ashamed at himself.

"It's okay, I admit that Dr. Price is something of an eccentric, and his decorating leaves a lot to be
desired."

"It's definitely different," Lucas agreed.


________________________________



Dr. Price was busy making duplicates of Lucas' disks. He needed to finish it tonight since he was
sure the boy would take them back tomorrow now that they were all uploaded into Herman.

"I can't believe you did it," Dr. Lee said. "I always hoped that it would work, but truthfully, I
thought that it was an insane idea."

"I am well aware of what you have thought all these years," Dr. Price said.

"So, are we going to wait for them to leave before we begin?" Dr. Lee asked.

"No, we begin tonight."

"Tonight? Are you crazy? We risk being discovered," Dr. Lee warned.

"We have to start while they are still here. The boy is the only one who knows the program. If
something goes wrong with the transfer we will need his help to correct it."

"We can't ask for his help," Dr. Lee stated. "Need I remind you that what we have done is against
the law. If they find out, we'll be ruined."

"If they find out we will simply kill them," Dr. Price said. "I have spent a lifetime working for
this moment. No one will take it from me."

"Stealing bodies from the funeral home is one thing, but I didn't sign up to be a killer."

"No, but you did want to live forever. I'm about to give you that. Are you really going to let four
strangers stand in the way of eternal life?" Dr. Price asked.

"Fine, I will help you to do this, but we don't kill them if we don't have to."

"I can live with that. Now, stop your belly aching and let's go to the tower. Get Lon up here. We
have about eight hours before they awake. More than enough time to complete the transfer."


____________________________________



Lucas awoke in the middle of the night when an extra loud thunder broke through his slumber. He
looked out the window and saw the rain was pelting it harshly. He rolled over and made himself comfy
once again. Then he realized that he needed to use the bathroom.

He rubbed at his eyes and sat up slowly in bed so as to not wake Dad. He stepped away from the
bed and opened the door quietly and went into the hall. He jumped when a flash of lightning illuminated
the suit of armor. For a moment Lucas had thought a person was standing there. He walked down the hall
to the bathroom and took care of his business.

He left the bathroom and was on his way back to Dad's room when he heard something. He
stopped to listen, but the storm outside prevented him from hearing anything else. He walked closer to the
giant staircase to see if he could hear it again.

He heard voices talking. He tiptoed down the stairs to see who was up at this hour. He saw Dr.
Lee talking to Lon at the base of the stairs. The two men seemed to be talking about something important.
Lucas got a little closer so he could eaves drop, but as soon as he did, the two men he was spying on went
up the stairs away from him.

Lucas gave them a minute to reach the top before he also went up the stairs. He followed them
down the long hall, being careful to stay in the shadows. He stopped when he saw them climb the staircase
that would take them up to the tower. He remembered Dr. Price saying that that part of the castle was
unsafe. He had the feeling that that had been lie.

Once again he waited for them to reach the top before he went up. Since he was barefoot he was
able to move silently up the stone steps. He stopped at the top and looked around. He saw that there was
another lab up here. Why would Dr. Price have two labs? He saw the coast was clear and he moved inside
of the room and hid behind a large table. He peeked up over the table and saw that Dr. Price was laying on
a surgical table. He appeared to be unconscious.

He watched as Dr. Lee picked up a tool with a small circular saw on it. He put his hand over his
mouth when he saw Dr. Lee start to cut away the top of Dr. Price's head. What on earth was happening??

"Lon, bring the other table in here now," Dr. Lee ordered.

Lucas saw Lon bring a table carrying another person on it. The person was covered by a sheet so
he didn't know who it was. He felt himself on the verge of being sick. Dr. Lee was removing Dr. Price's
brain.

"Oh my god. Oh my god," Lucas whispered to himself over and over. He continued to stare and
saw that Dr. Lee seemed to be placing Dr. Price's brain inside the other person's head. "This is crazy. You
can't do a brain transplant," he said. "It's never been done."

"Lon, hand me the top," Dr. Lee said.

Lon passed what looked like a wig to Dr. Lee and he placed it on the head of the body covered by
the sheet. Lucas was shocked when he suddenly heard the sound of a power screwdriver. "What on
earth?"

Dr. Lee walked over to the computer and typed in some commands. "Now we will have to wait
and pray that it works."

Lucas figured it was time for him to leave. He started to crawl out of the room but he bumped the
table and a small tool fell off of it and hit the floor.

"Who's there?" Dr. Lee yelled.

Lucas stood up and started to run for the stairs. He was stopped by a set of powerful arms. He
looked over his shoulder to see that Herman was holding him tightly. He squirmed and kicked but the
powerful droid held him firm.

"Let me go," Lucas yelled.

"Hold him still," Dr. Lee said calmly. "I can fix this." He walked over to a cabinet and opened it
up. He pulled out a cloth and a bottle of something.

Lucas began to yell for help when he saw Dr. Lee soaking the cloth. He knew what was coming
next.

"Keep him quiet," Lon ordered Herman. Herman clamped a hand over Lucas' mouth.

"Don't worry. They can't hear him up here," Dr. Lee said. He placed the chloroform soaked cloth
over Lucas' nose. Since Herman had his mouth covered he had no choice but to breath through his nose. It
only took a minute for the chloroform to render him unconscious.

"Now what?" Lon asked. "Surely the boy will talk in the morning."

"No, he won't, and even if he does, they will think it was some sort of strange dream." Dr. Lee
went back to the cabinet and filled a syringe and then walked back to Herman who was holding up the
unconscious boy. He pricked the teen at the base of his hairline and injected the drug so there wouldn't be
a visible mark on the boy.

"That should cloud his memory enough so that he wakes in the morning confused and
disoriented," Dr. Lee said. "He won't understand why he isn't in his bed."

"Not in his bed?" Lon asked.

"Herman, I want you to carry the boy about a quarter of a mile away from the castle. Lay him
under a tree and leave him there. Make sure you dirty his feet so it looks like he was sleep walking."

"Yes doctor."

"Then you are to come right back and go to you place in the lab."

Herman lifted the boy into his arms and carried him out of the tower.


____________________________________



Nathan woke the next morning and saw that he was alone in his bed. He was a bit surprised by
that. It was unusual for Lucas to get up before him. He got out of bed and pulled on his robe. He walked
across the hall to Lucas' room. Lucas wasn't there.

He immediately did what came natural to him. He reached out with his mind to try and locate the
boy. He felt Lucas but something was wrong. Lucas was confused and…and…lost. Lost? Nathan ran to
Ben's room and woke him up.

"Ben, we have to find Lucas. Something is wrong," Nathan yelled.

Ben jumped out of his bed and started pulling on his jeans. "What's happened?"

"I don't know. I'm going to go get dressed. Wake Kristin when you're done."

"Yes sir."

Nathan ran back to his room and quickly pulled on his own clothes. When he stepped into the hall
Ben was waiting for him.

"What now?"

"Now we go find him. He's outside somewhere."

"Outside? What is he doing outside?"

"I don't know but I plan to find out," Nathan replied.

They marched down stairs and went looking for Dr. Price and Dr. Lee. They found both men
sitting in the study talking.

"Good morning," Dr. Price said. "I trust you all slept well."

"Lucas is missing," Nathan said. "We need to find him."

"Are you sure he's just not exploring the castle," Dr. Lee said. "There are many places he could
be in here."

"No, he's outside. I believe he's lost. We have to go find him," Nathan insisted.

"Very well, I'll have Lon go out with you and help you search," Dr. Price said. "Honestly, why
would he go outside? It has been raining all night and now all morning. Not to mention he doesn't know
his way around."

"It doesn't matter why he's outside, just that we find him now," Ben said.

"Yes, of course," Dr. Lee said. "I'll go get Lon."

"You aren't going to help us look?" Kristin asked, just stepping into the room.

"I'm afraid that I can't," Dr. Price said. "I am about to leave for a few days. I have a family
emergency that requires my immediate attention. I will be gone today and tomorrow. I should be back the
next day. Please do stay, though. I would like for Lucas to work with Herman and Dr. Lee and help the
program continue to grow."

"Fine, but if you'll excuse us, we have to start looking," Nathan said. He didn't care about
programs or anything else at the moment. He just wanted to find Lucas.


__________________________________



Lucas sat up next to the tree and tried to stop his body from shivering. He tried to remember how
he had gotten outside but he couldn't. The last thing he remembered was going to sleep last night in Dad's
room. He stood up and felt an intense wave of dizziness wash over him. He tried to remain upright but he
stumbled and fell back down on the ground.

What was wrong with him? The last time he had felt like this was when he had gotten drunk with
Ben and the guys, but this was much worse. He crawled over to the tree and just huddled against it for a
moment before he tried to stand again. Very slowly he pulled himself to his feet. He tried to look around
but it was hard. His vision was blurry and he was seeing two of everything.

He let go of the tree and took several small steps. He was grateful to see that he was still standing
at the moment. He needed to get back to the castle, but where was it. He didn't see it anywhere. All he
saw were trees and bushes, along with big rocks. Where the heck was he? How did he get here?
He tried to remember what you were supposed to do when you were lost in the woods but it was
so hard to think. After a minute he remembered that you were supposed to stay put so that you didn't end
up walking even farther away from your rescuers. But was anyone looking for him?

'Of course they are,' he told himself. Mom and Dad would tear this place apart until they found
him. He decided that he might as well just stay put, especially since he didn't seem to be in any condition
to go wandering around at the moment. If only there was someplace where he could get out of the rain. He
was so cold and wet.

Maybe he could huddle behind a large rock or something. He took a few more steps and the
dizziness that took hold of him this time was too much. He collapsed to the forest floor.


_________________________



Nathan and the rest had been looking for several hours but had yet to find Lucas. The problem
was they didn't know which direction to go and they were hesitant to split up.

"Perhaps we should go inside and warm up for a bit before we continue looking?" Lon suggested.

"You can go in if you want," Nathan said, "but I'm going to keep looking."

"Same here," Ben said.

"I'm not going anywhere," Kristin said.

They continued their search.


_________________________



Lucas woke once again. This time his head felt a bit clearer and his vision wasn't quite so blurry.
He still couldn't remember why he was outside in the rain, though. He got to his feet and breathed a sigh
of relief when he didn't feel any dizziness, but his head hurt terribly. He looked around trying to figure out
where he was.

He teeth began to chatter. He was cold. He tried to figure out which way he should go, but he
truly didn't know. If he picked wrong it would take him farther away from the castle, and he knew he
didn't want to accidentally end up in one of the villages. He remembered how they didn't like outsiders.

"Lucas!"

Dad! Dad was calling him. He looked around trying to see him but he couldn't.

"Lucas!"

"DAD!" Lucas yelled. "DAD!"

"Lucas, keep yelling." It was Ben's voice that time.

"HERE! I'M HERE!"

A minute later Lucas saw Dad, Mom and Ben come racing towards him, along with Lon.

"Lucas," Nathan said as he quickly grabbed the boy and pulled him in to a hug. Lucas found
himself safe and secure wrapped up in three sets of arms as everyone seemed to be hugging him at once.

"Lucas, what happened?" Kristin asked.

"I don't know," Lucas replied through chattering teeth. "I woke up out here. I was so sick and
dizzy. I didn't know where here was. I tried to walk but I passed out again. I just woke up a few minutes
ago."

"How are you feeling now?" Kristin asked. "Tell me the truth too."

"Really tired, and my head hurts real bad," the teen admitted.

"We need to get you back inside and get you warm and dry," Kristin said.

Lon led the way back to the castle. Now that they were no longer walking in circles it only took
about thirty minutes to reach the castle.

Dr. Lee was waiting for them when they arrived.

"Thank goodness you found him," Dr. Lee said. "I hoped you would have. I just got back from
taking Dr. Price to town."

When Lucas saw Dr. Lee he began to tremble. Something…something had happened…he closed
his eyes trying to make the memory come to his mind, but nothing did. Nathan and Kristin both saw
Lucas' shaking.

"Excuse us," Kristin said, "but he needs to get into a hot bath and warm up some."

"Of course, Lon won't you please make some hot tea. I'm sure everyone could use it by now."

"Fine," Lon said. He was tired and cold too, but he went to make the tea.

Kristin and Nathan took Lucas down the hall towards their rooms. Lucas was still trembling and
Nathan held the boy to him as they walked. Kristin just thought Lucas was cold, but Nathan knew
something else was wrong. He could feel the fear coming off of Lucas.

They entered the large bathroom and Kristin turned on the tap to fill the tub with hot sudsy water.
Then she turned around to look at Nathan and Lucas.

"I'll go get him some clean clothes and see how Lon is coming with that tea," she said. She left
them alone.

Lucas began to pull of his dirty wet pajamas. Nathan turned his back so Lucas could pull off his
boxers and climb into the tub.

Lucas sank down into the hot water letting the bubbles gather around his neck. Nathan finally
turned back around and had a seat in the vanity chair.

"So can you tell me what happened?"

"I wish I could, but I don't know," Lucas replied. "I remember going to sleep last night and…and
then waking up this morning."

"You said you were sick when you woke up," Nathan reminded.

"Yes. I couldn't see very well and I was so dizzy. I passed out when I stood up. Then when I
woke up again you were there."

"Just now you were afraid of Dr. Lee, why?"

"I don't know," Lucas said growing frustrated. "I saw him and I started shaking, but I don't know
why. I feel like he did something, but I can't remember."

"Lucas, is it possible you had a nightmare last night. I mean, you do have some of the most
realistic dreams of anyone I know. This place is more than spooky enough to make someone like you have
a horrible nightmare."

"But how did I get outside?" Lucas asked.

"You have slept walked before," Nathan pointed out.

Lucas shook his head. This just didn't feel like the time he had slept walked before. Something
had happened.

Nathan could see Lucas fighting with himself to try and figure out what had happened. "How
about you just let it go for right now," Nathan said. "If you relax the memory will probably come to you on
it's own if there really is something to remember."

Lucas just nodded his head. The headache he had right now wasn't helping him to think, that was
for sure.


__________________________________



Later that day Lucas woke from the nap that Mom had insisted he take and saw that Dad was
sitting next to the bed reading.

"Making sure I don't accidentally escape again," Lucas joked.

"Something like that," Nathan replied.

Lucas sat up in the bed and kicked his legs over the side.

"Are you feeling better?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, I feel fine now."

"Well, that's good to hear."

"Where is everyone else?" Lucas asked.

"They are in the lab working with Dr. Lee and Herman. Kristin is actually pretty fascinated by
this project. While you were sleeping she was talking about all the incredible things that could happen as a
result of Dr. Price's and your breakthrough."

"It has the potential to allow us to learn a lot about our planet and the galaxy. I just hope some
beaurocrat doesn't decide that an army of androids would be a good thing."

"I can't promise you that," Nathan said, but I think for at least the time being the cost to build an
army of androids would be astronomical."

"Good. I want to go to the lab, see how Herman is doing today. I want to monitor his progress
closely, especially the emotions that he exhibits. It's strange that he has emotions, or at least that he has
them this soon."

"I don't understand," Nathan said.

"Well, I didn't write emotions into the program. Honestly, I didn't know how. How do you write
computer code for love, anger, happiness? I knew the program would grow on it's own, and I hoped that
eventually emotions would come naturally. I was actually rather surprised yesterday when Herman
displayed preferences, said that he liked things, and was even a little put out by you last night. I wouldn't
have thought that possible at this stage of his existence."

"Should we be concerned by this?" Nathan asked.

"Probably not," Lucas replied. "I guess I just wrote a better program than I thought I had."

"Well, let's get to the lab and see what's going on."


_________________________________



In the lab Kristin was working with Herman, talking to him about various topics, trying to get a
feel for whether or not he was just responding with preprogrammed information, or if he was actually
thinking on his own. They had now been talking for about two hours, and Kristin was convinced that
Herman really was thinking and acting on his own, and not just because of the program.

"You are very beautiful doctor," Herman said. "Are all women as lovely as you are?"

"Thank you for the complement. As for other women, they say beauty is in the eye of the
beholder."

"I'm afraid that I don't understand," Herman said.

"It means that you might find something to be beautiful, but someone else may find it ugly. For
instance, I like yellow roses, I think they are lovely flowers, but another person might not like roses at all,
they might prefer the simplicity of daisy. Each person has their own taste, their own likes and dislikes."

"I see," Herman said. "I like you."

"Well I like you too Herman," Kristin smiled. She smiled even brighter when she saw Lucas and
Nathan enter the lab. She stood up and walked over to them.

"Lucas, how are you feeling?" she asked, giving the boy a big hug.

"Better," Lucas replied.

"That's good to hear," she said. She let go of him and he walked over to the table holding his
disks and started to put them back in their case.

"And how are you doing?" she asked Nathan.

"I'm okay," he replied, and kissed her softly. Nathan turned to look at Herman as he hugged her
and saw that Herman was watching them intently. It made him feel slightly uncomfortable having the
android stare at him so intensely even though Herman's face looked completely calm.

"Herman, would you like to play a game?" Lucas asked.

Herman turned to look at Lucas. "What kind of game?"

"How about poker?" Lucas grinned. He had an idea for checking on the types of emotions
Herman could display.

"I don't know poker," Herman said.

"Don't worry, we'll teach you," Lucas said.

"Very well," Herman replied.

Fifteen minutes later Herman, Lucas, Ben, Nathan, Kristin, and Dr. Lee were seated at a table
playing poker. Lucas nodded at Ben. Lucas had explained to Mom and Dad that he had told Ben to cheat.
He knew Ben could do it convincingly. He had explained that he wanted to gage Herman's reactions to the
situation.

Since Herman was a giant machine, he should do well at poker since it was a game of
mathematics, but with Ben cheating Herman wouldn't be able to rely on his computation abilities.

They played a few hands normally to allow Herman to learn and adapt to the game. After about
seven hands it was clear that Herman understood how to play and bet. Lucas looked at Ben and gave him
the signal.

For the next twelve rounds Herman lost everyone. Ben allowed the others to win by dealing them
winning hands. During the next round Lucas saw that Herman was watching Ben very closely as he dealt.
Ben also saw this, so he made sure to deal the cards normally. Luckily, the Captain ended up winning the
hand anyway.

"I do not like this game," Herman said in frustration.

"Why?" Lucas asked.

"Because it is a pointless game."

"Not if you are playing for real money," Kristin pointed out. "Then people take the game very
seriously."

Herman seemed to accept Kristin's explanation and continued to play. After six more hands it
was apparent that Herman was becoming more frustrated. Lucas was about to stop the experiment but Ben
was already dealing the next hand. He decided that after this hand he would stop the game.

Everyone jumped when the table they were all sitting at was suddenly lifted and thrown on its
side, taking Ben with it.

"Ben!" Lucas yelled, rushing to his friend to help him.

"You are cheating!!" Herman yelled.

"Herman, calm down right now," Dr. Lee ordered, but Herman ignored the doctor. Once again he
lifted the table and threw it in the direction of the Captain. Nathan jumped out of its way just in time,
managing to grab Kristin and shield her behind him.

Herman looked back at Ben who was lying in the floor holding his knee. The table had banged it
hard. Lucas was next to Ben trying to hide him behind him.

"Herman," Lucas said to the android. "It was a test. I wanted to see your range of emotions."

"He cheated. He is bad," Herman said. He started to advance on Ben and Lucas.

"Herman, stop," Lucas ordered. "I programmed you to never hurt people."

"He is bad," Herman repeated and grabbed Lucas' shirt and tossed him out of the way like he was
a doll. Lucas landed on a chair and it broke under him from the force of the impact. Lucas hit the ground
and was still.

"Lucas," Nathan and Ben both said at the same time.

Kristin immediately went to check on him while Nathan tried to help Ben who was still in danger.
Herman was advancing on the two men quickly.

"Herman, stop this at once," Dr. Lee ordered more forcefully this time. Again the android ignored
the doctor.

Kristin watched in horror as Herman struck Nathan across the face. Herman was incredibly strong
and the blow sent Nathan flying to the floor. She couldn't stand back and watch all of her loved ones get
hurt or killed. She ran in front of Herman and put herself between the android and Ben.

"Kristin, get away," Nathan yelled, slowly getting to his feet.

"Herman," Kristin said. "Herman, please stop. Please listen to me. I am you're friend,
remember?" She was trembling, certain that the machine was going to break her in half.

Everyone was shocked when suddenly Herman's rampage came to and end and he stood still,
smiling sweetly at Kristin.

"Yes Kristin, you are my friend."

"Herman, these people are also my friends. You are hurting them," she told him. "Please stop
now."

"Of course," Herman said. "Anything you want."

"Thank you," Kristin said. She walked slowly up to Herman and pretended to touch him kindly,
but as soon as she got the chance she reached behind his ear and flicked the switch that would turn him off.
The android froze in place.

Kristin turned to look at everyone to see who needed her help first. Nathan had a bloody nose
which he was already applying his handkerchief too, Ben was clutching his knee, but Lucas was lying in
the floor not moving.

She hurried over to Lucas and rolled him over on his back gently.

"Ohhh," Lucas groaned.

"Lucas darling, can you hear me?" Kristin asked.

"Mom," he whispered, opening his eyes to look at her.

"Where does it hurt?" she asked.

"Chest…head" he replied. She lifted his shirt and saw where a faint bruise was already forming
from where his ribs had impacted with the chair. She felt for any breaks and was relieved to not feel any.

"I don't think anything is broken, but you probably bruised some ribs. They're going to be sore
for a while." She felt his head and found a small knot forming on the top of his head. She looked back to
see Nathan helping Ben to his feet. Ben obviously couldn't put any weight on his injured leg.

"Lucas just lay here for a minute and catch your breath. I'm going to go look at Ben."

Lucas nodded.

Kristin hurried over to Nathan and Ben, who was being helped into a chair. She grabbed another
chair for him to prop his leg on.

"Let me see," she said. She pulled up Ben's pant leg and saw that his knee was swelling. She felt
for a break and didn't feel any. "Can you move it?" she asked.

Ben flexed his knee and grimaced. "Yeah, I can move it, but it hurts like hell."

"I don't think it's broke, but you can't put any pressure on it for a few days, at least not until the
swelling goes down. We need to get you in bed and get some ice on that."

"How's Lucas?" Nathan asked.

"He's got a knot on his head, maybe a minor concussion, along with some bruised ribs. How are
you?"

"My nose stopped bleeding," he said.

"That's good, but by the way it's swelling and changing colors I wouldn't be surprised if it was
broken."

"It wouldn't be the first time," Nathan told her.

"I'm just glad the wedding is still two months away," she said, trying to lighten the mood a little.
She turned to Dr. Lee and saw that he was standing next to Herman, looking at the droid as if it were the
first time he had ever laid eyes on it.

"Dr. Lee, we could use your help," Kristin said.

"What, oh yes, of course."

"Help Nathan to get Ben to his room, please. Then we are going to need a couple of ice packs,
three actually."

"Yes." Dr. Lee helped to support Ben's left side while Nathan grabbed the Lieutenant's right side.

Together they helped him to hobble back to his room.

Once again Kristin went to Lucas. He was now sitting up but was holding his ribs. He looked
slightly confused.

"Lucas, come with me," Kristin said, helping him to his feet. Lucas leaned on her as he walked
towards their rooms.

"I don't understand why he did that," Lucas said. "He was programmed to never hurt another
person. I made sure of that. I never wanted the program used for killing. It was a little failsafe that I had
put in there."

"I'm afraid that I can't say why Herman did that," Kristin said. "Right now let's just worry about
getting everyone patched up."


__________________________________



Kristin applied a fresh ice pack to Ben's knee and then draped a blanket over the rest of him. He
was resting peacefully at the moment. The painkiller she had given him had seen to that. She left Ben's
room and went to check on Nathan and Lucas.

They were both resting on Nathan's bed. Lucas was also in pain but she had given him a much
more mild pain medication. She was worried about him having a possible concussion and she made sure to
wake him every hour. Nathan was also asleep at the moment. He had developed a nasty headache not long
after Herman's attack, a result of the broken nose.

She sat down in the chair next to Nathan's bed to rest a bit while she kept watch over all of her
patients. She couldn't believe that Dr. Lee had left her and gone back to the lab. As soon as everyone had
been put in to bed he had called for Lon to help him with Herman and had disappeared.

Like everyone else she had been terrified by Herman's rampage. She fully believed that the
android would have killed them all if she hadn't been able to turn him off when she had. Thank god
everyone had just minor injuries.

She felt bad for Lucas. He had felt hurt and guilty over what had happened, even though it hadn't
been his fault.


____________________________________



Once Herman was safely back in the lab Dr. Lee hurried to the tower. What had just happened
downstairs had been a disaster. Herman was clearly unstable to say the least. He knew that Dr. Price had
rushed his decision to act so swiftly. He should have waited to see how Herman progressed. Now it was
too late. There was no way to undo what had been done.

"Dr. Price," Dr. Lee called. Dr. Price came into view.

"Hello, Christopher," Vincent said. "How is everything going in my absence?"

"Actually, that's why I'm here. Herman has been turned off. Something happened downstairs and
he almost killed us all."

"What?" Vincent asked.

"He went into a rage. We were playing poker and he kept losing. The boy had devised a test to
observe Herman's range of emotions. Herman grew angry, frustrated, and then he became violent. Mr.
Bridger has a broken nose, Ben's knee was injured and he can't walk on it at the moment, and the boy was
thrown across the room. His ribs are hurt plus he has probably a minor concussion."

"Herman did all that?" Vincent said, somewhat surprised.

"Yes."

"What finally made him stop?"

"The woman. She spoke to him softly, then she touched him, soothing him, and she managed to
find his switch and turn him off."

"So Herman is in love," Vincent said. "I wanted him to pass for human, but I never expected him
to be so human."

"He acts human because he is partially human," Dr. Lee pointed out. "But he's unstable, and
dangerous."

"So you're here because you think I may be like Herman. Do I look dangerous to you?" Vincent
asked.

"Truthfully, I don't know," Dr. Lee said. "Herman looks like a young handsome movie star, but I
just witnessed his brutality first hand. You may look like Dr. Price, but we both know that you are now
much more than just Dr. Price."

"Yes, I am more than what I used to be," Dr. Price agreed. "I'm smarter, stronger, more aware,
and I'll live forever. Maybe there are a few glitches in the program. That is why I acted while the boy is
still here. We will simply have him work out the kinks."

"The problem isn't his program. The problem is the processor," Dr. Lee said. "You know I speak
the truth."

"Do I?" Dr. Price said. "So what are you planning to do? Scrap the project. Turn Herman of for
good? Turn me off for good?"

"No I'm not saying that," Dr. Lee replied nervously. He saw that Vincent was slowly approaching
him. He instinctively began to back away.

"I have devoted my life to this project, and no one is going to stand in my way. Not a few
computer glitches, not a bunch of strangers, and certainly not you," Vincent said. He grabbed Lee by his
neck and twisted his head back. The sickening sound of breaking bone could be heard when his neck
snapped. Vincent let go of Lee and his lifeless body fell to the floor.

"See, that's the problem with humans. Too fragile," Vincent said.


__________________________________



"I'm okay," Lucas insisted. "I promise to take it easy, but honestly, I don't need to stay in bed."

"Very well," Kristin said. She was tired of fighting with him. Lucas had woken up about an hour
ago and was single-mindedly focused on one thing. Going to the lab to figure out why Herman had
behaved the way he had.

Lucas got out of bed and quickly left his room with Kristin right on his heels. She wasn't about to
leave him alone since he did have an injury to his head. In the hall they bumped in to Nathan who was just
coming out of Ben's room.

"Where are you going?" Nathan asked.

"To the lab," Lucas replied.

"Oh no you don't. I don't want you anywhere near that thing. Herman is dangerous."

"Dad, I'm not going to turn him on, but I want to run a diagnostic check of my program. My
program was designed so that it would never hurt anyone. Herman somehow bypassed that command and
went nuts. I need to know why. Was it a hardware problem or a software problem? Is the professor on
seaQuest going to go nuts one day too?"

"You swear you won't turn on that android?" Nathan asked.

"I swear. I just need to plug him in to the computer and figure out what went wrong."

"Fine, let's go," Nathan said. "He was curious to know the answer to the problem too."

They made their way to the lab and were surprised to see that Dr. Lee wasn't there. They had all
just assumed that he would be. Lucas saw Herman and like earlier this morning, he began to shake just a
bit. Even turned off Herman looked alert and ready to go, especially since his eyes were open. Lucas
forced himself to calm down and walked over to the computer. He hooked up several wires to Herman and
started to run a diagnostic on his program.

"Well, now we wait. It will probably take about an hour for this to finish since the program is so
large," Lucas said.

Lucas started to look around the lab at the different things in there. Even though he had already
spent a bit of time in here, he had yet to really take a good look around. He looked at the bed in the corner
of the room and he became dizzy as images popped into his head. He grabbed the table next to him to help
him keep his balance.

"Lucas?" Kristin said. She walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I knew you
should have stayed in bed." She guided him over to a chair and made him sit down.

Lucas tried to relax and let the images enter his head. He saw a bed…two bodies…and…why was
it so hard to remember?

"Lucas," Kristin said.

"Quiet," Lucas said quickly. He held his head in his hands and kept his eyes closed.

"Nathan we should get him to bed," Kristin said.

"No, I'm fine," Lucas said. "I…was remembering something."

"What?" Nathan asked.

"I don't know," Lucas sighed. "It's confusing. I remember a bed…and bodies."

"Bodies?" Kristin gasped.

"I don't know what it means," Lucas said. "I wish I did."

"Excuse me," Lon said, entering the lab, "but I've come to tell you that dinner is ready." He
looked around the lab and then asked, "Where is Dr. Lee?"

"I'm afraid that we don't know," Nathan said.

"Well, if you would like to eat please come to the dining room. I have already taken the liberty of
taking a tray to your friend in his room. Plus I gave him a new ice pack for his knee."

"Thank you," Kristin said. "That was very kind of you."

They went downstairs to the dining room. A lavish diner was set out on the table. Nathan and
Kristin talked softly while they ate, but Lucas was lost in his thoughts. He knew something had happened
last night. Not a nightmare, and not sleep walking.

A soft rumble of thunder echoed through the castle.

"Not again," Lucas said. "Are thunderstorms the only kind of weather they have here?"

"During this time of year they have a lot of wet weather," Kristin said. "It would be the same in
England right now. Just be glad we had nice weather while we were on the train."

There was a loud knock at the door and they saw Lon walk past the dinning room to let the new
comer in.

"Sir, you're back already," they heard Lon say.

"Yes, I am. It seems the family emergency wasn't such an emergency after all."

Everyone looked up to see Dr. Price enter the dinning room.

"Wonderful, I'm starving after my trip," he said.

"No," Lucas said.

"Lucas, what's the matter?" Nathan asked.

"No," Lucas repeated, standing up out of his chair. "You're dead. Dr. Lee killed you."

Nathan and Kristin looked from Lucas to Dr. Price, and then back to Lucas. While Dr. Price
looked startled and confused, Lucas had a look of pure horror on his face.

"I'm sorry my boy, but as you can see, I'm not dead. I understand you went missing last night. I
take it that was one vivid nightmare you must have had."

"It wasn't a nightmare," Lucas said. "I saw. I saw him cut you open. That's what I've been
trying to remember all day."

Dr. Price looked at Kristin. "Are you sure the boy is well? He seems to be rather delirious."

Kristin and Nathan both stood up and stood next to Lucas. The boy was shaking once again.

"Lucas, look at me," Nathan said. "Son, it's okay. I don't know what you think you remember,
but obviously Dr. Price isn't dead."

Lucas looked at Dad and shook his head no. "But he is," Lucas whispered.

"Lucas, come, feel me, I assure you I'm very much alive." Dr. Price walked up to the three of
them and Lucas became frantic.

"Stay away from me," Lucas cried. He would have bolted but Nathan and Kristin each had a hold
on him. The feeling of panic became too much and suddenly Lucas fainted.

"Oh!" Kristin gasped.

Nathan struggled not to drop him as Lucas turned into dead weight in his arms. Both Kristin and
Dr. Price helped Nathan to gather Lucas up and then lay him down on the sofa in the next room.

"I'll go get him a glass of water," Dr. Price said. "Then maybe I should leave you alone for a bit.
It seems that I am upsetting your son. I must say, he has a vivid imagination."

"I'm sorry about this," Nathan said. "I don't know what all of that was about."

"Not to worry. If you'll excuse me, I'll get that water and then I'm going to retire to my room.
I've had a long day."


______________________________



Kristin put a cool cloth to Lucas' forehead. He began to mumble something and then sat up in the
sofa.

"Whoa, take it easy," Nathan said.

"Where is he? Where did he go?"

"Dr. Price went to his room so he wouldn't upset you any more," Kristin said.

"He's not Dr. Price," Lucas said.

"Lucas, I don't know what it is you think you saw, but that man was Dr. Price, and he's very much
alive," Nathan said.

"I saw Dr. Lee cut his brain out of his head," Lucas said.

Both Nathan and Kristin stopped and just stared at him like he had just lost his mind.

"I know I sound crazy, but it's true. Dr. Price was on a bed, and then Dr. Lee used a small saw to
cut the top of his head off and he took his brain out of his head and put it inside someone else."

"Lucas, son, you're talking nonsense," Nathan said.

"Dad, please believe me," Lucas begged.

"I want to, but I just had a conversation with Dr. Price. How on earth could I do that if he doesn't
have a brain?"

Now it was Lucas' turn to be silent. He wanted to say something, but what? Maybe he was
crazy? Could it have been a dream? The memories he was experiencing now felt real, sort of. Actually,
he was a little hazy about all of it.

He pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs. He was so confused and
afraid.

"Lucas, I think you need to rest," Kristin said. "You don't seem to be sick, but something is the
matter with you. Maybe you do have a concussion? Either way, you're all worked up and it's not good for
you."

"I want to check the results of my diagnostic," Lucas said suddenly.

"Lucas, I think Kristin is right," Nathan said.

"Please, just let me check the results and then I'll go and rest," Lucas said, trying to reach a
compromise.

Nathan looked at Kristin but she just shrugged.

"Fine, you can check the results, but that's all," Nathan told him. He helped Lucas to his feet and
kept a hand on him while they walked just in case he passed out again. He was genuinely worried about
Lucas. Something just wasn't right. Lucas might have an imagination, but he'd never had hallucinations
before, and he had never just fainted out of fear before.

They entered the lab and Lucas stepped over to the computer.

"Well?" Kristin asked.

"According to this my program is working perfectly."

"So then it's a hardware problem," Nathan said. "That's good to know. At least we don't have to
worry about the professor on seaQuest going crazy."

"Yeah," Lucas said, his mind somewhere else. He was staring at Herman. Herman looked just
like a man. He could actually pass for a human, easily. Suddenly Lucas began to put the pieces together in
his mind. Dr. Lee had put Dr. Price's brain into someone else. Not someone, but something else.
He walked slowly over to Herman and began to really examine the droid.

"Lucas, what are you doing?" Kristin asked.

Lucas didn't answer her. He ran his fingers along Herman's hairline at the base of his neck and
around his ears. He could see the seam where the android's head opened up. Then he saw the screws that
held it in place. He remembered hearing the sound of a power screwdriver.

He quickly looked around and found what he wanted. A screwdriver. He set about to removing
the top of Herman's head.

"Lucas, what on earth are you doing?" Nathan asked.

"Trust me," Lucas said.

Nathan put his hand on top of Lucas to stop him. Lucas looked him in the eyes and repeated
himself. "Trust me." Nathan saw it in Lucas' eyes. The boy had discovered something, and he released
his hand. He trusted him.

Lucas turned back to Herman and quickly removed the six screws that held the scalp in place.
Lucas lifted the top of Herman's head off but he was too short to see inside. He pulled a chair over and
stood on it. Nathan did the same.

"Oh my god," Lucas said. "I was right."

Nathan found himself speechless. He was looking at a human brain. It had wires and computer
chips attached to it, but there was no mistaking what it was. It was a human brain.

"This is why Herman developed so fast," Lucas said. "Dr. Price's new and improved processor
was actually a brain. This is why Herman showed emotions so soon after his creation, why he had a crush
on Mom, and why he was able to override my failsafe command. It's because he was using the human
emotions stored in his brain and working them with my program."

"Very good Lucas," Dr. Price said as he entered the lab. "I had a feeling you were going to figure
it all out."

"Why would you do this?" Kristin asked. "It's barbaric."

"Wrong, its immortality," Dr. Price said.

"You…you're an android," Lucas gasped. "That's what I witnessed last night. Dr. Lee put your
brain into one of these," Lucas pointed at Herman.

"Yes, yes he did," Dr. Price said. "You see, I have spent my entire life working for this. I never
wanted to build an android, but a cyborg. Combine humans with machines, this way even when the body
dies the mind can live on and on. Truly, what is a body, but a shell. Who we are, it's all up here," Price
said, pointing to his head. "Well, I decided to make myself a new shell. One that wouldn't age, would
develop disease, or die. I am…immortal."

"The UEO will never stand for this," Nathan said. "What you've done is illegal."

"I don't care about the UEO. I didn't do this for them, I didn't do it for fame or glory. I did this
for me. I'm going to tell the UEO that the project was a failure. Then, I plan on changing my identity and
starting a new life for myself. You see that's one of the advantages of being part machine. Anytime I want
a new face all I have to do is make myself one."

"What about us?" Kristin asked.

"You, well I'm afraid that all of you are going to have to die. Or better yet, maybe I should make
you like me. I doubt you'd be all fired up to go to the UEO if you were also machines, especially you
Lucas. I must say, my accomplishment is all thanks to you. I never would have achieved my dream if not
for your program."

"Don't take this personal or anything, but go to hell," Lucas said.

"Tisk tisk, such language. I'll be sure to squash that rebelliousness out of you when I reprogram
your brain. Don't worry though I'll make sure to keep the intellect intact. I'm going to need you."

"You aren't going to touch him," Nathan insisted.

"Why fight me, Captain? I'm offering your son eternal life."

"I don't want to be like you," Lucas said. "Never."

"Well, I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice in the matter," Dr. Price said.
He moved towards Lucas but Nathan stepped in front of him.

"Dad, no," Lucas said, pushing the older man out of the way. Price might need him, but he
wouldn't hesitate to kill Dad. "You and Mom need to get out of here."

"They aren't leaving," Price said. He turned to grab Nathan but Lucas jumped on his back and
started to pull at him. He was frantically looking for the off switch.

"You aren't going to find one," Dr. Price said. "When I designed my body I made sure to omit the
off switch," he laughed. He reached behind and grabbed Lucas and pulled the boy off of his back, then
tossed him into the wall.

"You leave him alone," Kristin yelled. She ran up behind him and slammed a stool into his head
with such force that the stool flew from her hands. Dr. Price fell to his knees. He turned to look at Kristin
and smiled.

"Ouch," he mocked. "That wasn't very nice."

Kristin tried to run out of the lab but Dr. Price beat her to the door, so she took off in the other
direction, but before she could get away Price grabbed her by the hair and rammed her head into the wall.
She collapsed onto the stone floor.

Nathan tried to tackle the machine. The two hit the floor and rolled back and forth but Dr. Price's
cyborg body was much more powerful. He pinned Nathan to the floor and wrapped his hands around his
throat, cutting off Nathan's air.

Nathan clawed at the hands that were suffocating him but they held him like firm. Nathan was on
the verge of blacking out when he saw Lucas come up behind Price. Lucas lifted the screwdriver up into
the air and plunged it using both hands into Price's back. When Price failed to let go of Nathan Lucas
pulled the screwdriver out of his back and repeated the action.

This time Price stopped his attack on Nathan and turned to face Lucas.

"Naughty boy. Is that any way to treat your future father?" Price smirked.

"You aren't ever going to be my father," Lucas insisted and rammed the screwdriver into Price's
chest where the heart would have been if he had a heart.

"You are putting holes in my new body. Do you know how inconvenient it is going to be to fix
that?"

Price raised his hand and smacked Lucas across the face, sending the boy reeling to the floor.

Nathan was still gasping and coughing, trying to recover from what Price had done to him.
Price lifted Lucas up off the floor kicking and screaming. Lucas tried desperately to get loose but
Dr. Price just carried him like he weighed nothing at all.

"Help me!" Lucas screamed. "Help!"

"Yell all you want, boy. No one can help you," Dr. Price laughed.

Nathan struggled to get up. His throat was killing him. Lucas. He had to get to Lucas. He could
hear the boy screaming. Then he saw Kristin lying in the floor. He quickly crawled to her side and rolled
her over. She had a large bruise forming on her forehead.

"Kristin," he said hoarsely. "Kristin, please wake up." He tapped her face gently. He saw her
eyes start to flutter open.

"Nathan," she groaned. "What happened?"

"Dr. Price knocked you out."

"Oh my," she sat up and quickly looked around. "Where is he? Where's Lucas?"

"Price took him. I'm going to go try to save him, but I need you to get out of here. Get Ben and
go, do you hear me?"

"Nathan I'm not leaving you and Lucas."

"Kristin, don't fight with me. Go get Ben and leave this place."

"Nathan you can't fight him by yourself. He's too strong. He doesn't feel pain."

"I'm going to try, but I can't save Lucas if I have to worry about you too. Please, just get out of
here. Hopefully Lucas and I will be joining you soon."

"He's going to kill you," Kristin said.

"Not if I kill him first," Nathan told her. "Now go." He pulled her close and kissed her like it was
the last time he would ever get to do it. Then he held her at arms length and repeated himself. "Go."

She nodded at him and watched as he stood up and went after Price and Lucas. She stood up and
hurried to Ben's room. She'd get the Lieutenant safely out of the house, but then she was going to come
back.

Nathan went in the direction he had heard Lucas' screams coming from.


________________________________



Dr. Price carried Lucas up the stairs that went up into the tower. Lucas still fought to get loose.
Once inside the tower Price dropped Lucas to the floor. Lucas immediately made an attempt to run for it
but Price grabbed his shirt and flung him back across the room. Lucas cried out in pain as he hit the floor
once again.

"I don't know why you insist on trying to escape. I'm about to give you a gift."

"I don't want your gift," Lucas yelled. "I don't want anything from you!"

"You won't feel that way once it's done. You'll be grateful then." Price walked over to a table
and pulled the sheet off of it.

Lucas screamed when he saw Dr. Lee's dead blue face.

"Oops, wrong table," Price said. He pushed that one out of the way and pulled another one
forward. He pulled the sheet off to show another android lying underneath. The top of it's head was
missing and Lucas saw the empty space where the brain was meant to go.

"It doesn't look completely like you, but it's close. We can always change your face later on, but
then you'll need a new identity anyway after the change so maybe it's for the best that it looks different."

"Please, don't do this," Lucas begged. He tried to inch slowly closer to the door.

"If you try to escape once more I'll break your legs," Price said. "It would be a shame to make
you suffer so much pain just before your transformation."

Lucas stopped.

"That's better. I took the liberty of uploading your program into the computer earlier today, so all
I have to do is stick your brain in here and then hit the enter button on the computer, and you'll be all done
and ready to go."

"You're sick," Lucas said. He made a run for it. Dr. Price moved incredibly fast and grabbed him
at the top of the stairs. Lucas screamed and screamed. Dr. Price dragged him back into the lab and
plopped Lucas down on the surgical bed.

"NOOOO!" Lucas screamed. "HEEELLLPPP!"

Dr. Price backhanded him hard across the cheek, almost knocking him unconscious. Price
grabbed Lucas' right hand and began fastening the restraint around his wrist. Then he moved down to
Lucas' feet and quickly placed both of them in the leather restraints. Once that was done he walked around
to bind Lucas' left hand, but he never got the chance.

Out of nowhere a metal pipe connected with his face, sending the cyborg to the floor. Before he
could recover from the blow the pipe connected with his face again and again. Price raised his arms to
protect his face so Nathan struck him wherever he thought would hurt the most. After a minute he noticed
that Price wasn't moving. The android was lying sprawled on the floor.

He stood still, holding the pipe the way a baseball player would hold a bat, ready to strike once
again if any sign of life came from the crazy machine.

"Dad," Lucas whispered.

"Lucas, unbuckle yourself and get out of here," Nathan ordered. He refused to take his eyes off of
Price.


__________________________



Kristin hurried into Ben's room and tried to wake him but the Lieutenant wouldn't wake up.

"Ben, come on, don't do this," she begged.

"He can't hear you," came the voice.

She turned around to look at Lon. He was behind her holding up an empty syringe. "I'm afraid
that your friend is going to be asleep for a few hours."

'Why are you doing this?" Kristin asked, backing away slowly from him.

"Simple, like the good doctor, I don't relish the idea of dying anytime soon. After he transforms
the boy, I'm next."

"Leave my family alone," Kristin yelled. She ran for the door but Lon grabbed her first.

"NOOO!" she screamed. Lon dragged her back to the bed and threw her on it. He pulled out a
pair of manacles and before she could even try to resist he had her arms chained to the post on the
footboard.

"Damn you," she yelled. "Let me go," she tugged at her chains.

"Sorry, no can do. Don't worry though. We aren't going to kill you. Herman has a big crush on
you, so we thought we'd give you to him," he laughed. Then he left Kristin alone in the room.


_______________________



Lucas used his free hand to start unfastening the restraint on his other. He fumbled with the
buckle for a minute before he finally got it loose. He sat up and started to free his feet. He slowly lowered
himself from the table.

"Now get out of here, I'll be right behind you," Nathan said.

"Is he dead?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know, so stop wasting time and get out of here," Nathan ordered, using a tone of voice
that he rarely did with Lucas, but right now he was acting out of fear and a rush of adrenaline. Lucas began
to back away slowly, staring at Price's body lying in the floor. When he finally turned around he gasped.
Lon grabbed him, spun him around and held a knife to his throat.

"Put the pipe down," Lon ordered.

Nathan spun around and saw Lucas in Lon's grasp, the knife pressing lightly into Lucas' flesh.
Nathan very slowly lowered the pipe and bent down to place it on the floor. Then just a slowly he stood up
holding his hands out away from him.

"Okay, let him go," Nathan said.

Lon stepped in to the room slowly, pulling Lucas along with him. They stepped over to Dr. Price.
Lon looked down at him.

"What did you do to him?" he demanded.

"I think I killed him," Nathan said.

"That's not possible," Lon told him. "Kick the pipe over that way," Lon motioned with his head.
Nathan did as told since Lucas was still in a precarious situation.

Lon finally released Lucas and shoved the boy towards Nathan. Nathan managed to grab him and
catch him before he hit the ground. Lon bent down to check on Price. The doctor didn't respond to Lon's
attempts to revive him.

"You son of a bitch," Lon said, looking at Nathan. "I'm going to kill you." Nathan pushed Lucas
behind him and prepared for Lon to lunge at him.

Suddenly Dr. Price came to life once more. He grabbed Lon's leg and began to squeeze. Lon
screamed in pain and fell to the floor.

"I told you I would break your legs," Price said.

"Master, stop, it's me," Lon screamed. Price ignored the man's pleas. He continued to squeeze
until blood flowed from Lon's leg and finally the bone could be heard crumbling. "AAAAHHHH!" Lon
cried in agony. Price pulled himself up Lon's body and proceeded to snap Lon's neck, finally silencing the
man's anguished cries.

Price looked at Nathan and Lucas. Half of his face was missing from where Nathan had struck
him repeatedly.

"I told you I'd break your legs if you tried to escape again," Price said. "I'm going to break your
legs…break your legs…break your legs…break your legs…"

"Run," Nathan said. He grabbed Lucas' hand and they ran for the door, but Price got there first.

They turned and ran the other way. There was another set of stairs on the far wall and Nathan and Lucas
scrambled their way up them.

"DAD!" Lucas yelled when Price grabbed Lucas by the ankle and started to pull him back.
Nathan turned and kicked Price right in the face. The machine lost it's grip on Lucas' leg and fell down the
stairs.

"Come on," Nathan said and began to pull Lucas up the stairs. He could see that Price was
already crawling to his feet at the bottom.

"My ankle," Lucas hissed.

"Going to break your legs…going to break your legs," Price continued to say over and over.

Nathan wrapped an arm around Lucas and hoisted the boy up the stairs with him. At the top they
came face to face with a wooden door. Nathan pushed the door open and dragged Lucas outside in the rain.

They found themselves on the roof of the tower. Nathan set Lucas down and quickly turned to close the
door.

"Damn," Nathan said. "It doesn't lock."

The door burst open and Nathan was thrown almost ten feet. Price stepped out on to the roof and
looked at them menacingly.

"I'm going to break your legs," he said to them.

"Will you shut up already!" Lucas yelled. Price began to walk slowly towards Lucas. Lucas
began to push his body back away from the deranged android.

"No, over here," Nathan called, trying to get the machine to ignore Lucas.

Price looked torn over what to do next. Should he grab the boy or go after the man. The boy was
closer but the man had damaged him, hurt him. He changed his direction and started for Nathan.

"That's right. Come on you tin can," Nathan taunted. "Lucas, get the hell out of here."

Lucas knew what his Dad was doing. He was going to stay here and die so he could have enough
time to escape. Lucas had no intention of leaving his Dad to die at the hands of this thing. He pulled
himself up and waited for the machine to get closer to Dad, and thus closer to the edge of the roof.

"Lucas, damn it, go," Nathan ordered.

Lucas began to move slowly, but it wasn't for the door, it was at Price. Nathan was starting to
move away from Price. He needed to stay out of his grasp if he had a chance of surviving this.
Nathan saw Lucas approaching them.

"Dad, drop," Lucas yelled, and then he lunged himself at Price. Nathan dropped down on all fours
and Price tripped over him as Lucas rammed hard into his back. In the next instant Price went sailing over
the side wall and plummeted down to the ground below.

Lucas fell onto Nathan and together they rolled into the stone wall. For a moment neither of them
moved, too tired and stunned to do much of anything. Finally Lucas sat up slowly as did Nathan. In the
next instant Nathan and Lucas held each other in a tight embrace, both thankful to be alive and in one
piece.

They stood up each leaning on the other to keep form collapsing. They looked over the side and
saw Price lying on the ground. His head had cracked open on impact and gray matter was splattered
around on the ground. It was over. It was really over.

They slowly hobbled down the stairs back into the tower, stopping at the bottom stair to rest for a
moment.

Lucas looked around the room at the incomplete droids lying on tables and the computers that
were currently uploaded with his program. He stood up and walked over to where the long pipe lay
forgotten on the floor.

Nathan watched as Lucas picked up the pipe and began to smash every computer in the room.
Glass and plastic went flying as the pipe cracked them open. Then Lucas stepped over to the androids and
proceeded to bash their faces in until there was almost nothing left of them. When he was done he dropped
the pipe and sank to the floor in exhaustion.

Nathan stood up and walked over to the boy. He got in the floor with Lucas and wrapped the boy
in his arms and held him close as sobs racked his body.

"Shh. Its over now," Nathan comforted.

"I never knew all these years just what I was creating. I thought I was making something good,
but I was making something evil," he cried. "Dr. Price said we'd raise a monster, and we did."

"Lucas, you didn't make a monster, Dr. Price was the monster," Nathan said softly. He held
Lucas for several more minutes trying his best to comfort the boy. Finally he said, "We need to go find
Mom and Ben, make sure that they got out okay."

Lucas nodded his head and then together they stood up and left the tower. They went down stairs
to start searching for Mom and Ben.

"Kristin!" Nathan yelled when they got down stairs. "Kristin!"

"Nathan," came Kristin's voice. It was coming from the wing where their bedrooms were.

Nathan and Lucas picked up the pace. A moment later they entered Ben's room and found the two still in
there.

"Nathan, Lucas, thank god your alive," Kristin cried, still chained to the bed. Nathan and Lucas
both hugged her tightly.

"What's wrong with Ben?" Lucas asked.

"They drugged him," Kristin said. "He's just sleeping."

"Do you know where the key is for this?" Nathan said, grabbing the chains.

"Lon has it," she said.

"Fine, Lucas stay here with Kristin. I'm going to go get the key and come right back," Nathan
said. "Then I'm going to call the UEO. We'll let them deal with the local authorities. This is all so strange
I'm not sure if they will even believe us."

"I need to destroy the other lab," Lucas said, "along with Herman too. Absolutely no one can
learn how to replicate what Dr. Price did, what I did."

"Lucas, I agree with you about destroying the lab, but you didn't do this," Nathan said. "Do you
understand me? You did not do this. Dr. Price used you, manipulated your work."

"Your father is right," Kristin agreed. "Anyone who knows you would know that you would
never agree to what took place here. We were all deceived."

Lucas nodded his head. They were telling the truth, but he still felt like he had to bare some of the
responsibility for what had happened. Ben had been right. Computers and machines weren't meant to
think for themselves.

Nathan left them to grab the key to Kristin's chains. Lucas got up to go check on Ben. From what
he could see Ben was resting fine. Lucas shook his friend but he didn't stir. He wasn't going to wake up
until the drug that had been used on his wore off.


______________________________



That night would go down as one of the worst for everyone involved. The UEO flew in legal
representation for them, along with several UEO investigators. The local authorities were none to pleased
to have to deal with the UEO, but they played nice since they really didn't have a choice.

Nathan, Kristin, Ben and Lucas told their story over and over again, telling every detail that they
could recall. Only one fact did they change. They reported that Dr. Price in a fit of rage destroyed his labs.
As Lucas had expected, everyone wanted to have access to Dr. Price's research, but there was nothing left
to have access too. Both Lucas and Nathan had made sure of that.

They had been separated for their questioning and at least given medical treatment. Since Lucas
was a minor he was able to stay with Nathan. As the sun rose in the distance they were finally allowed to
leave the station and check into a hotel.

They managed to get two adjoining rooms. Ben slept by himself in one room, while Nathan,
Kristin, and Lucas all slept in the same bed in the other room. They slept in their dirty, torn and bloodied
clothes since all of their things were still in their rooms back at the castle.

No one seemed to care as they were all just so tired and sore. There wasn't a one of them who did
sport bruises, cuts, and scrapes. Nathan and Lucas were by far the worst though. They had beat Dr. Price,
but just barely.




Several hours later Nathan woke when a nightmare he'd had had been to much. He flicked his
eyes open and tried to sit up but he couldn't. He soon figured out why. Kristin was curled up lying on his
left side, and Lucas was curled up lying on his right side.

He gently squeezed them both and kissed the tops of both their heads. Then he laid back once
more to go to sleep.