Baby, with her hair in two yful pigtails, sat nestled between Tracey and Elysia,
carefully sorting through the fresh herbs they''d gathered that morning.
She didn''t really understand what the two adults were talking about, but she could
tell from their worried faces that something was up. In her sweet, high-pitched
voice, she piped up to cheer them on:
"Great-Gran, Mommy, don''t be sad! Baby''s super strong, Baby can carry the g!"
Tracey turned to look at Baby, and immediately a smile softened her features.
This kid''s got spunk!
"Our Baby is the best!" Tracey beamed, giving Baby a gentle poke.
After a bit of yful teasing, Tracey turned to Elysia, her tone more serious.
"Elysia, I know medicine isn''t really your thing, but Baby''s still so young..."
"For Baby''s future, and for the future of medicine in general, you really should
learn from Grandma. Really dig deep."
"If, God forbid, Grandma''s not around someday, at least you''ll be able to carry
on."
"Grandma..." Elysia''s heart twisted-not because she didn''t want to learn, but
because Grandma was talking about not being there anymore.
But Tracey just shrugged, matter-of-fact.
"Birth, aging, sickness, and death. It''s the way of life, honey. Grandma''s been
around a long time-I''m not afraid of dying."
"What scares me is leaving and having nobody to take up the torch."
"If there were already someone in the medical world ready to step up, I wouldn''t
worry so much. But right now, someone has to care."
Elysia looked at her, full of affection. Grandma should''ve been enjoying her
retirement, not still worrying about the world.
A real heroine-tough as any man!
"Don''t worry, Grandma. Teach me-I''ll learn!"
Meanwhile, in Quincy''s cozy cabin, Quincy was holding Emmett''s hand, helping
him dip a pen into ink and write a few bold, swirling words across a big sheet of
paper:
"Peace and Prosperity"
The script was strong and lively, almost dancing on the page.
Quincy nodded. "If you want to study ancient aesthetics, Emmett, you have to
start with thenguage. The beauty of our heritage begins with its script."
"Focus on the writing, then look at their clothes, their food, their homes and how
they built them."
"Fashion is like fireworks-beautiful
but fleeting. But the beauty of old
cultures? Thatsts for thousands
of years. Never turn your back on it."
Emmett nodded seriously. "I''ll remember everything you say, Quincy!"
Quincy smiled. "Now close your eyes."
He pulled out a bottle of perfume and sprayed a fine mist into the air, letting it
settle.
"What do you smell?"
Emmett squeezed his eyes shut, inhaling deeply. After a moment, he grinned.
"Pine forests... a bubbling brook... camellias... cherry blossoms... peach
cobbler... a hint of whiskey... fresh linen..."
He opened his eyes in surprise.
"Quincy, is this a new form?"
Quincyughed, pping him on the back.
"That''s my clever apprentice! Come on, I''ll show you a brand new way to blend
scents!"
***
Over in Howard''s cabin, Elliot and Elijah were huddled over aptop, following
Howard''s digital tutorial step by step.
Suddenly, the lines of code on the screen flickered and scrambled.
A secondter, a giant mushroom cloud exploded onto the screen.
The two brothers'' eyes lit up. They pped each other a high-five.
"Thirty-six seconds! We did it!"
Did what, exactly? They''d just broken
through a top-secret military firewall
in record time-thirty-six seconds
t. And not just any firewall, but the
one protecting an enemy nation''s
weapons cache, which they''d just
remotely detonated.
Their thirty-six seconds would leave that country scratching their heads for years.
Elijah grinned. "Where do we go next?"
Elliot narrowed his eyes, a sly smile on his lips.
"We take them down again. Let''s keep going."
Howard had always told them: when
those guys trespassed on ournd
and hurt our people, they never
apologized, never admitted a thing.
"Well, now it was time to make them pay.
Practicing on their firewalls? Totally justified.