I wanted… needed to be alone. So I went for a walk and ended up here.’ I smiled, remembering what a sweet woman her grandmother had been. ‘I’m...sorry,’ I told her, ‘about your grandma. I always liked her.’ She nodded. ‘Thank you. I miss her so much. After my dad died, she was the only person I had to talk to. Feeling that pang of guilt again, I looked away for a moment and then back at her. ‘I’m sorry. I should have been there.’ She shook her head. ‘No. it wasn’t your fault. It’s just… it is. There were unfortunate results at times, and they were cherished as much as any other child. And over the years it became obvious that the genetic mistakes were disappearing rapidly and that the descendants of the first Families were very healthy, above average in intelligence, and generally very successful."Karla spoke up, "You said 'Families'?" Yes, the Linear Family Project has some sixty plus lines. You'd recognize some of them by name, but mostly we move outside the spotlight, trying not. Whoever is cooking or preparing anything can watch the kids."Sue took over again, "I worked out with John where we wanted phones in addition to the boat's communication system. We also fixed locations for computers, TVs and personal radar displays. If we had to, we could leave next week, but we have over a month, so we'll get everything done we want to get done."John was sitting with us and finally spoke up. "I've found two more boats of hundred and five feet and one that is a hundred and. The land that Jack informally controlled through those of his people that were in elective and appointive office encompassed the entire North American continent and Central America. Most of the old British Commonwealth was closely aligned with his group as was Germany. Laws and regulations were now in place based on looser Imperial laws in most of the worlds nations. These laws actually helped the population and protected the people from those that would take advantage of them.Jack moved to a.