Rejection by the computer would have been a terrible blow. Everyone had been surprised when it she had been accepted by the computer, but it was feare... that no Hero would ever chose her.Repeated rejection by different Heroes would have been devastating. It had happened only a few times in the past, but the result had led to suicides on the part of the women involved. Mercedes had argued her case with the council using her superior intellect. She asserted that a great Hero would overlook her. Let me ask my question a different way. Do you object to any of the girls?”“Well, I don’t know Sofia except from your journal, so it’s hard to say anything about her one way or the other. And Bethany has been your best friend for like forever, and I like her a lot. I don’t know your friend Penny except for the short time I got to talk to her on her birthday, but she’s kind of young if you want to get married next year or the year after. As for Kara, I would have said ‘no’ when you were dating,. "Does this have something to do with the cycles?" She asked in a little girl voice, like she was afraid I was going to spank her. I might have, if I wasn't just frozen in shock. I was too shocked to even play it cool, like I didn't know what she was talking about."What do you know about the cycles, Cindi?" I asked, in a quiet voice. It must have been a dangerously quiet voice, as Cindi looked scared."Nothing. I don't know what I'm talking about. The thought just came to me. I had some dreams. Jack's house was really a single wide trailer on some land that he owned. Mitchell didn't mind all too much, it was certainly different from living with his well off lawyer of a mother. His nearest neighbors were a little down the road, but Mitch was always welcome down to their house when he was around and his father was at work. Jack was a construction worker, he had been with the same company for many years without a lot of advancement. He wasn't too bright, but he was strong and he knew.