"I swear, just yesterday we were the kids and now our kids are going to be having kids. Where did time go?"At 42, Marnie's looks had not departed. She... was a little fuller around the hips but she was still as beautiful as the first day — more than 2 decades before — that Jacob Dunleavy had ridden down the hillside to her house.Jacob had turned 40 a month earlier and he was starting to feel his age. His blond hair had gray streaks at the temples and his waist was starting to expand just a. They had their target systems configured for automatic target selection, and they didn’t know about the lockout options on the system’s Field of Fire Configuration page. His clients all thought the herd was attacking them, so they pressed their FIRE buttons, and their shelter’s defensive system fired its energy weapons at the herd.”“Oh shit! Let me guess, Tom. The defensive system’s automatic targeting system used the shelter’s mass sensor readings to determine its targets, and the system fired. It was then that I thought I saw a tear drop from his eye. His only response.In a mixture of awe and compassion I stepped closer to him, he lifted his head slightly to my eye level. I reached out and place a hand gently on each of his cheeks. So soft they were. I ran my left hand tenderly down his neck and again was surprised at how silk soft he was, even while looking so tough. He sensed my surprise and like a chameleon changed the color of the skin beneath my hand from a lovely deep forest. May I be excused, please?"Angela excused her, repeating yet again how indebted she was to Francesca. Francesca did not trust herself to keep her tongue in order and took herself off for a vigorous walk into the hills. She was a very angry Francesca. Like Annie, she had not chosen to be part of this rebel army. She had been willing to serve under Joanne because she had liked the girl and she had shared her leader's love for sweet little Annie. How she wished she could help them, but Joanne had.