In the Virginia countryside, Tuesday…

"What's bothering you, son?"

RP1 jerked to attention.

"What do you mean, Dr. Tyler?"

"You seem very distracted today, RP1? This class is voluntary, you know. It's not required. If you don't want to pay attention, you shouldn't take up the time of the others. But I'm really teaching something useful here, and all knowledge you receive from us will make you better prepared for your long trip."

RP1 looked at the others in the class, then back at Dr. Tyler. He really admired the man. In some sense, he was the father of them all, at least spiritually. He had made them, the perfect humans who would go to the stars. But he was also afraid of Dr. Tyler, afraid that he would discover what he and SW2 were doing.

The class was studying the Human Genome Project. It was generally an interesting subject, since, in some way, they were learning about themselves, how they were bioengineered to be free from genetic diseases and programmed to be as long-lived as possible. In that way not that many generations would pass during their long trip through interstellar space.

"Dr. Tyler, where did SW1, FS2, and HJ1 go?"

"We're still looking for them, son. Perhaps they'll come back. You know it's a dangerous world out there, however, so they might not come back."

"You mean the crime and the terrorists?" asked PW2.