AGC Giant-Size 1: Backwards Looking Forward

ALL GOD'S CHILDREN GIANT SIZE 1 BACKWARDS LOOKING FORWARD

featuring a new tale of BETA RAY BILL and reprints of every ALL GOD'S CHILDREN tale presented outside the AGC series through ALL GOD'S CHILDREN 11. This story takes place between ALL GOD'S CHILDREN 11 and 12.

Reprinted within are the following: FANTASTIC FOUR 423, 425, 430, 434, 435 MARVEL FANFARE 70 - The 1998 MV1 Holiday Issue

From the HISTORIES of Beta Ray Bill - 2200/October 22 Addendum to the HISTORIES OF THE ORPHANS OF WAR

'I do not know if I should be joyous or mournful. The children have taken a step towards adulthood. All things considered, it is a grand step, one that every child must one day take. For that, I am joyous. But their actions give me pause. They left, alone and just four of them - Ben, Angel, Toomi and Esh - to seek out the returned god Franklin Richards. 1 1- The FRAGMENTED BALANCE chapter in the HISTORIES OF THE ORPHANS, cross referenced to ALL GOD'S CHILDREN 6 - 11. What were they thinking? Their lack of thought leaves me wondering just how much I've failed in my teachings to them. Why couldn't they ask for help? Because King Balder would have denied them? I applaud the spirit if not the intelligence of their choice. Don't they know how much they mean to all of us?'

Beta Ray Bill rose from his table on Floor Beta inside the Heimdall Library. When did it all start? Not the Eternal War, that started back during the TITAN FALLS adventure. But rather this latest chapter in the War. There are ebbs and flows, valleys and peaks to any war, but they are inevitable in a war that lasts nearly 200 years. The return of the Earth had heralded in a new beginning of activity as far as most were concerned and the return of Franklin Richards cemented it.

In a tale that spans time, how many beginnings are there? One? A Hundred? A Thousand?

SECTION I: CREATION Reprinted from Fantastic Four 423 Franklin Must Die Book One (Three): The End

Author's Note: Below is the first time the AGC timeline appeared in MV1. I wanted something to frame my first big arc in FANTASTIC FOUR and I knew I wanted two characteristics of that framing sequence: One, it had to have Galactus and Two, it had to be set in the future, at a time where the entire universe was caught up in the throes of an awful cosmic war. I wanted something big, something that worked against the grain of the main story in the sense that the FF story started at a point and built to an ending, whereas the future segment built forward to a beginning.

It spread from there, bringing in various ideas and scenes that have been rattling around inside my head for years, coalescing into what has become ALL GOD'S CHILDREN. But when I wrote this opening scene, it was meant to be two scenes and that was it.

I knew I wanted to use Captain America, too. Not just any Captain America, however, but one that had been given Cosmic Awareness. For me, this along with the fact that the Earth no longer existed, clearly showed how high the stakes were raised.

But this is where it started: Galactus and Captain America banded together to save the universe.

EPILOGUE

200 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE

"I have come."

The Planet Destroyer Galactus has come to the position in the Universe that once held the planet Earth. Now, save for Galactus and his ship, the Taa V, there is nothing but the cold emptiness of space.

He contemplates as he floats, though his decision is inevitable.

"Galactus, it can not continue."

Galactus does not turn. "Of that, we are in agreement. Thanos can not continue his path of destruction unabated."

"If this were a happier time, I might smile at the irony of those words coming from the one feared as the Planet Destroyer."

"Would you? I can not remember a time when you have smiled," Galactus muses.

A pause. "You know of his latest nullification, I take it."

"Yes, Captain, yes I do," Galactus looks to the distance, pondering, his face in the same grim visage it always rests in. "I find it to be a fact that I would have thought impossible. A fact that perfectly illustrates the danger the Everything is in. Thanos has given his mistress a gift even she could have never dreamed possilbe - he has blessed her with the death of the LIVING TRIBUNAL ITSELF!!!" Galactus pauses, letting his emotions cool. "If you had listened to me, the Living Tribunal would still be alive and we would still have a chance."

"We still have a chance. We will always have a chance."

Galactus smiles, "And you wondered why He came back to grant you Cosmic Awareness, Steve Rogers? Even in the face of the total collapse of the Everything, you still defy the inevitable."

"Spare me your smugness, Galactus. We are allies only long enough to defeat Thanos. What I do, I do for the greater good." Steve Rogers floats in space. His once familiar red, white and blue motif long vanished, replaced by a navy blue costume, it's monotony broken by white highlights. Red is absent from the costume. There is still a white star upon his chest and shield, but it is the Cosmic Star of Mar-Vell now. On his mask, the wings and "A" remain, because even though America no longer exits in reality, it still exists in his heart. At his side, as always, his shield. "Do not forget that it is you who I was chosen to defeat."

"I have not forgotten, Cosmic Protector." Galactus turns somber. "It is decided, then?"

"Yes. I will stop Thanos in the here and now and you will stop him in the past of my universe, Universe 616, before the Collapse, before Eternity started pulling the multiverses together into one whole to fill the voids left by Thanos." It is Steve Roger's turn to ponder. When he speaks again it is with grave solemnity, but no hint of defeat. "This time we live in is inevitable, Galactus. We can not prevent it from occurring."

"No, we strive only to keep the multiverses separate for a longer time. We can become one timeline and not the Everything. We can restore life to places it has ceased to be. In time you may discover that you are really not the Steve Rogers from Earth 616. Our - my - actions in this matter may retroactively change what you consider your life's continuity to be."

"Than it is decided. That is what we shall do."

They float in silence for a time, before Galactus fills the emptiness with his voice.

"We are a unique pairing, Captain. Are you aware of all the intracies of what we are about to do?"

"I am. You must seek to restore life to where there is no life because without it, you can not gain the energy you need to fulfill your damnable destiny. I must stop Thanos because he will destroy the Everything if I don't."

"And in doing so, you save me, whose purpose, as well, is to destory the Everything."

"But you will create the New Everything, Galactus. If you can gain the energies you need, even if you win and destroy what exists now, something new will take it's place. Thanos seeks only the cold emptiness of Nothingness."

"You seek to stop Thanos, to become my salvation. Yet if you can stop him and I can restore life to where there is no life, so that I may drain the energies of that life to create the New Everything, you will no doubt be there to stop me from draining that energy. How ... interesting."

"Your philosophical ramblings mean nothing to me, Galactus. Let's do this. Now. Lives need to be saved." The Everything's last hope pauses, then turns to stare the Planet Destroyer in the eye, "You can change the past to our favor?"

"I can not change the past, human, but I can influence it. I am everywhere at everytime. Any knowledge I gain now will influence the decisions of my past. I merely need to decide what I want to influence and that thought will filter back through my continual memory. My past self will not have any knowledge of the ramifications of it's actions. I will simply do what I always do, for reasons that make sense to me at the time."

"Fine. Good luck." Captain America starts to fly through space, gaining distance from Galactus, when he pauses and turns around. "Where will you start?"

"That I do not know. I only know that it will start ... and we both know that it involves keeping the Richards boy alive."
_____________________________

Bill always came back to this tale. Something about the Earth returning to existence had it's roots during Franklin's capture and trial by Thanos, he was sure of it. He sat down again, and like the ancient Historians, he put ink to quill to paper ...

The thrust of the FRANKLIN MUST DIE storyline was that Thanos had become aware that Franklin Richards had created the Franklinverse at the climax of the ONSLAUGHT story. Thanos was curious about the power of this young god and yearned to discover if Franklin could do it again, so he arranged for the Fantastic Four to be on the planet Baluur, the home planet of Blastaar deep inside the Negative Zone. Thanos held Franklin captive and forced him to watch as Thanos blew the planet out of existence, hoping that Franklin would again create a universe from his thoughts.

It didn't work, but as Franklin told the Silver Surfer, "I didn't feel them dying. When they ... died last time, against Onslaught, I could feel them. My mom reached out to me. This time, she didn't. They escaped." So whether or not he could repeat the Franklinverse remined a mystery.

The motivation of Thanos came down to his wanting to see if Franklin was his Opposite in the Grand Tapestry of the Everything. This wish of Thanos to discover his Opposite is what lead to him starting the Eternal War, the War that has plagued the cosmos from 2022 to the current present of 2200. Finding that Franklin wasn't his Opposite, the Mad Titan came to the conclusion that the long dead Captain Mar-Vell was. Thanos decided that the only way for him to ever achieve true victory was to resurrect Mar-Vell from the grave. After all these 178 years, still Thanos is denied the Return.

Bill turned his head to look out the window. It was a calm night in Asgard. The Orphans were either getting or recovering from a lecture from King Balder. Turning back to one of the many volumes spread before him, Beta Ray Bill read once again the scene of Earth returning to existence.

SECTION II: FRAMED

Reprinted from Fantastic Four 425

Franklin Must Die Book Three (Three): The Beginning

PROLOGUE

200 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE

Galactus stands by the empty location in space that used to hold the Earth, when he feels a slight buzzing at the base of his skull.

"Interesting," he speaks to the emptiness. He waits, knowing that something will happen.

And then it does.

Before him, shimmering back into existence, is the planet Earth.

"And so it begins," the Planet Destroyer states. "And so it begins."

Author's Note: I had no idea when I wrote, "And so it begins." that I'd really be talking about AGC and not Fantastic Four. I really saw FF 425 as the beginning of my run on that title, the previous eight issues setting up what was to come. As it turned out, my run on FF was only to last another 10 issues through to FF 435.

SECTION III: RETURN

Reprinted from Fantastic Four 430

Latverian Connection, Part One: Revenge of the Alchemist

Author's Note: I brought the timeline back for several reasons. One, the response to it had been amazing. Two, I was fooling around with the idea of using this future to show the ramifications the events in present day MV1 might have on the future. Three, I wanted to show that even in a future that was immersed in a cosmic war, not everything had to be angst ridden and dark. But really, I was enjoying it more than I was the FF stories. I like the vast canvas that I had to play with, I liked how the ideas kept bursting in my brain.

I had stories of this timeline in me and I needed to get them out.

PROLOGUE

201 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE

Galactus stands in the middle of what was once a dead cosmos. Around him, planets have begun to reappear. Empires have risen from non-existence. People long thought dead live again.*

* ( This is a continuation of the timeline introduced in FF 423, and seen again in FF 425, the first and third parts of the FRANKLIN MUST DIE TRILOGY - Hostess Fruit Pie Devourer Mark )

The Planet Destroyer waits for the arrival of Steve Rogers, his once and future nemesis and ally.

"I have ... come." Galactus turns to see the man who spoke those words, Captain America, the earthly hero. His dark blue and white uniform are torn and tattered, but there is hope and a glint of fire in his eyes. "Always wanted to say that," Captain America smiles.

"Found a sense of humor, did you?" Galactus asks, bemused.

"Yes. I found it in the exact same spot that I found the thought-dead Living Tribunal."

"Ah," Galactus says, understanding. "Things go well, then."

"They go better," Captain America explains, his voice and manner back to being deadly serious. "Thanos is on the run in the outer systems. His army of Brood Phalanxes apparently abandoned him, but there are rumours they're regrouping in the Neg Zone. Then, on the way back here, I ran into a pirate ship named the Supreme Unintelligence. Crew was a rag-tag group of Skrulls, Kree and Shi'ar forces that banded together for revenge on Thanos. They're the ones that busted up the Wraiths a few weeks back."

"It is good to see things changing, Captain," Galactus reasons.

"It is indeed, Galactus. The Everything is in much better shape than it was last year at this time."

"Are the rumors true about my former Herald?" Galactus asks, trying to sound disinterested.

"As far as I know," Captain America responds. "Moonstar the Valkyrie said she ran into the Cosmic Flame, disorientated, but alive, in the wreckage of Olympus."

"That is good," Galactus says, nodding in approval. "The more of my heralds that return to us, the greater our chances."

"Has the Richards boy reappeared yet?"

"No."

The float in space for a few moments, when Steve Rogers breaks the silence. "You know, Galactus, I think we might just pull this off. The future looks bright for the first time in a very, very long time."

"Indeed it does, Captain. Indeed it does."

SECTION IV: SCOPE OF WAR

Reprinted from Fantastic Four 434

Baby Steps

Author's Note: I was grooving right here. I was really warming to the idea of writing a war story. There's really no need for this scene as it relates to FANTASTIC FOUR, it was just a chance to expand on the timeline and stetch my writing. Even though I didn't decide to write ALL GOD'S CHILDREN until after I had left FF, this is probably where the idea to write it became too much fun to ignore.

As for Steve and Dani as a couple ... just an idea that I've had for a long time, well pre-dating AGC.

PROLOGUE - 202 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE

Captain America fights alongside the Valkyries during an assault on Titan 3. Isaac, the planet's super-computer - long since merged by Thanos with the Supreme Intelligence - has been a target of the Captain America/Galactus partnership for years. While Thanos hasn't used it much in the last twenty Titan-years, Steve Rogers has long since thought it to be the place where Thanos keeps his prisoners of war.

Today, he and the Valkyries plan on claiming it in battle.

"The fight goes well, Captain!" Moonstar the Valkyrie shouts as her winged horse comes to a rest near Captain America.

"We still haven't found any of the hypothesized prisoners, Moonstar," Steve answers back, his mind scouring the landscape for any sign of hostile troops.

"No, we haven't. But any strike against Thanos is good in it's own right," she answers quietly, knowing full well that isn't what's on his mind.

"Damnit, Moonstar!" he snaps. "Then that means the POWs are still out there somewhere."

"I know, I know," she sighs, not able to look Captain America in the eye. "I know even now what the name Avengers means to you." She pauses, trying to decide whether or not to continue. She decides to go ahead, even though she knows it's a mistake. "But these aren't your Avengers. They're just some dumb kids inspired by the legends of your past."

"Then that makes them my responsibility," Captain America flatly states.

"Yes, I suppose you think it does," she says softly, taking a step closer to him. "But you can't save everyone."

Captain America says nothing as he glances down at the Nega Bands on his wrists. "That's exactly what I'm trying to do, Dani," he says quietly.

"I know, Steve," she replies as the two lovers come together in an embrace. As they break the kiss, their first in two years, Captain America is already looking towards an outbreak of fighting between Thanos' troops and a pair of Valkyries.

"Even if we win this war against the Mad Titan, we'll still never just settle down quietly, will we?" Dani asks.

Without a word, Captain America jumps forward to aid in the battle. A sigh escapes her lips as Dani jumps after him. "Not that I'd want to settle down, mind you," she breathes under her breath.

Beta Ray Bill shifted in his large chair. He wondered if anyone rally knew just how much he wanted to find and put a stop to whoever it was out there in the vast Everything that had taken up the name AVENGERS. Bill thought it important to try ...

Steve Rogers is the Last Avenger.

There are a few of them that served still around, including myself, but Steve and only Steve still feels that clarion call deep inside him in that special way, still burns to once again raise his shield high and exclaim, "AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!"

We wait for it, too, though none would dare tell him.

We are shackled by our glorious past. Mjolnir rests in the town square, awaiting it's next weilder, a sign that the hope of tomorrow rests in the glory of our past. Valhalla overflows with legends and heroes that still fill our memories and not just our history books.

By Odin's Beard, how nice would it be to hear those glorious two words spill from his lips again.

SECTION V: THE TEASE

Reprinted from Fantastic Four 434

Baby Steps

Author's Note: The section below was used for one reason: to foreshadow the death of Johnny Storm in FANTASTIC FOUR 450, a story that I never wrote. Johnny was going to die, but it wasn't going to be by the hands of Galactus. No, Galactus saved Johnny and made him an offer: power enough to defeat Dr. Doom in return for Johnny becoming a new Herald of Galactus, the Cosmic Flame. These shelved plans come to life in the next arc of ALL GOD'S CHILDREN, THE VANISHED STORMS, starting in AGC 12.

EPILOGUE - 202 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE

Captain America soars through Milky Way, powered along by his Nega Bands. It's time for another meeting with Galactus. He is uneasy about the alliance, but Galactus is much more in tune with the Multiverse than he is, and has offered much information that has been useful.

He zips by Mars and is instantly aware that something is very, very wrong. As he nears the spot where Galactus normally resides, Steve Rogers sees something he shouldn't. He sees the planet Earth spinning on it's axis, but he sees no sign of Galactus.

"Galactus!" he calls and the giant planet destroyer fades back into existence.

"Hello, Captain," the giant weakly states as Steve rushes over to him. "I had my cloaking device up ... to stave off ... those who would seek to take advantage of my body in this state."

"Who did this to you, Galactus?" Captain America asks, grave concern in his voice.

"The person we've been waiting for, Captain," Galactus states, irony dripping in his voice. "Franklin Richards is alive and a bigger threat than Thanos ever was. He did this to me ... for what I did to the ... Human Torch ... all those years ago."

SECTION VI: HINDSIGHT IS 20/20

Reprinted from Fantastic Four 435

The Kettle Boils Anew

Author's Note: Though it wasn't planned when I wrote it, the scene below, my last scene during my run on Fantastic Four, served as the launching point for the whole series. In fact, my last words in the lettercol for that issue are, "As for me, I'll end up somewhere, though where that will be I have no idea."

Below is the first appearance of Ben-Vell Parker.

EPILOGUE - 202 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE

"Don't stop there!"

"Got to - we've got a perimeter run to take."

"Geez, Bill, you can be such a wet circuit at times. That poor guy, Ben Grimm. What a fitting name."

Beta Ray Bill smiles as he replaces the book, ONE FAMILY'S TALE IN THE AGE OF MARVELS, back on the shelf. He cringes to himself, he was never very good at naming any of his histories of the Age of Marvels. 'But,' he thinks to himself for not the first time, 'the important thing is that they're written, not what they're called."

"C'mon, Bill, stop staring at your, uh, books. Why can't you load them all onto holo-cubes? Even King Balder uses them these days. "

"Because, young Parker, there's a part of me that finds the idea of opening a book to be a pleasant one."

"Logan says you're just an old hopeless romantic," Ben-Vell Parker chides as they leave the Heimdall Library and head into Asgard proper.

"Does he say that now?" Bill asks skeptically. "Next time Logan's introducing you to Asgardian liquor, be sure to ask him how he lost his left arm."

"That was you?" Ben asks incredulously.

"You'll discover it in time, as you will the fate of all the Marvels."

"There's not many of you guys left these days, though I guess that's to be expected."

"You are correct, Ben. There's very few of the Marvels left. Only the long-lived ones who were lucky enough to survive the many wars we've been through. But the ones who have long since passed on to Valhalla live on in their descendants. Stories never end, Ben-Vell. They move ever forward."

Ben and Bill walk out onto the Plain of Ida, their eyes scanning the horizon for Thanos' troops, whoever they may be.

"What happens next for the Fantastic Four?" Ben asks after a time. "Do Reed and Sue go to Titan? Does Alicia have her baby? Do her and Ben get married? Didn't Nightmare say someone was going to die? And what about Dr. Doom? Moonstar the Valkyrie was telling me that, all by himself, he made the cosmos shake when he conquered the entire Shi-"

"Questions, questions, Ben-Vell. Questions that all have answers, I promise." Beta Ray Bill smiles, "And answers you will get, just not today. You'll have to come back tomorrow to learn of them. I'm done telling stories of the Fantastic Four for today."

SECTION VII: IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME

Reprinted from Marvel Fanfare 70

The 1998 MV1 Holiday Issue

Author's Note: What the heck, everyone loves a good Christmas tale, right? By this time, AGC 2 had come out and everyone had got their first look at the AGC version of Santa Claus. I wanted to add a little depth to him, so here it is. This was my second attempt at a Christmas story, maybe the stalled first attempt will appear in next year's Holiday Issue.

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 1998

by Mark Bousquet

ONCE UPON A CHRISTMAS PAST, 2186

Earth Standard Year 2186

"Tell me a story, daddy. Pleeeeeeease."

"Of course, child. Is it not the eve of Christmas?" Volstagg smiled at his adopted, Earthen daughter. "Shall I tell you the grand tale of the Red Nosed Reindeer Called Rudolph? Or the epic struggle of Frosty the Snowman? Or perhaps," he leaned in close, whispering, "you’d like to hear a special tale?" The young red-head nodded, her eyes wide. "Very well, my sweeet Angel, I shall tell you the legend of Santa Claus’ first visit to Asgard."

"Yippee!" Angelica bounced on the bed.

"Once upon a time, not so long ago, but after the Eternal War had started, times became tough in the Golden Realm. No, not so bad that people were worried about where their next meal came from or if there’d be clothes for their backs, but bad enough that life was not one of luxury. Asgardians didn’t complain about their condition. No, child, we’re Asgardians. We do the best we can, working as hard as we can, and know that that will be enough to make it to the next day. Thanos, be damned - excuse your father’s language.

"Well, there came a night when things were particularly bad. A pall had settled over the Golden Realm. No one can say why the doldrums hit us that night as hard as they did, but there is no doubting that it did. Every Asgardian that night, whether they were at home or spread throughout the Nine Realms, felt it.

"Yes, child, even the honored dead of Valhalla and the dishonored dead of Niffleheim felt the drowning sorrow.

"Children were impossible to put to bed that night, husbands and wives wanted anything but the touch of their lover, warriors did not want to fight, inns barely bothered to open. There was unease and malaise.

"Everything felt wrong somehow.

"Finally, we all drifted off into a restless sleep, waking before the dawn. We dragged our bodies out of our beds and headed into our daily activities when a most wondrous sight appeared before our eyes. Boxes covered with shiny paper, hiding presents, adorned our living rooms!

"Joy swept like a wave through Asgard as families came together to bask in the glow of presents and gifts and unexpected treasures. Children tore into boxes and found toys of wood! Their joy was a sight to behold! Never has the Realm had all the children find such great joy at one time! Not a single unhappy child walked Asgard that morning.

"But it wasn’t just the children who found such unbridled joy.

"Oh no, the parents of those children had that same joy visit upon them! The presents were nice, of course, but to see the faces of their children … the purest joy in the world, it was.

"Then, as the morning wore on, as all the presents had been opened and toyed with, the question arose. Where had the gifts come from? Who had placed these gifts inside our homes? Worry began to take hold. Perhaps the gifts were sent by Thanos to lull us to softness? Perhaps they were sent by Loki, in another of his mad schemes?

"As the questions arose and became deeper, the uneasiness began to settle back in. Children wondered why their parents took their gifts from them, wondered why the joy that had played across their faces were now turned to faces of worry.

"And the Asgardians descended upon Odin, their King, and besieged him with questions and worries and concerns and troubles and theories and musings and ponderings and-

"Odin said nothing for a long time, until the windiest of the windy speakers had grown hoarse and began to walk. We followed him straight to the Rainbow Bridge, where Heimdall, the Guardian of the Bridge waited for us, a strange look upon his face.

"Odin asked Heimdall, he who could see into the furthest corner of the Nine Worlds, what he saw the past night. Heimdall sighed and shook his head and told us that he had seen an old man dressed in red with white trimmings, black boots and belt and a large white beard come walking across the Rainbow Bridge, a large bag on his back.

"Heimdall tried to halt the old man, but he would have no success. He asked the man to state his business and he was answered with the words, ‘I’m Santa Claus, of course. I’m here to spread Christmas cheer." Heimdall then watched Santa walk into every house in the city, leaving gifts for all of us as a light, fluffy snow began to fall. But, Heimdall cautioned, swearing he hadn’t been drinking, the old man’s bag never got lighter and time seemed to stop, as if it were waiting for him to finish.

"So Santa Claus came to Asgard one night and we have never been the same since. Now, every year on the anniversary of that First Night, we go to bed hoping that Santa will come again and grace us with his presence and gifts of joy and happiness."

Volstagg looked down at Angelica, who smiled one last time before drifting off to sleep the sleep of innocence. He kissed her on the forehead and walked down the hall to climb into bed with his wife and attempt to sleep the same.

And by the Rainbow Bridge, Heimdall waited for Santa Claus to come again, and bid his friends good night with the blessing Santa had taught him, "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night."

___________________________

'Who is Santa Claus?

He's got to be somebody, but who? I wonder if it's anyone we know. I've got my hunches, but I don't want to say right now.

Steve's headed for the Fantastic Colonies tomorrow and Balder wanted a Council meeting called to hear the story of Phil Sinton. I hope things go well for Steve. His quest to find the unsanctioned Avengers drives him at times. There are other reasons why he goes, but there is little doubt in anyone's mind about what he hopes to find.

I wished he'd take Dani with him, but duty requires her to stay here.'

Beta Ray Bill stretched. It was time for bed. He left the 'Dall thinking of his own lost loves, hoping Steve and Dani realized just how precious their short time together was. With the Eternal War raging, there was never a guarantee of tomorrow.


-- MBQ ... 16.March.1999