The Golden Children

“Silvia and Isaac Liston were the best of humanity. They were the embodiment of intelligence, strength, and class. Isaac’s genius and immense imagination ushered in a Technological Renaissance. Silvia’s medical acumen and surgical talent helped her personally save thousands of lives while also positively advancing the health care system as a whole. So in the looming darkness of their deaths, we still must have hope and be thankful for their lives as their accomplishments will continue to shape the future of mankind for the better...” The Attorney General paused for second as she wiped a tear from her right cheek and ended her eulogy with “They will be sorely missed.” She retired from the podium to comfort Isaac and Silvia’s longtime friend with an embrace. During the consoling, she saw Isaac and Silvia’s children in the row behind him. A bit concerned she had not mentioned them in her speech, she reached out and grabbed the eldest’s child’s hand as if to comfort him.

These words from the Attorney General moved the crowd as they mirrored her emotions. And while these final words commemorating the great Isaac and Silvia Liston were a beautiful homage, the tribute was still at best an understatement. The Liston’s funeral was attended by many high-powered and impressive individuals, among those attending were: world diplomats, religious leaders, high powered executives, famous Hollywood actors, industry leaders, and many others.

Very few times had a funeral drawn such a respected and powerful assemblage. Silvia and Isaac Liston’s great lives ended with a simple car crash, hit and killed by a drunk driver.

Isaac Liston was a Harvard dropout responsible for founding Liston Technologies in 1985. Isaac was a highly motivated studious individual blessed with natural intellect. It was clear from a young age that he was an exceptional talent.

Isaac was born in New Jersey and raised in St Louis by his stepfather and sickly mother. He never knew his biological father, but he did learn before his mother’s death that he was the result of a rape.

During his adolescent years, Isaac’s mother worked hard to provide him with an education that matched his aptitude of brilliance. His mother and stepfather supported and pushed him to challenge himself. A natural autodidact, Isaac continually rose to the occasion, and with an incredible memory, he was able to attain and retain much knowledge. But it was more than just his memory that was incredible; he was very creative and had an inherent ability for understanding computers and technology.

Isaac’s mother, a bright optimistic figure, illuminated his life with joy and happiness. In the years before her cancer, Jenifer or Mrs. Liston, as referred to by her students, enjoyed her position as a middle school teacher working to motivate children helping them unlock their full potential. Her son proved to be her greatest challenge as it seemed his potential was near limitless.

When she had him tested at age 5 and again at 9 each time he scored in the top percentile in reasoning, mathematics, logic, and reading comprehension. Her love for him and the challenge he provided is what many said kept her alive and fighting through the years of cancer.

In the years after her death, Isaac spent most of his time coding, programming, building and rebuilding computers. He loved technology and had a natural ability for its innovation. Furthermore, there was no denying his dedication as he spent hours learning and the ins and outs of hardware, software, reading manuals and university textbooks absorbing all knowledge relevant to technology. During this time in the garage, he experimented with LAN methods as well as hard disk drives and CDs for microcomputer data storage years before the concepts were publically available.

During this time, Isaac’s relationship with his stepfather was estranged as both were ill-equipped to carry on any meaningful relationship without Jenifer, the cornerstone of their family. Their troubled father-son relationship was hardly a surprise since Isaac lacked respect for his step-father ever since finding out that he was not his ‘real’ biological father at the age of seven. However, it was not until two years later that he learned his biological father was an unidentified rapist and criminal. Most nine-year-olds would be unable to process and understand what this meant, but Isaac was different. Even still, Isaac attempted to locate his father several times during his life with no success.

While an emotional connection was nearly non-existent, Isaac’s stepfather, Henry, did his best to provide his son with whatever computer parts and technology he could afford on a sanitation worker’s salary. These computer parts, an abundance of books, unbridled genius, and intellectual curiosity gave Isaac stability and more importantly provided him an escape after his mothers passing. For years he was either in his room reading or the garage working on computers.

Isaac had only ever loved his mother and was deeply depressed after her death. He needed time and distractions in order to move on after her passing. And little after a two year mourning period Isaac began to emerge from the devastation of his mother’s death.

At age 16 he scored a perfect 2400 on the SAT and was one mistake shy of a perfect ACT. He was soon after awarded a full ride scholarship to Harvard.

During his university years, he grew into a 6′2 , well built, handsome man. In Isaac’s early years at Harvard he was a passive noncontroversial individual. However, as he continued to see just how intelligent he was; his confidence grew and by the end of his college tenure he was routinely challenging students and professors.

His anger while normally minimal did at times appear while debating others. Something he found reaped him very little benefit. The final reason he gave in regards to leaving Harvard was he “felt he had nothing left to learn at this institution.” This answer while smug was honest as he had become bored and ready for a new challenge.

The new challenge was Liston Technologies, a company he began building in 1982 with two other former Harvard students whom he bought out three years later. Being such a brilliant intellectual and technological savant, Isaac was constantly learning and continually staying up to date on all the industry advancements. He was much more hands-on than any other CEO in the tech industry and was praised as a genius and a pioneer throughout his career. Isaac is helped popularized hypertext, influenced the production of Internet protocol HTTP and JavaScript, continued disk drive development throughout his life as well as much more.

It was during the early years of Liston Technological that Isaac met Silvia Van Buren. Silvia a beautiful and even more brilliant woman was the perfect match for a man such as Isaac. She was the first peer in several years to intimidate him with both beauty and intellect.

Silvia Liston, born Silvia Goering Van Buren had a very different childhood than Isaac. The only child of a corporate lawyer and heart surgeon, she was provided with many high-end opportunities. Silvia had overbearing parents that put extreme expectations and pressure on her. Her parents wanted her to thrive in all areas whether it was language, mathematics, reasoning, fencing, etc. Their expectations only grew as their daughter continued to succeed in all these areas. By age 14 she had mastered 3 languages and learned an additional 2 before graduating with her bachelors from Yale at age 20.

After graduating, Silvia suffered from a serious bout of depression and was hardly seen for a full year. However, it was during this time she discovered her passion and purpose in life and soon returned to University in order to study Medicine. Graduating with a Masters in Neurology as well as Doctorate of Medicine and Surgery, she became the second youngest doctor and most qualified resident in the history of John Hopkins.

During the 1990′s with the assistance of her Liston Technologies division employees, she pioneered Radio and automated surgery. During her life, she continually campaigned to make healthcare available and affordable for all people hosting and contributing to many fundraising functions.

It was at a fundraising event for the hospital that Silvia and Isaac met. She had always intimidated men with her intellect and professional inclinations but Isaac was entranced and within ten months of their first meeting they were engaged. They used the wedding present money from Silvia’s parents to buy out Isaac’s business partners, the most profitable business decision of their lives. They spent the next 33 years building an empire. Liston Technologies continued to grow and became a technology leader in computer science, healthcare, biotech, and military service industries.

It was during this time that their three children were born: Bram, Ava, and David.

Due to the car accident 4 days ago, these children inherited a combined 240 billion dollars in assets with the largest portion made up of Liston Technologies stock. .

“Did you hear how they went on and on about mother and father’s accomplishments today, and we weren’t even mentioned once! What a joke..” exclaimed David over dinner with his siblings the night of the funeral as he took a big swig of his full glass of bourbon and ice.

“They were still our parents.. and deserve our respect” replied Ava questioning her own words as she said them

“Oh you only say that because you were the favorite, the only one they loved and believed in” replied David mockingly

Ava quickly erupted “Hey! I did not ask for that! the burdens that came with it!”

The eldest sibling, Bram, entered the room to see them arguing “Enough squabbling!” he takes a breath to collect himself “Our parents are dead. Their time is over. It is that simple. Now, it is time for the world to meet the next generation of Liston’s. And we are stronger together.” He said quieting them both.

“Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.” - George Orwell