This choice: Sith, would you be so kind as to continue? • Go Back...Chapter #4A horrible revelation by: sith   It surely took longer than expected, this tour through the facility where my best friend Jon and my girlfriend Kokoro were working. When Jon formally said the words to end the tour of the current wing of the facility we were in, I was still impressed by the size of this entire complex of buildings, and especially by what I could see there. I knew from what Jon and Kokoro told me in the past that this facility was working on some really interesting high-tech projects, but now that I could see it with my own eyes, it seemed as if it was straight out of a science fiction movie. First of all, most of the floors and walls in the facility were white and clean, just as you´d expect. And the doors reminded me of those seen in Star Wars Episode II on Kamino (I was a geek after all, and even a scientist like Jon was an avid fan), which means that the way they opened looked kinda cool. Then there were of course all those things that were being developed here, things I would have never even dared to dream of existing already. Maybe except for the shrink ray gun I noticed earlier in one of the labs...it reminded me of the two most amazing and fantastic adventures a person could ever go through, and I went through them. It reminded me of those two events that showed me that shrink-devices do exist...and even work properly, that is. Yes, I have been small before, incredibly small. In fact, the size-changing device managed to shrink me down to near microscopic size, and the results of both experiences were more than peculiar. Because on both occasions, I ended up inside Jon´s body...and I traveled around his entire system in order to get out of him again. This is something I will never forget for sure, seeing the insides of my best friend, someone I know for years. Especially my second journey was quite unusual - well, even more unusual than the premise of being micro-sized and trapped inside the body of your best friend - as I had to stay inside him for several days, which lead to some funny events for both him and me. I am still not sure how Jon really thought of all this, that his best friend was actually traveling around inside him, that he was the first person ever to have a tiny person in his body. Perhaps he was proud, as he´s a scientist, or maybe he just thought of it as two funny events both of us would remember forever.
And it was hard to believe that I had the chance of working in this facility that developed such amazing inventions. At least Kokoro and Jon both petitioned for me to get a job there, kind as they are, and the thought of working in such an amazing facility, together with my two best friends, was really cool. Both of them were already kind enough to introduce me to certain facts I should know, being already experienced employees of the facility.
Anyway, as the three of us came to a stop in front of Jon´s lab, as the trip through a certain part of the facility has ended, I couldn´t help but staring at a futuristic and cool looking robot, standing outside Jon´s lab. I was already making up pictures in my mind of what this thing would look like when it was fully operational, and I even thought of it fighting in some intergalactic battle (being a sci-fi fanatic, I couldn´t help it... ), so I was eager to know more about it. Therefore I replied to Jon´s question about whether I would want to know more about the facility or such with exactly that.
"Uh, just what is the purpose of the robot thing?" I asked with a curious expression as the three of us entered his personal lab. Before Jon answered, I looked at Kokoro, who was smiling at me with a warm expression, and I shyly smiled back at this Japanese beauty who happened to be my wonderful girlfriend.
"The fact of the matter is the Goliath Mark 7 has no point to its existence. I built it because it sounded really cool, and it is, but the practical applications are few and far in between, so I just keep it sitting outside my lab now, as a reminder of how foolish I can be sometimes." he answered my question. Of course it was kind of a letdown, because I was really expecting some practical use for the so called Goliath Mark 7 robot (and I would later experience there indeed is a practical use to it), but it was kinda typical for Jon, as he was sometimes a bit "over-the-top" with his ideas and inventions.
Now that we were standing in his comfy lab, Jon politely began to ask me about my opinion of this facility.
"So, all in all, what´s your impression with the facility so far?"
And my opinion would be positive in any case. A cool facility, with two wonderful friends as coworkers, what else could I have been asking for?
"Well, it´s certainly bigger than I expected, yet, Kokoro always told me stories about this place and the weird things that went on here, so I guess I was kind of prepared for the stuff I´ve seen. Still, that robot and the shrink ray thing just seemed strange."
Well, I kinda lied about the shrink ray, and Jon knew that as well, as he had been my host twice before, so he knew how it was to have his best friend micronized and inside his own body. Jon once even told me how exactly the shrink ray works, and why, for example, I had been invulnerable on my journey inside him back then. If I had only know this when he swallowed me whole for the first time...I would have been far less scared and traumatized!
Anyway, he replied to my comment about the shrink ray, praising its usefulness and the problems of exploiting all its possibilities due to financial issues.
"Now, don´t say that. The Annihilator could have been a good way to generate large amounts of energy from anything. I just forgot to compensate for some things, and now I´ve got a shrink ray that works, but doesn´t seem to do anything else." he explained, although I was not really paying too much attention to his words, as they contained the typical praise of his work and the complaints about how unfair and unfortunate it was that there were several circumstances to prevent his ideas from being realized entirely, so to speak. He had any right to do so, as I held Jon and his intelligence in extremely high esteem, and I knew exactly what a genius he was and how much praise and acknowledgment he deserved for his research and work, as most of it would turn out to be quite useful in the future, and I have to admit that I was proud to be the friend of such a remarkable person. And even though he was anything but arrogant, his speeches could sometimes be a little tiresome, just like it was the case now. And after all, at that moment, Kokoro gently took my right hand, and it made me smile immediately as I looked into her face in return. That angel...that wonderful angel really was my girlfriend...I don´t know how I´ll ever be able to thank Jon for introducing me to her and starting the bond between us. That has been the ultimate proof to me that he really was my best friend and someone who cared about me, and that´s why I was not even angry at him when he ate me with his snack and gulped me down with his drink back then.
Anyway, what he was going to show me now would blow me away...in the most negative sense possible.
"However, this right here is what I am working on now, and its uses are infinite in the real world."
My expectations were rising due to this announcement, as it sounded like something revolutionary, something that could change the world, make life easier for people, or anything like that.
And I was indeed surprised when I saw that he just grabbed a cup with some juice that was standing on the table in his lab. As he shook it, the juice became clear, and it revealed a tiny black dot on the bottom of the cup. I was slightly amused, because I remembered that Jon had requested that I brought him something to drink from his lab, just an hour ago or so, and after I rushed into his lab, I took a cup that was standing directly next to the one he was holding now, thinking it was some ordinary juice. Oh my...although I found it quite funny to think that Jon had accidentally swallowed his own invention, I was a bit concerned about him, as I did not know about the effects of this liquid and especially this black dot on the bottom, so I decided to ask Jon out about this thing, in order to get sure that he would not get hurt by having ingested this substance.
"Okay, so you have a juice that you can make clear. What use does it have?" I asked, wondering why Jon did not even notice that he drank his own invention and not a juice earlier.
"It´s not the juice that´s important. You see that dot at the bottom, that is a nanochip, not unlike the ones that your friend Doc gave you to make you shrink, but this one is far more advanced. You see, this one is a self replicating model, and with each replication it will improve. It´s like evolution, in machine form." he explained.
Well, it sounded at least partially dangerous, a nanochip that evolve on its own...not something someone would want to have inside his stomach...and I knew that effects on Jon could be less than nice.
But now that he mentioned it, it reminded me of the fact that this pill Doc once gave me was in fact one of those nanochips instead, and it cleared a lot of things. I would have never expected a pill to have such effects, and it would have been unlikely for Doc to develop a pill.
Anyway, I was wondering whether the liquid the nanochip was in had also some effects.
"Wow, now that does have uses, but what´s the liquid around it?" I asked, trying not to sound too worried.
"The liquid is a concentrated base solution. You see the chip is based off amino acids, and a strong base cancels out its self replication ability."
Phew! I was relieved to hear that this juice like substance indeed was a base solution, as I knew despite my inferior knowledge in biology and chemistry (compared to Jon) that a base solution neutralizes acidic substances at least to some extent, which means that this thing inside Jon´s belly could not reproduce and evolve, taking over his body eventually...
But then it hit me, and my eyes widened, and I think the concerned look in my face was perfectly visible, as I realized that Jon was in danger! The base solution inside his stomach would of course not surround the nanochip forever, and it would eventually be sucked into his intestines, leaving the nanochip alone and in the perfect condition of reproducing without anything to neutralize its effects. But I needed to be sure.
"So, if this thing is removed from the solution, it will replicate exponentially right away?" I asked, unable to suppress the expression of concern in my voice.
"Well, no. The chip is designed to study its environment first, and then it will use local systems, both biological and technological, as a kind of template, improving on them. I measured the time it would it would take to fully comprehend a rat at two hours, fifty seven minutes."
Holy Lord...knowing that a rat´s metabolism, or a rat per se, is not that different or less complex than a human, I already knew that this time would be valid for Jon as well. And the thing that would happen to him would be horrific, as the nanochip would practically use his body as a host or a hull, comprehending him eventually after some time. Being not as experienced as him, I wanted to be sure about the time he mentioned, so I asked him one last question before I made up my decision.
"And for a human?"
"A few minutes more, after all we´re not that much more complex than a rat, despite what some people think. Is there any reason you´re asking these things?"
Before I answered, I thought of what I had to do now. I had to go back to a situation I went through already, had to experience the wonders of this former events under completely new circumstances. It was of course a dangerous task, but I had to do nonetheless, for the sake of my best friend´s life: I had to go inside Jon´s stomach once again and retrieve the nanochip, before this wicked abomination of human science and knowledge would take over his body, probably destroying his own mind in the process. I could not allow this to happen to my best friend, and I had to interfere. And entering his stomach was the only possibility I could see. Of course, I could not even tell him about this. I knew that Jon would never allow to risk my life like that, especially not under these circumstances - with a nanochip inside him that could have all kinds of negative effects on me. So I had to enter his stomach secretly, without him knowing - again. Only this time, I would do it on my own free will, unlike on the other occasions this happened. Now I only had to find out how to do it...maybe by sneaking into one of his meals?
"Uhm, no, nothing at all, I was just caught up in the excitement of the moment, that´s all. Hey, Kokoro and I are going out to eat soon, are you planning on joining us?" I asked him, trying to find out more about the possibilities of entering his stomach.
"Nah, you guys go ahead. I´ve got a sandwich in the fridge over here." he plainly said.
All right. I knew that I had to shrink myself and sneak into the sandwich. I was not really keen on exploring his insides again, but I had no choice. As I left the lab together with Kokoro, I quickly grabbed one of the multi purpose communicators lying on the table, knowing that I would need this thing very soon. Once I found the nanochip, I would have to get in contact with Jon, so he could get me out of his system again. I did not want to get lost in there, after all, or spend more time in his comfy insides than I needed to...
And so Kokoro and I left through the futuristic looking door that closed behind us after we were out of Jon´s lab. I sighed, and Kokoro looked at me with a concerned expression in her face, knowing that something was bothering me.
"Julian...what´s wrong?" she calmly asked with her gentle voice. Just hearing her voice cheered me up a little.
"Oh, don´t worry, sweetheart. I...I´m all right..." I said, feeling bad that I had to lie to her. Kokoro was an intelligent and clever girl, and as I was not someone who could fool others that easily, she knew that something was not right with me.
"No...you´re not. I can see that something´s bugging you. Why don´t you want to tell me? Julian...I am your girlfriend, and I love you. And therefore, you can tell me everything. I´ll be there for you. All right?" she said as she put her soft hands onto my shoulders, looking straight into my face with her sky blue eyes. I dared to look at her as well, being once again in awe at her beauty, as well as the kindness of her very soul. Practically, Kokoro was the typical cute Japanese girl. She had rather long black hair that went down to her shoulders, which looked really good on her. As far as her looks in general go, Kokoro was not a girl to use tons of make up...in fact, she almost wore no make up at all. Only some decent pink lipstick and gloss on her lips that was almost not noticeable at all. Her face made her really stand out, as it was beautiful and innocent at the same time, representing her very personality extremely well. As for her clothes, Kokoro was of course wearing a white lab coat, just as her job required her to do. Overall, she was a beauty to behold, at least to me, and I felt like the luckiest man alive. That, and the fact that she was not a mere shallow beauty, in great part due to her considerable intelligence (working in this facility in a rather high position and being not really any less talented than a genius like Jon certainly is an indicator of unbelievable intelligence) portrayed in both the field of science and in dealing with difficult situations, as she could easily solve any problem or conflict with her calm, thoughtful nature. And I don´t need to mention her kindness...as it was the reason for me to fall in love with her. Coming from a highly regarded, old Japanese family that is said to be related to the Yamato line, she enjoyed a happy childhood and youth, being well educated and very polite. Although living in the US now, Kokoro sometimes still had the habit of bowing before others as a sign of politeness, and I respected her very much for that and her traditions. I really was lucky to find such a polite, kind and intelligent girl who could also be quite funny at times.
"I know, Kokoro. I know I can tell you everything. It´s just that...I...I don´t feel that well. It´s hard to explain. But don´t worry about me, ok?"
"Ok..." she said, giving me a gentle kiss on my cheek.
"Kokoro...I am sorry, but I don´t think we can go eat something together now. I...I still have something left to do. I am sorry, I..." I said, trying to explain to her that I obviously would not go with her to a restaurant. And of course I also had to avoid telling her about my plans, as she would not allow me to do this, just like Jon. Both of them cared too much for me as if they would allow me to risk my life like that.
"It´s all right, Julian. Don´t worry about that. You´ve done so much for me already, so missing one lunchtime will not make me angry." she calmly said.
"Ko...you´re the best!" I exclaimed, giving her kiss on her cheek. She just smiled back, having her arms crossed in front of her chest.
"I know." she playfully said with a girlish voice, referring to my last comment. With that, she gave me one last gentle kiss and then walked away from me. I waited until she was out of my sight, so I could finally have a closer look at the annihilator that was standing just a few meters away from me and several meters away from Jon´s lab. I quickly walked toward it, looking at this thing with mixed feelings, remembering my experiences with shrinking devices of all kinds. And the control panel on the Annihilator looked quite difficult to use, but as Jon once showed me the functions on the control panel of the shrink ray gun - which was bearing a heavy resemblance to the one found in "Honey, I shrunk the kids" - and how to use it properly, I knew what buttons I had to press in order to make this thing work. I first took care of the size set up by typing on some keyboard and telling it how small I wanted to be, and then I activated this machine by pushing several buttons in order to make the machine work and allow it to gain enough energy for the shrinking process. The machine slowly began to rumble, indicating that it has begun working, and a green control light next to the control panel began to flash, telling me that the shrinking process was about to start, and in a matter of seconds, a greenish ray emanated from the machine and engulfed my entire body, and I felt its effects rather quickly. My body began to shrink incredibly fast, with the white floor around me becoming bigger and bigger and practically miles-high, until I stopped at approximately 1/8 of an inch in size. Not as small as the two times before, but still almost unnoticeable.
Trying not to lose time, I quickly ran over the smooth, white ground, toward the door to Jon´s lab again, which opened quickly as it noticed that someone was approaching it, even if it was someone as tiny as me. Due to my size, it took me a while longer to cross the door and enter Jon´s room, and as I finally did, I could see this gigantic, almost astronomic figure of my best friend staring out of the room through the door, probably surprised that it has opened despite no one having been around except for him - and except for his teenie-tiny best friend who was running toward the fridge and toward the sandwich on it, trying to make his way once again into the depths of his stomach in order to save him...
The only question was how to get onto his sandwich, but knowing my talent for ending up in the most peculiar and amazing situations and for usually landing in Jon´s meals and drinks and eventually inside him whenever I was shrunk, I was quite sure I´d be able to to get into his stomach sooner or later. It could not be otherwise, considering my past experiences inside him, even though this time the difference was that I was about to enter his body on purpose...something I would have never even dreamed of before. But my friendship with Jon made it necessary as I knew fully well that I had correct my mistake from before and protect him from the unthinkable effects of the nanochip...
Yes...this was the beginning of another life-changing experience and fantastic voyage alike...only this time, things would be vastly different...   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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