I was thrilled to be hired for a summer job at the California Advanced Research Laboratory, but I couldn't help but wonder: Is this job at CARL just some flimsy setup for another one of those weird shrinking stories?
But how could that be? I was the character, not the author. I couldn't setup myself, could I? Or could I? I was glad I would be working at CARL that summer where questions like that had a reasonable chance of being answered.
Needless to say, summer arrived very quickly and I found myself alone in a lab one afternoon poking around in all that exotic scientific equipment. They should never have trusted me. When I found the giant chrome projector with the words "Shrinker Ray Prototype" scribbled on the side with a Sharpie - well, my curiosity got the better of me. "Where's that ON/OFF switch?"
The switch was part of a big control panel - adjust this, adjust that. I have never been one to read the manual. I think it's better just to start turning knobs and throwing switches. Sooner or later you figure out how something works. And if you don't, Best Buy has a very generous return policy.
Of course, this giant chrome shrinker gun didn't come from Best Buy, so I hesitated for a few seconds before I threw the switch.
At first nothing happened, then a low humming sound swept quickly up into the ultrasonic frequencies and a blinding green ray flashed right in my face. I had the sick feeling of falling and then, there I was on the floor, only a few inches tall.
I rubbed my hands together and laughed heartily. "I knew it was a setup! The job, the lab, the whole shtick! Just to get me shrunk! Hahahahahahahaha!"
I don't think I was in my right mind right then. Maybe shrinking the brain has an effect on your ability to think clearly?
On the other hand, does the mind have a size? You can't see it or touch it, so maybe everybody has the same size mind no matter how big or small their brain might be? Once again, I was glad to be at the California Advanced Research Laboratory, where answers to questions like that just might be found.
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