SciFi > Snack Time
November 9th 2006 16:01
Snack Time
Wednesday, 21 October 2054 23.21
Main Medical Laboratory, Gteams Heartland Division.
Late in the night, in the darkness a single figure sat illuminated only by the barest of light sources from above. He was writing on a paper tablet, drawing a molecular diagram with various crib notes in the margins.
Dr. Reis would sit up, from time to time, from his musings and notations to change the selection in the mp7 player. He didn't know what it was tonight, but he was restless, and frustrated. As a geneticist, he was amongst the brightest minds on the planet, but still could not understand where some things fit in the scheme of things, where some mutants had evolved into super beings, and many, more than not, died in the womb.
A vertical blast of light arced at him from across the wide, circular laboratory. He saw a figure, opening a door, specifically, a refrigerator door. An enormous shadow loomed, and he knew instantly who it was.
“Charlie.” He intoned.
“Um” Charlie stuttered, dropping a Soya bar. “Hi Dr. Reis.” Charlie squatted down to pick it up, his calves, and hams glistening in the light.
“Hungry, huh?” Dr. Reis said.
“Oh yeah. I always have something before I go to sleep. Not that I'll be sleeping much tonight.” Charlie replied.
Dr. Reis cocked his head.
“Oh yes. Tomorrow is your evaluation.” Dr. Reis said.
“Yeah. Crone is going to put me through the wringer. I have been trying to figure out what she's going to do to me, but you know Crone. It won't be easy.”
Dr. Reis smiled. He had some idea what Crone was going to put him through; as he had seen it with others she had trained. Charlie was going to be interesting.
“Any hints?” Dr. Reis asked.
“Crone said it would be simple, and straightforward. She's going to take me to old town, over on the D concourse.” Charlie replied.
Dr. Reis nodded and commented, “That’s Crone's favorite simulation town. She likes it for all of the old buildings on it. Lots of places to hide and be sneaky.”
Charlie nodded and then said, “yeah, but there's no robotic control. Everything would have to be done by remote control,” Charlie said.
“She hates remote control.” Dr. Reis said. “Maybe she's going to summon something?” He offered.
Charlie shuddered. Crone had unleashed some demons on a motorcycle gang in a disc he had studied. They were these orange blobby like things that burned holes in people's skin, and ate metal.
“What is Crone?” Charlie asked flatly.
“Good question. Technically, Crone is an eight hundred year old witch. Her capabilities are limited only by her knowledge and skill. We have classified her mutation as Homo Magi. She has the ability to affect an unknown type of energy that defies classification.
“Um, so she's a witch that can do lot of stuff.” He said, shortly. Charlie tore open the Soya bar and grabbed a two liter of choc nut.
“Well,” Dr. Reis said. “Yes. That about sums it up.”
Charlie chewed for a few moments, opened the two liter, and proceeded to swallow a quarter of it in a few gargantuan gulps. He licked his lips and then belched softy. Dr. Reis frowned a bit, and then Charlie excused himself.
“Do you always eat this late at night? Maybe this is what keeps you up?” Dr. Reis asked.
“Yeah, I have to have something in my stomach, or else I can't sleep. It's one of those things, when I got into bodybuilding; I had to start eating six, eight times a day. Keeps the furnace going.” Charlie said.
“When did you start bodybuilding, Charlie?” Dr. Reis asked.
“Hm. Good question. My dad used to buy me the old muscle magazines before they all went to digital and that is like 2045. We would look at the pictures. You ever see my dad? He's not a mutant or anything, but he's pretty well stacked. I used to count for him, that's how he taught me to count. He'd do a 5 tier pyramid stack, and I'd bring him the plates.” Charlie smiled. “That was way before he got sick. He told me on video the other day he'd started to lift again, that his new heart was working great.”
“That's what I hear.” Dr. Reis said. Charlie did not know that Dr. Reis himself had supervised Roscoe McComber's heart and cardio circulatory replacement surgery. Only the best for his mutants, and their families. “He should be back to his previous levels, by February.”
Charlie smiled, “that's awesome. I don't think he'll compete or anything, but still, I'm real happy. My pa has always done good for us, and it's good that we're doing right for him.”
Dr. Reis nodded. “They seem to be settling down nicely on the Ag Base. I hear your mother is getting the house resettled and such.”
“That'd be my ma. She's not happy if she doesn't have something to clean.” Charlie smiled.
“So you seem to be settling in okay. Crone's dictation for your first mission came in. She gave you favorable marks.” He said.
“She did?” He grinned. “I thought she was going to smack me one, all I've ever heard is that I snored all the way there, and all the way back.”
Dr. Reis nodded and tapped at a monitor. He read aloud, “Über seems to have an acceptable grasp of responding to orders in a timely manner, and uses appropriate tactics. We will work on his stealth and speed in upcoming sessions. Recommend working on mission monitor up to two days a month, under trainer supervision only. Attach to trainer schedule accordingly. Signed Crone, Senior Trainer, Gteams Heartland Division.”
“Two days a month?” Charlie looked heartbroken.
“That's a lot for Crone. That means she likes you.” Dr Reis said. Charlie's immaturity was showing. He needed a boost. Crone was not used to working with youngsters, and although she tried to avoid showing it, she was very good with them. “She'll start adding a day here, and a day there.”
“Oh.” Charlie said. He chugged the remainder of the first half of the choc nut down.
“So Charlie, have you ever thought about what you're going to do with your life?” Dr. Reis asked.
Charlie pondered this a moment and then squatted into a sitting position. Even sitting, he was as tall as Dr. Reis standing. “I'll be 19 when my contract is up. I don’t know. Maybe I'll go career military. Stay with Gteams. I haven't really thought about it. I mean, I am a legal adult. I have a good life. Heck, I could go buy beer at this age. How many other kids do you think could do that?”
Dr. Reis gave a smirk. “Do you honestly think the PX is going to sell you beer, Charlie?”
“Well I am an adult, so the court said. Don't think they could stop me.” He said, grinning.
“Perhaps not, but I do believe if I sent your mother a video of you consuming said beer, despite your seven foot height, she'd put you across her knee and wail the tar out of you, mutant or not.”
Charlie's face fell.
Dr. Reis looked at him, “and if you think that would be bad, just imagine what Crone would do to you.”
Charlie's eyes got as big as saucers.
“Maybe that's not such a good idea.” He said.
“Maybe not.” Dr. Reis smiled. “Still, the world can always use a Hero. I'd imagine some of your fan mail is interesting.”
“Um sort of. I've gotten two marriage proposals already, and about a thousand video mails. Most of them are just people asking about me, and where I do appearances and stuff. The auto secretary handles a lot of that. I only get the whack jobs the auto secretary doesn't know what to do.”
Dr. Reis's eyes twinkled. “Cute girls Charlie? You going to go for it?” He asked in a man-to-man sort of manner. “After all, you are an adult.”
“Well um,” Charlie stuttered. “Yeah, they were pretty cute. I just asked the computer for help. I ended up saying that I had a girlfriend. Then one of them wrote back wanting to know her name. I put her on the watch list. I don't know what to do about her.” He replied, clearly embarrassed.
“Just keep your eyes open. Remember the more you reveal to the public, the more you expose yourself to scrutiny.” Dr. Reis said.
“Yeah, but General Kinomoto wants me to do schools and stuff? He wants me to go visit inner city kids, and mutant classes.” He said.
Dr. Reis nodded. “Mutant outreach is important. With the mutant population growing it's important that they are treated well.”
“But we are, I mean, I think so. I don't understand all of that, at all. I mean, I'm just a kid.” He said.
Dr. Reis pointed out, “you just said you were an adult. Going to buy beer.” He smiled.
Charlie gave him a dirty look, chugged the rest of the soymilk down in one obnoxious slurp, and did not excuse himself this time. “I don't know what I am, sometimes, Dr. Reis. I really don't. Some days I feel real good about myself and some days I don't.”
Dr. Reis stood and put his hand on Charlie's shoulder. “Charlie that makes you just like the rest of us. Just another person.” He stretched and yawned. “This person however has to rest. This is my fourth late night in a row and my wife is starting to complain.”
Charlie nodded and stood, looming over the doctor. With a resounding thunk, he tossed the Choc nut container at the waste duct. It made a soft blue flash as the plastic separated into polymers and then a soft whooshing noise as those polymers went into a recycling receptacle.
“Good night, Charlie.” Dr. Reis said.
“Good night Dr. Reis.” Charlie said, as he walked back to his door.
Dr. Reis drove home in the dead of the night, quietly mulling over Charlie's fears. For all his strength, for all his mutation, Charlie was still a kid. Something, he thought to himself, we need to remind ourselves of.
Wednesday, 21 October 2054 23.21
Main Medical Laboratory, Gteams Heartland Division.
Late in the night, in the darkness a single figure sat illuminated only by the barest of light sources from above. He was writing on a paper tablet, drawing a molecular diagram with various crib notes in the margins.
Dr. Reis would sit up, from time to time, from his musings and notations to change the selection in the mp7 player. He didn't know what it was tonight, but he was restless, and frustrated. As a geneticist, he was amongst the brightest minds on the planet, but still could not understand where some things fit in the scheme of things, where some mutants had evolved into super beings, and many, more than not, died in the womb.
“Charlie.” He intoned.
“Um” Charlie stuttered, dropping a Soya bar. “Hi Dr. Reis.” Charlie squatted down to pick it up, his calves, and hams glistening in the light.
“Hungry, huh?” Dr. Reis said.
“Oh yeah. I always have something before I go to sleep. Not that I'll be sleeping much tonight.” Charlie replied.
Dr. Reis cocked his head.
“Oh yes. Tomorrow is your evaluation.” Dr. Reis said.
“Yeah. Crone is going to put me through the wringer. I have been trying to figure out what she's going to do to me, but you know Crone. It won't be easy.”
Dr. Reis smiled. He had some idea what Crone was going to put him through; as he had seen it with others she had trained. Charlie was going to be interesting.
“Any hints?” Dr. Reis asked.
“Crone said it would be simple, and straightforward. She's going to take me to old town, over on the D concourse.” Charlie replied.
Charlie nodded and then said, “yeah, but there's no robotic control. Everything would have to be done by remote control,” Charlie said.
“She hates remote control.” Dr. Reis said. “Maybe she's going to summon something?” He offered.
Charlie shuddered. Crone had unleashed some demons on a motorcycle gang in a disc he had studied. They were these orange blobby like things that burned holes in people's skin, and ate metal.
“What is Crone?” Charlie asked flatly.
“Good question. Technically, Crone is an eight hundred year old witch. Her capabilities are limited only by her knowledge and skill. We have classified her mutation as Homo Magi. She has the ability to affect an unknown type of energy that defies classification.
“Um, so she's a witch that can do lot of stuff.” He said, shortly. Charlie tore open the Soya bar and grabbed a two liter of choc nut.
“Well,” Dr. Reis said. “Yes. That about sums it up.”
Charlie chewed for a few moments, opened the two liter, and proceeded to swallow a quarter of it in a few gargantuan gulps. He licked his lips and then belched softy. Dr. Reis frowned a bit, and then Charlie excused himself.
“Do you always eat this late at night? Maybe this is what keeps you up?” Dr. Reis asked.
“Yeah, I have to have something in my stomach, or else I can't sleep. It's one of those things, when I got into bodybuilding; I had to start eating six, eight times a day. Keeps the furnace going.” Charlie said.
“When did you start bodybuilding, Charlie?” Dr. Reis asked.
“Hm. Good question. My dad used to buy me the old muscle magazines before they all went to digital and that is like 2045. We would look at the pictures. You ever see my dad? He's not a mutant or anything, but he's pretty well stacked. I used to count for him, that's how he taught me to count. He'd do a 5 tier pyramid stack, and I'd bring him the plates.” Charlie smiled. “That was way before he got sick. He told me on video the other day he'd started to lift again, that his new heart was working great.”
“That's what I hear.” Dr. Reis said. Charlie did not know that Dr. Reis himself had supervised Roscoe McComber's heart and cardio circulatory replacement surgery. Only the best for his mutants, and their families. “He should be back to his previous levels, by February.”
Charlie smiled, “that's awesome. I don't think he'll compete or anything, but still, I'm real happy. My pa has always done good for us, and it's good that we're doing right for him.”
Dr. Reis nodded. “They seem to be settling down nicely on the Ag Base. I hear your mother is getting the house resettled and such.”
“That'd be my ma. She's not happy if she doesn't have something to clean.” Charlie smiled.
“So you seem to be settling in okay. Crone's dictation for your first mission came in. She gave you favorable marks.” He said.
“She did?” He grinned. “I thought she was going to smack me one, all I've ever heard is that I snored all the way there, and all the way back.”
Dr. Reis nodded and tapped at a monitor. He read aloud, “Über seems to have an acceptable grasp of responding to orders in a timely manner, and uses appropriate tactics. We will work on his stealth and speed in upcoming sessions. Recommend working on mission monitor up to two days a month, under trainer supervision only. Attach to trainer schedule accordingly. Signed Crone, Senior Trainer, Gteams Heartland Division.”
“Two days a month?” Charlie looked heartbroken.
“That's a lot for Crone. That means she likes you.” Dr Reis said. Charlie's immaturity was showing. He needed a boost. Crone was not used to working with youngsters, and although she tried to avoid showing it, she was very good with them. “She'll start adding a day here, and a day there.”
“Oh.” Charlie said. He chugged the remainder of the first half of the choc nut down.
“So Charlie, have you ever thought about what you're going to do with your life?” Dr. Reis asked.
Charlie pondered this a moment and then squatted into a sitting position. Even sitting, he was as tall as Dr. Reis standing. “I'll be 19 when my contract is up. I don’t know. Maybe I'll go career military. Stay with Gteams. I haven't really thought about it. I mean, I am a legal adult. I have a good life. Heck, I could go buy beer at this age. How many other kids do you think could do that?”
Dr. Reis gave a smirk. “Do you honestly think the PX is going to sell you beer, Charlie?”
“Well I am an adult, so the court said. Don't think they could stop me.” He said, grinning.
“Perhaps not, but I do believe if I sent your mother a video of you consuming said beer, despite your seven foot height, she'd put you across her knee and wail the tar out of you, mutant or not.”
Charlie's face fell.
Dr. Reis looked at him, “and if you think that would be bad, just imagine what Crone would do to you.”
Charlie's eyes got as big as saucers.
“Maybe that's not such a good idea.” He said.
“Maybe not.” Dr. Reis smiled. “Still, the world can always use a Hero. I'd imagine some of your fan mail is interesting.”
“Um sort of. I've gotten two marriage proposals already, and about a thousand video mails. Most of them are just people asking about me, and where I do appearances and stuff. The auto secretary handles a lot of that. I only get the whack jobs the auto secretary doesn't know what to do.”
Dr. Reis's eyes twinkled. “Cute girls Charlie? You going to go for it?” He asked in a man-to-man sort of manner. “After all, you are an adult.”
“Well um,” Charlie stuttered. “Yeah, they were pretty cute. I just asked the computer for help. I ended up saying that I had a girlfriend. Then one of them wrote back wanting to know her name. I put her on the watch list. I don't know what to do about her.” He replied, clearly embarrassed.
“Just keep your eyes open. Remember the more you reveal to the public, the more you expose yourself to scrutiny.” Dr. Reis said.
“Yeah, but General Kinomoto wants me to do schools and stuff? He wants me to go visit inner city kids, and mutant classes.” He said.
Dr. Reis nodded. “Mutant outreach is important. With the mutant population growing it's important that they are treated well.”
“But we are, I mean, I think so. I don't understand all of that, at all. I mean, I'm just a kid.” He said.
Dr. Reis pointed out, “you just said you were an adult. Going to buy beer.” He smiled.
Charlie gave him a dirty look, chugged the rest of the soymilk down in one obnoxious slurp, and did not excuse himself this time. “I don't know what I am, sometimes, Dr. Reis. I really don't. Some days I feel real good about myself and some days I don't.”
Dr. Reis stood and put his hand on Charlie's shoulder. “Charlie that makes you just like the rest of us. Just another person.” He stretched and yawned. “This person however has to rest. This is my fourth late night in a row and my wife is starting to complain.”
Charlie nodded and stood, looming over the doctor. With a resounding thunk, he tossed the Choc nut container at the waste duct. It made a soft blue flash as the plastic separated into polymers and then a soft whooshing noise as those polymers went into a recycling receptacle.
“Good night, Charlie.” Dr. Reis said.
“Good night Dr. Reis.” Charlie said, as he walked back to his door.
Dr. Reis drove home in the dead of the night, quietly mulling over Charlie's fears. For all his strength, for all his mutation, Charlie was still a kid. Something, he thought to himself, we need to remind ourselves of.
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