Yeah, I stink at updating on time. Sorry. This is coming out a few months after it was supposed to. However, as you may notice, this chapter is a bit longer, and I'm hoping the chapters will continue to get longer as the story progresses.
A big, big thanks to TrimusicaDrag00n90 and DisneyFan5 for favoriting this story. And an even bigger thanks to DisneyFan5 for following this story. It means the world to me.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Ridley Pearson. And Lilo and Stitch belongs to Disney.
Chapter 3
The data that got sent over was less than sufficient to fill their need, but it was enough to give them hope. Wayne was almost giddy with excitement. He had certainly never thought that this would be outcome of this project.
The whole idea of the DHI was that futuristic technology would be mixed in with human subconsciousness. No one thought it was possible to mix the technology with human consciousness. Meaning: no one thought that an actual human being could have a holographic form.
"Um, sir, have you seen this spike?" One of the Imagineers rolled over to Wayne, laptop in hand. "It seems to have reached an inhuman level of peace."
Wayne was given the laptop, and he stared at it most intently. For a period of one minute, or sixty seconds, one of the test subjects' minds seemed to have reached an unearthly level of 9.99987 on a scale out of 10 on the artificial intelligence scale, which was scaled on the range from having all human emotions, to only feeling at peace with oneself, others, and nature. Ah, if only the world could be like that.
"That is most interesting." He mused, rubbing his chin with one of his weathered hands. Staring off into space, Wayne thought about all aspects of this program. If they went forward with the next phase too soon, the outcome could be dastardly. However, if they were overly hesitant, then they would have taken over, so nothing the Imagineers could've done would matter.
"Sir, what should we do?" The Imagineer looked at Wayne, worry showing evidently in his face. It was no secret that Wayne wasn't a spring chicken, and it wouldn't be good if he suddenly cracked.
"Get ready to initiate the next part of the plan."
"How'd it go?" Jez asked, sitting on her bed, drawing something in her notebook. Amanda didn't think twice about it then, but later she would.
"Horrible." Amanda left it at that. Going into details would serve no purpose and would only make her more miserable. However, Jez had other ideas.
"C'mon. You've practiced training your emotions. There is no way they could have gotten you to crack. It is impossible." Jez probed, staring at Amanda intently. She remained silent. "Mandy. Hello?"
"Stop calling me Mandy. You know I don't like it." Amanda crossed her arms and sat down on the cold concrete floor. Not a scratch marred its silver surface. They didn't want the kids to have any idea of escaping.
Jez just continued to look imploringly at her pseudo-sister. The two had spent so much time together that it was hard for them to think of themselves as anything else.
"Fine, if you are so desperate." Amanda rolled her eyes in exasperation. "They had a man came in to provoke me to check to see if I would use my powers in frustration."
"And?" Jez asked, coming over Amanda to offer a soothing hand.
"It worked. He called me a freak, and I tried not to get angry, but in the end, they won. And that is that. There is no point in getting angry over that, is there." Tears streaked down her face as she put herself into crash position. She knew that other kids had gone through worse, but that didn't mean that she didn't feel the pain and shame that came with losing to the Barracks 14 people.
Jez patted Amanda's shoulder, knowing that was how she could comfort her friend the most. Then she went back over to her bed and continued to draw in her notebook.
A few floors down, two men huddled over a government-issued laptop. It was little bigger than the size of a book, but much more useful. On it was a screen, in which a crucial video was playing.
The video was of the two test subject, known as Amanda Lockhart and Jezebel "Jez", who may as well have been a Jane Smith.
Smiling creepily, the two men shared a slight smile, wrote something down on their clipboards, then shut off the light.
Lawrence Finnegan "Finn" Whitman was babysitting his younger sister. Not that he minded, not at all. He and his sister were watching Lilo and Stitch for what had to be the billionth time. There was nothing really that he had to do.
They had just reached the scene in which Lilo is adopting Stitch from the pound. His sister was squirming with joy. Stitch was her favourite character, and she found him cute for some unfathomable reason. The little blue alien's arms were retractable, which grossed him out. At this point in the movie, Stitch was more bad than good.
Disney was definitely a master at their jobs. Their movies were well loved by everyone, no matter how different their plot lines are. From princesses to pirates to aliens, Disney was quite diverse.
For a brief moment, Finn allowed himself to wonder about what it would be like if he could work for Disney. The chances were slim to none, as the requirements were pretty stiff. And he didn't necessarily want that stress that came with the job. Being part of one of the world's most influential company's could definitely lead to hardships.
So the thought was fleeting, especially as Finn was still only in sixth grade. He just turned his attention back to the screen, to Lilo and Stitch, and tried to forget about that fleeting thought. But it still was there.
"I just love Disney." his sister sighed. Finn smiled and nodded and tried not to show any glimpse into his earlier thoughts.
"Of course you do." He heard the sound of his mom's car in the driveway, and after pausing the television, he turned towards his sister. "Let's go help Mom with the groceries."
And Finn is now in this story. Hopefully the plot is moving a bit more now. The other Keepers will soon be introduced. If anyone has any ideas for the plot, feel free to review or PM me. The next chapter should be coming out soon (I'm kind of throwing my schedule out the window now that the school year has started).
-ReadingandFangirling
