Chapter 2
"What's In the Glass Box?"
April sat at a computer terminal at work, nervously tapping her fingers on the top of a disk. The other six lab assistants, including Chaud, Dingo, and Lan, were sitting at their own terminals. Dr. Hikari was in the front of the room, standing in front of a large, empty glass box—at least as big as April's room—and a large screen was active above it.
"I feel like I'm back in lectures…" April muttered to Nocturne, who sniggered.
"Almost all of you have come to me with complaints about the programs you are supposed to be writing" Dr. Hikari began, "and let me reassure you, your programs will have bugs in the state they are in, as none of them are entirely complete."
April felt her eyebrow rise. She glanced at Nocturne, who was doing his best to not look smug.
"Since all of you are as finished as you are going to be," continued Dr. Hikari, "it's time to put the code together. Theoretically, we should have a gigantic working program with only a few minor bugs that need to be ironed out.
"Shall we?"
April glanced over at Chaud, who shrugged. Seven NetOps loaded their program data and passed them off to the seven Navis. They gathered together, spread out the data, and started assembling it, with directions from the NetOps. It took a little bit of puzzle work and testing to figure out what codes solved other code's bugs, but they had finally managed to piece it all together by lunch time.
Dr. Hikari, who had been watching closely the whole time, broke into a broad smile.
"Excellent work, all of you! Now, why don't you all go get some lunch? When you come back in a couple of hours, we should be able to explain just what you all did."
They all exchanged an irritated glance about continuing to be left in the dark, but they all logged out and left to go to lunch.
"Ah!" April stretched, feeling something in her back crack. "Well… at least that part of the project is done." She said to Chaud, logging Nocturne out of the system and putting her PET in its pouch. "There's no need to stress over incomplete code anymore."
Chaud nodded. "I had been worried that something was wrong and missing from mine… I guess we all had the same thoughts?"
The other programmers nodded as the elevator doors shut behind them.
Right away, Dingo turned to Lan with a big grin on his face. "So, Lan, wanna tell us what's up?"
Lan rolled his eyes at Dingo. "Yeah, like you think my dad told me."
"I'm pretty sure he did."
Lan shook his head. "No, he didn't even tell me what this thing is supposed to do."
"Well," Dingo put his hand on his chin, as if he were stroking an imaginary beard, "the program obviously has something to do with that glass box in the lab now."
"But what happens when you put someone or something in that glass box?" Spoke up one of the other three programmers. Hideaki was his name, April remembered, and he was the youngest of the group and the newest to join, but that didn't make him any less smart.
Naeva, the only other girl on the team, nodded. "Perhaps it might be best to wait until we get back? Dr. Hikari did say he would tell us…" She was a quiet girl, and wasn't very fond of conflict in any of its incarnations.
"But I want to know now!" Lan and Dingo practically shouted at the same time.
"You still don't have any patience, do you Hikari?" Chaud needled the boy in a low voice, but there was a hint of teasing in his voice.
Lan, in turn, rounded on Chaud. "What's that got to do with anything, huh?"
April cracked a smile, one finger repeatedly pushing the "Lobby" button out of habit. "Now now boys, let's not tear each other up before we are able to eat something, hm?"
They ignored her, continuing their good-natured bickering back and forth until they reached the lobby. April managed to catch the eye of the Jie, one of the new programmers, who simply shrugged at her.
The group argued for a while, trying to decide where they should eat in celebration of the completion of a project, until Jie suggested his family's restaurant, where they served the best food and they could get a discount as well.
They ate and were able to find other things to talk about—besides the mysterious project—enough to fill up their two hours given to eat. As they headed back to SciLab, the talking slowed and ceased once they entered the elevator, everyone (even the Navis) wrapped up in their own thoughts about what they were going to find out.
Dr. Hikari was at his own computer, next to the glass box, when they walked into the lab.
"Ah, good, you're all back." He glanced up at them over the rim of his glasses. "I'm just finishing up here. If you all would gather around?"
They logged their Navis in and gathered around the box.
Dr. Hikari pushed his glasses up his nose, putting them back in the right place, and smiled at them. "I suppose you all have been wondering what you have been working on."
Nobody said anything, but there was an air of general assent.
Dr. Hikari tapped something on his screen, and the screen above the box lit up. On it, there were two revolving humanoid figures without faces or detail.
"This is a new technology that's going to revolutionize human/Navi interaction. Within in this box you see here, we'll be able to effectively remove the barrier between real life and the Net."
The group burst out into murmurs between themselves and their Navis. All were excited, but many, especially the three new ones, sounded nervous.
Dr. Hikari smiled and waved his hand, quieting the noise. "This certainly has surprised you, I can tell. But, we don't know if it works yet."
"How does it work?" Jie piped up.
"Well, to put it simply, your program will essentially make the human and the Navi the same being. Now, if a human were to step into the Net, they couldn't fully interact with the things around them. They have to be connected to their Navi to fight or feel pain or touch things. This little glass box—which I haven't decided a name for it yet—creates a sort of 'no man's land' between the Net and the real world. The Navi and their NetOp become one being, then are split into their own personalities, but they are made up of the same stuff—part flesh, part programming."
April started tracing the metal plates around her eye.
"At least, that's the theory." Dr. Hikari admitted, hiding his sheepishness by playing with something on the screen. "Nothing like this has ever been tested or even attempted before, and what we're creating is just the very beginning. It's possible this may not even be safe to show the public within several decades. But, that's what experimentation is for."
He smiled and nodded. "Well? Who wants to go first?"
"We will!" Lan and Megaman had jumped up and shouted in unison. April smiled slightly and shook her head.
No matter what the risks are, those two are always eager and willing.
Lan's father smiled too. "I thought you guys might be the ones to volunteer. Here Lan, step inside the box here…" He pushed something on the screen and a small door popped open on the side; the box must have been manufactured well—it didn't look like there had been any openings at all on it.
"Megaman," Dr. Hikari turned to the computer screen, "step into the program here."
April blinked, tilting her head. Huh. So that's what he did to our program. It had been reformed and solidified so that it looked like a steel-ly version of the glass box Lan was now standing in.
"And if you two will stand right on the center dot there… yes, that's good, right there. Now, hold your arms straight out to the sides; I'm going to count down then start the program, and I need you to yell out if something starts to hurt or feel like you're being town into millions of pieces."
"That's reassuring to hear." Chaud muttered in April's ear. He had slid around over to where she was standing while everybody was concentrating on Lan. She smiled and slipped her hand in his.
"Well, he's certainly got guts, that's for sure." She whispered back, and they turned their attention back to the glass box and the big screen above it.
The screen was still showing the same rotating figures as before, but half of the screen was now showing Megaman in the program box.
"Are you ready Lan? Megaman?"
"Aw, yeah!" Lan pumped his fist.
"Let's go!" Megaman shouted, sounded excited.
Dr. Hikari grinned again. "Then the program will begin in five… four… three… two… one… Begin!"
A white bar of light appeared at the top of each box, humming quietly. It slowly made its way down the box and back up to the top; as it did, Lan's and Megaman's figures filled the rotating ones on the large screen above the box.
Dr. Hikari was concentrating heavily on the screen in front of him. His smile was gone, and his face was tight as he adjusted some things on the screen. "Here's where it gets difficult…" He breathed, frowning at the screen, then fine-tuned something there.
The white bars of light reached the tops of the boxes, and an odd, dark purple light-type stuff oozed over the boxes, hiding Lan and Megaman from view.
April could feel Chaud's fingers tighten in her grip. She glanced at him and saw that his face was as tight as Dr. Hikari's, but not showing as much worry.
Then again, he hardly ever shows any emotion. She thought, slightly amused to herself, and turned her attention back to the glass box.
The purple stuff had started being drawn toward the center, as though it were attracted to a giant magnet. It was swirling faster, and was going faster, and glowing darkly. Dr. Hikari was holding his breath, watching the box with his son in it.
The purple stuff had all been pulled off the walls, spinning fast. It started to separate into two separate spheres, and then began to form into a figure. Everybody leaned close, trying to see what was being formed, when the stuff suddenly emitted a harsh, bright light.
Everybody cried out, hands over their eyes as they were suddenly blinded by the flash. It took them all a moment before they were able to finally see again, but there were still dots dancing in everybody's vision.
April's false eye cleared before her real eye, so she could see before everyone. Inside the glass box were two figures—they looked like young adult males. The box that Megaman had just been standing in was empty. They were standing there, looking at each other; then they lowered their gazes and stared at their hands. They were identical, save that one had brown hair, and the other had blue hair.
"Megaman?" Asked the brown-haired one.
"Lan?" Asked the blue-haired one. Their voices sounded odd, like a mix between the two who had gone in, but one was unmistakably Lan, and the other just as unmistakably Megaman.
Dr. Hikari rubbed his eyes hard behind his glasses, trying to get his eyes back to normal. He pulled his hands away, blinked rapidly several times, and looked at the glass box. He gave a whoop just as sudden as the flash of light had been, and startled everyone in the lab. "Lan? Megaman? How are you feeling?"
"This feels weird." The two said in unison. It was creepy to hear them talk at the same time.
Dr. Hikari was grinning broadly. "I'm sure it does, and you two have been through some strange things together. Why don't you try to shake hands?"
Lan and Megaman looked at each other, shrugged, and reached their hands out.
"OW!"
A giant spark erupted from where they made contact, and they both grabbed their hands back, rubbing their palms.
"Ah… oops." Was all Dr. Hikari said, and Chaud rolled his eyes. The doctor turned to his screen, moved some things around and adjusted others. "Try it again."
Lan and Megaman exchanged another look, then reached out. There was a series of small sparks, and they drew apart again.
Dr. Hikari was frowning. "Hm… what could be causing that? Build up in the system maybe? Or in the process of…" he trailed off, frowning down at his screen. He muttered to himself for a moment, then turned back to the boys in the glass box, who were happily chatting with each other. "Boys, I'm going to reverse it now. Again, just yell out if something feels unnatural."
They nodded, and returned to the poses they had started in. The entire process ran in reverse—including the bright flash and the purple ooze stuff being attracted to the walls this time—and at the end, Lan was the only one in the glass box, Megaman back in the Net.
As Lan climbed out of the box, Dr. Hikari turned to the rest of the group. "Interesting, isn't it?" They all nodded, some were still muttering to each other. "Well, I think I will let you all go for the evening, and we will work on this more tomorrow. Now that you all know what's happening, you can fix whatever bugs are in your part, now that we know how it all works together. Sound good?"
The group nodded in unison a third time, gathered their things, and slowly walked out of the lab.
"That was so cool!" Dingo shouted, jumping up in the air.
"I wonder how it works on a molecular level…" Jie muttered to himself.
"You think you ever want to try it?" Hideaki grinned at Naeva, who blushed slightly and shook her head.
"That was interesting…" Chaud said quietly to April. He looked over his shoulder as the lab doors closed, watching Lan and his dad gathering their things. "I wonder what it felt like…"
April grinned. "You wanna be the next in the box?"
Chaud glanced over at her and gave her a small smile back. "You know me too well."
Phew! Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to writing! I've had a heck of a busy week, what with huge papers being due in my classes and taking a rather random trip across the mountains to visit my family. I'm a week behind in Nano… OTL
Oh well. I can catch up. Expect a lot from me, hopefully, this week!
Also, I've forgotten to mention this the past couple of chapters, but this fic is a SEQUAL. You'll want to read "Megaman NT Warrior: Requiem's Awakening" if you haven't yet. Things that happen here will make more sense if you read that.
Next time! Ooo, look, it's time for something sinister! And Nocturne may run in to a familiar friend…
Leave a review please!