Candlehead was watching the news.
"Intel Industries! I've got one recommendation! Ready? Ready? Sell, sell, sell! Abandon ship! Does the Hindenburg ring any bells? Let me show you the new Intel Industries business plan! Look, that's a weapons company that doesn't make weapons!"
"Candy." said Gloyd on the intercom. "How big are your hands?"
"Heh?" Candlehead answered
"How big are your hands?"
"I don't understand why . . ."
"Get down here. I need you."
Candlehead walks downstairs and sees Gloyd lying on a gurney, shirtless and his back is set up in a hundred twenty degree angle. She walks in.
"Yo" said Candlehead
"Let's see them. Show me your hands. Let's see them."
Candlehead showed Gloyd her hands.
"Oh, yeah. They are small. Very petite, indeed." said Gloyd. "I just need your help for a sec."
"Oh, my God" Candlehead gasped. "Is that the thing that's keeping you alive?"
"It was. It is now an antique.". Gloyd then showed Candlehead a another miniature arc reactor. "This is what will be keeping me alive for the foreseeable future. I'm swapping it up for an upgraded unit, and I just ran into a little speed bump."
"Speed bump, what does that mean?"
"It's nothing. It's just a little snag.". Gloyd then takes out his old arc reactor from his chest. "There's an exposed wire under this device. And it's contacting the socket wall and causing a little bit of a short. It's fine.". Gloyd hands the old arc reactor to Candlehead.
"What do you want me to do?" Candlehead asked
"I want you to reach in, and you're just gonna gently lift the wire out."
"Is it safe?"
"Yeah, it should be fine. It's like Operation. You just don't let it touch the socket wall or it goes 'beep.'"
"What do you mean, 'Operation'?"
"It's just a family game, never mind. Just gently lift the wire. Okay? Great."
Candlehead tried to put her hand in the socket.
"You know, I don't think that I'm qualified to do this."
"No, you're fine. You're the most capable, qualified, trustworthy person I've ever met. You're gonna do great. Now, vamos"
Candlehead sticks her hand inside of Gloyd and feels everything.
"Oh, God, that's pus!" said Candlehead
"That ain't pus. It's an inorganic plasmic discharge from the device, not from my body."
"It smells!"
"It's suppose to" said Gloyd. "The copper wire. The copper wire, you got it?"
"Okay, I got it! I got it!"
"Okay, you got it. Now, don't let it touch the sides! When you're coming out!" Gloyd said as a buzzing sound was heard.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"It's alright. That's what I was trying to tell you before. Okay, now make sure that when you pull it out, you don't . . . There's a magnet at the end of it! That was it. You just pulled it out."
"Oh, God!" said Candlehead as she puts the copper wire to the side.
Then, Gloyd starts to breathe deeply as the monitors were beeping rapidly.
"What's wrong?" said Candlehead
"Nothing, I'm just going into cardiac arrest 'cause you yanked it out like a trout"
"What? You said it was safe!"
"We gotta hurry. Take this. Take this." Gloyd said, giving Candlehead the new mini arc reactor. "You gotta switch it out really quick.". Candlehead placed the end of the wire inside of Gloyd. "Okay, you're gonna attach that to the base plate. Make sure you . . ."
Then, a buzzing sound was heard on the monitors and the beeping went to a normal speed.
"See, was that so hard? That was fun, right? Here, I got it. I got it. Here. Nice."
"Madre mia, don't ever, ever, ever ever ask me to do anything like that ever again."
"I don't have anyone but you."
"Will that be all?"
"That will be all"
(3 Hours Later)
Swizzle was at the Air Force with a few men as they're walking.
"The future of air combat. Is it manned or unmanned? I'll tell you, in my experience, no unmanned aerial vehicle will ever trump a pilot's instinct, his insight, that ability to look into a situation beyond the obvious and discern its outcome, or a pilot's judgment."
"Colonel?" said Gloyd, coming in the picture. "Why not a pilot without the plane?"
"Look who fell out of the sky." Said Swizzle. "Mr. Gloyd Orangeboar"
"Speaking of manned or unmanned, you gotta get him to tell you about the time he guessed wrong at spring break. Just remember that, spring break, 1987. That lovely lady you woke up with. What was his name? Was it lvan?
"They'll believe it. Don't do that." Said Swizzle. "Give us a couple minutes, you guys."
The men left, leaving Gloyd and Swizzle to talk.
"I'm surprised." Swizzle said
"Why?"
"I swear, I didn't expect to see you walking around so soon.
"I'm doing a little better than walking." Gloyd said. "Listen, Swizz, I'm working on something big. I came to talk to you. I want you to be a part of it.
"You're about to make a whole lot of people around here real happy, 'cause that little stunt at the press conference, that was a doozy."
"This is not for the military. I'm not . . . It's different."
"What? You're a humanitarian now or something?"
"I need you to listen to me."
"No. What you need is time to get your mind right. I'm serious.
"Okay." Gloyd replied
"It's nice seeing you, Gloyd"
"Thanks."