For some reason, I think something affected Inspector Gadget's mind. It is possible that he suffered serious brain injuries in the accident, which caused his mental problems, but how can he be so smart in some situations? Who knows, maybe there's another important fact...

By the way, there is one more chapter left until John's awakening, so a wave of emotions will come soon :)

8. Same as before?

"From this moment, Metrocy Hospital turned into a small science lab. Sophie, Frank, and Professor Von Slickstein, together with local doctors, decided to try the impossible, saving human life with bionics."

"Not only has no one tried anything similar in the history of science, but it has also been very risky. Sophie did not have time to complete the project and no tests have been done yet. To make matters worse, her scientific team had a limited budget. Although the sum she received from Dr. Claw was large, it wasn't enough money to fund all the tools and gadgets. They had to save a lot of money."

"First of all, it was necessary to obtain material. That was my dad's job. He drove from town to town, searching all the landfills and junkyards that were full of scrap iron. Tubes, cables, wires or even an old mixer, that was exactly what he was looking for."

"As soon as Frank brought it all, it was Sophie's turn. She mounted all the components inside and welded the metal parts. This job may not seem suitable for a woman, but don't be fooled! Mom was very good at it. When she was done with her work, Professor Von Slickstein came and checked everything carefully. The most important job awaited him."

"For all to work, all circuits had to be connected properly. He soldered all the wires on his office desk, wiping the sweat from his forehead. It was very difficult for a man his age to concentrate."

"They all worked hard like this for many days and many nights and their work was almost done. But there was one unexpected problem ... "

"Sophie ...? SOPHIE!" Frank shouted at his wife, who was welding one of the telescopic arms.

Sophie turned off the welder and removed the shield from her face. "What's happening?"

Frank looked at her sadly. " We have the results of those tests. John's brain ... is seriously damaged."

"Brain, WAIT!" Penny shouted as she played chasing game with her dog.

Her parents weren't home for long, and they both tried to have some fun. As they ran quickly all over the house, Penny accidentally hit a shelf from which several books and photos fell to the floor. The sound of shattering glass frightened Brain and he began to bark furiously.

"Oh no!" Penny said, picking up her parents' wedding photo. "I'll have to glue it together."

As she cleaned up the shards from the ground, Brain picked up the books and stacked them back on the shelf. But something caught his eye. A small piece of paper was hidden between the pages of one of the books. He grabbed it in his paws and examined it carefully. There was something written on it in ink.

Penny wondered what Brain was holding. "What is it?"

Back in the hospital...

"When did you find out?" Sophie asked them as she walked down the hall to John's room.

"About an hour ago," Professor Von Slickstein replied, handing her the radiographs. "Look. Do you see his skull? A large blood clot has formed in this place. I'm not sure if it will affect his brain activity, but anyway ..."

"But anyway what...?!" Sophie asked urgently.

The old man took a deep breath. "We will have to find a way to prevent him from losing his memory..."

Sophie knew very well what he meant. "How... how do you want to do it?"

The professor took a small shiny object in his gloved hands. "We'll just move his mind to this chip."

"Record his soul like on VHS!? Don't be ridiculous, no one can do this."

"His brain is very damaged, there's blood inside! This is a very serious problem, Sophie."

"No! I will never allow that. You want to make him a robot!" Sophie shouted angrily and pointed at the plan hanging on the wall. It was an illustration of a man full of gears and titanium. But was this thing still a man?

"Let me explain..." he said in a calmer voice. "Nothing will happen to him, believe me. He won't change. He will be exactly as you know him. Please change your mind. "

Sophie looked back at the figure behind her. Not even her scream could wake John, who was still asleep in a coma. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she thought about it. "I wanted to..." she said in a trembling voice. "I thought he would be the same as before. That I can give him a happy life, not this!"

"I'm so sorry, Sophie."

She sat down in a chair next to him, and the professor approached one of the computers.

"I've prepared everything," he said, carefully inserting the chip into a small hole inside the device. "If you change your mind, just press this button."

"Thank you, Professor, but I want to be alone with him now."

The old man understood that this was a very difficult decision for Sophie. He put his hand on her shoulder. "Okay, I'll give you time to think," he said, then left quietly.

"The most painful thing is to sit next to someone, just touch them briefly, cry for him at night and know that he will never wake up. My uncle still had hope, but my mother didn't want to take any more risks. What would happen if it didn't work out and John didn't remember anything?"

Sophie just sat there for a moment until she heard someone knock on the door. A nurse came in. "Sorry to interrupt, Mrs. Dollar, but your daughter is waiting at the front desk. Should I tell her you're working now?"

"No, I'll come see her."

When Sophie came to the main entrance of the hospital, she saw her daughter sleeping on one of the sofas. It was already evening. Penny had to wait there a long time. She sat down next to her and stroked her blond hair.

"Penny... wake up," she said softly. "It's late, you have to go home."

Penny opened her beautiful blue-green eyes and looked at her. "What time is it?"

"I don't know, but it'll be night soon," Sophie told her.

Her daughter noticed the tears on her face. "Mom, do you cry? Did something happen to Uncle John...!?"

"Don't worry. Nothing's happening, honey. It's just... we have to solve another problem, nothing more."

Penny knew there was something her mother didn't want to talk about, but she decided not to ask her again. "And how is he? Does he feel better?"

"Not yet," her mother replied sadly. "Another major surgery awaits him."

Penny pulled a small sheet of paper from her bag. "I found this when Brain and I cleaned up."

Sophie took the piece in her hands. She recognized it immediately. "My God... I've been looking for it for years! Where was it?"

"It was hidden on a shelf in the living room, among your physics books."

"Wait, you mean my high school textbooks?" Sophie asked her daughter in surprise.

"Yes, these," Penny confirmed. "It was hidden inside one of them."

"That's why I couldn't find it. John had to put it there when we moved."

"And what is it?" she asked.

"This is John's wish list."

"Wish list!? Do you mean a list of what he would like to experience in his life?"

"Yes, something along those lines. Your uncle has always been very forgetful, so he wrote everything down carefully, even dreams."

"I thought everyone remembered such things," Penny said as her mother examined the paper carefully.

"Did you read it? It's really interesting."

"A little bit, but I'd like to hear it from you."

Sophie smiled at her daughter. "Okey."

"What's his first wish?" her daughter asked eagerly.

"Being a policeman."

Penny started laughing. "How else."

"I'll read it from the beginning..." Sophie said, turning the paper over.

"So your uncle wanted to..."

- be a policeman

- drive a car

- travel all around the world

- fly

- play golf

- ski

- fish

- sail on a boat

- play the piano

- perform in a magic show

- win a car race

- fly a shuttle to the moon

and have his own family and a house where he can live happily ever after

After Sophie finished reading, Penny looked at her. "Mommy?"

"Yes sweetheart?"

"Please... promise me you'll do everything you can to save him. So that he can fulfill all these dreams. "

"I already promised you that..."

"But this is different," Penny said. "Swear you won't give up. Whatever happens..."

"I swear," Sophie said, kissing her forehead. "I'll tell Daddy to take you home, okay?"

"Okay," her daughter said with a smile. "Brain must be bored at home without me."

"Wait, I'll be right back," Sophie said and left. But she didn't go looking for Frank, instead she went back to John's room and carefully pressed the button Professor Von Slickstein had shown her before. The machine turned on, and the first memories in the form of computer data began to load slowly on the chip.

To be continued...