Mr. Roboto
Chapter-7 Influence from a Familiar Face
Gary looked around the mysterious chamber he entered. It was vacant just like the rest of the building with no one around. However it's walls were covered with computer systems, and strange looking glass tubes were beveled on the walls at an angle creating a circular shape. Almost as if the room itself was a large circular chamber of some kind. It was certainly odd to Gary considering the outside of the building was square as could be. Each tube was numbered 1-50, but that still didn't explain what they were used for. "Did the Butchers know about this?" Gary wondered out loud.
Suddenly, Gary looked down at the table in the middle, similarly to how there was a table in the middle of the Butcher's former armory. He noticed there was a pizza box left on it. He also saw there was a trash can still full next to the table. So either no one has been here since new year's or someone wasn't doing their job taking out the trash. Gary then realized the label on the pizza box looked familiar, he decided to examine it further.
"Panucci's pizza?" He read aloud, remembering that was the pizza place his family went to the other night. If he remembered his locations correctly it wasn't that far away from the building he was in. So a delivery from here wouldn't take that long. He also noticed that the pizza was still untouched, and it was a plan cheese. Does Kevin work here? He joked in his head. But even the coincidence of him going to the same pizza place the box was from didn't explain what this place was or what the tubes were used for.
Taking a closer look at tube 40, furthest on the left next to a large window. He looked on the side which had a nameplate and label plastered on it. It read: Cryogenic long term organic sustainability, product of 1979. 60% Liquid Nitrogen and 40% Argon mixture. So that explained why there was a canister of liquid nitrogen on the same floor. Default time: 1000 years. "Who would want their beef stored for a thousand years?" Gary questioning the logistic of such a device. "So if these are meant for organic storage, what would be stored in these?" He knew no one would freeze food in such expensive looking devices, they would just freeze dry food items for long shelf lives. But upon looking at the glass, it appeared it was occupied by something. Gary rubbed the condensation on the glass trying to get a better look, until he could see what appeared to be…A PERSON?!
"AH," Gary shouted in shock as he jumped backwards at the sight. So that's what these tubes were used for? Freezing people? Was this an alternative to suicide or did people really think Alien was a true story? Gary couldn't figure out any possible reason why someone would intentionally freeze themselves, especially if the default time was for a thousand years. He came back up to the occupied tube and look around at the others, almost all of them were occupied with a body. Gary then looked again at the first tube he looked into, upon further examination he noticed just how…familiar the person inside looked. He had orange hair, a red jacked, and he was holding a beer can. It can't be, he thought, what would the odds be?
"Fry?" He asked himself, knowing that the person couldn't answer back. "Philip J. Fry is that you?" He asked again rhetorically, remembering his full name. It would be an insane coincidence to find the young man he met a few days ago here. But given the pizza box from where he worked was still on the table untouched, and he remembered his boss saying that night he was only doing deliveries from then on, there couldn't be anyone else that would check the boxed other than him. So then why would he freeze himself? Gary remembered from the conversation they had that night that he wasn't in the best spot in his life. Then again, since then Gary hasn't been doing much better either. He tried pulling on the door to open the tube, but it was locked tightly. He then noticed how in the middle of the tube's door there was a dial and a text light that appeared to indicate time left before it opened. 999 years, 364 days, 2 hours, 26 minutes, and 47 seconds. That meant Fry was frozen New Year's Day, at exactly midnight.
That still begged the question of did he freeze himself or did someone else did? Considering the pizza inside the box was still untouched it didn't make sense for him to deliver it to someone here only for someone to freeze him. Especially since it was New Year's Eve when hardly anyone was working, clearly Fry wasn't so lucky in that regard. So then could Fry have froze himself out of depression? He wasn't feeling the best the night they talked and given his living circumstances with a girlfriend with questionable faithfulness, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. Then again, Fry was depressed some, but his spirits were easily lightened again after they spoke. He was far from suicidal, but given what Gary himself just endured, anything could've happened in the five days between now and then.
Gary looked upon his face to find any form of expression that could lead him to a reason why he froze himself. The look upon Fry's face was that of shock, panic, and confusion. Almost as if he didn't know what was happening to him. Gary remembered from his courses that those who go through suicide are typically ready for the outcome, usually having the same expression of depression. Or a completely lifeless face from having no hope left, Fry's face was neither. And given that he was holder a beer can that sill appeared to have fizz around it's opening, suggesting that it was just opened when he was frozen, Gary concluded that Fry didn't do this to himself intentionally. Either someone pushed him in, or it was an accident. But someone pushing him in was equally unlikely since there has been no trace of activity in the past two days. Some would've noticed that he was in here and let him out already. Assuming that was an option.
"I bet his parents would be worried sick about him." Gary thought aloud, then remembering how Fry said his parents didn't seem to care that much about him. "At least he has parents still." Gary said, reminded of his dead parents again. Remembering the situation he was currently in, with no where to go and with no family to come along either. Sure he could find a job, but with him killing the members of the Roberto Wiseos, he would have a bounty on his head by every other drug smuggler in the city for sure. Let alone committing a crime punishable by death, from both this world and the next. He decided again to think about what to do next. So he took off his framed pack leaving it in on top a vacant cryogenic tube and got back to finding the entrance to the roof. The stars at night always allowed him to think clearly.
After going up to the top floor just two floors above the one he was just at he finally found the roof's entrance. Surprisingly it was unlocked, almost as if someone wanted him up there. This made Gary suspicious for a second and prepared his python in case someone was up there. However upon walking up the small ramp onto the roof to see that no one was up there. Relieved, Gary put it back in his holster and found a place to sit down and think.
According to his watch it was now 11. It was cold up on the roof, at least forty degrees. By now Gary was used to the cold feeling he got, after all it was like this a lot back home. Where's home now? He continued to ponder. Nearly two hours ago was when Shane Bowman found him and just before he killed all the Wiseos. What if someone were to find out about this? He knew eventually someone was going to find out that the gang was dead. Would this make him an unsung public hero like Bowman and the Butchers? Or would he be condemned for his actions, and go to prison? Killing was killing no matter what angle you looked at it. And he couldn't think of any examples where a civilian took out a gang of thugs single handedly and didn't have some kind of jail free card afterwards. Not like there were many examples of this either way. It wasn't like it was his fault anyways, he did let his emotions take over in the end, but had the Wiseos never kill his family in the first place. He wouldn't have wanted to get revenge and kill them.
Looking down he saw the city was alive with not just lights across the skyline, but below people are cars were on the streets again. So did the people find out the Wiseos were dead or was this the time when they said they could return to normal business? Regardless, this didn't change the fact of what he did and who he was without. And who could ever forgive him if he was caught? He then realized; his family would always forgive him no matter what. But they were gone now, with only one possible place they could be, and Gary shuttered at the thought: Heaven. Now in some ways, he wish he had failed to stop the Wiseos, he'd be dead, with no crimes committed, and he'd be where he belonged: with his family.
"I'm crazy for conceiving such a thought." Gary said to himself aloud. "The only sin worse than killing another is killing…yourself."
Never in his life did he think suicide would ever be something he himself would consider attempting. But the more he thought about it, the better it started to sound. If he died, he would be with his family again, the Wiseos would still be gone, and world would return to the way it was before his family's trip to New York. The world, would be exactly the same if he were to die tonight. Nothing he thought would change if he left the world. There were no friends to return to, the rest of his family couldn't replace the memories or companionship he had with Richard, Rachel, and Renée. He was lost in the world, but based on everything he was taught, for the endless vastness of heaven, it was impossible to be lost. And right before he shot two of the thugs earlier, he had asked for forgiveness. But would that be enough to redeem himself from killing the rest? Even if it meant many other lives would be saved because of it?
Look at me, He thought sadly, I'm counseling myself. I've grown that insane that quickly. However, another thought popped into his head. Maybe this was God's own test on him, and that by getting revenge on those who killed his family, he had passed by saving countless lives in the process. Had it not been for him, the Wiseos would still be devastating the streets, killing and smuggling all they want. Not to mention Colbert's supposed plan to kill the mayor. Then again, God would never want revenge to be part of a test. If it was a test then he wouldn't have killed the Wiseos. Gary couldn't be sure if this made any sense or if he really was going crazy. He'd be crazy enough by this point to freeze himself.
"Wait a minute," He said aloud amongst the chaos coming from his disturbed mind. "If I freeze myself, no one will know what happened and I can start anew." But it would mean leaving behind everything back home, and there was no certainty on what all could happen in a whole millennium from now. If his life had changed so much in just the span of a few hours, what all could happen in a whole millennium? Either way would be a risk for him, but at least now he had a choice.
Either he would kill himself, where he would go to heaven, be reunited with his family, and live in happiness. If live was even an applicable word in this scenario. He was still 29 years old and still had so much left he could experience. Just look at his 92-year-old grandfather, who moved out west around his age, started a farm, got married, had children, and started easily the biggest farming enterprise in the area at the time. Gary pulled out his python again, the last thing he could remember his grandfather by now… until he remembered the very last thing his grandfather said to him: "Now you remember we're always here, somewhere. And that there's still so much for you to go. And…" He paused for a moment to drink another glass of cider. "In the future, anything is possible."
Gary cried a little remembering the last word's he'd ever hear out of his grandfather Bucyrus. Knowing that no matter what he decided, he'd never see him, or any of his extended family again. This choice was becoming too much of a burden, he had to choose something and stick to it. But what if he chose wrong? How can I possibly choose wrong by this point? He practically interrogating himself. There's no more good you can do in this world, now are you going to choose or is God going to have to choose for you? That last thought then gave him one last way to see what the right choice was. He pulled out a penny, his NRA knife he got as a souvenir, and carved scratches on each side, just in case the penny fell off the roof so he could find it again. He then cleared his mind and said aloud:
"If this is your real test for me God, let me know that my family is up there, may you prove to me that they're alright and they're with you, let them make my final decision and choose my ultimate fate." He then raised the penny in his right hand, closed his eyes and said again aloud; "Heads, I jump. Tails, I freeze myself." He then flicked the penny out of his hands, opening his eyes, and seeing fall onto a small brick wall, before bouncing off and onto the street below. "Glad I made scratch marks on it." He said happy by his decision. For a second, looking down at the streets below, he thought; Why go back down their if it's just going to be heads anyways? Why not just jump now? His answer came to him when he saw a flicker of silver light come from the sidewalk, how that could be possible was one thing, but it was the marks he carved on the penny. So now he knew where it was on the ground. "I must be sure of what my fate is to be."
He then exited the roof, realizing just how cold it was up there. He was so lost in thought and torment that he didn't realize just how cold his whole body was. He then walked down the building's still vacant stairs and walked out the exit to find his penny. On the way down he saw how very little damage there was to the lobby, considering the service elevator entrance was in the back behind the guest elevators and stairwell. His looked down at a penny under a streetlamp with a silver marking shining upon it. This must be it, he thought nervously, knowing that whatever side that penny was on would determine his fate for the rest of his life. This is it…the moment of truth. No turning back now. He bent down some, examined the penny and saw…
The Lincoln memorial.
Fate, God, or even his family above, chose tails. It was decided, Gary would freeze himself. In some ways he was relieved, he would get to start his life anew, sometime in the future. On the other hand, he would miss many things from his time. But he was sure this would be the right choice from him, fate assigned him the role of being an ambassador from the past. Now he would fulfill that role, and become to his knowledge: The first Psychologist from the past to the future. But it seemed that fate had another thing planned for him in addition to freezing himself that night.
It was late that night so of course there wouldn't be many people on the streets tonight. However Gary heard some commotion going on behind him on the sidewalk. It sounded like a woman was asking something from people around her. She was too far away to make out what she was saying, but Gary could see what she looked like. She appeared to be middle aged looked like many other women he's seen on the streets before. But then her hair looked familiar. It was orange and had a slight curl upwards on the bangs, it looked almost exactly like…Fry's hair! She was coming closer still asking something to the people around her, but now Gary could make out what she was saying.
"Sir can you help me? I'm looking for my son he was last seen here two nights ago." Only for the person to shrug it off and continue walking. Those words quenched what Gary was thinking. The hair, the age, and she was looking for her son who disappeared two nights ago. This must be Fry's mother. He concluded in his head. He then walked toward her while she was still having a difficult time getting people's attention. She had a look of desperation and defeat on her face, as if she'd been doing this all night already.
"Ma'am." Gary introduced, getting her attention. "You said you were looking for you son who disappeared a few nights ago?" She nodded in response. "What's your name and what does he look like?"
"My name's Sherri Fry," She responded, "And this is my son's latest picture: Philip." Gary's thoughts were confirmed he was shown picture of none other than Phillip J. Fry. "Do you know where he is?" She questioned him, hoping to get an answer. Gary indeed knew where he was, but could his mother, who from what Fry told him would not normally be doing this, even bear the truth of what happened to him? Well, He thought to himself, I was going to go back up their anyways, and maybe I can learn a thing or two more from his mother's perspective. Gary then looked right at Sherri, and said in a serious tone: "I know where he is, follow me."
Sherri than began to ask many questions nervously, especially considering that this stranger in fringe flannel somehow knew about Philip; "Is he okay? What happened to him? Is he dead?" The last question Gary was able to answer without showing her what happened just yet. "He's not dead, but he's not exactly "with us" either."
"What do you mean by that?" She asked yet again, clearly confused at Gary's choice of words.
"You'll just have to see for yourself when we get up to the top." He told Sherri as they walked inside the building and headed towards the guest elevator. Thankfully Sherri didn't notice the minor damage that was caused in the fight earlier. "Let's take the guest elevator, shall we?" Gary suggested. That way Sherri would have some time to calm down a bit, and she wouldn't see the bodies in the middle floor next to the stairwell. They both walked in and Gary pressed floor button 24.
"So how did you meet my son?" She asked as the doors to the elevator close.
"My family and I, mainly myself, got acquainted with him when we visited the pizza parlor he worked at about a week ago." Gary answered. "He was demoted right in front of us, and so I decided to speak with him when he was off shift. From what he told me that things weren't going the best for him, and he said he had suspicions his girlfriend was more than likely cheating on him."
"Not long after Philip's disappearance," Sherri continuing the conversation, "We called Michelle asking if she knew where he was, and she said she kicked him out of his apartment the night of his disappearance." That meant Fry's suspicions were correct.
"Only to start dating another guy in his place; it's a shame my Philip couldn't please her. And this was the address of his last delivery destination before failing to return on New Year's Eve, right before midnight." That date and time matched up exactly with the timer on the cryogenic freezing tube. The elevator stopped with a ding, indicating they had reached the twenty-fourth floor, and the last time Gary would have any interaction with the outside world for nearly a thousand years.
"He's in this room down the hall." Gary informed Sherri, passing by the doorway that led to the Butcher's secret armory. Gary took one last look at it, knowing it would be the last remanence he'd see of them. Sherri on the other hand didn't seem to notice. Gary took note of her behavior seeing just easy it was for her to miss the little details. It appeared cognitive exercise wasn't one of her priorities. Exactly like her son. Gary thought in his head.
They had reached the cryogenics chamber room after walking for a moment. "He's in here," Gary began, "But I don't know if you're going to like what you see." They then entered the room, walked towards the middle, and Sherri could only look with a rising tension seeing all the frozen bodies around her. Panning over from right to left, she instantly recognized the chamber with Fry in it. Gasping in shock as she walked over towards the chamber, fell onto it's cover, and began crying.
"My baby," She sobbed, "How could I let this happen to you? I was so carless thinking sports were more important than you, and now," She paused to grab a breath, "I've lost you. What kind of a mother am I?" She continued crying, walking away from the tube while covering her face. Gary instantly saw she the type of person that needed to see a psychologist. It looked like there was still something that needed to be done before he would freeze himself.
"Sherri, listen." He firmly said, grabbing her attention as she pulled her hands from her face. "He may not be with us anymore but he's certainly not dead either. A few hours ago, something terrible happened to my family and now they're gone. Fry is not gone. Look at the timer." Sherri then looked at the countdown timer, reading just a few minutes different from when Gary first entered the room.
"These cryogenic tubes freeze organic life, so they can be preserved at the same age, long past their life cycle." Gary explained, figuring out their exact purpose now. "Also given the look on his face and the fact there's a beer can in his hand, he didn't do this to himself on purpose. This had to have been an accident somehow." Gary showing her how this was not something he would do himself. "Now the choice is yours: You can leave him in there to start over in a new life in the next millennium," knowing that's what he himself would be doing shortly. "Or, if he's that important to you, you can turn the dial, and open him up right now. It's your choice."
Sherri looked back at the chamber, trying to decide what to do. She wanted him back, she wanted to hold him in her arms and never let go of her precious child, she wanted to prove to not just him, but to herself that she could be a good mother. She then slowly walked up to the chamber, reached out to change the dial on the time controls, and…
"I can't do this," she said aloud. Pulling her hand away from the dial. "You don't deserve the life I've given you; you deserve so much better than it." She then crouched on the ground and curled up some. "Better, than anything I could've done as a mother." Again, with tears coming out of her eyes.
"You want to talk about this struggle?" Gary sympathetically questioned the woman in shambles. "I am a psychologist after all."
"You, you'd really be willing to offer me advice?" Sherri asked back, as she picked herself from off the ground in front of the chamber.
"I mean," Gary continued, "It's not like I've got anything else to do at this time." Not wanting to give away his intentions just yet.
"I'd never thought I'd find him here, like this." Sherri said referring to Fry's current status. "Oh where do I even begin? All his life I've been a terrible parent, putting me and my husband's concerns before our children's." Seems like someone didn't get the parenthood is a full-time job memo. Gary thought to himself.
"When I spoke to him myself a few nights ago, he mentioned how much you watched sports, and how your husband was a veteran preparing for nuclear war." Gary mentioning about his talk with Fry before.
"I hate to admit it but every word of that is true." Sherri shamefully admitted, hanging her head low as she continued to explain her situation. "I married my husband Yancy in 1967. He was in the army before that, fighting in both Korea and Vietnam. Admitting he wasn't good enough for me because he failed to defeat the commies. I told him it didn't matter to me and all that was important to me was beginning our life together in Brooklyn opposed to Yonkers where we were both raised, and seeing who won the game that night."
"Not even the desire to start a family with him?" Gary asked, regarding Sherri's marital intentions.
"We had our first, Yancy jr. three years after our marriage, not exactly closing the knot I know. But I was too busy trying to find out who was going to win. Even while I was in the hospital having Philip, I was more concerned with the Mets game going on at the time. Only being joyful after hearing the Mets win, and not when…my newborn was in my arm." She held her head again in shame, regretting her past behavior.
It's clear to me she has an unhealthy obsession with sports, particularly those who win. Gary noted in his thoughts. "At least you're now willing to admit you've made mistakes in the past, and are willing to improve now."
"But now it's too late." She replied regretfully.
"What made you change your mind?" Gary asked, now curious as to what would make her change so drastically. And so suddenly as she talked like this had been the norm for so long.
"It started yesterday," She began, "I was at home watching the rosebowl, rooting for the Badgers."
Brooklyn, New York. January 1st, 2000.
The Frys were in their small and poorly maintained home where they were watching the game and awaiting Philip's arrival. Currently Yancy was on the phone trying to get a hold of him, instead all he got was an answering machine.
"Phil it's your father, where are you?" He asked annoyed recording his message. "You're holding up new year's brunch, your brother can't wait any longer." Yancy Jr was at the table, waiting to take his first bite of a bologna sandwich.
"Hello first bologna of the new millennium." Yancy Jr said to a sandwich in his hands. Until he stopped when he heard the family dog barking. Seymour, the family dog, but Philip mostly cared for him, was for sure the most worried one when it came to Phillip not being there.
"Well that's weird," Sherri noted, "Seymour's here but…GO!" She got distracted by the game going on. "TOUCHDOWN! But where's Philip?" now coming back to reality. "Usually he takes Seymour with him so we don't have to care for him, but this time he's on his own."
"Also," Yancy Jr brought up now that he noticed this oddity. "Philip is living with Michelle in Manhattan, so how the hell did Seymour get all the way over here? Let alone remember where our house was?"
"Must be the spirit of a soldier within him." Yancy Sr thought aloud, "I'm glad to see it run even in the family pet. But I'm disappointed that he left another soldier behind, where's your honor pooch?" reprimanding the dog, causing him to run outside.
"Shouldn't we go after it?" Yancy Jr suggested, "After all, if he remembered where we lived so far way, maybe he remembers where Philip last was."
"And follow him to our deaths?" Yancy Sr finished, "Negatory. It's the Y2K trying to lure us into an ambush, and I ain't buying it." Excusing them not following Seymour by recalling his absurd military obsession.
"If you say so dad," Jr replied, starting to get a little tired of his father's military style excuses for not doing things.
Sherri was still watching the game, joyed by the Wisconsin Badgers getting their first touchdown. However, something started to feel…different. Even if there was nothing different about this current setup. Philip would normally be working in Manhattan and come home every once in a while for downtime from Michelle or for special occasions like this. It was for sure unusual that he wasn't answering their calls and that Seymour came on his own. She did remember how Michelle said in a phone call earlier they weren't together anymore, and she hadn't seen him since she kicked him out. For the first time in years, almost the first time since both her sons were born, she felt…concern. Concern for their well-being, concern for their status in life, and most of all concerned, for where they could be. She couldn't possibly figure out why she felt this way, especially since she was enjoying her favorite thing on the TV right now. Now, for a reason she couldn't explain, or anyone she knew would be able to explain either, she turned off the TV.
Yancy Jr and Sr were both shocked by this action. Sherri would never turn off a game, to her it meant there was nothing worth living for. Unless she had something else in mind for that position…
"You two stay here, I'm going to go looking for him." She proposed to her husband and eldest son.
"Are you crazy woman?" Yancy Sr questioning her own morality by this point. "Trying to go out when there's commies everywhere trying to kill us?"
"Mom, I didn't think you were physically capable of shutting off the TV during a game, let alone the rosebowl. What's gotten into ya? Are you mad?" Yancy Jr also not believing the event he just witnessed.
"Quite the contrary men," She answered sternly, "For the first time I'm actually thinking straight. Thinking about how my," She walked over to her husband, getting up in his face. "OUR, children are the most important things to us. And that in the event they disappear without a trace, finding them and making sure they're safe should be our first priority."
Yancy was still in pure disbelief at his wife's words. "Did God strike you with a bolt of lightning from the TV while you were sitting down watching? This isn't like you at all, and there's no way I'm letting you go out there while there's spies watching our every move waiting for the right time to strike."
"You're right, this isn't like me." Sherri admitting herself this wasn't her usual behavior. "But I should've realized that a long time ago. Look at us Yancy. We live in a house even New Jersey would say is poor, Philip works more than we do, when's even the last time we told our boys how much we love them?" Sherri gasped at that last reason. Now there was a chance that her youngest may never hear her say that again. Realizing this she then walked up to Yancy Jr, still in shock by everything he just witnessed, and hugged him tightly.
"I now know how much you mean to me." She said into his ear, "I love you and your brother so much. I'm so sorry for how I neglected you all these years."
"Aw you didn't have to say that mom," Yancy Jr, not noticing how important this was to his mother. "I hear it every time your favorite teams win."
"But this time, I'm making sure it's to you." She confirmed, patting his back some and pulling way. She then walked past her husband, grabbed her coat, and opened the door.
"I'm going to Panucci's pizza and asking for the last few addresses he delivered to." She informed her family.
"But what about the game?" Yancy Sr. asked, "And our bologna brunch?"
"There's always another time for bologna, and I'll find out who wins soon enough." She answered using logic in a way uncommonly found in their household. Yancy Sr was still surprised by this behavior coming out of her. "If I don't find him tonight, I'll call you and rent a hotel room in Manhattan, I won't come back until I've found him." She stated sternly.
"You stay out there too long, and…those commies will get ya I swear." Yancy Sr, still trying to convince her otherwise.
"In all the years you've been saying that, nothing's yet to happen to any of us."
"Yeah, until now."
"And you honestly think it's the commies that captured him, or is it your untamable PTSD the doctor told me about before we married?" Sherri replied with a smirk on her face. And with a cringe coming out of her husband, knowing she had a point.
"Once again, I'm going to Manhattan, and won't stop until I've found him, dead or alive. I love you both." Sherri then walked out the door, still leaving both Yancy's confused and gawking.
"So dad, did the commies put crack in our sandwiches?" Yancy Jr teased his dad, only for his father to sigh in exhaustion.
"So this is what the thirty-two-year itch is?" Yancy Sr questioned himself. "I'm just glad it happened to her."
Flashback to present time.
"So then after looking for the most recent places he delivered to, Mr. Panucci said this was the last place, and then I found you and…" She started to cry again.
"Seems like your whole family needs to speak to someone," Gary replied after hearing about what made her go out and search for Fry. "I'm sorry but I'm not qualified for household counseling." Trying to make her feel better. "So, you want to speak to Fry again, but you don't want him to return to his current life?"
"I've been a terrible mother," Sherri said, now with proof from her explanation. "But I can't bring myself to redeem what I've already done. I've changed, but his father hasn't, and he just got demoted and his girlfriend dumped him. I just wish there was a way to make things right, but also allowing him to start anew." This fell right in line with what Gary was about to do.
"You know, there might be a way to solve both our problems." He proposed.
"What do you mean?" Sherri asked confused.
"Tonight alone, I've lost my family, a way for me to get out of the city, and anything I would've had to look forward to back home. So I've decided, I'm going to freeze myself." Gary explained passionately. Without mentioning the conflict between the Butchers and Wiseos he had just finished.
"What?!" Sherri freaked some, "Why would anyone intentionally do this to themselves? You explained to me before Philip didn't do this to himself on purpose. So why are you doing this to yourself?"
"One, the alternative was suicide, two, now that you're here and need to get one last message to Philip, now I know exactly what time I want to freeze myself to." Gary answered to such an absurd proposition.
"If you give me some more time, I'll write him a letter explaining to him why I'm letting him go." Sherri explained how she was going to get a message worked up. She then went over to one of the large computers and grabbed some printing paper and an envelope.
"It's not like I've got anything else important to do before I freeze myself for almost a millennium." He admitted, Then again until now I didn't have much of a plan for afterwards either. He thought in his head.
"If you don't mind, I'd prefer to keep this private." Sherri informed him, "Even if from what I hear, you guys can't tell this to anyone."
"It's called confidentiality," Gary confirmed her idea of secrets kept between patients and doctors. "It means I can't say anything about this to anyone. But since this isn't an official session, we didn't agree to that. Besides, He's going to want to know about this isn't he?" Pointing to Fry's tube.
"I guess that makes sense," Sherri responded in a logical way for a change, "But just promise me that you'll give him the letter I've written to him and not read it yourself. That's why I want to be alone for a little while I write it." She said finding a blank piece of paper in the table where they were conversing earlier.
"As you wish," Gary agreed to her last request before he would freeze himself into the future. "I'll wait outside while you write it, take what time you need." He then turned around and went for the exit. Until he paused as he remembered something, he looked back seeing his pack of stuff was still right in front of the same empty cryo tube he had left there. But there were still the questions of who placed the order in the first place? Gary concluded that it had to have been a prank order considering the pizza was still even now at the table, and that he imagined Fry had to deal with quite a few before. The other times though, not getting himself frozen. But then he recalled Sherri talking about a dog Fry took care of, where was he at?
"One other thing," He turned around to Sherri as she we beginning to write her letter. "Do you know what happened to the dog?"
"He didn't return after I went searching for Philip," Sherri answered honestly. "I'd imagine he's either managed to find his way back to our house, or he's still looking. But I'd have a feeling Yancy would've called by now if that happened. It's not that big a deal to me, especially compared to." She didn't need to finish the sentence for me to figure out what she meant. "You're right I should be focusing on the letter."
"Just take your time," Gary reassured her, "I'll be out in the hall until you're done." He then shut the door leaving her to think about what to write.
No one else had entered the building since he found Sherri and took her up. He decided to take this moment to himself and look back in the Butcher's head room, with the keys still in the lock. He knew he couldn't take everything with him, so he decided to take something he found and was wanting to get for a while now: A few speed loaders chambered for .357. It would be useful for getting a full load into his python quickly in the event he was in danger again. This thought then made him think about what the future maybe like. It could either be a paradise like Tomorrowland, or a world in chaos like so many sci-fi movies he's seen back home. Whatever happens by this point, Gary knew he could count on fate. Or was it something more than fate? If what has happened in the past few hours alone has proven anything to him, from his family's death, to him getting revenge, to him getting a tails on the coin flip determining his life's outcome, and to him finding Fry's mother and bringing her here. It's that there's a plan for everything. The shiny reflection from the penny was proof enough that there was something more going on than at first sight. But now, did Sherri realize that too?
It had been at least a half hour since he left Sherri to write her letter to Fry, what he determined will be the last way she'll talk to him. Gary then walked out of the Butcher's armory, giving it one last look remembering that it was him who finished their work. He then shut the door and locked it. This time taking the keys out of the door lock and putting them in the windowsill at the end of the hallway, next to the applied cryogenics entrance. This way the city could still have access to the armory, but he doubted Sherri would try to unlock the door. Especially given her last exposure to a lock.
Gary then stood outside the cryogenics door, feeling it's frame. Knowing this will be the last time he would walk into a doorway of this time. After deciding to give Sherri a few more minutes to write, he entered.
"Did you finish yet?" Gary asked calmly.
"It's ready." She answered. Putting the letter in an envelope and sealing it. "Remember, his, not yours."
"You have my word." Gary reassured her. Taking the letter and putting it in his coat pocket. "That should be everything, now my work here is done and will now freeze myself."
"How can you be so sure the future will be the answer? How do you know things will be alright in the end?" Sherri asked, questioning the logistics of his plan. Gary was baffled by her still not seeing how everything aligning was all the reassurance he needed.
"Isn't us being here proof of that already? That it's nothing short of a miracle that I've led you to Philip and that you've led me to my future?" Gary questioned back, making her realize that every that just happened was a miracle. "If I may ask, have you ever been in a church?"
"On my wedding, and I believe when I was baptized," She answered, "but even then I can't confirm that." Not like anyone could remember that far back if baptized at the right age.
"Clearly you don't see how this is a message from above," Gary said coming to his point. "Before I came here tonight has been the worst night of my life by far and away. Only for God himself to show up, make things right, and point me to my path. Knowing that my family is with him now, I'm sure he knows this is what's right for me."
"I guess I never considered it as a miracle, now that you put it that way." Sherri admitted, "But nothing's ever gone this well for me, especially after what just happened."
"Then it looks like tonight is the turning point." Gary wrapped up. He then took his pack laying on the empty cryo chamber, opened it up and placed it inside. He then examined the time panel.
"To make sure I'll be able to know where he is, I'll set my cryo tube to 999 years and 363 days. That will give me an extra day to make sure he is unfrozen properly and that I can find him. Even if I can't guarantee you'll know what happens he reads the letter, it'll remain unopened, and I won't stop until he's read it." Gary told Sherri his plan. Now it was time for Gary to complete his next mission and go into the future.
Sherri then hugged him tightly, "Thank you," She said lightly, "For letting me see my boy one last time." This just continued to prove him he was making the right choice. Gary could only look down at her smiling.
"I'm glad to be of service to you Sherri, I just hope your husband also appreciates what I'm doing." Gary replied sympathetically, pulling away from her. "Is there anything else I should, or you should know before I go in?"
"I guess that, I'll never forget what you did for me and…I wish you the best of luck in the future." Sherri responded sincerely.
"I won't forget you either, if you were to live in Rapid City where I came from, I'm sure our families would've gotten along very well." Gary thanked, after that he make a quick check making sure he had everything he needed with him, then he took a step into the chamber, knowing this would be the last step he'd take in the past, avoided stepping on his pack below, and rested along the back edge.
"Seal me in," He commanded Sherri, "It's been an honor meeting you, may God fill your life with joy."
"Thanks again," Sherri said tearfully from the last kind words she'd hear from Gary. This man who's giving up his current status in the world for her Philip. With that she shut the chamber door, causing a beep to come from the now engaged timer. Gary then smiled down at her, having one last look at the world around him, then he was frozen instantly, his proud but humbling expression locked on his now frozen body, where it will stay for nearly a thousand years. Sherri then looked over at the chamber containing Fry, smiled back at it and said now to herself.
"I've sent a hero to the future to help you, I love you so much my boy." With that she walked out of the room, towards the nearest elevator, and went downstairs to find a payphone to call Yancy Sr to inform him she was coming back home after two days and two nights of searching. And that miracles can happen, even if no hope is visible in the horizon. She then saw the night sky, looked at all the stars that filled it, and reassured herself: "I'll know he won't fail me; I'll be right up there in the front row to see it happen." Now convinced that there was something else at play, and that she would be ready when that time came. Even if she'd no longer be of earth to witness it. But instead the great sports stadium in the sky.
The Chelsea Times: January 9th, 2000.
In the first week of the new millennium, the vigilante group the Backstreet Butchers have finally defeated the notorious street gang the Roberto Wiseos in a gunfight last week. After a fight broke out at the Mobil in southern Manhattan which ended in an explosion, it is believe the few members of the Butchers who survived the explosion managed to somehow fight off the gang at their head of operation at 405 West 23rd in a section of the London Terrace and killed them all. With their bodies frozen from liquid nitrogen spilling on them. Freeing Manhattan from the most violent gang in these golden times. Unfortunately, no one from the now thirty-five-year-old Butchers survived the gunfight. And one family of civilians was claimed in the fight. What investigators believe to be the Hudson family, a group of four tourists who disappeared that night while on their way to the airport after a vacation in the city. Mayor Rudy Giuliani has placed a memorial outside the building the Butchers did their business in. Commemorating the group's founder Shane Bowman for his sacrifice and service to the city.
"The domestic terrorist Wiseos have cause destruction and chaos to our city that not even our large police force could handle. We commend the efforts and sacrifice the Backstreet Butchers have given to this city; may their services not be in vain."- Mayor Giuliani when speaking at the memorial yesterday.
Although Shane Bowman's body was found across the street in an alleyway on 9th street down the block from the building the Butchers were based in. And with no trace of survivors of the Butchers it is unknown exactly how the Butchers managed to fend off the Wiseos and have all their bodies be in the building. A pair of keys was found in the building right across from the Butcher's armory, suggesting someone had been there around the time of the fight. Also, in light of the memorial, The Chelsea Times will be renaming to The Bowman Times in honor the of group's founder and leader. While Shane Bowman had no family, his sacrifices for this community will live in our hearts for years to come. How me managed to single handedly defeat all ten members of the Roberto Wiseos will be the biggest mystery of the century. If he done it single handedly at all is an even bigger mystery…