The Other Box: Chapter 4 (by Elliot Bowers)
...
Another Town
...
_____This happened before. It even felt the same as it did before, when she
first saw Dr. Nova open THE box. This time, though, she was nowhere close to
the scientist and that accursed object. But something was happening again--
because Dr. Nova must have triggered the transition process again.
_____Now she felt herself falling through a dark and unknown sky--darkness
above and darkness below. There was nothing around, and she could not see up
or down. But she knew she was falling as she felt the wind in passing, felt
herself going straight down, very fast... Very fast! Falling into darkness
at an unbelievably swift pace. Gally expected to be absolutely destroyed when
she hit the ground.
_____She fell for moments yet, hurtling without any idea about where the
ground was. Then... She HIT something--and was knocked out.
...
_____She was alive. Taking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes to center
herself. It was a basic relaxation technique--eased breathing and putting
oneself at peace.
_____And there were rhythmic, wet sounds. A steady squnch-squnch-squnch-squnch....
The sound of someone chewing gum. "Hey Gally?" came a woman's voice. "You
feeling alright, doll? C'mon... Arnold's food isn't THAT bad. Or did the
doc's operation make you kinda allergic to some kinds of chow?" Squnch-squnch-
squnch-squnch...
_____Eyes slowly opening, she looked at wherever she was now. Was this back
in the nameless city? Or, was this back in Scrap Iron City? No, she felt
that she was in neither of those.
_____With sunlight coming in from the window at the right, she looked around.
This seemed to be an eating establishment--a diner. There were several white
formica tables at the right side, with wooden chairs at each. The floor was
hard, shiny and clean. At the left wall was a pinball machine and a
jukebox... Somehow, she knew this place: This was an eatery called "Arnold's
Diner."
_____But... She did not know HOW she knew this; Gally was never here before.
And how did she know what a "jukebox" was? Further, how is it that she had
memories of this odd place at all--if she was never here before? Searching
her mind, Gally felt sick and unstable as unfamiliar new memories came to her
in a rush--as if an undiscovered part of her mind was...UNLOCKED.
_____"You don't look so good..." said the voice from Gally's left--the
waitress. According to her nametag, her name was Angela. She was a thin,
brown-haired high-school girl who worked here part-time to help her uncle.
Gally also "knew" that her uncle was Arnold, the owner of this diner. "Let's
get you to the ladies' room. And don't forget your letter."
_____Gally tried to answer, but found that her throat did not work. How odd.
Then again, this was all oddness.
_____The waitress took her by the left hand, and she managed to get up--feeling
her mind go blurry and unstable. But before going from the table, she took
the up the folded piece of paper Angela referred to. The letter.
_____"Jeez, I forgot how small you are!" said the waitress, glancing down at
Gally. "You Jap girls don't grow too tall, do ya? But then again, because
of doc's operation, I suppose you won't be growing anymore... Sorry."
_____For just a moment, Gally did not know what the waitress meant. But,
then a memory told her that "Jap" was a derogatory term for a Japanese person.
As for the "operation," Gally's odd new memories failed to tell her about that.
But she suspected she would soon find out...
_____The doors to the bathrooms were at the left side of the diner, next to
the pinball machines. Gally was led into the "ladies' room," and then over
to a small sink-and-mirror setup.
_____She felt her dizziness lessening as she was led over to the faucets.
"Are you gonna toss your cookies, kiddo? 'Cause if ya are, the toilets are
right here." Gally shook her head once, instantly regretted doing so--shaking
one's head while feeling dizzy is NOT good.
_____KNOCK KNOCK... A man's voice outside the door asked, "Hey, is Gally
alright in there? Maybe I ought to call the doc. Or was it something I
cooked?"
_____"Nah... Just call her folks, Arnie!" answered the waitress. "Least,
call her Mom." Speaking lower, she spoke to Gally. Said, "Let's try
splashing some water on your pretty face."
_____On came the faucet, sparkling water pouring out. Gally put her pale,
seemingly delicate hands in the stream of cool water. She then lightly splashed
water on her face. Wait... PALE hands? What was wrong with her hands?
_____"Here's some tissue paper, sweetie," said the waitress, getting some
from a small dispenser next to the mirror. Gally accepted the sheets of
tissue paper and wiped her face before looking in the mirror.
_____The bathroom mirror was at head level to the petite female. From the
reflection, her own face looked back: the same dark-eyed stare, the same pert
nose and small pouty mouth. Straight dark hair radiated from her scalp and
framed her young face. A slender neck.
_____She looked down at the rest of herself. Her white blouse had a sailor-
style black collar--her blouse flowing over her slim torso and was neatly
tucked into the waistband of her black pleated skirt. The skirt felt like
silk, flowed to knee-length over her smooth legs. She had on black shoes
as well, with white socks. Her small black purse was suspended by a thin
strap over her left shoulder. And she was holding the tissue paper in her
fine, dollish hands--with skin and fingernails.
_____She knew that, even beneath her clothes, she had skin. Smooth, cream-toned
skin all over. Not metal hands, not a metal body.
_____The "doc's" operation, the one Angela mentioned, must have done this to
her. "Hey there," said the waitress. "Are ya gonna be alright? I've got to
get back to work. Customers... Ya know how it is. Well, stay in here until
ya feel better."
_____Gally turned her head. Stared at Angela. "What? I say something
wrong?"
_____Standing in here... Thinking... Though the rest of her memories were
questionable, Gally remembered that she was at a table when she first came here.
So, she must have eaten something--and had to pay. She opened her purse and
found money--nine paper dollars. That, and her purse contained several black
pens and a white notepad.
_____She was unsure of how much she owed the waitress. According to her
memories of here, nine of these strange dollars was a lot of pocket money.
She took out two dollars...
_____"Golly! Two dollars!" exclaimed the waitress. "You really MUST be feeling
sick, kid! You already paid AND tipped!" She patted Gally on the head.
"Gotta go. See ya later!" she said before leaving the bathroom.
_____Uncounted minutes later, the swirling dizziness completely faded from
her head. She was able to see more clearly, and she felt fine. In fact, she
felt a bit giddy. This was a normal-looking body! A human-looking body!
_____Now alone in this bathroom, Gally ignored the odd giddiness she felt.
This body felt so light and able! And she could FEEL more: the feelings
of clothes on her skin, the water from the faucet on her fingertips, the soft
tissue paper brushed on her neck. This all felt REAL. Now, about the letter.
_____The letter she had with her had been tucked into the side of the mirror
by Angela. Going over to the small trashbin to throw away the tissue paper,
Gally came back to the mirror and took the letter--unfolded it.
_____It was a letter written in English, letters in sharp and somewhat agitated
strokes. With English writing, there is more tolerance with how one writes;
Gally preferred Kanji characters as one's handwriting always had to conform to
neatness. Yet, this letter was legible, written in very small and neat
letters. She read it:
....
_____To The Hunter:
_____If you read this letter, then you must have certainly
followed me into this next place. Because of the transition
process, you may or may not recall your original self. But
I myself have arrived here--intact and with full use of my
mind and body. In fact, I feel quite elated! This is all
quite a delicious experiment, is it not?
_____By the time you feel coherent enough to read this letter,
you must also be aware of your new physical state. Do not be
alarmed: You are not as physically frail as a real-bodied
human being. Yes, you remain a cyborg. However, in place of
alloyed armor and electromechanics, you have synthetic skin
and myogel-muscle. Your body now looks and feels somewhat
biological, yet it is wholly synthetic--the synthetic
version of your body at age 19.
______How do I know of this? How is this happening at all?
The full explanation would take pages of algebraic equations
(yes, algebra!) that would fill pages and pages, but suffice
to say that THE box (And you know what box!) has immense
potential. However, it requires much study. As you now
experience the results of THE box's usage, you can appreciate
such knowledge.
--Desty Nova, Ph.D.
...
_____Gally read the letter twice, small handwriting and all. So, she was
still herself at heart, a bounty hunter. And, her target was here as well.
It was he who was responsible for her movement of into this reality. And only
in meeting him would she be able to... WOOSH!
_____There was a FLASH of flame and heat, and the letter vanished! A slight
burning feeling on her fingertips. The letter had somehow vaporized, leaving
behind a smell of burnt paper and sulphur.
_____A trick of chemistry. But now, she knew her purpose in this place. In
this next reality. Better yet, she somehow inherited useful "memories" in
coming to this town. This was the town of Delsea, a small town somewhere
in the continental Midwest. A town in the country that was still the United
States.
_____As for herself, she was supposed to be a young lady of Delsea, soon to
go to higher education after this summer was done. Strange, as women of
Delsea seldom go to college. But she was known to be strange, anyway; she was
the only Japanese girl in this entire town.
_____She accepted these odd new memories that were now hers--yet not hers--
and walked out of this bathroom. It was like being more than one person, or
inhabiting another person's mind. But she was still herself, still with a
task to do. To linger and wonder for too long about her new situation would
be wasteful.
...
_____Outside of the bathroom, she saw that some more customers had come into
the diner. They were teenagers, generally: older boys and girls. The boys
wore leather jackets over white tee-shirts, with jeans and boots--hair
slicked back. The girls dressed themselves in blouses and long skirts,
"bobby" socks and neat shoes on their feet--carefree hairstyles. The
jukebox-machine was playing a song with a steady light beat and a sad-wailing
male singer, guitars in the background. Angela was going to and from the food
counter, getting food from the cook and over to the customers. She waved
once to Gally before continuing her work.
_____Two neatly dressed adults walked into the diner--man and woman. The
woman had come in first, wearing a simple blue dress and a bit much makeup.
She was followed by the man who opened the door for her--a man in a brown
business suit and tie, his fedora hat in hand.
_____According to Gally's semi-real "memories," those were her "parents."
Adopted parents, actually. They cared for her as if she were their own
biological child. Her odd memories told her this about them, and more.
_____The "parents" came quickly over here, and the "Father" knelt by Gally's
side. "Thank God you're fine!" he said. "Arnold called, and we came right
over! We can't have our little girl being sick, can we? Especially since the
doctor gave you that life-saving body-replacement operation! A modern medical
genius, that doctor!"
_____"Mother" came closer and went to both knees, smelling of light perfume.
She put a hand on Gally's forehead, then kissed her there. "Dear, we love
you, and we don't want to lose you." She gave a quick hug.
_____Gally looked around, expected other teenagers in this diner to give her
silly looks. But they did not; they continued talking and eating at the tables
over there.
_____"We should get her home, honey," said "Father." "I tried calling the
doc, but the nurse said he was busy. And we can't take Gally to ordinary
hospitals. She's different now."
_____"You're right, dear," went "Mother," speaking to "Father." "I know just
the thing to do until we can contact the doctor! Some nice warm milk and
vitamins, and she'll be right as rain. What do you say to that, darling?"
_____Released from the woman's hug, Gally tried to talk again--but still failed.
She put the fingers of her right hand to her own throat, shook her head once.
Perhaps, that was why there was a notebook and pen in her purse?
_____The Mother-person looked sadly at Gally while the Father-person spoke.
He said, "It's a weekend afternoon, but Doc Nova said he was always ready.
Glad he doesn't play golf. Come along, I don't want the car to take up the
space of paying customers!"
_____And so, Gally followed these two unbelievingly friendly people out of the
diner. To her, they were immensely kind--almost too kind and caring. They
were like simplistic characters from history texts and ancient television
archives. But something was different; something was not right. In felt,
something felt not-right about ALL of this.
_____They left the diner and went to the front. Out here was a shop-lined
street in the light of a clear afternoon. Lots of small businesses around
here. Above, telephone and electric lines were suspended on brown poles. And
the sidewalk was neat, free of cracks and swept clean. A breeze blew by,
making Gally's skirt and hair flutter. She felt the wind on her skin--her
realistic skin. And she felt a slight oddness in the air.
_____Maybe, it was part of becoming spiritually adjusted to this body...? No,
that was not it. That was not it at all. As she and her "parents" walked
along the sidewalk and over to an old-style car, the synthetic-bodied girl
felt still felt that something was amiss.
_____It was a feeling that stayed with her the entire drive back "home."
"Father" drove the car with hat on while "Mother" sat by his side. Both
"parents" wore smiles and chattered lightly, sounding shallow in their bright
perkiness. Their odd happiness only made her feel a bit more sickened.
...
_____The ride "home" took them through the downtown scenery of Delsea. The
heart of this town consisted of small shops, some small office buildings, and
one large factory structure--run by General Electric. The heart of town was
where most people of Delsea worked. Beyond that, there were the outlying
residential areas--where people lived.
_____And the residential areas were ideal, suburban. Neat residential streets,
with houses among well-kept front yards. And there were trees. Lots of trees
were there were not houses. Gally seldom saw so much plantlife where she came
from... A land were the environment has been altered by centuries of industrial
development, pollution, and one big near-apocalyptal war.
_____No... She should be concerned with where she was now. She should focus
on here and now. As she rode with the parents in this old-style car, Gally
searched her new memories--like looking through albums. Thinking... Thinking
of where she was now and her larger presumed role in this town.
_____According to the memories in her mind, this indeed was Delsea--a small,
well-to-do American town that was as well off as it looked. Extremely ideal.
Fine, she knew that. But what else did her memories have to say?
_____Though newspaper and radio broadcasts said that crimes and troubles
happened elsewhere, nothing bad seemed to happen here. Everyone knew each
other, families were stable with two children each, and everyone here was
financially well-off. People lived in small suburban homes while fathers
worked in the downtown area. And, overall, everyone felt complacent and
satisfied.
_____But, something was wrong with this town. Something that her new-found
memories did not tell her. Nor, was it something that the radio or local
newspaper journalists would report. She was not sure what...
_____Hands on her skirt-covered lap, Gally sighed and looked out the right-side
window. As this car passed by houses, kids playing outside, she still had
THAT feeling--the feeling of slight unease. She had a deeper role in whatever
force was causing that feeling. Dr. Nova... He was connected to it as well.
Oh, Dr. Nova was ESPECIALLY connected.
_____Her slight eyebrows bent in anger as she thought of the one her parents
knew as "Doc" Nova. She thought that the metaphysicist was irresponsible in
fumbling about with that box. With most every other fugitive Gally had handled,
she attacked and killed for the simple sake of improving her skills--which was
also improvement of herself. She was a bounty hunter, a skilled professional;
she did not judge the criminals she killed. But in this instance, she did!
She judged Nova! Dr. Nova was mad to fool about with the very fabric of time
and space itself! How dare he!
_____"Don't frown, dear!" came the Mother's comment from a front seat. She was
looking at Gally through a mirror that folds down from the car ceiling.
"Frowning makes your pretty face not look so nice! Then it'll get stuck like
that!"
_____The Father chuckled. "I don't think we have to worry about that, dear.
If her face gets messed up, we can just send her over to doc's and have it
repaired! Like a damaged radio set!"
_____"Dear!" exclaimed the Mother. "You sound TERRIBLE! Talking about our
daughter as if she were some kind of...toy! The doctor said that just her body
was replaced, not her mind too!"
_____"Well gosh, honey! I know that!" said the Father. "Technology is wonderful.
We've got televisions, rocket ships, great big electronic computers, and
plastics... Hah, hah! No wonder the doc was able to start replacing people's
bodies with synthetics. Maybe soon, we can start replacing BRAINS with gadgets!"
_____The Mother gasped, put her hands to her cheeks. "How could you THINK of
something so terrible! We would be space-monsters if we lost our brains!"
_____"Hah hah..." chuckled the Father, taking a hand off the steering wheel
to pat Mother on a knee. "I'm just kidding you, honey. But I'm sure if brains
were replaced with machine-gadgets, it would be for the sake of human progress!"
_____Gally heard the banter from the back seat, wondering about what was said.
To have one's brain replaced with something synthetic, that was not perfect
"progress." If her brain were removed and replaced, then there would be
nothing of her original self left here. As it was now, only her brain was
originally hers.
...
_____Soon enough, driving through several suburban streets, Father pulled the
car up to one of several quaint houses. A small but very typical house of
this town, this was a two-story home with a neat front yard and a white picket
fence. Extremely ideal, as was all of this town.
_____"We're home!" chuckled Father. "Now, while I call Doc Nova, you can see
if some warm cow juice is just what Gally needs." He then got out of the car
and moved over to the passenger side, opening the door for the Mother.
_____Gally found the door handle to let herself out of the car, nearly stumbled
when she forgot about the lightness of this synth-flesh body of hers. It had
most of the strength of a metal-type cyborg body, but the easiness of movement
needed some getting used to. And with just a gentle shove, she nearly slammed
the car door: Though lithe of body, she still had significant strength.
_____As Gally's adopted parents went to the house, she set her feet apart
and raised her fists. She tried a few quick two-knuckle strikes, the punches
cutting blade-quick through the air. Indeed, this synthetic body had artificially
high speed and strength while looking and feeling human. But, she suspected
that cuts from a blade could easily damage her.
_____"GAL-LY!" came the Mother's call from the front door of the house. "Come
in before you become more sick!"
_____Gally would have liked to stay out and test the limits of this synth-flesh
body, but she decided to cooperate and comply. Indeed, in time, she would
be able to coerce "Doc" Nova into undoing what he was doing. And then she
would have his head.
...
_____She walked up to the house and beyond the front stoop. The inside was
neater than the outside. The comfortable living room was spotlessly clean.
A shiny floor, made of polished wood--with a mid-sized carpet in the middle.
The clean, neat sofa was flanked by two armchairs. There was a large, boxy
television with a fifteen-inch screen. A radio was in the corner.
_____"Close the door and lie down on the sofa, sweetie. I'll get some warm
milk and vitamins. I don't know too much about synthetic bellies, but a little
milk always helps." The adopted Mother then went into the kitchen.
_____Gally closed the front door and took off her shoes. She stepped lightly
across the living room floor to lie down on the sofa, knees together and her
small purse resting across her flat stomach. Resting her dark-haired head on
a cushion, she looked at the ceiling.
_____Mother came back from the kitchen with two glasses and a bottle--one
glass was filled with milk, the other filled with water, and the bottle was
filled with vitamin pills. All of that was balanced atop a fold-up tray-stand.
"Here you are, dear! Warm milk, water, and vitamins! Now sit up."
_____Gally sat up on the sofa while her adopted Mother set the tray down. But
the synthetic-bodied girl was girl was also sure to take a notepad and pen from
her small black purse. With notepad held in her left hand, she wrote out a
question in English: What do you know of Dr. Nova beyond his medical
profession?
_____"Why, you know the doctor! He's one of the very best!" answered the
Mother-person. "I think he graduated from the university that Albert
Einstein is at. Oh, what was the name of that school? Harvard? Rutgers? Oh
well...! Whatever school he went to, he is brilliant! Now, drink your milk
before it cools."
_____After giving a quick glare to the woman, Gally took the glass of milk
from the tray-stand. She felt the warmth of the liquid through the glass.
Bringing the glass to her lips, she swallowed--nearly gagged.
_____"Don't gulp it!" said Mother, patting Gally on the upper back. "We don't
want it going down the wrong way...!" She opened the plastic bottle and shook
out three beige-colored pills. "Now take your vitamins, dear. These are good
for you! And here is water..."
_____Gally again took up notepad and pen to write up another question. Turning
to a fresh page, she wrote: Why is it that I cannot speak?
_____And she held it up for the woman to read. "Don't be silly, child! You
know why! Doctor Nova said that your voice still needed fixing up. But
remember the saying, 'Children are best seen and not heard!'" Then she
patted Gally on the head. "Being silent will help build character. Now take
your vitamins..."
_____Annoyed, Gally put her pen and notepad away again into her small black
purse. She took the three vitamin pills--which tasted like dry lumps of
sugared rust--and swallowed them with much help from a gulp of water. To
think, a bounty hunter of her caliber was being...infantilized! For just a
moment, she thought of slaying both inhabitants of this house; this was not
her reality, anyway!
_____The Father came into the living room, still dressed in that brown business
suit of his. "I just called Dr. Nova. He said that he'd be really happy to
see Gally in half an hour, over at his office. Gosh, he's a SWELL guy--and
brilliant!"
_____"How nice!" went the Mother. "How about that, dearie! Isn't that just
nice?" She smiled at Gally. In turn, Gally put on a big silly smile. It was
a smile as real as the rest of her.
____The Father walked over to stand next to the Mother. "Aww, look at that
smile! Isn't she just a DOLL? I think her smile looks prettier now after
that body-replacement operation."
...
_____Ten minutes later, the Father-person drove Gally over to Doc Nova's small
office--which was back in the downtown area of Delsea. "Father" said he hated
being late for anything, so he and Gally were to leave ahead of time. "Mother"
waved from the front door when the car went out of the driveway.
_____This time, Gally was able to sit in the front passenger seat for the drive. All the
way there, the adopted Father whistled a light and uppity tune--occasionally
flashing his Mickey Mouse-looking smile at Gally. She felt ever-so-slightly
sickened by the strange man's prolonged smiling and eternally upbeat expression.
That, as Gally herself felt anger burning toward "Doc" Nova.
_____This car passed out of the residential suburbs and into downtown--lighter
traffic. "Almost there! How are you feeling, my little lady?" asked the man,
still smiling away.
_____Of course, Gally could not answer back with words. The voice synthesizer
of this synthetic body still malfunctioned. But she answered with a smile...
A dark smile.
_____They later arrived on a certain downtown street. The car pulled into a
small general-purpose parking, and Father skipped out of the vehicle. Walking
with steps as light and happy as a Fred Astaire, the man opened the car door
on the front passenger side--letting Gally out of the car and onto the sidewalk.
From here, it was a short walk over to the small medical office.
_____A plaque on the medical office door read: Dr. Desty Nova, Ph.D.--Family
Physician. Father looked at the plaque, checked his watch. "Bingo!" he
exclaimed, before turning the knob and opening the door. "Let's hop to it,
Gally-girl!" he said. And Gally supressed an urge to eviscerate the big silly
man with the next sharp object there was handy.
...
_____They came into a small waiting room area--the wall done in oak paneling,
the floor carpeted. At one wall was a reception window, behind which sat a
plain-looking thin nurse with a bit too much lipstick. Her skin was almost as
white as her uniform, making her red lipstick seem even more sanguine.
_____"You're right on time," she said, looking up from the appointment roster.
"I was just here, catching up on some light work. Well, the doctor will see
little Gally right away. The equipment is ready." She got up from her
stool behind the reception window, walked to the right.
_____She had opened the door leading out of the waiting room, then held out
her hand for Gally to take. For the sake of appearances, Gally took the
nurse's hand. "You're still the cutest thing around!" said the nurse. "You'll
have a husband before you know it!"
_____The Father person chuckled. "Ha ha... Well, let's hope that's not TOO
soon!" He bent over as so his eyes were level with Gally's. Said, "Don't you
worry, darling. I'll be waiting right here!"
_____Gally was then led away by the pale smiling nurse, led down this short
hall. Oh yes, she would behave herself. Most certainly, she WOULD! She
would behave...in a way BEFITTING A BOUNTY HUNTER! Ha ha ha ha...!
_____The nurse knocked on a door at the end of the short hallway. "Doctor Nova,
your favorite little patient is here! The one who underwent the experimental
procedure."
_____His voice came from beyond the door. "Mmm... Yes, please! Do bring
her in," he said. "I have been ready and waiting for our little subject.
Mm... Delicious! Mmm..." Apparently, the man was eating something in there.
And if Gally's suspicions were correct, he was eating flan.
_____With the door opened, Gally stepped into the most low-tech cyber-lab she
had ever seen; Dr. Nova must have been extensively innovative in setting
things up. Above were indandescent light bulbs, bright enough to light this
room well. Along the entire right wall was one massive computer--with
flashing lights and several small monitors. The wall to the front was occupied
with a well-lit table--flanked by boxy-looking machines with simple robot-arms.
At the left wall was Dr. Nova, sitting on a stool; yes, he had a bowl of flan,
a silvery spoon in one hand.
_____So there he was, just sitting here, looking like he belonged here all
along. The middle-aged man was wearing a buttoned white shirt and slacks,
hard shoes on his feet. His ugly tie had diagonal black-and-white stripes, the
white matching the rest of his outfit. No flan stains anywhere on his clothes,
though.
_____"DELICIOUS! The flan of Delsea is yet MORE tasty than the flan of the
city!" he said. "It has the taste one would expect from extensive pesticide
use with some of the ingredients, but it complements the flavor rather than
detracts from it. Now, I am to treat my patient! A patient who, I may add,
is looking quite fetching with her realistic-looking synth-flesh body."
_____Such arrogance! Gally clenched her small fists, her dark eyes on him.
But she could not speak. Instead, she reached into her small black purse,
took out her notepad. She wrote in Kanji characters:
_____I give you warning, DOCTOR. Were it not for
this compromising situation, I would remove your
head from your body. I am a bounty hunter. You
are a criminal--a price on your head. You are
merely alive as so you may return us both to
Scrap Iron City.
_____Gally tore off the sheet of little notepad paper and handed it to the
nurse--who gave it to Nova. He read it... Blinking hard, he chuckled
uncomfortably. But he had a comeback to THAT written statement!
_____Answered, "Well, I should also give you information regarding YOUR
situation. The nurse at your side has undergone the very same procedure you
have in this reality--courtesy of my admittedly limited expertise in cyborg
technology. However, I saw to it that her synthetic physique posesses more
power than your current artificial body. Attack me, and you may lose YOUR
head, instead."
_____Moving machine-fast, the nurse was suddenly at Nova's side. She lightly
folded her arms across her slim abdomen, her eyes on Gally's every move and
breath. Now noticable was the nurse's fingernails: silvery metal.
_____Feeling more confident, Dr. Nova continued. "Also, it would be a tragedy
for us both if you were to not cooperate. Even if you were to succeed in
killing me, I would not be able to continue studying the properties of the
box, and you could be stranded in this reality. A reality which, I should add,
has gained a rather intriguing and slow-acting endemic.
_____"Furthermore, you still lack the basic power of speech! Are you so sure
that all other functions of your synthetic body are present as well? After
all, I possess more knowledge of your incarnation in this reality than you do.
Cooperate now, and my nurse and I will repair your voice synthesizer."
_____Gally turned from Dr. Nova and his synthetic-bodied nurse, looked at the
door. Dr. Nova was currently in an extremely high bargaining position. It
was he who could return her to Scrap Iron City through usage of THE box. Also,
she wondered about the endemic that he mentioned.
_____Turning around, she nodded once and put away her small notepad. Yes,
for now, she would cooperate. Doctor Nova would not be marked for death...for
now.
...
_____Restoring Gally's speech took but moments. She lie down atop the metal
table next to those huge, ancient-looking computers. Doctor Nova took up a
thin plastic device, which was connected to the big computers by way of a wire.
"Nurse, hold the patient's head back and open her mouth. This must enter the
trachea."
_____The nurse tilted back Gally's head and opened her mouth. She could feel
the tube, sliding into her throat. It was not thick enough to block her
airway, but she suppressed the urge to gag.
_____Doctor Nova, taking his bowl of flan with him, went over to an analog
keyboard next to the large computer, and began clacking in instructions.
The computer buzzed and made clicking sounds as relays went to work.
_____There was a tingling in Gally's throat, and she was ready to tug out the
device. The nurse saw Gally's hands move, and she shook her head. "Don't do
that. Be a big girl!" she chided.
_____The large computer finished clacking, and Dr. Nova checked the small
video screens. "Ah, it is a simple problem. It is a mere miscalibration of
synchronization with I/O circuitry. A quick correction..."
_____Then Gally felt as if her neck were being electrocuted! But she took the
pain. Pain was part of living. And it was over.
_____"The recalibration is complete," said Dr. Nova. "Nurse, remove the
diagnostics probe. Now, let us diagnose her attitude! Say something, Gally.
Ask a question."
_____Gally felt glad when the plastic rod-device was pulled from her throat.
She sat up, knees together. She tried talking... "We do have an agreement,
for now. However, what is the endemic you mentioned? The one in this reality?"
_____For once, the nurse's look of easy confidence had flinched. There was
just a flicker of worry on her face. And, Gally felt that "something-is-not-right"
feeling again.
_____Dr. Nova put his bowl of flan down on the counter next to the metal table.
He then crossed his hands behind his back. "Ah, the endemic? THAT is an
interesting phenomenon! I know of this because, upon coming into this reality,
I found myself already established as a medical doctor--somehow."
_____He shrugged. "The transition also gave me new memories, ones which I
utilized in my observations. I have observed odd symptoms in certain
townspeople. Rather gruesome symptoms, I should say. In fact, they are best
observed rather than explained.
_____"And to take into such observation, let us go to a place of social
gathering--a certain eatery. That place has had a large share of endemic
victims. We will have a higher probability of seeing something there."
_____At this point, Dr. Nova looked at the nurse. "Nurse, we will tell
Gally's Father-figure that I am taking her to Lumbario's Pizzaria for, ah...further
diagnostics. Yes, diagnostics. We will tell him it is all part of testing
Gally's synthetic body."
...
_____The Father-person believed the good doctor. "Okey-dokey, big chief!
You're the professional. You know what's best for Gally." He put on his
hat. "I'll just be on my way!" Smiling that big stupid smile, he left the
synthetic-bodied girl here with Nova and the nurse.
_____From there, it was a short walk. Walking out of the store-front medical
office, this was a slightly odd sort of trio going along this downtown sidewalk.
There they were: a professionally dressed doctor with an ugly tie, a cadaverously
pale nurse with too much lipstick, and the raven-haired girl with a contemptuous
look on her pert face. Also odd was how they were the only people outside,
and the afternoon was dimming into sunset.
_____Lumbario's Pizzaria was just several blocks' distance from Dr. Nova's
"medical" office. It was in one-story, red-brick building with a simple
wooden sign hung above the door. The trio went in...
_____Inside, the layout was simple. Along the left side were round wooden
tables, with just a jukebox at the right. There was a long counter at the
end of the room--behind which several white-clad men with white hats took
customer orders--especially orders for pizzas.
_____Though there were no customers visible, the cooks were still busy cooking,
opening the oven and putting in flattened pizza dough. That, while another
white-clad pizza-man was standing with his back to the wall. He saw the trio
come in.
_____"Hmm..." went Dr. Nova, eyeing the tables at the left--all of them empty.
All of the tables of this restaurant were empty. "WHERE shall we seat
ourselves? An excess of choices can be just as troublesome as a lack of
choices. Don't you believe so, Gally?" He looked to the nurse. "Nurse, take
our patient to the third table at the left." Then he went over to the counter
while Gally was firmly guided to that table--the nurse's left hand on her upper
back.
_____Over at the counter, Dr. Nova made his order. "Mmm... Lumbario, I order
a standard pizza--with flan topping along the right half. We will eat it here."
_____"Flan topping?" went the pizza-man behind the counter, leaning against
the wall. Then his eyes widened. "Are you SURE? You sure you want...FLAN
topping on a pizza?"
_____There was silence. The other pizza-men at work in the cooking area went
quiet, paused in their work. No one spoke. There was not even the sound of
car traffic outside.
_____"Yes, I order FLAN topping because I am THE doctor!" said Dr. Nova. "I
now order a pizza with flan atop the right half. Again, I say that I am THE
doctor! Need I repeat my order?"
_____"Y-y-yes sir!" sputtered the leaning pizza man. "We'll prepare it right
away! Louis, you heard him. We've gotta get the flan..." And then the
cooks went to work.
_____"That took some effort..." said Dr. Nova, coming over to this table and
sitting next to the nurse. "Now, we shall have our pizza--eventually. Mmm...!
Flan can be delicious. Especially, the way it is here in Delsea!"
_____Gally glared at the less-than-serious doctor. "I lack choice at this
point, Nova. What is to be done here? There are few people here--a lower
probability of seeing a victim." Dr. Nova interrupted with a shake of his
head.
_____"Do not be silly, cyborg-child! You were brought here to see something,
and you will!" said the doctor. "In fact, without resorting to calculations,
I feel that something will happen quite soon. Do you not also feel it?"
_____There was suddenly sounds of commotion from the doorway... Sounds of
cheering and talking from out there. The door opened, and in came a gaggle
of potential customers... Eight of them, all of them dressed in the local
style. But some of the boys had black leather jackets.
_____From the sounds of happiness and cheering they were making, Gally suspected
the people must have come back from a sporting event or a celebration. A rather
noisy event, from which they brought some noise with them. They occupied the
other two tables here, with some standing around.
_____Gally felt irritated at the sounds of this massive invasion by loud,
raucious people... Along with irritation, she also felt IT. IT, the feeling
that she felt when she first came to Delsea. This time, the feeling was
stronger. It was so strong that it felt as if her blood-circulating pump was
sinking in her chest.
_____She ducked her head ever-so-slightly, not at all enjoying this noise or
the feeling of unease. One of the newcomers put a coin in the pizzaria
jukebox--the jukebox then playing a peculiar old-sounding song.
_____Several people went up to the counter and took simple food orders--hamburgers,
soda, and pizzas. Or, as they put it, "soda-pop." Being about as loud as the
jukebox, though not nearly as musical, they came back to their tables.
_____"BLEAH-H-H...!" went someone--vomiting on the floor. Laughter followed
right after. Hey look! Someone upchucked! Hah, hah, hah...!
_____Maybe the group was drunk. Odd, Gally had not smelled it; drunk people
normally smelled like what they were drinking. There was a THUMP when the sick
person fell, and another girl laughed.
_____Gally pivoted halfway around in her seat, looking back. The boy who
vomited was an athlete-type of person--crew-cut blonde hair, somewhat heavy
muscular build, and a varsity jacket worn over his tee shirt--a large "6" on
the back. He was leaning out and away from the table, the vomit on the floor.
But instead of there being vomit near his feet, there was a patch of black
shiny oily slime. A shiny substance so black that it swallowed light where it
didn't reflect it.
_____Someone in a black leather jacket stood up. "Hey-y-y...! Be COOL,
everybody!" he said. Addressing the teenager who vomited, the standing one in
the leather jacket said, "Hey Lester, you know what that means? You've got
the disease."
_____"Shut the fuck up, Fonzie!" went the sick boy. He stood up, knocking back
his chair. "Don't tell me that! I'm sending you to HELL! RIGHT NOW!" Then
he raised his fists, snarling at that cool guy with the black leather jacket.
So the fight began.
...
_____"Fonzie," stepped away from the table--hands out. "Hey-y-y... Listen to
me! It's the SICKNESS talkin'. You know?" He stepped over to the sick
teenager. "If you don't get yourself over to--" THWACK! He swayed back from
sick Lester's left punch, which landed on the jaw.
_____He straightened himself out, ran a hand along his dark hair and moved
his jaw a bit. He somewhat expected the blow. "It's cool... It's cool...
Just watch." He looked at Lester, who pulled back his right fist again.
"Nothing to worry about. It's all healthy exercise."
_____Suddenly, Lester was on his back--in the puddle of the dark oily substance.
Fonzie's punches were so swift and sudden that almost no one saw them! Gally
did, though. Her eyes faster than typical people of this town, she saw that
the one named "Fonzie" seemed an extremely skilled fighter.
_____"Wuh-h-h..." moaned Lester... Cough! Cough! He then snapped to his
feet again, a dark snarling look on his face. With a growl, he ran at Fonzie--
his left fist read to strike!
_____Fonzie ducked as the blow SWISHED over his head. Then, Lester was knocked
back when Fonzie's amazingly fast uppercut struck. Some blood splattered
against the ceiling.
_____No, wait... That was not blood. It was the same dark, shiny substance
that Lester had vomited. And, more of the dark shiny substance oozed from
Lester's split lips. Something was wrong with Lester.
_____Swaying on his feet, he stepped towards Fonzie--growling. His eyes were
pools of shadow. His face reddening.
_____That looked like too much fun! With a grin that seemed to split her
face, Gally leapt up from her seat. It was time she took into some of the
local festivities!
_____She dashed behind Lester, her fists clenched. TH-THUMP! Her two punches
sank into Lester's lower back. The two strikes were so fast that they almost
sounded like one.
_____And the results were amazing. "Argh?" went Lester, his grunt like a
question. He then began leaning backwards. As he fell, Gally KICKED his feet
out from under him. She then did a quick cartwheel to get out of the way.
_____The back of Lester's head made a hard cracking sound when it hit the
hard floor. He arched his back, making growling sounds and writhing. But he
could not get up. Then he went unconscious, dark bile oozing from his mouth
and nose. This fight was over.
...
_____"Hey-y-y... Lester was done in by a CHICK!" said Fonzie. "And there's
only one pint-sized chick in Delsea who can do a guy like that! That would
be GALLY!" He held up his hands, looking at the other customers. "Let's
hear it for Gally, huh...?"
_____There was then the sound of clapping and cheering from those at the
tables. They whistled, making all sorts of sounds. Not at all concerned for
fallen Lester, they cheered for the cute little Japanese girl who really knew
how to fight!
_____Amidst the cheering and whistling, Fonzie shook Gally's hand. Then he
gave a sidways nod toward one of the tables--where Dr. Nova and the nurse sat.
"Look out, Gally-girl!" he said above the clamor. "The pizza's ready!"
_____With her right hand still in Fonzie's friendly grip, Gally looked at the
wide, square pizza box atop the table over there. Dr. Nova smiled, his hands
ready to open up the box and eat some pizza.
_____One of Gally's false memories told her two important things about pizza.
ONE, pizzas are not given in boxes when served at Lumbario's Pizzaria--or most
any other pizzaria. TWO, pizzas are not served in wide flat wooden boxes.
Smiling, Dr. Nova opened it up.
_____There was no damned pizza in that box, of course! Instead, there was the
darkness. It was the deep, infinite darkness that Gally feared. And, it was
this darkness that closed over her. She felt herself falling again...
...
Another Town
...
_____This happened before. It even felt the same as it did before, when she
first saw Dr. Nova open THE box. This time, though, she was nowhere close to
the scientist and that accursed object. But something was happening again--
because Dr. Nova must have triggered the transition process again.
_____Now she felt herself falling through a dark and unknown sky--darkness
above and darkness below. There was nothing around, and she could not see up
or down. But she knew she was falling as she felt the wind in passing, felt
herself going straight down, very fast... Very fast! Falling into darkness
at an unbelievably swift pace. Gally expected to be absolutely destroyed when
she hit the ground.
_____She fell for moments yet, hurtling without any idea about where the
ground was. Then... She HIT something--and was knocked out.
...
_____She was alive. Taking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes to center
herself. It was a basic relaxation technique--eased breathing and putting
oneself at peace.
_____And there were rhythmic, wet sounds. A steady squnch-squnch-squnch-squnch....
The sound of someone chewing gum. "Hey Gally?" came a woman's voice. "You
feeling alright, doll? C'mon... Arnold's food isn't THAT bad. Or did the
doc's operation make you kinda allergic to some kinds of chow?" Squnch-squnch-
squnch-squnch...
_____Eyes slowly opening, she looked at wherever she was now. Was this back
in the nameless city? Or, was this back in Scrap Iron City? No, she felt
that she was in neither of those.
_____With sunlight coming in from the window at the right, she looked around.
This seemed to be an eating establishment--a diner. There were several white
formica tables at the right side, with wooden chairs at each. The floor was
hard, shiny and clean. At the left wall was a pinball machine and a
jukebox... Somehow, she knew this place: This was an eatery called "Arnold's
Diner."
_____But... She did not know HOW she knew this; Gally was never here before.
And how did she know what a "jukebox" was? Further, how is it that she had
memories of this odd place at all--if she was never here before? Searching
her mind, Gally felt sick and unstable as unfamiliar new memories came to her
in a rush--as if an undiscovered part of her mind was...UNLOCKED.
_____"You don't look so good..." said the voice from Gally's left--the
waitress. According to her nametag, her name was Angela. She was a thin,
brown-haired high-school girl who worked here part-time to help her uncle.
Gally also "knew" that her uncle was Arnold, the owner of this diner. "Let's
get you to the ladies' room. And don't forget your letter."
_____Gally tried to answer, but found that her throat did not work. How odd.
Then again, this was all oddness.
_____The waitress took her by the left hand, and she managed to get up--feeling
her mind go blurry and unstable. But before going from the table, she took
the up the folded piece of paper Angela referred to. The letter.
_____"Jeez, I forgot how small you are!" said the waitress, glancing down at
Gally. "You Jap girls don't grow too tall, do ya? But then again, because
of doc's operation, I suppose you won't be growing anymore... Sorry."
_____For just a moment, Gally did not know what the waitress meant. But,
then a memory told her that "Jap" was a derogatory term for a Japanese person.
As for the "operation," Gally's odd new memories failed to tell her about that.
But she suspected she would soon find out...
_____The doors to the bathrooms were at the left side of the diner, next to
the pinball machines. Gally was led into the "ladies' room," and then over
to a small sink-and-mirror setup.
_____She felt her dizziness lessening as she was led over to the faucets.
"Are you gonna toss your cookies, kiddo? 'Cause if ya are, the toilets are
right here." Gally shook her head once, instantly regretted doing so--shaking
one's head while feeling dizzy is NOT good.
_____KNOCK KNOCK... A man's voice outside the door asked, "Hey, is Gally
alright in there? Maybe I ought to call the doc. Or was it something I
cooked?"
_____"Nah... Just call her folks, Arnie!" answered the waitress. "Least,
call her Mom." Speaking lower, she spoke to Gally. Said, "Let's try
splashing some water on your pretty face."
_____On came the faucet, sparkling water pouring out. Gally put her pale,
seemingly delicate hands in the stream of cool water. She then lightly splashed
water on her face. Wait... PALE hands? What was wrong with her hands?
_____"Here's some tissue paper, sweetie," said the waitress, getting some
from a small dispenser next to the mirror. Gally accepted the sheets of
tissue paper and wiped her face before looking in the mirror.
_____The bathroom mirror was at head level to the petite female. From the
reflection, her own face looked back: the same dark-eyed stare, the same pert
nose and small pouty mouth. Straight dark hair radiated from her scalp and
framed her young face. A slender neck.
_____She looked down at the rest of herself. Her white blouse had a sailor-
style black collar--her blouse flowing over her slim torso and was neatly
tucked into the waistband of her black pleated skirt. The skirt felt like
silk, flowed to knee-length over her smooth legs. She had on black shoes
as well, with white socks. Her small black purse was suspended by a thin
strap over her left shoulder. And she was holding the tissue paper in her
fine, dollish hands--with skin and fingernails.
_____She knew that, even beneath her clothes, she had skin. Smooth, cream-toned
skin all over. Not metal hands, not a metal body.
_____The "doc's" operation, the one Angela mentioned, must have done this to
her. "Hey there," said the waitress. "Are ya gonna be alright? I've got to
get back to work. Customers... Ya know how it is. Well, stay in here until
ya feel better."
_____Gally turned her head. Stared at Angela. "What? I say something
wrong?"
_____Standing in here... Thinking... Though the rest of her memories were
questionable, Gally remembered that she was at a table when she first came here.
So, she must have eaten something--and had to pay. She opened her purse and
found money--nine paper dollars. That, and her purse contained several black
pens and a white notepad.
_____She was unsure of how much she owed the waitress. According to her
memories of here, nine of these strange dollars was a lot of pocket money.
She took out two dollars...
_____"Golly! Two dollars!" exclaimed the waitress. "You really MUST be feeling
sick, kid! You already paid AND tipped!" She patted Gally on the head.
"Gotta go. See ya later!" she said before leaving the bathroom.
_____Uncounted minutes later, the swirling dizziness completely faded from
her head. She was able to see more clearly, and she felt fine. In fact, she
felt a bit giddy. This was a normal-looking body! A human-looking body!
_____Now alone in this bathroom, Gally ignored the odd giddiness she felt.
This body felt so light and able! And she could FEEL more: the feelings
of clothes on her skin, the water from the faucet on her fingertips, the soft
tissue paper brushed on her neck. This all felt REAL. Now, about the letter.
_____The letter she had with her had been tucked into the side of the mirror
by Angela. Going over to the small trashbin to throw away the tissue paper,
Gally came back to the mirror and took the letter--unfolded it.
_____It was a letter written in English, letters in sharp and somewhat agitated
strokes. With English writing, there is more tolerance with how one writes;
Gally preferred Kanji characters as one's handwriting always had to conform to
neatness. Yet, this letter was legible, written in very small and neat
letters. She read it:
....
_____To The Hunter:
_____If you read this letter, then you must have certainly
followed me into this next place. Because of the transition
process, you may or may not recall your original self. But
I myself have arrived here--intact and with full use of my
mind and body. In fact, I feel quite elated! This is all
quite a delicious experiment, is it not?
_____By the time you feel coherent enough to read this letter,
you must also be aware of your new physical state. Do not be
alarmed: You are not as physically frail as a real-bodied
human being. Yes, you remain a cyborg. However, in place of
alloyed armor and electromechanics, you have synthetic skin
and myogel-muscle. Your body now looks and feels somewhat
biological, yet it is wholly synthetic--the synthetic
version of your body at age 19.
______How do I know of this? How is this happening at all?
The full explanation would take pages of algebraic equations
(yes, algebra!) that would fill pages and pages, but suffice
to say that THE box (And you know what box!) has immense
potential. However, it requires much study. As you now
experience the results of THE box's usage, you can appreciate
such knowledge.
--Desty Nova, Ph.D.
...
_____Gally read the letter twice, small handwriting and all. So, she was
still herself at heart, a bounty hunter. And, her target was here as well.
It was he who was responsible for her movement of into this reality. And only
in meeting him would she be able to... WOOSH!
_____There was a FLASH of flame and heat, and the letter vanished! A slight
burning feeling on her fingertips. The letter had somehow vaporized, leaving
behind a smell of burnt paper and sulphur.
_____A trick of chemistry. But now, she knew her purpose in this place. In
this next reality. Better yet, she somehow inherited useful "memories" in
coming to this town. This was the town of Delsea, a small town somewhere
in the continental Midwest. A town in the country that was still the United
States.
_____As for herself, she was supposed to be a young lady of Delsea, soon to
go to higher education after this summer was done. Strange, as women of
Delsea seldom go to college. But she was known to be strange, anyway; she was
the only Japanese girl in this entire town.
_____She accepted these odd new memories that were now hers--yet not hers--
and walked out of this bathroom. It was like being more than one person, or
inhabiting another person's mind. But she was still herself, still with a
task to do. To linger and wonder for too long about her new situation would
be wasteful.
...
_____Outside of the bathroom, she saw that some more customers had come into
the diner. They were teenagers, generally: older boys and girls. The boys
wore leather jackets over white tee-shirts, with jeans and boots--hair
slicked back. The girls dressed themselves in blouses and long skirts,
"bobby" socks and neat shoes on their feet--carefree hairstyles. The
jukebox-machine was playing a song with a steady light beat and a sad-wailing
male singer, guitars in the background. Angela was going to and from the food
counter, getting food from the cook and over to the customers. She waved
once to Gally before continuing her work.
_____Two neatly dressed adults walked into the diner--man and woman. The
woman had come in first, wearing a simple blue dress and a bit much makeup.
She was followed by the man who opened the door for her--a man in a brown
business suit and tie, his fedora hat in hand.
_____According to Gally's semi-real "memories," those were her "parents."
Adopted parents, actually. They cared for her as if she were their own
biological child. Her odd memories told her this about them, and more.
_____The "parents" came quickly over here, and the "Father" knelt by Gally's
side. "Thank God you're fine!" he said. "Arnold called, and we came right
over! We can't have our little girl being sick, can we? Especially since the
doctor gave you that life-saving body-replacement operation! A modern medical
genius, that doctor!"
_____"Mother" came closer and went to both knees, smelling of light perfume.
She put a hand on Gally's forehead, then kissed her there. "Dear, we love
you, and we don't want to lose you." She gave a quick hug.
_____Gally looked around, expected other teenagers in this diner to give her
silly looks. But they did not; they continued talking and eating at the tables
over there.
_____"We should get her home, honey," said "Father." "I tried calling the
doc, but the nurse said he was busy. And we can't take Gally to ordinary
hospitals. She's different now."
_____"You're right, dear," went "Mother," speaking to "Father." "I know just
the thing to do until we can contact the doctor! Some nice warm milk and
vitamins, and she'll be right as rain. What do you say to that, darling?"
_____Released from the woman's hug, Gally tried to talk again--but still failed.
She put the fingers of her right hand to her own throat, shook her head once.
Perhaps, that was why there was a notebook and pen in her purse?
_____The Mother-person looked sadly at Gally while the Father-person spoke.
He said, "It's a weekend afternoon, but Doc Nova said he was always ready.
Glad he doesn't play golf. Come along, I don't want the car to take up the
space of paying customers!"
_____And so, Gally followed these two unbelievingly friendly people out of the
diner. To her, they were immensely kind--almost too kind and caring. They
were like simplistic characters from history texts and ancient television
archives. But something was different; something was not right. In felt,
something felt not-right about ALL of this.
_____They left the diner and went to the front. Out here was a shop-lined
street in the light of a clear afternoon. Lots of small businesses around
here. Above, telephone and electric lines were suspended on brown poles. And
the sidewalk was neat, free of cracks and swept clean. A breeze blew by,
making Gally's skirt and hair flutter. She felt the wind on her skin--her
realistic skin. And she felt a slight oddness in the air.
_____Maybe, it was part of becoming spiritually adjusted to this body...? No,
that was not it. That was not it at all. As she and her "parents" walked
along the sidewalk and over to an old-style car, the synthetic-bodied girl
felt still felt that something was amiss.
_____It was a feeling that stayed with her the entire drive back "home."
"Father" drove the car with hat on while "Mother" sat by his side. Both
"parents" wore smiles and chattered lightly, sounding shallow in their bright
perkiness. Their odd happiness only made her feel a bit more sickened.
...
_____The ride "home" took them through the downtown scenery of Delsea. The
heart of this town consisted of small shops, some small office buildings, and
one large factory structure--run by General Electric. The heart of town was
where most people of Delsea worked. Beyond that, there were the outlying
residential areas--where people lived.
_____And the residential areas were ideal, suburban. Neat residential streets,
with houses among well-kept front yards. And there were trees. Lots of trees
were there were not houses. Gally seldom saw so much plantlife where she came
from... A land were the environment has been altered by centuries of industrial
development, pollution, and one big near-apocalyptal war.
_____No... She should be concerned with where she was now. She should focus
on here and now. As she rode with the parents in this old-style car, Gally
searched her new memories--like looking through albums. Thinking... Thinking
of where she was now and her larger presumed role in this town.
_____According to the memories in her mind, this indeed was Delsea--a small,
well-to-do American town that was as well off as it looked. Extremely ideal.
Fine, she knew that. But what else did her memories have to say?
_____Though newspaper and radio broadcasts said that crimes and troubles
happened elsewhere, nothing bad seemed to happen here. Everyone knew each
other, families were stable with two children each, and everyone here was
financially well-off. People lived in small suburban homes while fathers
worked in the downtown area. And, overall, everyone felt complacent and
satisfied.
_____But, something was wrong with this town. Something that her new-found
memories did not tell her. Nor, was it something that the radio or local
newspaper journalists would report. She was not sure what...
_____Hands on her skirt-covered lap, Gally sighed and looked out the right-side
window. As this car passed by houses, kids playing outside, she still had
THAT feeling--the feeling of slight unease. She had a deeper role in whatever
force was causing that feeling. Dr. Nova... He was connected to it as well.
Oh, Dr. Nova was ESPECIALLY connected.
_____Her slight eyebrows bent in anger as she thought of the one her parents
knew as "Doc" Nova. She thought that the metaphysicist was irresponsible in
fumbling about with that box. With most every other fugitive Gally had handled,
she attacked and killed for the simple sake of improving her skills--which was
also improvement of herself. She was a bounty hunter, a skilled professional;
she did not judge the criminals she killed. But in this instance, she did!
She judged Nova! Dr. Nova was mad to fool about with the very fabric of time
and space itself! How dare he!
_____"Don't frown, dear!" came the Mother's comment from a front seat. She was
looking at Gally through a mirror that folds down from the car ceiling.
"Frowning makes your pretty face not look so nice! Then it'll get stuck like
that!"
_____The Father chuckled. "I don't think we have to worry about that, dear.
If her face gets messed up, we can just send her over to doc's and have it
repaired! Like a damaged radio set!"
_____"Dear!" exclaimed the Mother. "You sound TERRIBLE! Talking about our
daughter as if she were some kind of...toy! The doctor said that just her body
was replaced, not her mind too!"
_____"Well gosh, honey! I know that!" said the Father. "Technology is wonderful.
We've got televisions, rocket ships, great big electronic computers, and
plastics... Hah, hah! No wonder the doc was able to start replacing people's
bodies with synthetics. Maybe soon, we can start replacing BRAINS with gadgets!"
_____The Mother gasped, put her hands to her cheeks. "How could you THINK of
something so terrible! We would be space-monsters if we lost our brains!"
_____"Hah hah..." chuckled the Father, taking a hand off the steering wheel
to pat Mother on a knee. "I'm just kidding you, honey. But I'm sure if brains
were replaced with machine-gadgets, it would be for the sake of human progress!"
_____Gally heard the banter from the back seat, wondering about what was said.
To have one's brain replaced with something synthetic, that was not perfect
"progress." If her brain were removed and replaced, then there would be
nothing of her original self left here. As it was now, only her brain was
originally hers.
...
_____Soon enough, driving through several suburban streets, Father pulled the
car up to one of several quaint houses. A small but very typical house of
this town, this was a two-story home with a neat front yard and a white picket
fence. Extremely ideal, as was all of this town.
_____"We're home!" chuckled Father. "Now, while I call Doc Nova, you can see
if some warm cow juice is just what Gally needs." He then got out of the car
and moved over to the passenger side, opening the door for the Mother.
_____Gally found the door handle to let herself out of the car, nearly stumbled
when she forgot about the lightness of this synth-flesh body of hers. It had
most of the strength of a metal-type cyborg body, but the easiness of movement
needed some getting used to. And with just a gentle shove, she nearly slammed
the car door: Though lithe of body, she still had significant strength.
_____As Gally's adopted parents went to the house, she set her feet apart
and raised her fists. She tried a few quick two-knuckle strikes, the punches
cutting blade-quick through the air. Indeed, this synthetic body had artificially
high speed and strength while looking and feeling human. But, she suspected
that cuts from a blade could easily damage her.
_____"GAL-LY!" came the Mother's call from the front door of the house. "Come
in before you become more sick!"
_____Gally would have liked to stay out and test the limits of this synth-flesh
body, but she decided to cooperate and comply. Indeed, in time, she would
be able to coerce "Doc" Nova into undoing what he was doing. And then she
would have his head.
...
_____She walked up to the house and beyond the front stoop. The inside was
neater than the outside. The comfortable living room was spotlessly clean.
A shiny floor, made of polished wood--with a mid-sized carpet in the middle.
The clean, neat sofa was flanked by two armchairs. There was a large, boxy
television with a fifteen-inch screen. A radio was in the corner.
_____"Close the door and lie down on the sofa, sweetie. I'll get some warm
milk and vitamins. I don't know too much about synthetic bellies, but a little
milk always helps." The adopted Mother then went into the kitchen.
_____Gally closed the front door and took off her shoes. She stepped lightly
across the living room floor to lie down on the sofa, knees together and her
small purse resting across her flat stomach. Resting her dark-haired head on
a cushion, she looked at the ceiling.
_____Mother came back from the kitchen with two glasses and a bottle--one
glass was filled with milk, the other filled with water, and the bottle was
filled with vitamin pills. All of that was balanced atop a fold-up tray-stand.
"Here you are, dear! Warm milk, water, and vitamins! Now sit up."
_____Gally sat up on the sofa while her adopted Mother set the tray down. But
the synthetic-bodied girl was girl was also sure to take a notepad and pen from
her small black purse. With notepad held in her left hand, she wrote out a
question in English: What do you know of Dr. Nova beyond his medical
profession?
_____"Why, you know the doctor! He's one of the very best!" answered the
Mother-person. "I think he graduated from the university that Albert
Einstein is at. Oh, what was the name of that school? Harvard? Rutgers? Oh
well...! Whatever school he went to, he is brilliant! Now, drink your milk
before it cools."
_____After giving a quick glare to the woman, Gally took the glass of milk
from the tray-stand. She felt the warmth of the liquid through the glass.
Bringing the glass to her lips, she swallowed--nearly gagged.
_____"Don't gulp it!" said Mother, patting Gally on the upper back. "We don't
want it going down the wrong way...!" She opened the plastic bottle and shook
out three beige-colored pills. "Now take your vitamins, dear. These are good
for you! And here is water..."
_____Gally again took up notepad and pen to write up another question. Turning
to a fresh page, she wrote: Why is it that I cannot speak?
_____And she held it up for the woman to read. "Don't be silly, child! You
know why! Doctor Nova said that your voice still needed fixing up. But
remember the saying, 'Children are best seen and not heard!'" Then she
patted Gally on the head. "Being silent will help build character. Now take
your vitamins..."
_____Annoyed, Gally put her pen and notepad away again into her small black
purse. She took the three vitamin pills--which tasted like dry lumps of
sugared rust--and swallowed them with much help from a gulp of water. To
think, a bounty hunter of her caliber was being...infantilized! For just a
moment, she thought of slaying both inhabitants of this house; this was not
her reality, anyway!
_____The Father came into the living room, still dressed in that brown business
suit of his. "I just called Dr. Nova. He said that he'd be really happy to
see Gally in half an hour, over at his office. Gosh, he's a SWELL guy--and
brilliant!"
_____"How nice!" went the Mother. "How about that, dearie! Isn't that just
nice?" She smiled at Gally. In turn, Gally put on a big silly smile. It was
a smile as real as the rest of her.
____The Father walked over to stand next to the Mother. "Aww, look at that
smile! Isn't she just a DOLL? I think her smile looks prettier now after
that body-replacement operation."
...
_____Ten minutes later, the Father-person drove Gally over to Doc Nova's small
office--which was back in the downtown area of Delsea. "Father" said he hated
being late for anything, so he and Gally were to leave ahead of time. "Mother"
waved from the front door when the car went out of the driveway.
_____This time, Gally was able to sit in the front passenger seat for the drive. All the
way there, the adopted Father whistled a light and uppity tune--occasionally
flashing his Mickey Mouse-looking smile at Gally. She felt ever-so-slightly
sickened by the strange man's prolonged smiling and eternally upbeat expression.
That, as Gally herself felt anger burning toward "Doc" Nova.
_____This car passed out of the residential suburbs and into downtown--lighter
traffic. "Almost there! How are you feeling, my little lady?" asked the man,
still smiling away.
_____Of course, Gally could not answer back with words. The voice synthesizer
of this synthetic body still malfunctioned. But she answered with a smile...
A dark smile.
_____They later arrived on a certain downtown street. The car pulled into a
small general-purpose parking, and Father skipped out of the vehicle. Walking
with steps as light and happy as a Fred Astaire, the man opened the car door
on the front passenger side--letting Gally out of the car and onto the sidewalk.
From here, it was a short walk over to the small medical office.
_____A plaque on the medical office door read: Dr. Desty Nova, Ph.D.--Family
Physician. Father looked at the plaque, checked his watch. "Bingo!" he
exclaimed, before turning the knob and opening the door. "Let's hop to it,
Gally-girl!" he said. And Gally supressed an urge to eviscerate the big silly
man with the next sharp object there was handy.
...
_____They came into a small waiting room area--the wall done in oak paneling,
the floor carpeted. At one wall was a reception window, behind which sat a
plain-looking thin nurse with a bit too much lipstick. Her skin was almost as
white as her uniform, making her red lipstick seem even more sanguine.
_____"You're right on time," she said, looking up from the appointment roster.
"I was just here, catching up on some light work. Well, the doctor will see
little Gally right away. The equipment is ready." She got up from her
stool behind the reception window, walked to the right.
_____She had opened the door leading out of the waiting room, then held out
her hand for Gally to take. For the sake of appearances, Gally took the
nurse's hand. "You're still the cutest thing around!" said the nurse. "You'll
have a husband before you know it!"
_____The Father person chuckled. "Ha ha... Well, let's hope that's not TOO
soon!" He bent over as so his eyes were level with Gally's. Said, "Don't you
worry, darling. I'll be waiting right here!"
_____Gally was then led away by the pale smiling nurse, led down this short
hall. Oh yes, she would behave herself. Most certainly, she WOULD! She
would behave...in a way BEFITTING A BOUNTY HUNTER! Ha ha ha ha...!
_____The nurse knocked on a door at the end of the short hallway. "Doctor Nova,
your favorite little patient is here! The one who underwent the experimental
procedure."
_____His voice came from beyond the door. "Mmm... Yes, please! Do bring
her in," he said. "I have been ready and waiting for our little subject.
Mm... Delicious! Mmm..." Apparently, the man was eating something in there.
And if Gally's suspicions were correct, he was eating flan.
_____With the door opened, Gally stepped into the most low-tech cyber-lab she
had ever seen; Dr. Nova must have been extensively innovative in setting
things up. Above were indandescent light bulbs, bright enough to light this
room well. Along the entire right wall was one massive computer--with
flashing lights and several small monitors. The wall to the front was occupied
with a well-lit table--flanked by boxy-looking machines with simple robot-arms.
At the left wall was Dr. Nova, sitting on a stool; yes, he had a bowl of flan,
a silvery spoon in one hand.
_____So there he was, just sitting here, looking like he belonged here all
along. The middle-aged man was wearing a buttoned white shirt and slacks,
hard shoes on his feet. His ugly tie had diagonal black-and-white stripes, the
white matching the rest of his outfit. No flan stains anywhere on his clothes,
though.
_____"DELICIOUS! The flan of Delsea is yet MORE tasty than the flan of the
city!" he said. "It has the taste one would expect from extensive pesticide
use with some of the ingredients, but it complements the flavor rather than
detracts from it. Now, I am to treat my patient! A patient who, I may add,
is looking quite fetching with her realistic-looking synth-flesh body."
_____Such arrogance! Gally clenched her small fists, her dark eyes on him.
But she could not speak. Instead, she reached into her small black purse,
took out her notepad. She wrote in Kanji characters:
_____I give you warning, DOCTOR. Were it not for
this compromising situation, I would remove your
head from your body. I am a bounty hunter. You
are a criminal--a price on your head. You are
merely alive as so you may return us both to
Scrap Iron City.
_____Gally tore off the sheet of little notepad paper and handed it to the
nurse--who gave it to Nova. He read it... Blinking hard, he chuckled
uncomfortably. But he had a comeback to THAT written statement!
_____Answered, "Well, I should also give you information regarding YOUR
situation. The nurse at your side has undergone the very same procedure you
have in this reality--courtesy of my admittedly limited expertise in cyborg
technology. However, I saw to it that her synthetic physique posesses more
power than your current artificial body. Attack me, and you may lose YOUR
head, instead."
_____Moving machine-fast, the nurse was suddenly at Nova's side. She lightly
folded her arms across her slim abdomen, her eyes on Gally's every move and
breath. Now noticable was the nurse's fingernails: silvery metal.
_____Feeling more confident, Dr. Nova continued. "Also, it would be a tragedy
for us both if you were to not cooperate. Even if you were to succeed in
killing me, I would not be able to continue studying the properties of the
box, and you could be stranded in this reality. A reality which, I should add,
has gained a rather intriguing and slow-acting endemic.
_____"Furthermore, you still lack the basic power of speech! Are you so sure
that all other functions of your synthetic body are present as well? After
all, I possess more knowledge of your incarnation in this reality than you do.
Cooperate now, and my nurse and I will repair your voice synthesizer."
_____Gally turned from Dr. Nova and his synthetic-bodied nurse, looked at the
door. Dr. Nova was currently in an extremely high bargaining position. It
was he who could return her to Scrap Iron City through usage of THE box. Also,
she wondered about the endemic that he mentioned.
_____Turning around, she nodded once and put away her small notepad. Yes,
for now, she would cooperate. Doctor Nova would not be marked for death...for
now.
...
_____Restoring Gally's speech took but moments. She lie down atop the metal
table next to those huge, ancient-looking computers. Doctor Nova took up a
thin plastic device, which was connected to the big computers by way of a wire.
"Nurse, hold the patient's head back and open her mouth. This must enter the
trachea."
_____The nurse tilted back Gally's head and opened her mouth. She could feel
the tube, sliding into her throat. It was not thick enough to block her
airway, but she suppressed the urge to gag.
_____Doctor Nova, taking his bowl of flan with him, went over to an analog
keyboard next to the large computer, and began clacking in instructions.
The computer buzzed and made clicking sounds as relays went to work.
_____There was a tingling in Gally's throat, and she was ready to tug out the
device. The nurse saw Gally's hands move, and she shook her head. "Don't do
that. Be a big girl!" she chided.
_____The large computer finished clacking, and Dr. Nova checked the small
video screens. "Ah, it is a simple problem. It is a mere miscalibration of
synchronization with I/O circuitry. A quick correction..."
_____Then Gally felt as if her neck were being electrocuted! But she took the
pain. Pain was part of living. And it was over.
_____"The recalibration is complete," said Dr. Nova. "Nurse, remove the
diagnostics probe. Now, let us diagnose her attitude! Say something, Gally.
Ask a question."
_____Gally felt glad when the plastic rod-device was pulled from her throat.
She sat up, knees together. She tried talking... "We do have an agreement,
for now. However, what is the endemic you mentioned? The one in this reality?"
_____For once, the nurse's look of easy confidence had flinched. There was
just a flicker of worry on her face. And, Gally felt that "something-is-not-right"
feeling again.
_____Dr. Nova put his bowl of flan down on the counter next to the metal table.
He then crossed his hands behind his back. "Ah, the endemic? THAT is an
interesting phenomenon! I know of this because, upon coming into this reality,
I found myself already established as a medical doctor--somehow."
_____He shrugged. "The transition also gave me new memories, ones which I
utilized in my observations. I have observed odd symptoms in certain
townspeople. Rather gruesome symptoms, I should say. In fact, they are best
observed rather than explained.
_____"And to take into such observation, let us go to a place of social
gathering--a certain eatery. That place has had a large share of endemic
victims. We will have a higher probability of seeing something there."
_____At this point, Dr. Nova looked at the nurse. "Nurse, we will tell
Gally's Father-figure that I am taking her to Lumbario's Pizzaria for, ah...further
diagnostics. Yes, diagnostics. We will tell him it is all part of testing
Gally's synthetic body."
...
_____The Father-person believed the good doctor. "Okey-dokey, big chief!
You're the professional. You know what's best for Gally." He put on his
hat. "I'll just be on my way!" Smiling that big stupid smile, he left the
synthetic-bodied girl here with Nova and the nurse.
_____From there, it was a short walk. Walking out of the store-front medical
office, this was a slightly odd sort of trio going along this downtown sidewalk.
There they were: a professionally dressed doctor with an ugly tie, a cadaverously
pale nurse with too much lipstick, and the raven-haired girl with a contemptuous
look on her pert face. Also odd was how they were the only people outside,
and the afternoon was dimming into sunset.
_____Lumbario's Pizzaria was just several blocks' distance from Dr. Nova's
"medical" office. It was in one-story, red-brick building with a simple
wooden sign hung above the door. The trio went in...
_____Inside, the layout was simple. Along the left side were round wooden
tables, with just a jukebox at the right. There was a long counter at the
end of the room--behind which several white-clad men with white hats took
customer orders--especially orders for pizzas.
_____Though there were no customers visible, the cooks were still busy cooking,
opening the oven and putting in flattened pizza dough. That, while another
white-clad pizza-man was standing with his back to the wall. He saw the trio
come in.
_____"Hmm..." went Dr. Nova, eyeing the tables at the left--all of them empty.
All of the tables of this restaurant were empty. "WHERE shall we seat
ourselves? An excess of choices can be just as troublesome as a lack of
choices. Don't you believe so, Gally?" He looked to the nurse. "Nurse, take
our patient to the third table at the left." Then he went over to the counter
while Gally was firmly guided to that table--the nurse's left hand on her upper
back.
_____Over at the counter, Dr. Nova made his order. "Mmm... Lumbario, I order
a standard pizza--with flan topping along the right half. We will eat it here."
_____"Flan topping?" went the pizza-man behind the counter, leaning against
the wall. Then his eyes widened. "Are you SURE? You sure you want...FLAN
topping on a pizza?"
_____There was silence. The other pizza-men at work in the cooking area went
quiet, paused in their work. No one spoke. There was not even the sound of
car traffic outside.
_____"Yes, I order FLAN topping because I am THE doctor!" said Dr. Nova. "I
now order a pizza with flan atop the right half. Again, I say that I am THE
doctor! Need I repeat my order?"
_____"Y-y-yes sir!" sputtered the leaning pizza man. "We'll prepare it right
away! Louis, you heard him. We've gotta get the flan..." And then the
cooks went to work.
_____"That took some effort..." said Dr. Nova, coming over to this table and
sitting next to the nurse. "Now, we shall have our pizza--eventually. Mmm...!
Flan can be delicious. Especially, the way it is here in Delsea!"
_____Gally glared at the less-than-serious doctor. "I lack choice at this
point, Nova. What is to be done here? There are few people here--a lower
probability of seeing a victim." Dr. Nova interrupted with a shake of his
head.
_____"Do not be silly, cyborg-child! You were brought here to see something,
and you will!" said the doctor. "In fact, without resorting to calculations,
I feel that something will happen quite soon. Do you not also feel it?"
_____There was suddenly sounds of commotion from the doorway... Sounds of
cheering and talking from out there. The door opened, and in came a gaggle
of potential customers... Eight of them, all of them dressed in the local
style. But some of the boys had black leather jackets.
_____From the sounds of happiness and cheering they were making, Gally suspected
the people must have come back from a sporting event or a celebration. A rather
noisy event, from which they brought some noise with them. They occupied the
other two tables here, with some standing around.
_____Gally felt irritated at the sounds of this massive invasion by loud,
raucious people... Along with irritation, she also felt IT. IT, the feeling
that she felt when she first came to Delsea. This time, the feeling was
stronger. It was so strong that it felt as if her blood-circulating pump was
sinking in her chest.
_____She ducked her head ever-so-slightly, not at all enjoying this noise or
the feeling of unease. One of the newcomers put a coin in the pizzaria
jukebox--the jukebox then playing a peculiar old-sounding song.
_____Several people went up to the counter and took simple food orders--hamburgers,
soda, and pizzas. Or, as they put it, "soda-pop." Being about as loud as the
jukebox, though not nearly as musical, they came back to their tables.
_____"BLEAH-H-H...!" went someone--vomiting on the floor. Laughter followed
right after. Hey look! Someone upchucked! Hah, hah, hah...!
_____Maybe the group was drunk. Odd, Gally had not smelled it; drunk people
normally smelled like what they were drinking. There was a THUMP when the sick
person fell, and another girl laughed.
_____Gally pivoted halfway around in her seat, looking back. The boy who
vomited was an athlete-type of person--crew-cut blonde hair, somewhat heavy
muscular build, and a varsity jacket worn over his tee shirt--a large "6" on
the back. He was leaning out and away from the table, the vomit on the floor.
But instead of there being vomit near his feet, there was a patch of black
shiny oily slime. A shiny substance so black that it swallowed light where it
didn't reflect it.
_____Someone in a black leather jacket stood up. "Hey-y-y...! Be COOL,
everybody!" he said. Addressing the teenager who vomited, the standing one in
the leather jacket said, "Hey Lester, you know what that means? You've got
the disease."
_____"Shut the fuck up, Fonzie!" went the sick boy. He stood up, knocking back
his chair. "Don't tell me that! I'm sending you to HELL! RIGHT NOW!" Then
he raised his fists, snarling at that cool guy with the black leather jacket.
So the fight began.
...
_____"Fonzie," stepped away from the table--hands out. "Hey-y-y... Listen to
me! It's the SICKNESS talkin'. You know?" He stepped over to the sick
teenager. "If you don't get yourself over to--" THWACK! He swayed back from
sick Lester's left punch, which landed on the jaw.
_____He straightened himself out, ran a hand along his dark hair and moved
his jaw a bit. He somewhat expected the blow. "It's cool... It's cool...
Just watch." He looked at Lester, who pulled back his right fist again.
"Nothing to worry about. It's all healthy exercise."
_____Suddenly, Lester was on his back--in the puddle of the dark oily substance.
Fonzie's punches were so swift and sudden that almost no one saw them! Gally
did, though. Her eyes faster than typical people of this town, she saw that
the one named "Fonzie" seemed an extremely skilled fighter.
_____"Wuh-h-h..." moaned Lester... Cough! Cough! He then snapped to his
feet again, a dark snarling look on his face. With a growl, he ran at Fonzie--
his left fist read to strike!
_____Fonzie ducked as the blow SWISHED over his head. Then, Lester was knocked
back when Fonzie's amazingly fast uppercut struck. Some blood splattered
against the ceiling.
_____No, wait... That was not blood. It was the same dark, shiny substance
that Lester had vomited. And, more of the dark shiny substance oozed from
Lester's split lips. Something was wrong with Lester.
_____Swaying on his feet, he stepped towards Fonzie--growling. His eyes were
pools of shadow. His face reddening.
_____That looked like too much fun! With a grin that seemed to split her
face, Gally leapt up from her seat. It was time she took into some of the
local festivities!
_____She dashed behind Lester, her fists clenched. TH-THUMP! Her two punches
sank into Lester's lower back. The two strikes were so fast that they almost
sounded like one.
_____And the results were amazing. "Argh?" went Lester, his grunt like a
question. He then began leaning backwards. As he fell, Gally KICKED his feet
out from under him. She then did a quick cartwheel to get out of the way.
_____The back of Lester's head made a hard cracking sound when it hit the
hard floor. He arched his back, making growling sounds and writhing. But he
could not get up. Then he went unconscious, dark bile oozing from his mouth
and nose. This fight was over.
...
_____"Hey-y-y... Lester was done in by a CHICK!" said Fonzie. "And there's
only one pint-sized chick in Delsea who can do a guy like that! That would
be GALLY!" He held up his hands, looking at the other customers. "Let's
hear it for Gally, huh...?"
_____There was then the sound of clapping and cheering from those at the
tables. They whistled, making all sorts of sounds. Not at all concerned for
fallen Lester, they cheered for the cute little Japanese girl who really knew
how to fight!
_____Amidst the cheering and whistling, Fonzie shook Gally's hand. Then he
gave a sidways nod toward one of the tables--where Dr. Nova and the nurse sat.
"Look out, Gally-girl!" he said above the clamor. "The pizza's ready!"
_____With her right hand still in Fonzie's friendly grip, Gally looked at the
wide, square pizza box atop the table over there. Dr. Nova smiled, his hands
ready to open up the box and eat some pizza.
_____One of Gally's false memories told her two important things about pizza.
ONE, pizzas are not given in boxes when served at Lumbario's Pizzaria--or most
any other pizzaria. TWO, pizzas are not served in wide flat wooden boxes.
Smiling, Dr. Nova opened it up.
_____There was no damned pizza in that box, of course! Instead, there was the
darkness. It was the deep, infinite darkness that Gally feared. And, it was
this darkness that closed over her. She felt herself falling again...