A small Irken Invader sat hunched over a control console, methodically feeding huuuuuman CDs into his computer's databank. Human music, of all genres, types, styles the sound vibrations spattered in color across the various monitors covering the walls, indicated by washes, steady points, and many other incredibly complex-looking designs, interspersed with Irken writing here and there. Music, was it? A certain affectation of sound vibrations to the wiring in the brain the human brain. The wiring of an Irken brain might have been slightly different but it didn't seem so. Harmony', dissonance', he could tell them apart with finely tuned, superior Irken hearing apparatus.. antennae. And it was more than just sets of notes that antennae could pick up on. But to arrange those notes so that they would stimulate certain neurons in the human brain certain neurons that would allow them to be controlled. Of course he had heard well, and learned well, the music for the play. But that was his only experience in the realm of music, and he desperately needed to broaden. The music notation was already filed away in his memory, his vast analytical sense of a wholistic piece of music, attached together in a certain way to act as a channel for the energy that would loosen their pitiful little minds Zim cackled, tapping his gloved fingers together merrily. There was a certain advantage to being a cyborg it allowed programming' of the kinesthetic and mnemonic type to work at extremely rapid rates. The inferior humans would take years, and years, to absorb into themselves the knowledging and programming required to work wonders with this music. One such as an Irken, endowed with both the emotive power and the speed of computing knowledge
Here. The monitors flashed in readiness, and columns of color aross graphs stretched across their glowing surfaces. This pitch, here, indicated by a certain set and color on the graph. Zim stabbed at a glowing indicator light with a gloved finger, and the pitch sounded. His antennae whipped into the air, absorbing the nuance of it. Pitches sounded above and around the single note, moving subtley lower and higher in range. There were, he determined after a moment, approximately 96 different tones he could identify before they began to repeat. The graph shifted, blocking the tones into groups of 12, blocking them again into 6, and then into 3 and there, the blocks ended. 3 distinct, if slight, different pitches per quarter-tone in the human octave. And this FOOLISH human music did not even go past half-tones! This would be ridiculously simple! All that Zim needed to do now was arrange these half-tones there were twelve of them, per each octave add that to the cacophony of different tone and color in human-made instruments, and he had a myriad of sounds from which to choose to make his AMAZING compositions. Zim snickered. His ingenius evil would know no bounds once these hypnotic compositions were let loose on the world!
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I don't.. know how this whole place works.. it's all so strange, Jessica mumbled to the dog-robot still clutched in her arms. He was going to do something terrible to me then, I just know it
shrieked the dog happily, waving its black paws
and squirming in her grip with every evidence of joy.
It then looked up at her curiously, pink tongue sticking out. Wha'd you say?
Jessica gazed in mute bewilderment at the little dog, then hugged it. It didn't seem to understand a word she was
saying maybe it was programmed to simply scream out random words in response to
someone speaking. She set it down and resumed
her careful inspection of the room around her, walking over towards the wall. She gazed up in awe at the massive cables that
coiled up towards the huge ceiling, the lights and mechanisms that covered the walls. None of it made any sense to her, though
she was beginning to get over her fear as she gazed up in awe. One of her sneakers snagged on the edge of the
flimsy white robe of her costume that she was wearing, and she impatiently took it off,
leaving her regular jeans and shirt underneath. The
little robot dog trotted behind her, immediately snatched up the robe, tied it around its
head, and proceeded to run around the room squealing in joy.
Lookit me!! I so PRETTY! it
giggled, waving to Jessica as it ran passed. She
waved to it in return with the hint of a shy smile. It
really was a cute little dog robot
a commanding shout rang out from across the room, and Jessica whirled to
its source, startled.
HI MASTER! squealed the dog, turning its energetic waving towards the green
kid' who had just arrived. Zim
paused, looked at the robot, the black antennae-like appendages on his bald head perking
up towards it. Jessica shivered. This really couldn't be just a
costume. That kid Dib had been right all
along Fear clogged her throat again as the burning red gaze turned to her.
Christine, he said, with a wicked grin.
M-my name isn't Christine, she managed to stammer, shrinking away from
him. And let me go!! I don't care if you're a an..
alien just what's WRONG with you!?
You're—
Zim sneered, folding his arms over his chest and leaning confidently
against the counter running the length of the wall. And
as for the matter of your pathetic human NAME— he paused, seeming to consider
something, then turned his glare back on her. You
are CHRISTINE! And you will OBEEEY MEEEEE!!!
I'll be Christine, the little robot dog said cheerfully. Jessica looked over to see it clothed
resplendently in the robe she'd abandoned, although the costume was far too long and
the dog kept tripping over the edges as it pranced around.
Zim said impatiently, and he stood up, going over to a control console
and tapping a few spots on a keypad. A graph
and a range of colors lit up along several of the monitors on one wall. The alien leaned back, looking at them in
consideration, then turned to Jessica with a grin. Now,
my DEAR angel of music, he said, his voice dripping with conceit, listen to
the amaaazing work of Ziiiiiim and you will no longer be able to resist my will! Wahahahahahahahaha!!! Cackling like a maniac, he pressed another couple
of buttons, and sound began to pour from an unknown source.
Jessica listened and her face scrunched into a grimace. It sounded like a random assortment of notes, one
after the other, and all of them different but they weren't in a line, either. It went high, low, middle, and back all around
again. The blare of a different instrument
accompanied each note, each different pitch and color only repeating itself when all the
others had played in a serial line.
she finally said, holding her hands against her ears.
It's AWFUL!
Abruptly the cacophony ended, and Zim whirled to face her, black cape swirling around his
boots. You dare? You DARE to insult the masterwork of
ZIIIIIIIIIIM!?! He advanced towards
her, hands clenched into fists and upraised. His
crimson eyes burned into hers, and she shrank away again, flattening her back against the
wall. The alien paused a few feet from her,
seething, but as he watched her cower, something in his expression changed.
You are nothing but a simple human, he observed, his voice low and annoyed. I have.. obviously not yet
found the proper combination of sound to affect your filthy brainmeats. BUT! and he jabbed a gloved finger at her. I WILL TRIUMPH!! Do not think you can be free of ZIM's amazing
CONTROL for much longer, HUMAN!! Pivoting
around again, Zim stalked angrily back to the lift, leaped on it, and with a slight whir
of machinery, disappeared once more. Jessica
let out a deep breath of relief, then turned to look at the dog, who was running towards
her, tripping on the white robe, one closed paw outstretched to her.
I caught a moth!!!! it cried.