The Real Big Brainy

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 11:

Despite knowing Jimmy for years Cindy found she could still be stunned by things he said. "We're going…to make a…black hole?" was all she could get out.

"Yes," Jimmy replied as Carl and Sheen came up with the Chest of Mystery and shrink ray. "But only a little one," he hastened to add. "And just for a little while. Don't you see? The only thing the anti-matter won't react with is itself. And as Jacques said, it still has normal gravity. By using my shrink ray I can cause the reactor core to collapse into an anti-matter singularity and create a gravity well powerful enough to contain the anti-matter created by the breeder reaction."

Jacques and Libby had arrived with the table in time to hear this. "But won't the collapsing reaction only increase the rate of the anti-matter creation?"

"That's what I'm counting on," Jimmy answered grimly. "We need to have enough mass to create a strong enough gravity field." As the others watched Jimmy carefully positioned his Chest of Mystery on the table with its opened lid facing away from the reactor. "Okay, that should do it. The reaction core should be within the hyperspatial volume of my Moebius cube."

"I don't get it," remarked Sheen. "How are you going to shrink the anti-matter without opening the reactor?"

"Yeah," agreed Carl. "Jacques said that would be a bad thing."

"I don't need to open the reactor now. Like I told you before, this box has no real inside or outside. I've placed it so that the core is accessible through the box by way of the fourth dimension. Just like I was able to get Sheen's Ultra Lord doll –"

"Action figure!"

"- from outside the box." He moved around to the open end of the box and paused. "I won't lie to you. This is going to be risky. If you don't want to stay…well, I'll understand."

The others looked at each other for minute in silence. Then Cindy said, "I'm staying."

"Yeah, me too," said Sheen.

"I'm with you Jimmy," Libby added.

"And so am I," spoke up Carl.

"As for me, one for all, and all for one, yes?" concluded Jacques.

Jimmy smiled. "Thanks guys. Okay, everyone stand back. Goddard, scan for anti-matter emissions from the cube on a linear calibrated scale of 0 to 10. If the emissions get to 10, we've lost containment and it's all over." Goddard obediently activated a viewscreen which displayed a large "1". "Here goes!" And with that Jimmy pointed his shrink ray at the interior of the box and activated it.

At first nothing appeared to happen although Goddard's display quickly changed to a "2" and then a "3". Then they could hear a low noise of wind that grew quickly in volume and seemed to be coming from Jimmy's Chest of Mystery.

"It's working!" said Jimmy. "The reaction is collapsing and increasing the number of anti-matter emissions. The increased intensity of the gravity field is also beginning to pull air into the Moebius cube."

In a few seconds there was not doubt that the shrink ray was having an effect. The values on Goddard's display continued to increase, and the wind created by the air being pulled into the cube was approaching gale force. Jimmy braced with all his might against the increasingly powerful wind, but began sliding towards the cube as though being pulled into a jet engine. As he struggled vainly against the pull Goddard deployed the mechanical arm from his utility compartment, grabbed Jimmy by his belt and also braced against the pull.

It wasn't enough.

Seeing Goddard also being pulled forward, Cindy immediately seized Goddard's tail and pulled with all her might, and found herself also being carried away. Jacques, seeing Cindy slipping forward, instantly threw his arms around her waist and joined the battle against the rising wind. As she saw Jacques being pulled away Libby quickly threw her arms around him and fought to hold him back. When Sheen saw Libby losing ground he immediately put his arms around her and pulled with all his strength, and even that wasn't enough. Carl, seeing Sheen being dragged away as well, instantly began running in circles, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Cut out that racket and grab on, Carl!" Sheen yelled in annoyance.

Not knowing what else to do, Carl grabbed onto waistband of Sheen's pants and leaned backwards. With Carl's added weight the line came to a halt although the wind continued to build in sound and power, pulled in by the growing gravitational strength of the unseen singularity. Paper, pencils, and other loose debris were now being sucked into the box and the temperature in the auditorium was beginning to drop from the force of the winds. Cindy, right behind Goddard, stared at the anti-matter emissions display which had continued to climb was now at "8

This has got to work, she told herself desperately. We're out of options. As she told herself this, the display seemed to flicker briefly. Cindy watched, holding her breath, and saw the "8" fade away to be replaced by a "7". "It's working, Jimmy!" she called, watching her breath condense into a thick cloud in the chilling air.

Although Jimmy heard her, he made no sign of it. Closest to the source of the powerful winds it was all he could do to hang on to the shrink ray and continue to direct its energy into the hyperspatial Moebius cube. In addition to the powerful winds pushing him towards the cube he was aware of the growing pull from the gravity well emerging from within the box. Behind him he could hear Cindy calling out the readings from Goddard's anti-matter emissions display as they changed. The numbers continued to decrease, from "7" to "6" to "5", but with agonizing slowness.

"So tired," panted Carl.

"S-s-so cold," chattered Sheen.

"This has go to be Jimmy's worst idea ever," wailed Libby over the banshee shriek around them.

Cindy, downwind of the others, heard every word and gritted her teeth. From somewhere in the distance she thought she also heard footsteps running towards the auditorium, but ignored them. She was feeling the strain and cold, but she knew that the conditions for Jimmy, closest to the ravenous black hole growing inside the reactor, must be murderous. Raising her voice so that she could be heard above the deafening noise, she shot back, "With all due respect, Libby, I think that this will be Jimmy's finest hour."

Despite Cindy's encouraging words Jimmy wasn't feeling as confident. This isn't working, he thought frantically. He knew that it was only a matter of time before the others succumbed to the cold or exhaustion, or the energy cell in his shrink ray was depleted. As though to confirm his worst fears his shrink ray began to beep softly, indicating only a few more moments of operation. We're out of options, he thought, resigned to the situation. Looking back at Goddard, he apologized, "Sorry boy. This is one time you can't come with me."

Despite the noise Cindy heard what he said. "What are you –" she began to ask, and then realized what Jimmy planned to do. "NO!" she screamed.

"Goddard! Detach manipulator!" called Jimmy, bracing himself for what was about to happen.

Obediently Goddard severed the connection between the mechanical arm and hand with which he was holding Jimmy. Freed of the restraint, Jimmy immediately flew forward, seeming to stretch like taffy as he was pulled into the cube, still firing the shrink ray. As this occurred the reactor appeared to fold and collapse in on itself with a flash of light, followed immediately by the Chest of Mystery that also appeared to implode in a burst of brilliance.

Instantly the winds vanished, causing everyone to fall over backwards. Carl, Sheen, and Libby lay were they fell, gasping for breath, but Cindy staggered to her feet and moved slowly over to the table. Only a small square area surrounded by rime frost indicated where the box that had swallowed Jimmy had once been. As she stood there, staring numbly at the empty spot, Jacques came up behind her and placed an arm around her shoulders.

"I am very sorry," he faltered, after a moment's silence. "Your friend, he was very brave. He was truly a hero."

Cindy shook her head, telling herself that it was just the bitter cold that was making her nose run and eyes water. "No," she replied, her voice sounding strangely husky to her ears. "He wasn't just brave. He was more than a hero. He was…he was…Jimmy Neutron."

End of Part 11.

Author's Notes:

Apparently this chapter is actually the longest, but I think it reads fairly quickly. Believe it or not, it could actually have been much longer, and I had to do a fair bit of editing to keep it this manageable.

There are some classic lines that deserve to be repeated without fear of cheapening them. Astute readers will probably notice Cindy's paraphrasing of a line from "Apollo 13". Because of the events of this chapter, and the title "His Finest Hour", I felt that the quote was very appropriate.