Goddard, Come Home

by Gary D. Snyder

Part 12:

High above Retroville the sleek fighters approached the park at just under 500 knots. "Brass Hat, this is Sleepy Weasel," the lead pilot radioed. "We are approaching the target coordinates and should be over the area in 30 seconds."

"Roger that, Sleepy Weasel. Keep us advised of all developments."

"Roger, wilco." The pilot with the call sign Sleepy Weasel switched frequencies. "Stay frosty, Eeyore."

"Will do," came his wingman's glum voice in his headset. "But I doubt it will do any good."

Below in the park the five young people remained huddled behind the boulder. "What's going on, Jimmy?" asked Sheen.

"Apparently someone called the military and they sent out a couple reconnaissance fighters to check out the situation. This is not good." Jimmy looked almost frantic. Libby sounded worried at Jimmy' pronouncement. "What will they do?" Cindy looked uneasy as well, as buried memories of bad experience with jets stirred in her mind.

Jimmy tried to collect himself. "Well, they'll probably just do a flyby to check out the situation before actually firing any weapons. But I'm worried that Goddard will probably interpret their approach as an attack and fire on them. If that happens, they'll undoubtedly retaliate with whatever they have. Either they'll destroy Goddard…or Goddard will shoot them down….or Goddard will explode and take out most of Retroville." Jimmy looked around the boulder. "Oh my gosh! His lasers are powering up again! He's going to fire!"

"Do something, Neutron!" Cindy pleaded.

Jimmy shut his eyes tightly and clenched his fists. "Come on, Jimmy! Think! Think! THINK!"

I imprinted myself on his circuits when I first programmed him…

Gee Jimmy, try being a kid once in a while…

At first Goddard thought that 'Goddie' was his name…

"Brain blast!" Jimmy cried. He activated his hypercube and began frantically rummaging through the contents. "We packed everything so it's got to be here. It's got to be!" Suddenly he pounced on a small vial of colored liquid. "Aha!"

Carl looked baffled. "Isn't that the stuff you used to make me younger when I drank that other stuff that made me old and bald?"

"Exactly!" Jimmy popped off the top of the container and prepared to drink it. "Goddard didn't respond to me earlier because I'm not really Jimmy to him."

Even Cindy looked puzzled. "What?"

"The Jimmy he still trusts grew up a long time ago, but he doesn't remember it. I've got to go back to the same Jimmy he remembers. Then he'll let me get close enough to degauss him. I hope." He swallowed the contents of the vial and braced himself as the others stared in amazement. One moment the familiar form of Jimmy was standing before them, and the next a much younger and shorter boy was there. Without another word the boy turned and began running towards Goddard with the degaussing coil, calling in a high-pitched voice, "Goddie! Come, Goddie!"

At the sound of the voice Goddard turned from the fighters that were now nearly overhead and ominously regarded the young boy with his menacing red photoreceptors. From somewhere in his chest cavity a deep and threatening growl reverberated.

"Good Goddie. Come to Jim-Jam."

Inside of Goddard conflicting processes fought for control. The warnings of danger were stronger than ever, but he knew somehow that the danger was not from the person now in his targeting reticule. He whimpered uncertainly, unable to come to a decision.

Young Jimmy smiled invitingly. "Come, Goddie. Come to Jim-Jam."

Slowly the mad red glow faded from Goddard's photoreceptors. Something in the voice and form inspired trust and promised to take away the danger and the fear. Hesitantly Goddard took a step closer to Jimmy.

"Good Goddie. Goddie come to Jim-Jam." Jimmy knelt down and held out his arms. "Nice Goddie!"

Goddard took another step and his tail began to swing. Although he still sensed peril the voice was pushing the fear into the back of his cybernetic mind. His tongue lolled out and he whined hopefully, moving closer.

"Come to Jim-Jam, Goddie! Come to Jim-Jam!" There was no mistaking the love and affection in the voice. With a happy bark Goddard bounded forward into the small boy's arms, knocking him over and licking his face joyfully. Jimmy struggled to right himself, laughing merrily. "Good Goddie! Goddie came to Jim-Jam!"

Fighting his way to a sitting position he activated the degausser and passed it over Goddard's wriggling metal form. As the neutralizing field moved over him, repairing the damage to his failed power system, Goddard's feelings of danger faded. One by one his systems came back on line as power was restored to his dormant circuits, and the familiar glow of plasma streams illuminated his cranial dome. Jimmy hugged him tightly around the neck, squeezing his eyes closed to keep any tears from falling.

"Don't ever leave me again, Goddard," he whispered. "That's a direct order."

Goddard barked in acknowledgement, wondering what the fuss was all about.

High overhead the jets had completed their initial flyby and were making their report. "Brass Hat, this is Sleepy Weasel," the pilot transmitted. "We have completed our initial observation."

"Sleepy Weasel, this is Brass Hat. Report your findings, please."

Sleepy Weasel sounded puzzled and somewhat disappointed. "Brass Hat, there is a dog of some sort in the park, but it does not appear to be threatening in any way. It appears to be playing with a small boy." The pilot let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, general, but this appears to be just a wild goose chase…or dog chase, in this case."

"Roger that, Sleepy Weasel."

"Proceeding to secondary target, Brass Hat," radioed Sleepy Weasel as the two jets wheeled around in a great arc. "Now, did you want that album on CD or cassette?"

In the park Jimmy and Goddard were playing, with Goddard sometimes chasing Jimmy and sometimes the other way around. Their friends watched with a mixture of relief, amusement, wonder, and a trace of envy.

"Think Jimmy has enough of that formula left to make us that young again, Cindy?" Libby asked wistfully.

"He can always make some if he doesn't have any more," was Cindy's reply. "But it wouldn't really make us younger. Just our bodies."

"Well, I guess we should give him the antidote and make him officially 11 years old again," Sheen suggested, holding up another vial. He started towards Jimmy, but Cindy put her arm out to block him.

"Not just yet, Sheen." She smiled as she watched Jimmy and Goddard frolic playfully on the grass. "Give them another half hour or so. After all, you're only a kid once…twice."

End of Part 12.

Author's Notes:

"Long time" readers may recognize "Sleepy Weasel" as the pilot from "It's an Alternate Life". The name comes from the movie Hot Shots! and while was the name of a military operation rather than a call sign, but I thought it was too good a name not to use.

Some readers may (and already have) objected to my making Jimmy only 11 rather than 12 years old, but I stand by that number. In "Hypno Birthday To You" Jimmy turns 18 after 7 (unofficial) birthdays so I feel that 11 is the right age to stand by (after all, I don't own Jimmy Neutron, although I wish I did). It's also an easier age to keep things a bit ambiguous and Jimmy and Cindy at each others' throats as much as in each others' arms.