The Devil Comes Back to Retroville

by Gary D. Snyder

Epilog:

Jimmy picked indifferently at the ice cream in front of him, oblivious to the clamor and music of the Retroville Days Dance all around him. He had not wanted to come but his parents, convinced that it was time for him to participate in social activities, had overruled his protests and dragged him along. At first he had stayed with Carl and Sheen, but as the evening had gone on they had drifted away to pursue their own interests and had left him alone. The dance was now almost over and he looked forward to returning home, unhappily convinced that the social activities his parents valued so highly were not for him.

During his time alone he had thought about a great many things, or at least a great deal about one thing: his last meeting with Cindy. Since their return from space he had not seen nor spoken to her, burying himself in various experiments and projects. One project was attempting to learn how Cindy had survived with her oxygen supply shut off. He had carefully calculated the available volume of her compartment and had determined that, even with the reduction in her metabolic rate due to the decreased temperature in the rocket ship, she should have been comatose or worse. That she had come through without apparent harm was a mystery – although miracle might have been closer to the mark.

A more bothersome issue was how they had parted. He was sure he had been right in what he had told her. He had special gifts, and with those gifts came responsibilities, including the responsibility to protect the people he cared about from harm despite the personal cost. Cindy would never understand that, he knew, and would probably despise him for his choice. But he had carefully analyzed the situation, and he realized that the decision came down to what really was more important – how she felt about him, or how he felt about her.

The answer was obvious. His choice had been the only logical one.

So why did he feel so empty?

Laying his spoon aside he cupped his chin in his hands and stared morosely at the crowd of people dancing to the music of the live band. Cindy, he knew, was out there somewhere. Dancing with Nick, most likely, he thought. Nick always made it seem so easy, whether it came to bending the rules or getting the girl. Thinking about the vast differences between them made the emptiness inside Jimmy seem even emptier. I need help, he thought miserably.

"Sounds like you have issues," a voice behind him said.

Jimmy turned to face the young black man who had spoken. He wasn't anyone Jimmy recognized, but his smile made Jimmy feel as though they were old friends. "I'm sorry," Jimmy said. "Do I know you?"

"You probably know some acquaintances of mine," the other replied. "My name is Angelo. Angelo de la Fe, for short. I'm afraid that my full name is quite a mouthful." He regarded Jimmy with a kindly eye. "So what's bothering you?"

"Well…" Jimmy was hesitant about sharing his personal problems but a stranger seemed to be the right person to share this one with. And he felt that he could trust this stranger. "I kind of have a problem. You see, I had to make a decision and I think it hurt someone pretty badly."

"Must have been a tough decision," was all Angelo said.

"It was." Jimmy sighed. "But I had to make it. I didn't have any right to put what I wanted before the welfare of everyone else."

"Must get awful tiring."

"What?"

Angelo grinned at him. "Carrying the weight of the world like that."

Jimmy looked shocked. "I don't do that. I mean, I only do what I have to do. Logically the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one. Don't they?"

Angelo laughed, shaking his head. "The mass of the many outweighs the mass of the one. But mass you can measure. Needs you can't."

Jimmy was more puzzled than offended by Angelo's laughter. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Angelo answered, taking a seat next to Jimmy, "that some questions – the most important ones – can't be answered with logic. One of the hardest to answer is where the responsibility to one's self ends and the responsibility to others begins. You can't use science or math to figure out where to draw the line."

"How then?"

"With this." Angelo tapped his chest. "The most important decisions are decided here. They always have been. They always will be."

Jimmy hung his head. "But what if I'm wrong?" he asked helplessly. "Nothing is certain in this world. Does that mean you should stop trying because you might fail? When was the last time you refused to work an equation because you thought that you might not get the answer you wanted?"

Jimmy found himself looking at things in a confusing new light but refused to give up. "No," he admitted. "But that's what I'm good at. I'm just a big brain, like everyone says. How do I know if I'm really able to make those kind of decisions?"

Angelo looked thoughtful. "Did you ever hear of a man named Descartes?"

"René Descartes?" Jimmy asked. "The French mathematician and philosopher?"

"That's the one. Remember the fundamental premise of his discourses?"

That was an easy question to answer. "Cogito, ergo sum. 'I think, therefore I am.'"

"Exactly." Angelo looked expectantly at him.

That point was a lot harder for Jimmy to grasp. "I'm not sure what you're getting at."

"Just this. Descartes built his whole philosophy on that one statement. But there's a subtle point that people sometimes miss. Sometimes just being able to ask the question means you already have the answer."

"I think I see," said Jimmy. "Does that mean that if I can make the decisions that I'll make the right ones?"

"Maybe. Maybe not," Angelo replied with a shrug. "No one in this life gets things right one hundred percent of the time. But there are three things you should always remember."

"What are those?"

Angelo ticked off his fingers. "First, mistakes are how you grow. Second, sometimes it's the trying that really counts. And third, the great gift of youth is having the time to make mistakes." Angelo stood up. "There's still time, Jimmy. Trust me." He turned and began to walk away.

"There's still time," Jimmy murmured to himself. As he was pondering this he heard Angelo call out to him and he turned to look.

"One other thing, Jimmy," Angelo was saying with a smile. "You might want to check the gaskets on your oxygen regulator valves. I think one of them might be leaking…just a little."

Jimmy thought about this. Yes, that would explain it, he suddenly realized. An oxygen leak in Cindy's compartment coupled with the reduced metabolism from her semiconscious state and the cold could explain how she had survived without ill effect. "Hey, wait a minute!" he said suddenly, turning to confront Angelo . "How did you know about…" His voice trailed off as he saw that Angelo had disappeared, having apparently melded into the crowd..

With a shrug he began wading through the mass of people, looking here and there. After a few minutes of jostling he finally found who he was looking for. Cindy was alone at a table, moodily sipping an ice cream float, and as Jimmy approached her she fixed him with an impassive eye. "What is it, Neutron?" she asked with a hint of irritation. "Can't you see I'm busy…with things?" She flavored the last couple words with a touch of venom.

"I know," he answered. "I just wanted to say a few things – I mean words. Then I'll go."

"Then make it fast," she answered, busy with her drink.

"Well, I wanted to thank you for everything you did the other night. It was…pretty swell of you."

"Do tell," Cindy responded coldly. "Is that it?"

"No." Jimmy drew a breath. "I also want to apologize…for being a jerk."

Cindy's sucking stopped for a fraction of an instant as the words sank in. It's a start, she thought as she resumed drinking the float, but all she said was, "I'm used to it." As Jimmy stood there uncomfortably she turned to directly face him for the first time. "Was that all?"

"No. No it's not." After facing the menace of a dark matter meteor without a qualm Jimmy suddenly noticed that he was sweating. Cindy noticed it as well and waited expectantly. "I just wanted to say…that I think we're still young enough to take a few risks." He held out his hand. "Would you like to dance?"

Cindy silently regarded the hand as conflicting thoughts went through her mind. On the one had, Jimmy had been a jerk. On the other, he had apologized for that and was doing a good job at being sincere. He probably wasn't a great dancer. But then again, this was a dance, the band had been playing fast dance music, and she hadn't danced at all tonight. She took his hand and stood up. "I guess I'll risk it," she replied.

As they moved onto the dance floor a young black man had been speaking with the band's leader. "Hey, my man, can you spare a favor for a fellow music lover?"

"Say it and we'll play it," the musician replied, progressing through the final chords of the song.

"How about Just for Tonight?" Angelo asked as the music came to an end.

The rest of the band looked doubtful. "Nice tune," one said. "But we don't have the music here."

Angelo nodded. "Check and see," he smiled, walking away.

With shakes of their heads the players began riffling through their sheet music, and were astonished to a man to find the requested song in each of their stacks. They stared at each other for a moment, sure that something unusual was going on, when the leader of the band finally shrugged. "You heard the man," he said as he adjusted the settings on his guitar. "and the natives are getting restless. One, two, three, four…"

The strains of the slow ballad began just as Cindy and Jimmy took the dance floor. For a moment they both considered retreating from the prospect of a slow dance, but the moment passed and they found themselves in each other arms, moving slowly in time to the music.

"Let's take forever -

It doesn't seem right

For our time together

To end with the light.

The stars in the heavens

Will fade from our sight,

But love that burns truer

Is meant more than just for tonight."

Cindy found that Jimmy's slow dancing was better than she had expected. "I'm impressed, Neutron," she commented as he led her in careful arcs around the dance floor.

"Oh. Thanks," Jimmy replied, somewhat embarrassed. " But I really wasn't trying to impress you."

"I know," she smiled.

From the sidelines Angelo watched the two, enjoying the music and the moment. "Come on out, Lou," he suddenly said, apparently to himself. "I know you're here, so you may as well show yourself."

Lou stepped out from behind a light post and slowly approached, watching the dancers as he walked. "What, no gloating?" he asked as he took a place next to Angelo.

Angelo shook his head. "Not my style. You should know that."

Lou grunted but said nothing.

"You surprised me, Lou," Angelo said. "Did you really think that you'd get away with it?"

"It was worth a shot. You can't blame me for trying." Lou continued to watch Cindy, something that Angelo took careful note of.

"They make a nice couple, don't they?" Angelo finally commented.

"I suppose."

"Careful. Your green eyes are showing."

Lou shook his head in disgust. "What does Neutron have that I don't?" he spat.

Angelo gave Lou a look of mild surprise. "A chance," he replied quietly.

Lou scoffed. "You don't really think that they actually have a chance together, do you?'

Angelo smiled a knowing smile. "Maybe."

"What makes you think so?" asked Lou, who wasn't fooled by the word.

Angelo smiled. "Because you said it yourself, Lou. You and Jimmy have a lot in common. All three of you, as a matter of fact." His smile faded as he continued to watch Jimmy and Cindy as they swirled across the dance floor. "They don't like to lose. So come what may, they'll try again…and again…and again." The music swelled to a glorious climax. "Until they win."

THE END

Author's Note:

This is an unusual story where the epilog is longer than any of the chapters, but considering the theme of the story it seems natural that there's a lot going on behind the scenes that needs some clarification. On the other hand, I don't want to clarify things too much so that the reader can form his or her own opinion about things.

As with most of my stories this one has a song, of sorts. Music was such a part of the original Jimmy Neutron movie and some of the episodes that I can't help but thinking of some musical theme in parts of my stories. Unfortunately I don't know music notation and can only provide the lyrics so half of the experience is missing. Trust me, the words and music do go together in my head.