Sheentastic Voyage
by Gary D. Snyder
Chapter 17:
As Sheen and Libby were preparing in the Cyber World for their final stand against Ultra Lord an alarm in the Other World began to wail in Jimmy's laboratory. "Danger. Extreme emergency," Vox's voice sounded. "Reactor overload. Predicted loss of containment in three minutes."
Jimmy slapped a button to cut off the noise of siren. "We're out of time!" he announced grimly. "Goddard! Omega Contingency! Get Cindy out of here now!" He raced to a control bank on one side of the lab as Goddard advanced on Cindy, but Cindy ignored Goddard and moved to where Jimmy was frantically pressing buttons.
"All right, Neutron. What's going on?" she asked.
"I said to get out," Jimmy answered without pausing. "Goddard! Carry out instructions!"
"Belay that!" Cindy snapped at Goddard. The mechanical canine stopped, uncertain how to proceed. He had been programmed to obey Jimmy, but it was clear that he could not obey without causing some harm to Cindy and thus violating his programming. He looked from Jimmy to Cindy, waiting for clarification, as Cindy continued to confront Jimmy. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on!"
"Two minutes, forty-five seconds until loss of containment," Vox announced.
"Well?" Cindy demanded.
It was clear that Cindy meant what she said. Jimmy threw a final switch and turned to face her. "Omega Contingency is my lab's last fail-safe. In the event of an unthinkable catastrophe –"
Cindy interrupted him. "Like this one?"
"Like this one," Jimmy admitted. "In the event things get out of control and can't be stopped any other way, I equipped the lab with a set of powerful thrusters to launch it into space and…destroy it."
"Two minutes, thirty seconds until loss of containment."
Cindy was outraged. "You mean that you had a solution all along and you didn't use it? Why?"
"Because Sheen and Libby were still in the system!" Jimmy shot back. "While there was still a chance to get them back I had to wait!" He paused to control his temper before going on. "But I need to activate it at least fifteen seconds before we lose containment to get the lab beyond the danger limit. That only leaves -"
"Two minutes, fifteen seconds until loss of containment," Vox conveniently stated.
"That leaves only two minutes before I have to launch. I have to give Libby and Sheen those two minutes." Jimmy turned back to his dog. "Goddard! Take Cindy out of here!"
Goddard again started towards Cindy but stopped at Cindy's warning look. "So set the timer and let's go. If things work out Vox can abort. Right?" Jimmy said nothing. "Right?" Cindy repeated uncertainly.
"Vox has no control over the Omega Contingency. It has to be entirely manual. It's the only way to keep a system malfunction from setting it off. That's means that I have to stay…to activate it." His voice took on a pleading tone. "Now will you please go? There's nothing you can do here."
"Two minutes until loss of containment."
Cindy considered Jimmy's words. Activating the omega contingency would mean the end not just of the crisis and the lab itself, but also Sheen…and Libby…and Jimmy. It would be the destruction of anyone still in the lab when it was hurled into space to meet its final, fiery end.
Vox interrtupted her thoughts. "One minute, forty-five seconds until loss of containment."
Cindy shook her head fiercely. "No way, Neutron. I'm staying."
"What?" Jimmy couldn't believe his ears. "You don't know what you're saying. If you stay, then…I mean…"
"How is that any different from when I thought we'd be here when the reactor overloaded?"
"Because if you're here I don't know if I could activate it!" The truth came out in a rush. "Even if there were nothing I could do for Sheen or Libby, I'd want to know that at least you were safe."
"One minute, thirty seconds to loss of containment."
"I'm not going," Cindy repeated. "Do you really think that I'm the kind of person who bails on her friends when things get rough?"
Cindy's stubbornness was infuriating. "Will you for once listen to me and do what you're told?" Jimmy snapped, his nose only inches from hers.
"And will you for once wake up and smell the toast burning?" Cindy returned angrily. "I'm not leaving you here alone."
"Just what is that supposed to mean?"
"I think you know what that means!"
They both turned at Vox's next announcement. "One minute, fifteen seconds until loss of containment."
Frustrated, Jimmy turned to the control panel, his finger hovering over the green "ACTIVATE" button. He then moved it over the red "ABORT" button before returning to the green button again. I don't know what to do, he thought helplessly as his finger moved from one button to the other. Someone tell me what to do. Maybe destroy Retroville? Or my best friends for sure? What should I do? He looked at Cindy, who appeared pale but calm.
She seemed to know the thoughts which were running through his tortured mind. "What you've always done," she said. "Find a way." As Jimmy still hesitated she said, "You've always believed in your friends. What do you really believe now?"
"One minute until loss of containment."
Jimmy deliberated as precious seconds slipped by. Finally, still unsure of the consequences but no longer uncertain of his decision, he pressed a button.
In the Cyber World Libby instinctively covered her face with her arms as the blast from Ultra Lord's weapon struck the pillar. She had no idea what was going to happen and anything from the inferno of a nuclear explosion to the reality-warping experience of a black hole implosion would have surprised her. As a result she was astonished, after endless seconds of apprehensive waiting, when nothing occurred.
Cautiously she uncovered her eyes and looked around. Her first impression was that her surroundings seemed much the same except that the menacing figure of Ultra Lord was no longer there and that there seemed to be far more activity inside the pillar. A closer examination revealed a figure lying not far way from her.
Sheen!
She hurried over and knelt down. His eyes were closed, but he seemed unhurt otherwise. At the gentle touch of her hand on his cheek he slowly opened his eyes and slowly focused on Libby. "Libs?" he asked.
"Who else?" she answered.
"What happened?"
"I'm not sure. Ultra Lord assimilated you and then blasted Vox. I didn't see anything but he's gone now." As Libby thought more about it she said slowly, "Vox ultimately controls the processes in Jimmy's computer. I think that his shot must have hit his own control process and that destroyed him."
Sheen seemed almost amused by that. "Boy, that was lucky for us, wasn't it?"
Libby recalled Ultra Lord's last words and shook her head. "I don't think it was luck. I think he meant to do it."
"What?" Sheen looked at her in surprise as he struggled to a sitting position. "Why?"
"When he assimilated you to get your weaponry he also absorbed everything about you, including what you believed about Ultra Lord. When that happened I think that he finally understood what it meant to be Ultra Lord. He realized that it was him or the world, and he chose what Ultra Lord would have chosen."
"He gave his life to save the world." Sheen looked sad and then smiled. "I told you that he was a hero."
Again Libby shook her head. "No. He was just a warrior. You made him a hero." Libby helped Sheen to his feet. "Programmers and authors can create characters and have them do things, but it's only when their actions mean something to someone that they become heroes. In a way, I suppose that heroes aren't the people themselves. It's really how we think about them."
Sheen raised his hand as they headed to the exit from the chamber. "Will all this be on the test, Miss Folfax?"
Libby pushed him roughly away. "Okay, no more lectures. I was just saying that you were right. A hero is anyone you choose."
"All right!" said Sheen, giving Libby a toothy grin. "Sheen 1, Libby 0! Score!"
"Whatever," was Libby's indifferent reply.
"Hey, does that mean that can I tell Jimmy and Carl that I scored when I was in here with you?"
Libby's voice turned icy. "No."
"Pretty please?" Sheen pleaded.
"No!" she snapped.
Sheen was silent for a minute. "Hey, Libs?" he asked.
"What?" she asked in irritation.
Sheen looked around them. "How do we get out of here?"
End of Chapter 17
Author's Note:
In this chapter I wanted to contrast the relationship between Jimmy and Cindy with the one between Sheen and Libby. In the case of Jimmy and Cindy it's fairly obvious that they already have strong romantic feelings for each other, but because of their actively competitive natures neither wants to be the first to admit it. Sheen and Libby, on the other hand, have no such barriers but need the time to learn more about what they find attractive in each other before a more romantic relationship emerges. In particular, Libby needs to learn more about Sheen's inherent nobility.
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