All We Have To Fear

by Gary D. Snyder

Chapter 11:

Jimmy could not believe he had heard Cindy correctly. "Did you say Poultra?"

"Yes," Cindy answered. "And since everyone in Retroville knows who Poultra is, I don't think we'll have much luck convincing anyone that she's just a figment of their imagination." As Cindy watched Poultra gave another echoing scream and lurched towards the bright lights of downtown Retroville. "Especially when she's having them for dinner."

"Oh, man," said Jimmy. "We have to do something!"

"Well, doy!" returned Cindy. "But what? Can't you for once invent a catastrophe that doesn't involve me? This is worse than when you switched our minds!"

"Hey, that wasn't my fault!" Jimmy objected. "The frequency of the encephalo-synthsizer was tuned to your brain. I couldn't help it if lightning hit the phone lines and initiated a simultaneous mind exchange!"

"Yeah, like nothing is ever your fault!" Cindy scoffed.

"Could we maybe concentrate on fixing the problem instead of the blame?" Jimmy asked.

"You're the genius," Cindy pointed out. "So you think of something."

"Okay, Jimmy," Jimmy muttered as he concentrated. "We need a solution here, so think. Think! Think!"

Nothing happened.

Jimmy was stunned and even Cindy was surprised. "Umm…is that it?" she asked tentatively.

"Gas planet!" Jimmy muttered. "I…I can't generate a brain blast."

"Well, considering that you're in my brain that shouldn't be a big surprise."

"In your brain…" Jimmy repeated. "That's it!"

"What's it?"

"You'll have to do it!"

Cindy was flabbergasted. "Me? But…but I don't know how! I mean, I can't …there isn't…" she spluttered.

Jimmy fought to reassure her. "Look, trust me on this. I'm just the passenger. You're the driver. Just close your eyes, clear your mind, and concentrate. You can do this."

I can do this? Cindy thought. I don't have Neutron's brain. How can I do this? Once, in a different reality, she had had a brain blast of sorts. But this was different. The entire city of Retroville was depending on this. How could she possibly succeed, even if Jimmy trusted her?

And even if Jimmy trusted her, did she trust Jimmy?

That, she suddenly realized, was the key. Her success did not depend on how much others trusted her. It was her own trust that would determine success or failure here. Trust in herself, trust in Jimmy, and trust, most of all, in the potential of human spirit.

"All right," she said, more to herself than to Jimmy. "Here goes. Think. Think! Think!"

Images and memories flashed through her mind, reflections of both her and Jimmy's experiences. As they passed, almost faster than she was aware of them, she knew somehow that Jimmy was evaluating them and searching for the vital clues that would provide a solution. As she concentrated some thoughts took shape in her mind.

The frequency of the encephalo-synthesizer was tuned to your brain….

For every action there's an equal and opposite reaction…

Everyone is afraid of something…

"Brain blast!" she heard Jimmy cry. "We're going to fight fire with fire!"

Cindy, still disoriented from the experience, tried to focus her thoughts again. "What?"

"The phobifier is producing things that people are afraid of because it's tuned to the general brain-wave frequencies of humans. In fact, because it was still tuned to your individual frequency from the last time I used the encephalo-synthesizer, it affected you faster and more strongly than anyone else. If we retune the phobifier to the brain-wave frequencies of the monsters, it will start generating the things that the monsters are afraid of!"

"Are you sure that the monsters have a brain-wave frequency?" Cindy asked.

"I'm positive," Jimmy insisted. "They're all products of the phobifier, so they must all be operating on its fundamental frequency. All we have to do is connect the amplification and feedback circuits to the main oscillator."

Still not entirely convinced, Cindy began walking towards the school. "And what will that do?"

"I'm not exactly sure," admitted Jimmy. "But it has to be better than leaving things the way things are now."

Cindy had no real answer to that and walked on in silence for a couple blocks. As they drew nearer to the haunted house, however, she began to worry. "Have you figured out a way to keep that thing from creating more monsters when we get near it?"

"Actually, yes," Jimmy said reluctantly. "But I can't really tell you what it is. I'm afraid that you're just going to have to trust me."

Cindy thought about how Jimmy had phrased that. Was he trying to make his invention get her to trust him? Was that possible? As she pondered this she was startled to realize that she wasn't in Retroville anymore. It was a sunny spring day, and she appeared to be on a country road lined with blossoming trees beyond which she could see vast open expanses of green meadows. In the branches that hung over her she could hear songbirds and the fragrance of their blossoms filled her nostrils. She continued to walk along, not really sure where she was headed.

"Hello, Cindy," she heard someone say. Just ahead of her she saw Jimmy in the shade of one of the trees. "Nice day for a walk."

"Yes," Cindy answered awkwardly. "Very nice."

Jimmy came forward with a smile she rarely saw but that always seemed to devastate her. "Mind if I join you?"

"Uh…" Cindy found it difficult to control her voice. "Join…yes…no…mind." She shook her head to clear it. "I mean, no, I don't mind at all."

Jimmy fell in beside her and they walked on. There was something familiar about all this although Cindy wouldn't quite put her finger on it. Was it a some distant memory? It all seemed so confusing. She became aware that Jimmy was holding her hand and the feel of his hand in hers confused her all the more. Don't think, a voice inside was telling her. Just believe in the moment. That was easy enough to do. The sun was warm and the touch of Jimmy's hand was warm and she wanted the moment to last forever.

At length they came to a bridge over a quiet brook and Jimmy paused in the middle, pulling her back to him when she walked past, not realizing he had stopped. She gave him a curious look, wondering why he had stopped. Then he pulled her closer to him, taking her into his arms, and she understood. For a long moment they looked into each other's eyes, hers emerald and his sapphire, trying to find answers to the questions that lay within them before, on one accord, they leaned closer and their lips finally met.

The kiss was soft and lingering, and Cindy felt as though she were floating, oblivious to everything but the gently press of Jimmy's lips on hers. There was no questioning the depth of love and affection that lay behind the kiss, and she let it sweep over her like a warm embrace. When the kiss ended she leaned back, looking into his face and smiling. Jimmy spoke first.

"Okay, we're through," he said.

Cindy looked confused. "What?" she asked, sounding annoyed.

"I said we're through. The phobifier is adjusted."

"What?" Cindy repeated, her annoyance changing to anger. As though waking from a dream she looked around and realized that her arms were around a pole rather than Jimmy and that she was high in the air on top of the haunted house. With a grunt of disgust she forward somersaulted off the pole onto the ground outside the exterior of the structure. "What was that all about, Neutron?" she demanded.

"I had to do something to keep your mind off what was going on so that the phobifier couldn't affect you," he explained. "So I…recalled that memory of yours about that country road when our minds were mixed together before. I thought that it would keep your mind off what was really going on and prevent the phobifier from working. And my plan worked," he concluded triumphantly, if somewhat feebly in the face of her anger..

Even though Cindy knew that circumstances had forced Jimmy to do what he had done she was furious. "Do you know," she ground out from between her teeth, "what you did to me?"

"Uh… I was kind of there," Jimmy replied. "I think I know."

"Shut up!" She took a deep breath before she went on. "There are some things that are personal. There are some things that no one – no one – has any right to know about. If you weren't inside my own head I'd pound you to a pulp!"

"Don't you mean guacamole?" Jimmy asked weakly.

"I can't believe that you would do this to me! That you would violate me like this!" she raged. Her voice chilled to subfreezing temperatures. "No matter how this turns out, Neutron," she snarled, "once you get out of my head I never want to see you again!" With that Cindy stalked off, unhappily aware that she couldn't leave Jimmy behind as easily as the phobifier.

Somewhere within Cindy's mind Jimmy slumped down, equally unhappy. He knew that it had been the only certain way to keep Cindy's mind off any fears, and he had expected that she would be upset by the experience, but he had not anticipated the sheer intensity of her fury. Reason told him that Cindy's raw hatred towards him would be a small price to pay if his plan saved Retroville, but he began to understand that while reason could supply answers it could not provide any comfort for their consequences. He wondered listlessly whether his plan would even work.

Now, he told himself without any enthusiasm, let it work.

End of Chapter 11

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