THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PATIENCE!
Dreadfully sorry for the delay. It is hard to believe it has been over a month. OVER A MONTH! GEEZ! When we returned from our family reunion, where I visited with tons of cousins I've rarely seen and even met a few I didn't know existed, we revamped several main rooms, including the study and den. The computers were inaccessible. We then reconfigured the computers and boosted their security systems. In short, I haven't been able to use the computer for anything other than absolute necessities. Finally, now, I am able to get back to my regular routine for personal PC time. I owe story updates and a plethora of reviews. I need to do some serious reading and reviewing.
Acknowledgements: Thanks to all my readers and especially my reviewers. You bring joy to my heart. Thank you, Maran Zelde. I hope this explains the flashbacks in a logical fashion. Thank you Invader Ari. I am looking forward to reading your update. Thank you DibMagician. Glad you are enjoying this. Thank you DoomDib777. Learning can be fun. Thank you Darx. Acronyms are definitely fun. Thank you ckret2. I know I only answered some of your questions. Hopefully all will be answered before the end of the tale. Thank you Kippixin, I hope this chapter helps to alleviate some of your confusion.
Disclaimer: I do not own IZ. I would like to, I really would, but since I'm broke, with no prospects of winning the lotto any time soon, I don't have enough millions (or would it be billions) to free IZ from its current owners. Boy, if I did, IZ would be resurrected faster than one could say YAY! WE'RE DOOMED!
The time for answers is.NOW!
Dib, Yuifa Novekt, nazre trem
Time Unknown.
Dib gasped in pain as the tape was ripped from his mouth. Gingerly, he licked his lips, trying to formulate a plan to ask his questions. He has so many questions. He almost was afraid to find out the answers. The main one looming on the forefront of his brain, however, was his age. He took a deep breath and plunged into his first question.
"Dad," Dib stated more out of habit than anything else. "How can I be a hundred years old? I don't feel 100. Wouldn't I know if I was that old?"
The professor laughed again. He seemed to really be enjoying his captors' confusion.
"Well son," He began, "You aren't really 100. Your actually only 50, a child in the eyes of the Neplotn."
"But you said." Dib interrupted.
His 'father' cut him off. "I said you were developed 100 years ago. Perhaps what I should have said was your design was completed 100 years ago. You see, although you were initially based on my DNA, Gaz wanted to add genetic enhancements from various species to create the ultimate defender. Using computer-generated images, she tried out many different combinations of DNA to develop which ones we would use to develop you. We finally found the winning combination 100 years ago then spent the next 50 years scouring the universe to find the best DNA available. You are actually the creation of years of planning and development. You offer the best of almost 1000 different species." The professor leaned towards him. "You have barely even begun to know what you are capable of doing."
Dib took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His looming headache had made itself known. It was still hard to believe that he wasn't even human. And being fifty was just as confusing and improbable as being 100.
Dib glanced at his 'sister'. She was smirking at him in an amused manner, obviously enjoying every minute of his confused torture in true Gaz fashion. She didn't look any older than 10. If she was older than him, how come he could remember her in diapers? Or how she use to smack his head with her bottle? Or how she use to kick over his carefully constructed building blocks? Geez, he even remembered her first words; "Shuddup Dib!"
Dad? Dib began, "How old is Gaz? If she created me, how come I remember her when she was a baby? And."
Dib paused.
Closing his eyes for a moment, Dib recalled his spotty childhood memories. Like his tricycle accident when he was three. No, wait. He didn't have a tricycle accident, did he? He didn't have a hover helmet accident when he was six either. Zim had tampered with his past. Mucking up his childhood memories. Wouldn't that mean that he did have past to muck up? It was almost as if he had two childhood memories. The strong one that he thought he knew to be true, and the one Zim messed with. But concentrating further, Dib found there were more memories of his childhood. Of his childhood and beyond. One was a distant memory of a life lived to its fullest, with all of his wildest dreams coming true. Vaguely he recalled that Zim had planted this memory in his head in an attempt to get him to confess that he threw a muffin at Zim's head. And finally, almost impossible to recollect, he recalled a fourth shadowy ghost memory of a long and torturous past, full of pain and discipline. A memory he quickly wrote off as an overactive imagination from an extremely stressed mind.
Taking a deep breath, Dib opened his eyes and began again, stress and anxiety clearly on his voice. "How come I can remember my childhood so clearly."
"Memory implants." The professor stated. "Most of your memories have been created to help ease you into society. You didn't actually start living on Earth until you started attending Skool some six years ago. We needed to establish a past your mind could coup with and incorporate you into Earthen society. A good defender must be able to blend into the surrounding society."
"But you told Zim that I won't grow." Dib wiggled within his bonds, anxiety reaching new heights. "How are you going to pass that off? Wouldn't it look kind of ridiculous if I attended skool forever?"
"No. Not really." His 'father' shrugged. "And you don't have t attend school forever? There are plenty of older, youthful looking, small stature earthenoids on the planet. You could always pass it off as a glandular condition if you had to."
Dib looked at a spot on the table in front of him, his brow wrinkled in concentration.
"OK. So I didn't start living on earth until I started skool, and most of my memories are not real." Dib said softly, trying to convince himself that it was true. Somewhere in the back of his mind, the ghost memories were screaming that this was the truth. His conscious was still fighting him however. It just seemed too weird, but then a lot of things seemed too weird lately.
He looked at his father and cleared his throat. "If this is true, then how was Zim able to mess up my timeline with his stupid horrible piggys?" Dib suppressed a shudder. "Those horrible piggys!"
"He didn't." The professor stated calmly.
Dib blinked. Beside him, Zim jerked his antennae sharply foreword in surprise.
"But I remember!" Dib stated in protest.
"Yes!" Professor Membrane interrupted him. "And Zim does too. It was one of our trickiest challenges yet. When Zim decided to try to alter the past with a space-time object replacement device, we had to utilize two holographic rooms and modify both your thoughts and experiences to reflect temporal disruption. With the help of the holographic rooms and memory alterations, we were able to recreate your past experiences like modified lucid dreams. As a punishment for Zim's zealous tampering with time and space, we even created the illusion of Zim's misplaced final piggy."
"Huh?" Dib stated, thoroughly lost.
"Anyone who would even think to build and use such a device would have to be a complete moron. Zim needed to be taught a lesson." The professor smiled at Zim, watching as Zim's antennae twitch irritably. "So Zim's final piggy displaced his brain. Or at least, that's how he sees it. In Zim's mind, GIR saved his life by throwing his brain into the space-time object replacement device and then promptly destroying the device."
"Oh!" Dib said, still not fully understanding what the professor meant. He glanced at Zim.
'Perhaps it's better if I don't know.' Dib figured as he watched Zim's wide eyes narrow and his antennae begin to twitch irritably.
Dib's eyes widened at a sudden thought.
He turned towards the Professor. "Hey! If Zim was sent here to help me, how come he kept trying to destroy me?"
"Training." The professor stated enthusiastically.
"You needed some hands-on field training," he gestured with flourish towards Zim, "and Zim offered the best possibility of that. Zim came to Earth with the initial intentions of taking over the planet. We planted a command that would cause him to defend the Earth if it were to be threatened, like when the Planet Jackers tried to feed it to their dying sun, a test he passed rather impressively I might add, but we didn't block his desire for world domination, and we didn't initiate a 'do not kill Dib' command. We didn't want to inhibit Zim in his pathetic attempts to take over the planet. You needed him to be at his best if you were to get the most out of your training."
Dib stared slackjawed at his 'father'. He could have been killed. He spoke his thoughts allowed, glaring at the professor, a frown on his face. "Zim could have killed me? You would have let Zim kill me? I thought you wanted to keep me alive?"
"We wouldn't have let Zim kill you. We wanted to see how strong the 'twin' bond between you two was and how it would naturally progress." The professor chuckled at Dib's pouty face. We figured, if worse came to worse, we would just interfere and rescue you. We actually did that on several occasions as you may recall."
A moment of silence filled the room as Dib remembered how easily Gaz had saved him from Zim when he had been captured and held prisoner at Zim's spaceport. Briefly he wondered just how many times he had been saved by her. Or the Professor. Or the Neplotn in general. Dib glanced away from his 'dad' towards the other scientists surrounding the table. They stared at him with unreadable expressions. He wondered if any of them had saved him.
He glanced at Zim, who sat blind-eyed beside him. Zim's head was tilted slightly towards the small containment chamber housing GIR. It had been ever since GIR's arrival. He wondered briefly about the thing inside of Zim before turning his attention towards his 'sister'.
Gaz had taken out her Gameslave from someplace and was playing it with a look of boredom and distraction. Soft gaming sounds permeated the awkward silence of the room.
It was a familiar sight, even if it was set in the unfamiliar background of the boardroom. He thought over what his 'father' had said. Most of it confused the heck out of him. He still didn't know much about the Neplotn. If he was created, was Gaz? And his 'dad' still didn't tell him how old she was.
"How old are you Gaz?" he queried almost absentmindedly, his headache blocking his common sense. When the words left his mouth he cringed. She never did like personal questions. She didn't like talking much, at least to him, and Professor Membrane seemed to be the one doing all of the answering, so he didn't really expect her to answer. When she did, it caught him by surprise.
"I'm almost 8." She responded, not looking up from her Gameslave.
"8?" Dib started, confused again. "But I thought."
"8 hundred, you moron." Gaz snorted. "Haven't you been listening to anything Dad said? How could I be 8 years old if I created Dad and he's 200?"
Dib lowered his head for a moment. His sister always knew how to make him feel stupid. But she was actually talking to him so embarrassed or not, he decided to press on. He looked up at her again.
"Did someone create you too Gaz?" Dib ventured, "Or are you a full blooded Neplotn?"
If he knew more about Neplotn, maybe he and Zim could escape from the Neplotn created predestined fate and they could live their lives in freedom?
"Created." Gaz answered, looking up at Dib with unseen squinty eyes.
Dib shifted uncomfortably at her gaze.
"You know Dib," She smirked at him. "Your about as full blooded Neplotn as you can get. Science and genetic manipulation rules this species."
"What?" Dib blinked at her. "How can I be full blooded Neplotn? Dad said I was a mixture of almost 1000 different species."
"Exactly." She replied and dropped her attention back down towards her Gameslave.
Dib was hopelessly lost. He glanced at his father, hoping he would clarify what she meant.
His father complied.
"You see son," His dad began. "The Neplotn are all genetically enhanced test tube creations. It is how our collective procreates and thrives."
Professor Membrane leaned back into his chair and steeped his fingers, pressing his forefingers against his collar where his mouth was hidden, before continuing.
"Many millennia ago, a group of rebel scientists from various universes decided to go against the natural order of things and came together to create an advanced society of ultimately superior beings using genetic manipulation and DNA enhancements." Professor Membrane's voice took on the tone of an enthusiastic history teacher reminiscing the good ol' days. "These rebel scientists were called The Neplotn. Unfortunately, our founding creators were discovered by the Collective Universal Policing Task Force Against The Illegal Use Of Cloning And DNA Enhancement, (also known as the C.U.P.T.F.A.T.I.U.O.C.A.D.E.) and were destroyed out of jealousy and fear. Many of our original brothers and sisters were also lost that day, but some of them did survive. Because of our advanced superiority, our ancestors were able to not only survive, but too continue our creators' plans for the perfect society of ultimately superior beings. We learned how to master space time continuums, dimensional travel, the perfect balance of nutrition and supplements, and many other things."
"You should be proud of your heritage son." His father leaned towards him. "You come from long a line of true scientists." The last two words were punctuated with a raised arm ending in a dramatic finger pointing towards the ceiling.
Dib rolled his eyes at the simple action. It was almost one of his father's trade mark gestures.
Dib blinked as he absorbed the impromptu history lesson of his founding ancestors. The Neplotn sounded benign enough, but he couldn't shake the sense that his father had only given him half of the history lesson, leaving out some rather less than innocent tidbits of information.
Dib's headache pounded against his forehead and he severely wished he could lift his hand and rub it back into submission. Another thought entered his head.
"Hey dad", he quiried. "If I'm suppose to be some sort of superior Neplotn defender weapon.thingy, then how come I have to wear glasses?"
His dad chucked and leaned forward. He folded his arms and leaned against the table.
"Control." He answered. "We have created a weakness in you that would allow us to control you if necessary."
"But if I'm suppose to defend the Earth, wouldn't you want to give me the best advantage possible?" Dib asked, confused. "If the bad guys take off my glasses, I wouldn't be able to defend myself."
The professor chuckled again.
"Dib." Professor Membrane waved his hands, gesturing around the room. "We control when you need your glasses and when you don't. Like Zim, we monitor your every movement. If you need perfect vision we can just push a few buttons and there you are, seeing better than any regular human. We can monitor your functions from here."
"You can monitor my functions from this room? All you need to do is push a few buttons and I can have better than perfect vision?" Dib asked in amazement, looking at the darkened walls, ceiling, wall monitors and table. Maybe he missed something.
"No son," his father shook his head. "Not this room, this base. We can monitor you from this base. We can remotely control both you and Zim from here."
"How can you remotely control me?" Dib briefly wondered if he would ever stop being confused. "I'm not a machine am I? I thought I was biological."
"And you are son," His dad smiled a weird evil smile that reminded Dib of his sister. Dib felt slightly uneasy. "You are a biological computer. Most advanced we have created yet. We have learned how to control most of your latent biological abilities via remote."
Dib's head spun. There was so much information to take in. He had gone from being a normal human boy to a 50 year old 'creation' to a...,er...a biological robot? Nothing made sense anymore.
"So I'm a robot?" Dib asked.
Gaz smirked, her eyes never lifting from her Gameslave.
"No dummy," she said interrupting the professor. "You have free will, sort of, and you can control what you're going to do when you have to do it. We just have some security measures in place to make sure you follow your destiny. Just like Zim."
Zim wiggled uncomfortable beside Dib, momentarily distracting him.
Dib turned his attention back towards his sister.
"And what destiny is that?" he asked her, already knowing the answer.
"Geez Dib, how can you be so thick." She snorted. "To save the Earth. Duh!"
Dib sighed at his sister. He was use to her constant put downs, but that didn't mean they didn't hurt his feelings. He decided to ask a few more questions before they decided to tape his mouth again. He was surprised they hadn't done so already. He had already asked more questions than Zim.
"Why did you make your dimensional portal thingy here? I'm sure there were better planets to build it on." Dib questioned. He figured if he had to defend the Earth, he wanted to know what made it so important. "Why Earth?"
"Dib, son, you of all people should know the answer to that. You are, after all, a 'paranormal investigator in training' aren't you?" The professor gave a short but hearty laugh. "Don't tell me you never wondered about the Bermuda Triangle? Why it is only the most famous natural transdimensional portal in existence. And all of those haunted places? Natural transdimensional portals as well. These "ghosts", (the professor wiggled his fingers to emphasize the word "ghost") people claim to see are merely residue energy patterns which have escaped from connected dimensions, well most of them anyway.
"So how come no one on earth knows about all of this?" Dib asked, perplexed. "I mean, if Earth is this major important transportation station between universes and dimensions, then how come the humans don't know? Wouldn't they know? It's their planet, isn't it?"
Laughter erupted around the table, sounding almost deafening in the small room. Dib glanced around at the scientists. Some held their sides or stomache, while others held their hands to their mouths. Some tilted their heads towards the ceiling, tears of laughter crawling down their cheeks. All of them shook with the force of their laughter. Dib's eyes fell on Zim whose unseeing eyes looked towards the table. His shook his head silently as if he was embarrassed for Dib.
Confused, Dib looked back towards his father.
"What's so funny?" he had to practically yell to be heard across the table.
Surprisingly, it was Gaz who answered.
"Geez Dib, how daft are you?" She shook her head. "We're talking about the human race here. They're so wrapped up in their pathetic little existences that even when an alien walks up and kicks them in the butt they are oblivious. And you have been trying to get them to believe you for how long?" Gaz let out a snort. "Get real, Dib."
"It is exactly this oblivious behavior of the planet's inhabitants that make Earth the perfect transport station." Dib's father interceded. "Looking at the inhabitants, no one could even begin to guess this puny dirtball harbors such astounding hidden treasures. No one would believe it holds such importance in the scope of dimensional and inner-dimensional travel."
Professor Membrane clapped his hands together, effectively silencing the remaining few snickers which echoed around the table.
"Enough questions for now." The professor stood up and nodded towards the scientist closest to Dib. "Tape his mouth and meet me in nazre skos. We need to prepare the injections."
Dib's eyes widened in panic. He didn't want his mouth tapped again. His lips were already sore. And what about his questions?
"DAD WAIT!" he practically screamed. "I'M NOT DONE! I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS! WHY DO YOU KEEP TAPING OUR MOUTHS WITH TAPE?"
The professor smiled at his 'son' while the scientist slapped tape across Dib's tender mouth.
"Not exactly the ending question that I would have chose son," the professor chuckled, "But if you must know, we use tape because it is cheap and effective. It serves its function well."
Professor Membrane turned towards the scientist closest to Zim. "Prepare the Irken in the nazre lilk skos. Take the robot also. We need to keep the CPE in check."
He then pointed towards two scientists at the far end of the table. "You two, take Dib to nazre triman skos. Give him something to eat, but monitor him closely. Dib is still recovering from the trauma caused by that NACAPLACE 'thing' when it shot it's message into Dib's neck." There was a slight pause before he continued. "And bring several guards. I don't believe we have earned my son's trust yet."
Dreadfully sorry for the delay. It is hard to believe it has been over a month. OVER A MONTH! GEEZ! When we returned from our family reunion, where I visited with tons of cousins I've rarely seen and even met a few I didn't know existed, we revamped several main rooms, including the study and den. The computers were inaccessible. We then reconfigured the computers and boosted their security systems. In short, I haven't been able to use the computer for anything other than absolute necessities. Finally, now, I am able to get back to my regular routine for personal PC time. I owe story updates and a plethora of reviews. I need to do some serious reading and reviewing.
Acknowledgements: Thanks to all my readers and especially my reviewers. You bring joy to my heart. Thank you, Maran Zelde. I hope this explains the flashbacks in a logical fashion. Thank you Invader Ari. I am looking forward to reading your update. Thank you DibMagician. Glad you are enjoying this. Thank you DoomDib777. Learning can be fun. Thank you Darx. Acronyms are definitely fun. Thank you ckret2. I know I only answered some of your questions. Hopefully all will be answered before the end of the tale. Thank you Kippixin, I hope this chapter helps to alleviate some of your confusion.
Disclaimer: I do not own IZ. I would like to, I really would, but since I'm broke, with no prospects of winning the lotto any time soon, I don't have enough millions (or would it be billions) to free IZ from its current owners. Boy, if I did, IZ would be resurrected faster than one could say YAY! WE'RE DOOMED!
The time for answers is.NOW!
Dib, Yuifa Novekt, nazre trem
Time Unknown.
Dib gasped in pain as the tape was ripped from his mouth. Gingerly, he licked his lips, trying to formulate a plan to ask his questions. He has so many questions. He almost was afraid to find out the answers. The main one looming on the forefront of his brain, however, was his age. He took a deep breath and plunged into his first question.
"Dad," Dib stated more out of habit than anything else. "How can I be a hundred years old? I don't feel 100. Wouldn't I know if I was that old?"
The professor laughed again. He seemed to really be enjoying his captors' confusion.
"Well son," He began, "You aren't really 100. Your actually only 50, a child in the eyes of the Neplotn."
"But you said." Dib interrupted.
His 'father' cut him off. "I said you were developed 100 years ago. Perhaps what I should have said was your design was completed 100 years ago. You see, although you were initially based on my DNA, Gaz wanted to add genetic enhancements from various species to create the ultimate defender. Using computer-generated images, she tried out many different combinations of DNA to develop which ones we would use to develop you. We finally found the winning combination 100 years ago then spent the next 50 years scouring the universe to find the best DNA available. You are actually the creation of years of planning and development. You offer the best of almost 1000 different species." The professor leaned towards him. "You have barely even begun to know what you are capable of doing."
Dib took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His looming headache had made itself known. It was still hard to believe that he wasn't even human. And being fifty was just as confusing and improbable as being 100.
Dib glanced at his 'sister'. She was smirking at him in an amused manner, obviously enjoying every minute of his confused torture in true Gaz fashion. She didn't look any older than 10. If she was older than him, how come he could remember her in diapers? Or how she use to smack his head with her bottle? Or how she use to kick over his carefully constructed building blocks? Geez, he even remembered her first words; "Shuddup Dib!"
Dad? Dib began, "How old is Gaz? If she created me, how come I remember her when she was a baby? And."
Dib paused.
Closing his eyes for a moment, Dib recalled his spotty childhood memories. Like his tricycle accident when he was three. No, wait. He didn't have a tricycle accident, did he? He didn't have a hover helmet accident when he was six either. Zim had tampered with his past. Mucking up his childhood memories. Wouldn't that mean that he did have past to muck up? It was almost as if he had two childhood memories. The strong one that he thought he knew to be true, and the one Zim messed with. But concentrating further, Dib found there were more memories of his childhood. Of his childhood and beyond. One was a distant memory of a life lived to its fullest, with all of his wildest dreams coming true. Vaguely he recalled that Zim had planted this memory in his head in an attempt to get him to confess that he threw a muffin at Zim's head. And finally, almost impossible to recollect, he recalled a fourth shadowy ghost memory of a long and torturous past, full of pain and discipline. A memory he quickly wrote off as an overactive imagination from an extremely stressed mind.
Taking a deep breath, Dib opened his eyes and began again, stress and anxiety clearly on his voice. "How come I can remember my childhood so clearly."
"Memory implants." The professor stated. "Most of your memories have been created to help ease you into society. You didn't actually start living on Earth until you started attending Skool some six years ago. We needed to establish a past your mind could coup with and incorporate you into Earthen society. A good defender must be able to blend into the surrounding society."
"But you told Zim that I won't grow." Dib wiggled within his bonds, anxiety reaching new heights. "How are you going to pass that off? Wouldn't it look kind of ridiculous if I attended skool forever?"
"No. Not really." His 'father' shrugged. "And you don't have t attend school forever? There are plenty of older, youthful looking, small stature earthenoids on the planet. You could always pass it off as a glandular condition if you had to."
Dib looked at a spot on the table in front of him, his brow wrinkled in concentration.
"OK. So I didn't start living on earth until I started skool, and most of my memories are not real." Dib said softly, trying to convince himself that it was true. Somewhere in the back of his mind, the ghost memories were screaming that this was the truth. His conscious was still fighting him however. It just seemed too weird, but then a lot of things seemed too weird lately.
He looked at his father and cleared his throat. "If this is true, then how was Zim able to mess up my timeline with his stupid horrible piggys?" Dib suppressed a shudder. "Those horrible piggys!"
"He didn't." The professor stated calmly.
Dib blinked. Beside him, Zim jerked his antennae sharply foreword in surprise.
"But I remember!" Dib stated in protest.
"Yes!" Professor Membrane interrupted him. "And Zim does too. It was one of our trickiest challenges yet. When Zim decided to try to alter the past with a space-time object replacement device, we had to utilize two holographic rooms and modify both your thoughts and experiences to reflect temporal disruption. With the help of the holographic rooms and memory alterations, we were able to recreate your past experiences like modified lucid dreams. As a punishment for Zim's zealous tampering with time and space, we even created the illusion of Zim's misplaced final piggy."
"Huh?" Dib stated, thoroughly lost.
"Anyone who would even think to build and use such a device would have to be a complete moron. Zim needed to be taught a lesson." The professor smiled at Zim, watching as Zim's antennae twitch irritably. "So Zim's final piggy displaced his brain. Or at least, that's how he sees it. In Zim's mind, GIR saved his life by throwing his brain into the space-time object replacement device and then promptly destroying the device."
"Oh!" Dib said, still not fully understanding what the professor meant. He glanced at Zim.
'Perhaps it's better if I don't know.' Dib figured as he watched Zim's wide eyes narrow and his antennae begin to twitch irritably.
Dib's eyes widened at a sudden thought.
He turned towards the Professor. "Hey! If Zim was sent here to help me, how come he kept trying to destroy me?"
"Training." The professor stated enthusiastically.
"You needed some hands-on field training," he gestured with flourish towards Zim, "and Zim offered the best possibility of that. Zim came to Earth with the initial intentions of taking over the planet. We planted a command that would cause him to defend the Earth if it were to be threatened, like when the Planet Jackers tried to feed it to their dying sun, a test he passed rather impressively I might add, but we didn't block his desire for world domination, and we didn't initiate a 'do not kill Dib' command. We didn't want to inhibit Zim in his pathetic attempts to take over the planet. You needed him to be at his best if you were to get the most out of your training."
Dib stared slackjawed at his 'father'. He could have been killed. He spoke his thoughts allowed, glaring at the professor, a frown on his face. "Zim could have killed me? You would have let Zim kill me? I thought you wanted to keep me alive?"
"We wouldn't have let Zim kill you. We wanted to see how strong the 'twin' bond between you two was and how it would naturally progress." The professor chuckled at Dib's pouty face. We figured, if worse came to worse, we would just interfere and rescue you. We actually did that on several occasions as you may recall."
A moment of silence filled the room as Dib remembered how easily Gaz had saved him from Zim when he had been captured and held prisoner at Zim's spaceport. Briefly he wondered just how many times he had been saved by her. Or the Professor. Or the Neplotn in general. Dib glanced away from his 'dad' towards the other scientists surrounding the table. They stared at him with unreadable expressions. He wondered if any of them had saved him.
He glanced at Zim, who sat blind-eyed beside him. Zim's head was tilted slightly towards the small containment chamber housing GIR. It had been ever since GIR's arrival. He wondered briefly about the thing inside of Zim before turning his attention towards his 'sister'.
Gaz had taken out her Gameslave from someplace and was playing it with a look of boredom and distraction. Soft gaming sounds permeated the awkward silence of the room.
It was a familiar sight, even if it was set in the unfamiliar background of the boardroom. He thought over what his 'father' had said. Most of it confused the heck out of him. He still didn't know much about the Neplotn. If he was created, was Gaz? And his 'dad' still didn't tell him how old she was.
"How old are you Gaz?" he queried almost absentmindedly, his headache blocking his common sense. When the words left his mouth he cringed. She never did like personal questions. She didn't like talking much, at least to him, and Professor Membrane seemed to be the one doing all of the answering, so he didn't really expect her to answer. When she did, it caught him by surprise.
"I'm almost 8." She responded, not looking up from her Gameslave.
"8?" Dib started, confused again. "But I thought."
"8 hundred, you moron." Gaz snorted. "Haven't you been listening to anything Dad said? How could I be 8 years old if I created Dad and he's 200?"
Dib lowered his head for a moment. His sister always knew how to make him feel stupid. But she was actually talking to him so embarrassed or not, he decided to press on. He looked up at her again.
"Did someone create you too Gaz?" Dib ventured, "Or are you a full blooded Neplotn?"
If he knew more about Neplotn, maybe he and Zim could escape from the Neplotn created predestined fate and they could live their lives in freedom?
"Created." Gaz answered, looking up at Dib with unseen squinty eyes.
Dib shifted uncomfortably at her gaze.
"You know Dib," She smirked at him. "Your about as full blooded Neplotn as you can get. Science and genetic manipulation rules this species."
"What?" Dib blinked at her. "How can I be full blooded Neplotn? Dad said I was a mixture of almost 1000 different species."
"Exactly." She replied and dropped her attention back down towards her Gameslave.
Dib was hopelessly lost. He glanced at his father, hoping he would clarify what she meant.
His father complied.
"You see son," His dad began. "The Neplotn are all genetically enhanced test tube creations. It is how our collective procreates and thrives."
Professor Membrane leaned back into his chair and steeped his fingers, pressing his forefingers against his collar where his mouth was hidden, before continuing.
"Many millennia ago, a group of rebel scientists from various universes decided to go against the natural order of things and came together to create an advanced society of ultimately superior beings using genetic manipulation and DNA enhancements." Professor Membrane's voice took on the tone of an enthusiastic history teacher reminiscing the good ol' days. "These rebel scientists were called The Neplotn. Unfortunately, our founding creators were discovered by the Collective Universal Policing Task Force Against The Illegal Use Of Cloning And DNA Enhancement, (also known as the C.U.P.T.F.A.T.I.U.O.C.A.D.E.) and were destroyed out of jealousy and fear. Many of our original brothers and sisters were also lost that day, but some of them did survive. Because of our advanced superiority, our ancestors were able to not only survive, but too continue our creators' plans for the perfect society of ultimately superior beings. We learned how to master space time continuums, dimensional travel, the perfect balance of nutrition and supplements, and many other things."
"You should be proud of your heritage son." His father leaned towards him. "You come from long a line of true scientists." The last two words were punctuated with a raised arm ending in a dramatic finger pointing towards the ceiling.
Dib rolled his eyes at the simple action. It was almost one of his father's trade mark gestures.
Dib blinked as he absorbed the impromptu history lesson of his founding ancestors. The Neplotn sounded benign enough, but he couldn't shake the sense that his father had only given him half of the history lesson, leaving out some rather less than innocent tidbits of information.
Dib's headache pounded against his forehead and he severely wished he could lift his hand and rub it back into submission. Another thought entered his head.
"Hey dad", he quiried. "If I'm suppose to be some sort of superior Neplotn defender weapon.thingy, then how come I have to wear glasses?"
His dad chucked and leaned forward. He folded his arms and leaned against the table.
"Control." He answered. "We have created a weakness in you that would allow us to control you if necessary."
"But if I'm suppose to defend the Earth, wouldn't you want to give me the best advantage possible?" Dib asked, confused. "If the bad guys take off my glasses, I wouldn't be able to defend myself."
The professor chuckled again.
"Dib." Professor Membrane waved his hands, gesturing around the room. "We control when you need your glasses and when you don't. Like Zim, we monitor your every movement. If you need perfect vision we can just push a few buttons and there you are, seeing better than any regular human. We can monitor your functions from here."
"You can monitor my functions from this room? All you need to do is push a few buttons and I can have better than perfect vision?" Dib asked in amazement, looking at the darkened walls, ceiling, wall monitors and table. Maybe he missed something.
"No son," his father shook his head. "Not this room, this base. We can monitor you from this base. We can remotely control both you and Zim from here."
"How can you remotely control me?" Dib briefly wondered if he would ever stop being confused. "I'm not a machine am I? I thought I was biological."
"And you are son," His dad smiled a weird evil smile that reminded Dib of his sister. Dib felt slightly uneasy. "You are a biological computer. Most advanced we have created yet. We have learned how to control most of your latent biological abilities via remote."
Dib's head spun. There was so much information to take in. He had gone from being a normal human boy to a 50 year old 'creation' to a...,er...a biological robot? Nothing made sense anymore.
"So I'm a robot?" Dib asked.
Gaz smirked, her eyes never lifting from her Gameslave.
"No dummy," she said interrupting the professor. "You have free will, sort of, and you can control what you're going to do when you have to do it. We just have some security measures in place to make sure you follow your destiny. Just like Zim."
Zim wiggled uncomfortable beside Dib, momentarily distracting him.
Dib turned his attention back towards his sister.
"And what destiny is that?" he asked her, already knowing the answer.
"Geez Dib, how can you be so thick." She snorted. "To save the Earth. Duh!"
Dib sighed at his sister. He was use to her constant put downs, but that didn't mean they didn't hurt his feelings. He decided to ask a few more questions before they decided to tape his mouth again. He was surprised they hadn't done so already. He had already asked more questions than Zim.
"Why did you make your dimensional portal thingy here? I'm sure there were better planets to build it on." Dib questioned. He figured if he had to defend the Earth, he wanted to know what made it so important. "Why Earth?"
"Dib, son, you of all people should know the answer to that. You are, after all, a 'paranormal investigator in training' aren't you?" The professor gave a short but hearty laugh. "Don't tell me you never wondered about the Bermuda Triangle? Why it is only the most famous natural transdimensional portal in existence. And all of those haunted places? Natural transdimensional portals as well. These "ghosts", (the professor wiggled his fingers to emphasize the word "ghost") people claim to see are merely residue energy patterns which have escaped from connected dimensions, well most of them anyway.
"So how come no one on earth knows about all of this?" Dib asked, perplexed. "I mean, if Earth is this major important transportation station between universes and dimensions, then how come the humans don't know? Wouldn't they know? It's their planet, isn't it?"
Laughter erupted around the table, sounding almost deafening in the small room. Dib glanced around at the scientists. Some held their sides or stomache, while others held their hands to their mouths. Some tilted their heads towards the ceiling, tears of laughter crawling down their cheeks. All of them shook with the force of their laughter. Dib's eyes fell on Zim whose unseeing eyes looked towards the table. His shook his head silently as if he was embarrassed for Dib.
Confused, Dib looked back towards his father.
"What's so funny?" he had to practically yell to be heard across the table.
Surprisingly, it was Gaz who answered.
"Geez Dib, how daft are you?" She shook her head. "We're talking about the human race here. They're so wrapped up in their pathetic little existences that even when an alien walks up and kicks them in the butt they are oblivious. And you have been trying to get them to believe you for how long?" Gaz let out a snort. "Get real, Dib."
"It is exactly this oblivious behavior of the planet's inhabitants that make Earth the perfect transport station." Dib's father interceded. "Looking at the inhabitants, no one could even begin to guess this puny dirtball harbors such astounding hidden treasures. No one would believe it holds such importance in the scope of dimensional and inner-dimensional travel."
Professor Membrane clapped his hands together, effectively silencing the remaining few snickers which echoed around the table.
"Enough questions for now." The professor stood up and nodded towards the scientist closest to Dib. "Tape his mouth and meet me in nazre skos. We need to prepare the injections."
Dib's eyes widened in panic. He didn't want his mouth tapped again. His lips were already sore. And what about his questions?
"DAD WAIT!" he practically screamed. "I'M NOT DONE! I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS! WHY DO YOU KEEP TAPING OUR MOUTHS WITH TAPE?"
The professor smiled at his 'son' while the scientist slapped tape across Dib's tender mouth.
"Not exactly the ending question that I would have chose son," the professor chuckled, "But if you must know, we use tape because it is cheap and effective. It serves its function well."
Professor Membrane turned towards the scientist closest to Zim. "Prepare the Irken in the nazre lilk skos. Take the robot also. We need to keep the CPE in check."
He then pointed towards two scientists at the far end of the table. "You two, take Dib to nazre triman skos. Give him something to eat, but monitor him closely. Dib is still recovering from the trauma caused by that NACAPLACE 'thing' when it shot it's message into Dib's neck." There was a slight pause before he continued. "And bring several guards. I don't believe we have earned my son's trust yet."