I am warning you now. The following chapter has a lot of scientific and long words. If you dont' want to read through it, skip to the last three paragraphs.
Jazz had just finished her homework when the doorbell rang. Stretching, she walked calmly down the stairs and opened the door to see Tucker and Sam standing there, out of breath. Sam looked pale and worried with a white knuckled grip on the laptop she held to her chest, while Tucker just looked confused.
"We have to talk! Danny too," Sam gasped. Rather surprised, Jazz ushered them in, and made a quick phone call to her parents to let them know Sam and Tucker had shown up to see Danny so they wouldn't be in for any surprises when they got home. Surprises usually caused them to be testy for the rest of the evening.
"I was able to get a hold of another paranormal expert," Sam said quickly after they'd woken Danny. "I taped the conversation so I wouldn't miss anything," she said nervously, set her computer up, and flipped the power switch. The screen flickered on to show an older man with thick salt and pepper colored hair, and a sour expression.
"Miss Manson, I presume?" He asked, sounding slightly less perturbed then he looked.
"Thank you for getting back to me so quickly," they heard Sam's voice answer him.
"Do I really sound like that?" Sam asked as she stepped back, obviously trying to lighten the mood.
The doctor raised an eyebrow skeptically. "I normally don't after hours." Well, that proved he wasn't in a good mood. "May I ask what this emergency is?"
A pause followed, and Danny knew that Sam had tried to tweak her explanation last minute to make it sound better.
"Er," she answered, "I have a paper on paranormal theories due tomorrow." Danny could picture the almost fake grin she would have plastered onto her face. "Besides, I'll make it worth your while," her voice added. Danny blinked and glanced at Sam, who blushed. He hadn't realized how much she used her money and social standing to help him.
"Very well," the doctor's hard expression softened slightly.
Sam continued. "In all technicality, I decided to put this in the form of a theoretical story." She sounded very professional and businesslike to him. She didn't use that tone of voice unless she was after something. They heard her clear her throat before she went on with a gulp. "It's a theory about half ghosts."
"They're impossible," he interrupted before she could go any further. "A ghost is dead, end of story. They are theoretically thoughts ad feelings of people who have passed on or about people who have passed on that come together and form entities." Danny smiled at the thought of her exasperation at being interrupted, and at hearing something she'd heard several times before...even if it did sound more scientific.
"Well," she said, the annoyance lacing her voice. "Is there any way at all? Maybe he's a human with powers or something." Danny winced as her words struck a little too close to home.
"I just don't see how it could be possible," he shook his head.
"Nothing at all?" her voice sounded almost desperate.
He leaned closer to the camera. "Miss Manson, if they were a ghost, they'd be only a ghost, and that couldn't change until they passed on. People can't come back from the dead, even if they can take on a more human form. And there is no process that I am aware of that a human can survive to give them ghost-like qualities. You would have to basically kill part of them, but leave the rest alive...and it isn't possible. The only thing I could think of with that kind of result would be to rush an electrical ectoplasmic bolt through their body...but that would kill ALL of them." He looked poignantly at the screen.
"Oh," Sam sounded horrified on the computer. In real life, she looked down grimly, unwilling to meet her best friend's eyes. Jazz and Tucker both stared pale faced at the screen as the words sank in. Danny had suspected something like this for a while, but to hear it just brought the entire situation crashing down on him. He hadn't really grasped a lot of what was being said, but he got this. He wasn't supposed to be alive...when he'd made that stupid mistake of walking into that porthole, he should have died...become a FULL ghost.
On the screen, Sam apparently recovered very quickly. "Well...er...if the second theory could eventually work successfully...could we base this off of that one?" The doctor shrugged and sat back with a sigh.
"Right," Sam continued. "I have a friend who's really into ghosts, and she wanted me to write this on what would happen if...say, this half ghost's powers were transferred into a human..."
"How?" the doctor asked, his tone practically shouting at how skeptical he was.
"A supposed telepathic invention that backfired," Sam replied confidently.
The doctor shook his head. "Whoever would create such an invention should know that if ghosts are thoughts and feelings, a telepathic device would fuse a ghost (or the ghost part of the half ghost) into the human using the machine."
"Would it be permanent?" Sam asked bluntly.
"Unless the half ghost used it back, I would think so. Any part of this person that was ghost, not including the genes that allow the living and dead to exist together in one being, would be literally ripped away from them. If that person is still alive, they would have to have the mutation physically and permanently in their genes, or their powers would digress."
"Could you say that in Lamen's terms?" Sam's voice came dryly.
The doctor sighed again. "It would effect everything that was ghost in the person."
"I see," she prompted. "What kind of state do you think they'd be in? Any sicknesses?"
"I'd be surprised if they weren't in a coma. Half of the force that keeps them alive would be gone. If they were even awake, it would be because the other person that used that machine on them was near."
"Uh, and the long term effects?"
The older man shrugged. "I would think that eventually the first person would start to build strength, although I don't know if they would ever be a pronounced "part ghost" because it would be their human life force keeping them alive and building. The other person would be running on an existence force that would exceed at least 130. They wouldn't need as much food or sleep to get the same results from their body as normal. However, the existence force would eventually equalize and revert back to their normal life force by fusing the two together. The powers that this person would possess would also diminish, and probably disappear all together."
A long pause followed before Sam's voice became audible again. "Well," she sounded shaky on the screen. "I really appreciate this, Doctor. You should receive your payment tomorrow."
"Indeed," the Doctor nodded politely and the screen went blank.
Everyone sat around, staring into space. "Um..." Danny rubbed the back of his head. "Could someone please tell me what's going on in English?"
"Jazz's powers will fade, and we don't know if you'll get yours back," Sam said quietly.
"And, even if you do, there will probably be a point where neither your or me could stop even the weakest ghosts," Jazz whispered. "Amnity Park will loose all their protection."
