To the reviewers!
To moonjava: Thanks.
To Crys Skywalker: You're welcome.
To LadyKayoss: Heh heh. Okay.
To Agent Silver: Yes you are. So am I, at the very end. Veronica is kind of a ditz...good thing Betty's around to explain things.
Reminder: Chapter 7 of All in the Family is also up...
And remember...read and review!
Chapter 6: Dilton Doiley Spills the Beans
"How good a memory do you have, Doiley?"
"Er, Reggie, I have a pretty good memory for someone of my age. It depends on what you want me to remember," Dilton responded.
"Remember when Weatherbee announced he hired a new science teacher?"
"Yes, all the gang were hanging out in the hall. I had just finished talking with Jughead, who was eating, and you were flirting with Midge, and Moose came after you, and you said you were asking her for the chemistry assignments…"
"Forget that! What happened when Weatherbee announced he hired a new teacher?"
"He said the new teacher had some issues, but he was highly qualified and desperate for the job."
"Issues…" muttered Reggie. "Okay, think back to a few minutes before that. Didn't Long-nose Jones say you told him he was a famous physicist?"
Dilton sighed. "I didn't say the new teacher was a famous physicist, Reginald. I said his name sounded like that of a famous physicist I heard of."
Reggie groaned. The little drudge was not only a nerd; he was a nitpicker as well. "All right, just who is this famous physicist whose name sounds like the teacher's?"
Dilton groaned. Not only was Reginald a jerk, he was a smart-ass as well. "The scientist I was thinking of is Dr. Otto Octavius, the famous nuclear physicist. He was working on an experiment to produce clean energy in these days of oil shortages. He was the first scientist to produce a substantial amount of nuclear fusion."
Reggie didn't know what the hell what he was talking about.
"The guy was a genius. For the purposes of his experiment, Dr. Octavius built a harness with four artificially intelligent robotic arms that could manipulate dangerous materials from a safe distance."
"You said this dude produced a 'substantial amount of nuclear fusion'. Could you say that in English?"
"Reggie, the sun's energy comes from a nuclear fusion process using hydrogen and helium. So you could say that Dr. Octavius made a miniature sun in his laboratory. But I said produced, Reggie. He couldn't maintain it."
"Meaning…?"
"Meaning that during his first demonstration of the experiment, the energy levels got out of control. It blew up in his face. Literally. It killed his wife, who was a bystander at the demonstration. Moreover…the heat and electricity Dr. Octavius was exposed to permanently fused the four metal arms, which he was still wearing at the time, to his spine and nervous system."
Now this was getting good.
"So just what happened to our nuclear physicist?"
Dilton sighed. "Dr. Octavius built an inhibitor chip into the harness to maintain control over the arms. The inhibitor chip was destroyed in the explosion."
"So you're saying…the artificial intelligence whatsit…took over the physicist's mind?"
Dilton nodded. There was hope for Reginald yet. To Dilton, what happened to the doctor was like watching Oedipus suddenly fall from his high station to become a blinded outcast. "The guy was a genius. In fifth grade I wrote a report on the actuators for my Gifted and Talented computer science class. I idolized the guy. Is that all, Reginald?"
"Well, what happened to the physicist? How is he now?"
"Like I said, the artificial intelligence took over his mind and corrupted him completely. He's now known as Doctor Octopus, the super-criminal and terrorist."
Reggie got to thinking. Octavius couldn't be a very common name, could it? Of course, with the trouble he was in now, he wasn't about to go right up to the Mad Doctor and ask him.
Of course, there was a possibility the Mad Doctor wasn't this "Doctor Octopus" at all. Maybe Dilton was right. The name just sounded similar. But…if he was, then he could be certain the Bee wouldn't want an eight limbed mad scientist at his school.
But he worked at the newspaper, the Blue and Gold. And so did Betty.
Stroke of luck, seventh period, at the newspaper office.
"Reggie," Betty said, "I want you to write up an article about the new science teacher, Dr. Octavius. We'd like to know about him, his family, how long he's been teaching…" Betty let out a small giggle. "Some of the girls even want to know whether he's married. Well, he is handsome enough."
The Mad Doctor handsome! Riverdale high school girls had tastes that were totally whacked. Why else would Veronica Lodge, the richest, most beautiful girl in the city, be seen with that freckle-faced, carrot-haired klutz, Archie Andrews?
Speaking of which, Veronica was pissed at him worse than ever.
"Refusal of your Winter Dance tickets! It was better to fail, Reggie! Now that you can't go, I'm sure Archie will be happy to take your place!"
Oh well, you don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Betty asked him to get some background on the Mad Doctor. That Reggie would do—and then some.
Reggie took a computer and navigated to a popular search website. There he typed background checks.
What would not being fired and or arrested be worth to the Mad Doctor? An A grade in chemistry and the return of his Winter Dance tickets, perhaps?
