Disclaimer: This is a short story.
Background: Original fiction.
Author's Notes: Please, grade this without any bias. Thank you.
I am Keitaro Urashima, and I am going to make history.
Today was the big day, and the moment of truth was approaching. All of us at IBM labs were getting ready. However, only one man will get the glory, and that is I, the head of the nanotechnology department at IBM labs, not to mention foremost expert in micro mechanics. Frankly, I was scared. What if the foolproof experiment failed? What if I get nervous and screw the whole thing up? What if I wore the clean room suit incorrectly, causing failure? Many "What ifs" were swimming in my head. I was thinking, thinking, thinking…
When suddenly, Naru clapped me on the back. "Hey Keitaro, don't worry" she gave me a big smile, "We all believe in you. You will make history today, and we will be watching as it is written." She pointed at a large screen on her left, opposite of the giant glass window from which one could peer inside the lab and on normal days see a group of focused scientists working on the latest nanobots, bots that bring me to my purpose today.
Attempting to move atoms using machines.
It had taken years of studying, many, many years, to try to even come close to being able to move the things that make up our very existence. I was a fresh young graduate from MIT, when I had taken an interest in nanotechnology, (I have a PhD in electronics) and started to do in depth research into it. Eventually, this led me to the field of micro mechanics, which was, and still is very young. I had made some significant contributions to the field, but nothing great so that I would be in textbooks or the like. Even so, IBM had approached me with an offer I could not refuse, millions of dollars of sponsorship, provided that I kept any good things to the company. And so it was that I came to know the brilliant group of girls that have worked with me to this day.
Motoko came over and said, "Its time"
The crushing burden of responsibility rested on my shoulders; heavy, gigantic was the load. I stood, donned the standard clean room grab slowly, carefully; I even checked to see if it was right side up, before stepping into the airtight disinfectant chamber, closing myself off from the world until it was ready to receive my again. Oh, the loneliness I felt, working in this sterile, disgustingly clean, environment, alone.
Shaking my head to concentrate myself on the task before me, I carefully placed the dish ahead of me. It was already filled with special atoms that were believed to be able to shift and mould together. The key word here is "believed". Nevertheless, I retrieved another dish from another compartment, and, looking through the microscope, carefully took out 5 nanobots that should be able to rearrange the atoms to spell the letters "IBM". All the while, my working companions were looking at me through the window.
Craning my neck, I looked through the lens, seeing the bots work. One nanobot was carefully pushing two atoms together. I watched as the atoms came together. They were going to click, going to click… CLICK! Both atoms snapped into place. I nearly cried in relief. However, as soon as the robot moved away, the atoms bounced back.
I was shocked.
Slumping back into my chair, I sighed in defeat. This time, I really did weep. Had all the time spent on making this experiment work gone down the drain? Had all the endless hours spent studying atoms under the microscope and how they connected been wasted? Had all the effort put into the calculations surrounding the robots and their programs come to waste? I put my face in my hands, and wept.
Hearing a thumping sound coming from the window, I know that the girls had seen my failure. After all, everything I was doing and what I was seeing was all projected onto the screen outside. Naru was making some gestures towards me. Was she so angry that she wanted to just beat me up? But wait, the girls seem to be asking me to try again. But was the use? One failure was enough. I cannot take another. I knew it. I shook my head.
The girls were outright pleading now. Seeing their pleading faces, I resolved to try one more time. Taking a deep breath, I hunched back over the desk, and set up the apparatus again. Once again, I saw the bots move, the atoms clicking, and just when I was expecting the failure again, the most miraculous thing happened.
The atoms stayed in place.
My eyes were as wide as saucers, and I looked out the window, only to see that the girls were celebrating openly, jumping up and down and hugging each other.
I leaned back, comfortably this time, and smiled.
I Keitaro Urashima, had made history.
Freak accident, this composition.