The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.
That afternoon, Jeremie started writing routines to look for other back doors Franz Hopper may have secreted throughout the supercomputer. He also set about strengthening his friends Lyokoan personas for their next excursion.
He also created a persona for himself.
Zoe kept him filled in on how Franz Hopper was doing. Within hours after they left, he settled down into a deep depression, and tried throwing himself into the Digital Void.
As a distraction, Zoe created several prototype 'children,' to see how they would function. When she showed them to Franz, he attacked them viciously and flung them into the Void. Zoe was disappointed.
After he had settled down, Franz once again began poking around in the towers. Jeremie tried to keep track of what he was doing, but sometimes, Franz eluded him.
All in all, Jeremie was back in the same position he was in when XANA was still in Lyoko, and Aelita still tied to it.
"Ooofff!"
Jeremie hit the mat hard. The big man who just hit him quickly knelt down.
"Are you alright son?" the man asked.
Jeremie caught his breath, then replied, "yeah, Master Guns. I guess I didn't see that one coming."
"You were so distracted, you couldn't see a bus coming at you," said the man, Master Gunnery Sargent Taylor Thompson, "if this had been the real deal, you'd be in a world of hurt right now."
A couple of months back, Jeremie and Aelita got assaulted by a gang. They and another girl would have been killed if two United States Marines hadn't come to their rescue. Mr. Thompson and the two men visited Jeremie in the hospital the next day, and discovered an old friend, Jeremie's father. Events over the weeks after the attack led Jeremie and Aelita to seek Mr. Thompson's help. He was helping by teaching self defense to them. While MGySgt. Thompson was standing over Jeremie, Aelita was sparring with another Marine, GySgt. Ann Grace.
Jeremie slowly sat up. "I guess my head's not in it today," he said.
"Your head is somewhere alright, and definitely not in training today," MGySgt. Thompson replied, "have you been getting enough rest? Remember what I said in the beginning."
"No," the boy finally admitted, "I've been working on a problem of late, and it's bugging me."
Taylor sat down next to Jeremie. "You remember what I said, 'lack of rest probably got more people killed than enemy action'? Well, you are a living example of that right now. How long has this been going on?"
"A week or so."
"Well, it's a good thing you don't operate complex machinery, or someone would be in trouble," the man replied.
"Huh, what do you mean?" Jeremie asked.
"Jeremie, when you go without sleep for long periods of time, it affects your mind. You're not as sharp as you would be otherwise. You make stupid assumptions and mistakes..."
"Say!" Jeremie interrupted, "could lack of sleep cause other mental problems, like insanity?"
"Prolonged sleep deprivation could, certainly, but you're no where near that, are you?"
"That's it!" Jeremie shouted, leaping up and running for the locker room, "Master Guns, could we stop for the day? What you said just gave me an idea, and I have to look into it. I promise to work longer the next time to make up for it, but I've got to go!"
"Alright," MGySgt. Thompson said, "but get your rest, or next time you might wake up in the Infirmary."
Jeremie waved and ran off.
When Jeremie got to his room, he logged in and contacted Zoe.
"It's early for you, Jeremie," Zoe said once her image resolved in the display, "I thought you had training at this time?"
"I do, but I just learned something, and it's too important to wait," Jeremie said, "tell me, do you sleep?"
"No, my physical systems do not require the downtime," Zoe replied, "however, I do meditate."
"What do you do when you do that," Jeremie asked.
"I find a quiet place, sit and close my eyes. I then slow my thought processes down. The reduction of active thought gives my garbage collection routines a chance to catch up. Plus, it give me an opportunity to defragment the memory regions I use for my higher functions. If I didn't, my functioning would become erratic."
"Like Franz?"
Zoe thought for a moment. "Perhaps. I see where your line of inquiry is leading now. The Polymorphic Clone that Franz's body is based on does not contain routines for that activity. Generally, a clone wouldn't be functioning as long as Franz or I have, and wouldn't require the housekeeping."
"Then could it be that Franz is acting the way he is because he isn't sleeping or meditating, whatever he needs to do because he can't reorganize his memory?"
"That is a distinct possibility. Let me review the clone's program. I can examine the base code for the object, and see if those management routines are there. If they aren't, maybe we can add them."
"Good! Let me know when you've got something."
By the time Jeremie had finished his conversation with Zoe, Aelita and GySgt. Grace had finished their training for the day. Jeremie caught up with her as she was coming out of the Girl's Locker Room.
"Hi, got a few minutes?" he asked excitedly.
"Hmm," she replied, "I'm not sure. Maybe your angling to get me alone and take advantage of me." She waited a moment, then added, "nah, it couldn't be that! You can't take advantage of a girl who wants to be taken advantage of." She then threw her arms around him and gave him a very loving kiss.
When they broke apart, Jeremie blushed. "I want to talk about your life in Lyoko, before we materialized you," he said.
"Sure," she replied as they started walking.
"'Lita, when you were living on Lyoko, did you ever sleep?"
"No. Remember, I didn't know what sleep was until you explained it to me."
"Did you ever, like, meditate? Clear your mind, that kind of thing?"
"Well, there were times where I would just sit, either in a tower or somewhere safe, and just... I don't quite know how to say it, unwind?"
"Like slowing your thought processes down?"
"Yes, something like that."
"Listen, Master Guns said something today. He was telling me about sleep deprivation, and how it could affect your mind and judgment."
"Well, you have been slipping back into old habits, Jeremie."
"Yes I have, and that may have contributed to the fiasco the other day. But something else popped into my head. What if your father's problem isn't just recovering from sensory deprivation, but sleep deprivation?"
"Sleep deprivation?" came another voice. The couple turned around and saw Jim Moralés walking towards them.
"Did I hear you say sleep deprivation, Belpois? Hopefully you haven't been going non stop that long! Why I remember participating in a sleep deprivation experiment once. Didn't sleep for eight days straight! By the time I was done, I thought I was living with a green fairy and the doctors were devils trying to suck out my soul through their stethoscopes!"
"When was this, Jim?" Aelita asked.
"I'd rather not say," the PE teacher replied as he walked off.
Both teens giggled.
"Well, Jim confirmed one thing," Jeremie said, "Franz may be acting the way he is because he isn't getting any rest. And we're going to have to fix that."