"The Adventures of Professor Proton, Jr: The Proton Express…"
Summary: In my first longer Proton Jr tale, can Prof Proton Jr. aka mild-mannered Sheldon Cooper and Dr. Amy aka Amy F. Fowler save the world at Christmas…And can Proton Jr. keep that blond sob of an engineering genius Tom Swift, Jr. away from his girl?
Equally important…Should Cameragirl Penny allow this thing to appear on her acting credits or just accept that all hope of a professional career is gone and just enjoy while peddling her drugs?
Disclaimer: All is Chuck's…
Part XLV…
"My God, that's incredible…" Bernadette stared at the three-dimensional image before her.
"You say these are from Gilese 876b?" Proton stared.
"Yes, Professor, if we understood the coordinates of various star systems Tom and his father Thomas furnished to us for comparison." Mary noted.
"My God, they're beautiful. Like blue jellyfish but look at the electrical intensity. What's the dimensions, Mary?"
"The exact length and width vary but are approximately 100-200 by 30 feet." Mary noted. "The planet is a liquified gas giant in the Gilese system, these creatures live on a mixture of methane and hydrogen."
"Wow." Proton stared. "Whoa, did that one just turn pink?"
"Mating ritual, we believe." Mary noted.
"Are they sentient?" Bernadette asked.
"To some extent we believe they are…" Mary nodded. "We have managed to make vague communication, rather like you and the dolphins and whales of Earth."
"And you have these, here? In the ship?"
"In stasis, due to their size, yes."
"'Stasis'?" Bernadette peered at the creatures gently floating, furling and unfurling…Sparkles of electricity flowing across them.
"A pocket containment field that allows them full mobility and to explore the artificial area but contains them within the ship. Rather like a computer simulation in holographic form.
"You mean you shrink them, somehow?" Bernadette stared.
"In a manner of speaking…The process is not harmful and allows many larger creatures to be contained within me, in conditions fairly identical to their home worlds. If I may show you a catalog?"
"Please do…" Proton, awe-struck.
The holographic image of the previous creatures faded and then became a cluster of spheres, each featuring a different environment and various creatures inside.
"Eennnh…!" Proton gasped as one bat-like creature flew by in its sphere, the creature staring, as if it could see them. Various others, including a pair, apparently grazing, very similar to small…
"Brontosauri…!" Proton pointed. "Little brontosaurs! Oooh, look at them! It's like a little Jurassic Park without the TRex eating us. Oh, my…You have a little TRex…" he peered at another sphere. "They did have feathers. My…It's like Billy Sparks' rooster only big as me. No, no!…Go Way!" he waved nervously at one as it neared the edge of the sphere. "I knew there was a reason I fear birds."
"These larger creatures can not break their containment, Professor Proton. There's nothing to fear unless we release them or you enter containment." Mary noted.
"Fine…" Proton gave sidelong glance at retreating mini-T-rex. "Oooh…Those look like monkeys! Amy loves monkeys. And these are blue, she loves blue!" He peered.
"You mean, this isn't a ship of a few specimens in containment…" Bernadette to Mary's floating head, now off slightly to the side, as she stared, Proton looking round in wonder. "This is a zoo."
"A pocket-universe-cage filled zoo…" Proton noted.
"Eh…" Sermek, raising and lowering bubble head as if to shrug. "You've seen one organic, you've seen 'em all."
…
"Amy?" Swift stared at his mike in his hydrolung suit, Bud trying to use the video cameras on the outer hull still functioning to get a look.
"There she is…" Bud pointed.
"It's ok, guys." She noted over both the main cabin speaker and Swift's receiver. "I sent a buoy to the surface. It's transmitting a distress signal with our coordinates. I kinda figured you were in more trouble than you two heroes let on."
"Amy, I gave you an order to proceed to the surface." Tom frowned.
"I'm afraid I work for Professor Proton, Jr, Inc, not Swift Enterprises, Tom." Her voice amused. "Come on, you know you need my help. Were you trying to get to Arturo and the other suits?"
"No, they're almost certainly ruined." Swift replied. "I'm trying to hook up a power line to the repelatron projectors in the rotor compartment. They still seem functional. If we can get enough power to them and the ones on Suburo's bottom we may be able to lift the Arrow enough to use our treads to push us over the cliff edge, then release Suburo."
"Ok…Dangerous but I get it." Amy's voice. "Let me get back in and I'll hook up the cord."
"It's delicate work." Swift noted. "I don't think the Fat Man prosthetics are flexible enough."
"Well, it's too dangerous for you to try it in the hydrolung…" she replied.
"Wait…" Bud spoke up. "Amy, how bad was the hatch tunnel? Do you think the lower hatch could be sealed?"
"Maybe. I was a bit spacey then, but I think I could seal it once I get back in."
"We might be able to pump out enough water to give you access, Tom." Bud spoke to his mike.
"The pressure's too intense. Even if the hull isn't badly breeched." Swift shook head.
"Not by pumps, we wouldn't have the power…" Bud noted. "But remember my little accident with a portable repelatron and my precious bodily fluids? And your hydrodome plan?"
"Use a repelatron to force out the water?" Swift stared.
"Just to create a work bubble." Bud noted. "We can use the replacement projector unit here in Suburo's storage. We fill it with air to normal pressure and you can work safely. And you can counter the field just around the hydrolung with the magnetic safety field you created to avoid more idiotic accidents by yours truly."
"Wow. Nice going, Barclay." Amy's voice, impressed. "Will it work, Tom?"
"It's possible but I don't know if we have the power. If some of the solar batteries in the rotor section survived, maybe. But it means between that bubble and the rest, we'd cut it very close on power." Swift noted.
"I'm game if you are…" Bud grinned. "After all, it beats sitting here. 'Cause I doubt the UN or your dad can get help in before this cabin floods."
"Lets try it, Tom." Amy agreed. "If it does seem to fail, maybe we can shuttle up in the suit or hope someone reaches us, but we may not have that much time."
"Ok…Lets. But, Amy. If things don't work out, you head back for the surface."
"Though sending the suit back down isn't a bad idea…Just likely to take too much time." Bud noted.
…
Aboard the Lermontov…The Commander's bridge office…
"You truly believe this device of yours can match Professor Proton's? And that you and your sis can use it to travel to the ship?" the Commander stared at Bwarry's copy of Proton's detector.
"If I can mowdify it as he did. Which being a genius, I can." Bwarry noted. "However the pwroblem is, I can't be suwre we can penetwrate the hull. That matewrial is designed to contain dawrk mattewr."
"But how did Pwroton boawrd…Board…If he did?" Munson asked
"He has Swift's intewrface key. Which I do, now, as well, thanks to Tom's genewrous bwriefings." Bwarry smiled. "If we can wreach the hull we should be able to access the intewriowr. Which I'm suwre now is what he did."
"We couldn't survive out there, in space." Munson stared.
"Not without space suits, of some sort…" Bwarry agreed.
"Fowrtunately, I included sevewral on my shopping list to ouwr fwriends hewre." He regarded the Commander. "Just in case we needed them to go on boawrd the ship."
"We have several in storage." The Commander agreed. "But the conditions on the hull, in space, and using this…Rather bizarre method of travel…" She eyed the detector, Bwarry patting it.
"You're not likely to survive." She eyed him. "Perhaps it would be better to see if the craft still lands here…"
"Cowawrds die a thousand deaths, the waliant taste it but once." Bwarry quoted. "This is fowr all the mawrbles, and I've no intention of letting Pwroton or Swift gwrab any, whatevewr it takes. Meaning, sis…" he turned to Munson. "You don't have to come."
"If you're doing this, I'm coming." She noted, simply. He nodding, with smile…
"Ok, then…Team Wyckcliffe is wready. Except…" he put up a forefinger. "We need a pwroxy to pwrovide a deciding vote in ouwr little contest with Awrthuwr Pwroton. Wrobbie! Come hewre!" he addressed a large figure standing motionless in a corner of the room.
"You called, mastewr?" the large robot, huge bulky figure with glass dome head, replied, stepping forward to him.
"I'm glad youwr pwresident saw it my way, ovewr youwr objections, to include my good buddy hewre among ouwr equipment twranspowrt. I know he's a big boy but he'll provide the muscle we may need." He beamed at the waiting robot. "Hey, Wrobbie…" he placed a steel bar in the robot's five-fingered hand. "Think you'wre wrobot enough to bend this?"
"Yes, Bwarry." The robot's audio panel lit up.
"You've my pewrmission to do so, pal." Bwarry, nodding.
The robot easily bent the thick bar. The Commander eyeing Munson, who sighed.
"He can do it so much more easiwly, with Pwroton's neck." Bwarry grinned.
…
("Ooooh…The Robbie from 'Forbidden Planet'/robotoid from 'Lost in Space'." Mr. Jones beamed. "You know I'm going to need one of these as well." He grinned at Howard.
Kaching, kaching…Bernadette beamed at the pleased Howard.
Though…I'm not sure if I should be glad Howie might become a robot-making mogul, making bucketloads more than me.
But hell, we got two kids to put through college and that guidance system money as well as our salaries only goes so far, especially in sunny California.
"I don't think I can afford both for you, Sheldon. Pick one." Amy noted, sighing at Sheldon's plaintive, puppy-dog look.
"I'm getting Leonard the B-9, you get Sheldon that one." Penny suggested. "They'll both be at our place anyway. The robots…And the boys, playing with them."
Bet Stewart could afford one…Wil frowned. But Wesley Crusher? Oh, no…He's not a classically-trained Shakespearian, with decades of experience…
If I had only agreed to play Jar-Jar's son in "Attack of the Clones", man…I woulda cleaned up.)
…
