A/N: Oh carpfish I can't think of anything for Otto, who's supposed to be next! Whyyyy!
The Revolutionary Step
The question was ever so simple. The question was made up of three words, uttered while sprawled in his host's armchair.
"Why a girl?" Captain Shuggazoom asked.
The Alchemist laughed and thrust his index finger into the air. Captain Shuggazoom wondered why his friend did that so often these past few days. He seemed a lot...happier, though Captain Shuggazoom didn't know exactly why.
"And why not, Captain?" the Alchemist replied mildly. His mismatched eyes were shining with a sort of...excitement; Captain Shuggazoom did not ever recall seeing that look in his friend before.
Captain Shuggazoom waved his arm at the five multi-coloured monkeys, all engaged in their activities on the floor of the Alchemist's laboratory. "Wouldn't it make the boys a little competitive? Human nature, after all. Or monkey nature, as the case here is. The girl would distract them. You can't get rid of that instinct from an animal's mind." the Captain reasoned. "No amount of robotics is going to undo the primal desire for a mate. Evolution sure hasn't, and it's not going to."
The Alchemist gave a small frown. "I still haven't thought about dealing with that yet. But nevertheless... Despite your protests against this, my friend, I'm going to do it!" Captain Shuggazoom saw that sheen in the Alchemist's eyes again. The scientist gestured to the same robot monkeys Captain Shuggazoom had used for his reasoning. "Look at them. They are a revolution! A revolution of science, of humanity's abilities reflected in a team of monkeys. The last one, this girl will be a revolution by herself! Do you doubt what the female can do, good Captain?"
Captain Shuggazoom put a long finger to his temple in thought. "I assume you're not making her a damsel in distress-type."
The Alchemist laughed again. "If my monkeys are going to defeat him, they're going to need her. She's going to be different! Completely unique! Captain Shuggazoom, I am going to make her wonderful!" the Alchemist proclaimed.
"Different? How so?" Captain Shuggazoom inquired with arched eyebrows.
"Like a thumb is different to the other fingers on the hand, my good friend. Not including the joints near the wrist, a thumb has two joints in the digit from which to move. The other four fingers have three. Do you see?"
Captain Shuggazoom looked at his hand. "Different?" he said again. "And how would this make the female monkey wonderful?"
"I'm going to explain that now. The thumb is an apposable finger. I'm sure you know that. It bends in a different way to the other fingers when you clench your fist. Try to touch together the soft part of your fingertips on your index and middle fingers with each other. You can't do it, can you?" the Alchemist crowed.
The Captain allowed a small sideways grin to appear on his face. "You'd better not be mocking me."
"Not at all, Captain! Not at all. Now do the same with your thumb and index. See, the thumb is able to touch any of the fingers on your hand. The thumb is placed opposite to the fingers!" the Alchemist exclaimed triumphantly.
Captain Shuggazoom moved his fingers, touching each one to his thumb. "I still don't see how the girl is going to be like a thumb."
"Remember what I said about the joints? Keep in mind I'm not counting the joints beneath the top of the palm, only the fingers themselves. Four of the fingers have three joints, the thumb only has two. Does that make it weaker? Not at all! Without the thumb, most things would be impossible for you to do. It's shorter, but somehow more flexible. Now for the philosophical part."
"You know I only understand half of your philosophy." Captain Shuggazoom said. "But I suppose I'll listen anyway."
The Alchemist clenched his right hand. "A fist. Take notice of the thumb's position. Now try punching something, but remove the thumb from the fist, just leave it waving about in the air. Clayton, you know how often you need to punch things. How would it be if you had no thumb in your fist? Do you feel that the fist is somehow weaker without the thumb folding over the other fingers?
"The thumb is not weak. Different of course, but never weak. It binds the whole fist together, keeps it from falling apart. It adds strength and firmness. That is how my next robot monkey is going to be! She's going to possess all the qualities of a thumb, and I'm not talking about the amount of joints she has in her body!"
"And you came up with all this just from observing your hand?" Captain Shuggazoom punched his fist into his hand with a smack, grinned and looked up at his friend. "I think she's going to be great."
The Alchemist's eyes were glittering again. "I'm going to have a daughter, Clayton."
"Yes." Captain Shuggazoom replied, wriggling his fingers. "I think I see now."
Wow, when I reread that I was confused myself. It made sense two weeks ago...
If anyone's got ideas for Otto's chapter, please send them to me in one way or another. I've already got silver Antauri's ready, and all I can think of for poor Otto is a freaky dream with a cube. Why is it always Otto my inspiration runs out at...? Any assistance would be very much appreciated! In fact, I'll take any request you lot'll throw at me and find the best one. Just so long as it has something to do with the number six in some vague way. I don't really care.