Chapter 3: The big question.
"...Please." 017 heard, it sounded distant.
"I'm sorry... please." She felt a nudge on her arm.
"Hrmm ...don't try... anything." 017 murmured.
"Please, I'm sorry but..." "What?" She mumbled.
"Where is the bathroom?" "What!" 017 woke up to see 018 standing by her bed, holding a hand to his mouth.
"Sick?" He nodded. "Come on." She hopped out of bed.
The halls couldn't of been longer...
"Here they are." 017 yawned, 018 entered the locker-room style bathroom.
Some unpleasant noises and a flush later...
"You ok?"
018 nodded.
"Want to go get Jumba to check you out?"
018 shook his head. "Sorry."
"For what?"
"For waking you."
"It's ok, we are roommates... and we need sleep." 017 said as she turned back toward their room...
017 crawled back into her bed, as 018 went back to his.
Next morning.
He was lying there perfectly still, he didn't seem sick at least not anymore.
"His eyes are open..." 017 muttered. "You awake?"
He didn't respond, 017 might have thought he was dead if she couldn't see him breathing, as slight as that was.
"Hey, time to get up!" She announced loudly.
He sat up, and grabbed the green ball cap, held it for a few seconds then put it on.
017 thought if he is slow or something, then again maybe he was just thinking of putting on a different hat, she had.
During her thought 018 had gotten up and was at the door. "Thank you, goodbye."
"Huh, oh no you don't, I'm going with you. I've got some questions for Jumba." 017 turned to leave as well.
Through the halls again...
017 thought it might be interesting to see some of 018's tests, maybe she could stick around with him after the questioning.
At the 'Gym'
It was empty, maybe Jumba wanted to test somewhere else? No, that doesn't make sense, there's nowhere else to test experiments... maybe the 'medical wing'.
017 was pulled from her thoughts when the double doors burst open. "I told you I don't know where-" "Zero-one-eight are you being here?!" Jumba called out interrupting 003.
"Eke, Jumba! Trying to scare us to death?!" 017 yelled back.
"Ack, zero-one-seven! What are you doing here? Ah there is zero-one-eight." Jumba said relieved.
"Yeah, what are you doing here?" 003 echoed.
"I have questions." 017 answered them both.
"So do I, why is zero-one-eight wearing one of your hats?" 003 asked.
"Quiet, are already late for zero-one-eight's tests and half day behind." Jumba told them.
"It's very important." 017 insisted.
"Quickly then."
"One, why did you bunk a male experiment with me? Two, zero-one-eight threw up last night is he sick?" 017 asked.
"Yeah, why is that? Yeah, is he sick? Wait 'sick', what!" 003 was worried now.
"Sick? Did zero-one-eight eat yesterday?" Jumba asked.
"Yes." 017 answered.
"Darn, would have been best for testing to know when experiment ate..." Jumba grumbled.
"What do you mean testing, did you mean for him to get sick?" 003 was upset now, how could he do that?
"We ate right at 'dinner' time, you know pizza day." 017 clarified.
"Oh good, then when did zero-one-eight throw up?" Jumba asked.
"I don't know we were already asleep..." 017 said.
"Then will have to test now, zero-one-eight eat this." Jumba tossed 018 a candy bar and checked the time, by a clock over the workbench.
018 unwrapped it and started eating slowly.
"What are you testing, and was he sick?" 003 asked impatiently.
"No, zero-one-eight is not sick," Jumba explained. "Zero-one-eight doesn't have digestive system like other experiments. Is supposed to throw up food extracts, need to test to see how long takes."
"Ok then but why did you bunk him in my room?" 017 asked again.
"What, you do not like zero-one-eight?"
"No, it's... he's... male."
"No is not."
"What!?" 017 and 003 couldn't believe that.
"He's clearly not female." 017 said.
"Nope, not female or male. Zero-one-eight is neither, has no reproductive organs."
"What?!" "Why?!" 003 and 017 were shocked this was unheard of.
"Was just ideas I had." Jumba admitted, "Now on with testing, come zero-one-eight and extend tail please." Jumba lead 018 to the monkey bars, where 018 hesitated for a while then extended his tail half way.
"Huh, should be longer than that...?" Jumba pressed 018.
"So, uh... how did he... not-a-he... act to you?" 003 whispered to 017.
"What do you mean?" 017 asked.
"Well all yesterday he... er you know... wouldn't talk to me, until I left." 003 whispered.
"Well he did act kind of weird most of the time, he talks without looking at you and that's if he talks at all, he dose everything kind of slowly... as if he's afraid of it, but he did make friends with the guys, oh and he apologizes for everything he does as if living's his fault." 017 whispered back.
"That's better." Jumba said, as 018 extended his tail to full length.
"Hey, does he look embarrassed?" 017 asked noticing 018's face just after he had fully extended his tail.
003 looked closely but couldn't see any sign of that. "He doesn't seem to have any expression..."
"Now use tail to pick up this." Jumba tossed a pipe onto the floor by 018.
Moving only his tail 018 picked it up with ease.
"Good now pick up weight." 018 pick up a dumbbell without dropping the pipe.
"Ok drop everything and lift one heavy weight, twice your body weight, with tail." 018's tail strained but just managed to lift it.
"There you see him struggling?" 017 asked. "But it's just his tail... his face hasn't changed." 003 was right except for the slightest amount of red visible in his cheeks.
"Ok, is enough, now use tail to climb monkey bars." Jumba said, moving closer to the monkey bars, 018 followed.
Climbing with only a tail was like climbing with one hand, his movement was slow, awkward and his hat fell off.
"Did you see that?" 017 asked, "See what?" 003 was confused, "He just jumped over to that bar without even looking at it." 017 said.
"Hmm, not what I hoped... please climb over again but this time use hands as well." Jumba instructed.
It didn't even take half as long. "Much better!" Jumba clapped.
"Yeah, I saw a few more that time..." 017 said.
003 saw it too. "I don't get it, how is he doing that?"
Jumba waved 018 back over to the work beach and the other two. 018 picked up his hat and put it back on then retracted his tail and followed Jumba.
"Let me be showing you then." Jumba said.
"He could hear us?" 003 and 017 squeaked. "Yes, I still can." Jumba told them.
"As for how zero-one-eight saw without looking or why 'he' doesn't make the eye contact, is because zero-one-eight has covers over real eyes, you can't even see them." Jumba said poking one of 018's eye covers to prove it.
"Also zero-one-eight has more than two eyes, has twelve; trichromatic eyes for three band light, tetrachromatic eyes for four band light, like zero-one-three, one set for night vision seeing, one set for UV light, one set for X-rays, and one set for thermal heat seeing. Thing is, X-ray and thermal seeing eyes look more than just forward they can look to all directions, seeing you even backwards." Jumba was obviously proud of this.
"So 'he' could be looking at us at any time?" 003 asked, "Yes, but like I said is not a he." Jumba answered, "It's easier that way, even you said it." 017 reasoned.
"Well yeah it is... Anyway," Jumba reached over the workbench and pulled down some multicolored construction paper. "Ok zero-one-eight close all but tetrachromatic eyes." Jumba sorted the papers.
"So they closed?" he asked, 018 nodded, Jumba held up a red sheet of paper "Now zero-one-eight, read."
"Jumba that's blank." 017 observed.
"Excuse me, are you being zero-one-eight? No, don't interrupt." Jumba warned her and motioned for 018 to start.
"If you can read this, you are tetrachromatic."
"Har har, good one Jumba." 017 remarked sarcastically, Jumba threw her a glance and flipped to a blue sheet.
"One time only sale on shoes."
"You don't even wear shoes Jumba." 017 commented, Jumba glared at her this time then showed a yellow sheet.
"Five for five pizza on Thursday."
"Is that so, then why can't we have 'pizza day' every week?" 017 asked, Jumba snorted and displayed a green sheet.
"For rent, chemical weapons plant, may need disinfecting."
"Are just taking these from the newspaper or what?" 017 asked, Jumba shushed her and held up an orange sheet.
"Headline news, Sunday edition."
"I rest my case." 017 chimed in again. "Why are you even still here?" Jumba groaned. "I thought it'd be fun." 017 answered, the next sheet was purple.
"Grand opening of floor-mart's ten millionth store."
"Geez, you should have bought stock in them." 017 mocked, Jumba didn't bother, the last sheet was black.
"Assa W' howway hyem reet noo."
"What language was that?" 017 wondered aloud, "It's English... in some places." 003, who had been in awe that 018 was talking this much up to now, answered. "Eng-lash... never mind."
"Very good zero-one-eight, now for thermal eyes. Be telling what you see please." Jumba said.
"Shouldn't you have tested his eyes on the first day?" 003 asked. "Would have if weren't for zero-one-zero acting up again."
After the thermal, X-ray, night vision and UV eye tests Jumba announced "Perfectly done! All eyes working properly, eye creating methods proved success on all counts."
"You didn't test his trichromatic eyes." 003 stated, "Doesn't matter that method was already proven with other experiments like you." Jumba replied.
"So you're not going to test for any variant problems with the other eyes?" 003 reasoned "Good pinot."
Now after a standard eye test Jumba again announced, "Perfect! But took so long, will have to continue again tomorrow."
"Uh Jumba, I think he's got to go." 003 noticed 018's hand on 'his' mouth.
"Go where... oh yeah, candy bar." Jumba checked the clock. "Four hours for small amount of food. Go on then, I will be in lab for remainder of day... second thought, zero-zero-three come with me."
"I get to go into the lab, the actual lab part of the lab?!" 003 was overjoyed, his programming would finally be used, although he didn't want to leave 018.
"Come on." Jumba called him.
003 waved bye to 018 and 017. 018 waved back... did he really just see that?