End of the Future, Part 32
The End of the World and All That
Please Read and Review. I'd like to know what I'm doing right (to keep doing it), and what I am doing wrong (to correct it).
Hill Valley, California, USA
Brown Enterprises HQ
3I Lab Section
"Im in Hell, right?" Dr. Ritsuko Akagi asked weakly, her eyes barely open. "I guess I do …deserve it. Fair is fair." She sighed. "So, will it be ironically creative torture …or simply painful?"
"Um…" Shinji hesitated, "this it not Hell… things are complicated." He still held Rei's limp body.
Akagi leaned back in the tub. "Of course they are. Why do you three look like 1980s rejects?" It was then she noticed the simple metallic cross hanging down Shinji's neck. Misato's cross. "Why are you…?" Feebly, she waved her hand over the base of her own neck, before Shinji could answer, her eyes rolled up and she fainted.
Four seconds of incredulous silence followed, broken by Lisa's voice, coming from the other side of the room. "Hey, g/g/g/guys? C/c/c/an I get c/c/close/se/se again?"
"Well…" Doc said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I had considered the possibility of a returnee, but as a remote chance." The whole group of anti-conspirators sat on a variety of chairs, with one of the future computers completing the circle. "I must admit this miraculous return caught me by surprise."
Asuka scoffed, "To be honest, I had my money on Misato returning."
Shinji nodded. "I had thought the same." He shook his head sadly. "I miss her a lot. She was the closest I remember to a mother figure." He wrapped his long fingers around the silver cross.
Rei nursed a cup of tea between her hands, Ray had put a blanket over her shoulders, the bluenette trembled ocassionally. "Dr. Akagi has rejected Instrumentality. I reconstituted her body to its natural state at the moment of her death, shortly before Third Impact."
Winston raised an eyebrow, "Wait a sec. Wasn't she just absorbed into the gestalt during Third Impact?" He asked before Asuka or Shinji could comment on Akagi's hair color.
Rei shook her head. "She was shot to death by Commander Ikari down in Terminal Dogma. Her soul had not yet transcended when Third Impact was enacted, and was included into Instrumentality. Major Katsuragi was in a similar situation. I was able to pull both of them into the false paradise."
Shinji gasped. "What about Kaji? He died before Third Impact. How did he transcend?"
"His soul was still in the GeoFront. I believe if Third Impact had been averted, he would have manifested as what you call a ghost." She looked at the former Ghostbusters, each in turn. "Instead, his soul was granted Instrumentality. However, I have no memory of collecting him."
Egon pushed his eyeglasses up his nose, "with three billion souls to collect in a few minutes, I don't think it's remarkable that some of them simply were not… noticed. Back to Mr. Kaji, it's quite possible he simply found his way into the gestalt. And, as you say, if his drive to uncover the causes for Second Impact was strong enough, he could have returned as a ghost had Third Impact not happened."
Asuka looked up at this. "If somebody was stubborn enough to come back, it would be Kaji." After a moment, she added, "And Misato."
George coughed in his fist, "in the meanwhile, what about our new guest? Can we trust her? And if not, what do we do about her?"
Doc shrugged, "Lisa? What do you think?"
"Ak/k/kagi was one of th/th/the foremost/t/t exp/pe/perts on Metaphysic/c/c/al Biology/y/y. Her exp/p/ert/tise could save us years/ye/years of research to p/p/prevent the efec/c/cts of Third Imp/p/pact."
Egon and Doc nodded, but it was Egon who spoke, "A vexing problem. How to stop the Psychopomps from detecting/collecting people, or to be more specific, their souls. A psychopomp-proof búnker would save hundreds of lives. If, and only if, we can develop the required tech. None of us has much knowledge about how the process works." He glanced at Rei. "Rei's link to Lilith in this time is too faint to blindly experiment on. Recreating Dr. Akagi's body took a lot from her. My preliminary exam showed erratic vitals. I took a blood sample for analysis. I think the process affected her body, but I need the results to be sure. At a minimum, her blood sugar levels dropped dangerously low."
Rei spoke softly, "I feel terribly tired, my head hurts, my hands tremble and I'm feeling irritable."
Ray nodded, "You'll need to eat some sugary food and sleep it off."
Rei grimaced. "I'm not particularly fond of sweets. But I'll do so."
George glanced at Lorraine, "We will get you home, Rei."
Lorraine nodded. "We don't want you to faint in the way, dear. You should rest for a while before going back home. I'll prepare some toast and jam, maybe an orange juice will help?"
She looked at Egon, "Add one or two extra spoonfuls of sugar to the jar, Mrs. McFly." He said, cleaning his glasses. "That should help restore her balance. Wait about a half hour before going to bed, to make sure your glucose is back up to normal level. If not, we will go to the clinic."
Rei leaned back on her chair, her face up, eyes closed. "I am fatigued." She said, simply. "I won't be able to repeat a reconstruction for several days, at the very least."
"I wonder what brought her out of Instrumentality." Winston said. "From what you guys have told us, it's the closest thing to Paradise. Why did she reject it to come back?"
A new voice joined the discussion. Ritsuko Akagi stood on the stained floor, her feet bare, and her hands clutching closed the lab coat around her. "Guilt and remorse. What else?" She said, looking down.
"Oh, my." Lorraine exclaimed. "Come with me, dear. Let's get you something to wear. This is not something to discuss wearing just a lab coat." She grabbed a plastic bag, that obviously contained clothes. "You're a bit taller than me, but I think these will fit well enough while we get you something your size, okay?" Delicately, she guided the scientist out of the room, into a closed area where she could dress herself in private. "Jennifer? A bit of help?"
"Sure, Mrs. McFly. Um… we will come back in a minute." Jenifer looked around before following the two women.
Marty used the pause to make more coffee. George opened a pack of cookies and left the bag on a small table at the center of the circle. "Anybody up to a bathroom break? I have the feeling this is gonna take a while."
Ray was the first to stand up. "Thank goodness!" And he hurried up to the bathroom.
An hour and a long explanation later Dr. Akagi sat on a foldable chair, her eyes firmly set on the floor, looking absolutely miserable. "God…" she whispered, "it was all for nothing…" she sobbed.
Asuka had little pity for the scientist. "Yes. Everything was for nothing. You didn't got your way with the Bastard King, you helped him to kill the world, and now you are sitting there, crying? Please." She said, rolling her eyes.
Akagi slammed her mug down on the table, startling the group. "Shut up." She growled. "You have no idea how… how convincing that damned bastard could be when it suited him! He convinced me to be his stupid sex doll by playing on each and every insecurity I had! Professional, personal, and familiar. He was the devil's masterpiece! I was a fool to believe his honeyed words, yes! I was a stupid little girl when I met him! I admit it! He played with my feelings until i was willing to do almost any damned thing to please him! Pray you never meet a man like Gendo Ikari, Asuka." She growled between clenched teeth.
She looked around, "That man was a monster, and he convinced me to become another monster. I am not so deluded as to think I was an innocent victim in the Conspiracy. I realize now I should have done something, anything! To stop their plans. But back then, I was so convinced things would only get worse and worse, that the human race was already condemned to extinction, that I convinced myself that maybe Instrumentality would be the lesser of two evils. Third Impact was inevitable. Death was inevitable. Extinction was inevitable. Maybe the gestalt was our only hope." She looked at Asuka with such a fierce intensity in her eyes, the red haired pilot retreated a bit.
Shinji cleared his throat, "Do you still think the same, Doctor?" He asked softly. Akagi looked at him for six heartbeats.
She exhaled, "No." She passed a hand over her brown hair. "By the time I betrayed him in Terminal Dogma, I was beyond simple scorn. Hell… I was willing to blow myself to atoms along him, Lilith and the whole GeoFront to stop him and SEELE from achieving their goals, but my mother interfered; even dead, she preferred him over me. I'm not sure if the world could have had recovered from Second Impact, but at least Humanity would fight for the future, instead of going softly into the night."
Doc leaned forward, "Dr. Akagi? Would you help us? Your knowledge and insight would be invaluable to stop SEELE's plans. Or at the very least, to mitigate their effects."
She picked up her mug again, and sipped from it to give herself time to think. "Yes. Not everyday you get the chance to correct your worst mistakes. I'm in. Though much of my tools have not even been invented yet, I do remember, I think I can do with the current means. And to top it off, there's a little bit of devilish irony to it." She cackled nastily. "SEELE based their soul manipulating technology on the research originally made by a couple of scientists from America." She tilted her mug towards Egon and Ray. "Wanna guess who?"
Ray was the first to join the dots, "Oh, God… I'm gonna be sick." He seemed to be about to go through a panic attack.
Egon and Winston grabbed Ray by the arms. "Ray! Ray! Listen to me!" Winston said forcefully. "It's not your fault! Those bastards are the ones to blame!"
Egon followed, "Now we have the chance to do something about it, Ray. But we must work together. Make sure they will fail!"
Rei stood in front of the chubby man, usually so happy and optimistic. She raised her hand, softly cupping Ray's cheek. Suddenly, she slapped him. "This is not helping. Dr. Stantz. Control yourself." The slap was more fast than strong. It did make noise, but was not really forceful.
Surprised, Ray rubbed his cheek and nodded, gulping noisily.
Once Ray had calmed down, Rei bowed deeply. "I apologize. It was the only think I could think of."
Ray smiled ruefully. "It's okay, I think I needed that. It's fine." He shrugged and sat down again. Her point made, Rei allowed Shinji and Asuka to guide her back to her seat.
"I see your point, Doctor Brown. I'll stay here." Ritsuko said, while Doc lowered a hidden bed, disguised as a bookcase.
"Just for a day. We need a way to justify your presence in this time. Better if you arrive publicly." He seemed nervous for some reason.
He cleared his throat, "there are blankets and pillows in that drawer, if you need more."
Berlin, Germany
Outskirts of the City
2:25 AM
A gray sedan advanced slowly along a barely used road. There was no one at the wheel, and the headlights remained dark. Though if somebody were to look inside, at a very precise angle, they would see two orange ovals, shining with inner light, floating at the approximate place the driver's head would normally be.
A couple kilometers far from the road, there was a small forest. Nothing to hint that one day, enormous machines would dig deep into the Earth. That there would be an enourmous building in that place, with very deep foundations. A building that would contain state of the art facilities, big enough to grow the biggest, most advanced fighting machines ever created by Humanity.
No, there was nothing out of the ordinary there.
But one day, that would be the site where the NERV base would be. And secretly, the main base for the secretive SEELE. The First Branch of NERV.
Curiosity sated, the car continued its drive, until it arrived to a small café next to the road. The car entered to the parking lot, and stopped at one of the places. Once parked, the motor turned itself off, cooling down in the cold night air.
By the time the owner claimed it from a police parking lot, the unseen driver would be very far from the forest, the café, and Berlin itself.
And a new report of a Ghost Driver would be written, baffling the few living souls interested in the phenomenon.
Next day (Saturday)
Hill Valley, California, USA
Paul's Home
"Hey, guys!" Paul brought some cans of soda from a plastic bag and put them in the mini fridge. "Mom is visiting my Aunt Delia, and Dad went to the Mall to deliver some stuff. We have the house for ourselves!"
"Cool!" Marty slapped Shinji's shoulder, "My Buddy here has been practicing the cello as a bass fiddle. Just to try."
Bobby was busy connecting the sound system. "Wanna see what you do with that thing, S-man!"
Shinji smiled awkwardly, "I…I'm not sure if it will be any good."
Lee shrugged. "Man, we are a garage band! We play for fun! Just bring up the beat and let's see how the jam drops!"
Ccc
"That was really interesting, man." Paul said. "You know? Grampa used to put that one in the jukebox when the family went out to dinner! It's been years since the last time I heard Johnny B. Goode! Good times!"
"I don't think the cello is really suited for it…" Shinji said, "I'm used to the classics, it feels weird not to use the bow."
"Eh, at least you already have half the callouses!" Marty joked. "And don't put yourself down, you did well. By the way, guys, my folks will celebrate their anniversary soon, and I'd like to record a couple songs for them. This is one. I've been trying to get the other, but haven't had luck yet."
Paul snapped his fingers, "Cousin Jack left me his LP collection when he went to college in Frisco, he got a bunch at a closure sale, and he left me the whole lot. Maybe he has it. Which song, Marty?"
"Earth Angel (1). I don't know who recorded it, that's why I haven't found it. It's from 1955 or before. Dad says it's very special for him and Mom." Marty didn't get into details, it would be hard to explain.
"Well, let's check the lot." Paul moved a couple of boxes from over a big trunk. Inside it, there were dozens of LPs! "Here you go, guys. I've been meaning to sell some of these at the Flea Market, but never find the time. If you see something you like, just gimme a Buck and it's yours. Heck, gimme twenty bucks and get 25 records." He chuckled.
They divided the lot, and began to check the listings at the back of each cover. Took the five of them about an hour to finish.
"Hey, here it is!" Lee said triumphantly. "Had you heard about this band? Marvin Berry and the Starlighter? 1957! (2) Wow. Collector's item!"
"What? Let me see!" Reverently, Marty took the record in his hands, looking at the band's group picture on the cover. A wave of memories hit him. "Would you believe this is the band that played at the dance my folks fell in love?"
"No way!" Everybody chorused.
Paul stood up solemnly, "Marty, I can't sell you this one. Any other you want, a buck each. But not this one!" Marty was about to protest, but Paul continued with a smile, "This one is a gift for your parents."
Marty's brain short-circuited for a moment. This was an unexpected treasure.
"Say, guys. Anything you like?" Paul sweeped his hand over the records.
"I'll just take some at random." Shinji said, taking a bunch from the disordered pile. "Hey, when can we play Cthulhu again? I had a lot of fun."
"How about next week we cut practice short, and roll the dice for a couple of hours? Lee offered.
"All in favor?" Marty asked, raising his right hand. He looked around, "Okay, it's unanimous!"
Author Notes
(1) Earth Angel was originally recorded as a demo in 1954, interestingly, by a band called The Penguins! It was their only hit, and has been covered many times. As Hill Valley is a big town/small city, I don't think it's unreasonable Marty wouldn't be too familiar with the sing or it's covers.
(2) I decided that apart from being a minor footnote in musical history because of their relationship with Chuck Berry, Marvin Berry and the Starlighters enjoyed a minor success in the music charts, and a long career as a band, even though they never charted a hit.
A tip of the hat to jaegermonster, at FFN, for proposing a connection between the Ghostbusters and SEELE, though I took it in a different direction! Their original idea was to comment on how being expelled from had saved their lives, as SEELE would have had them assasinated for getting to close to Metaphysical Biology.