#projectsky

Chapter 7:

"Another day, at least that’s what they say," Samuel sighed as his red hair gleamed in the sunlight coming from the window. "Laura, what do you think we should do while we wait for the system to calibrate the signal it received?" “Well, um…” Laura began to ponder. “Maybe we should all get to know each other a bit better, like in a round-table discussion or something…” “Good idea. Team! Gather around the West Wing! We’re having a partly recreational day.”

The 5 members of the Department of A.I.R. gathered around a table, sitting peacefully. All of them took a refreshing sip of coffee before the meeting began. “So, how’s everyone doing?” Samuel asked casually. “I’m doing fine, thanks,” Sarah and Laura said simultaneously. “Is it me or are you two ‘twinning’ today?” Asked Daniel, observing the girls. They both wore a similar work attire including matching ties of yellow, a ponytail, and even the same glasses with oval lenses. The only difference was that Sarah was shorter. The girls stared at each other. “It surely must be a coincidence,” Sarah chuckled, trying to hide her rosy red cheeks. Neil began to tap his foot on the ground in a slow, rhythmic pattern. “I’m just curious,” Laura began. “How tall are you, Sarah?” “About five-foot,” she responded. Neil began to tap faster now, but still never made a noticeable sound about it. “Wow, then how does your boyfriend hug you and stuff like that? Are you really that short?” Laura asked. Neil tapped even faster. “Well, at least compared to Neil over there…” Sarah began. “Where did he go…?” The chair where Neil sat was empty. “Hold on,” Daniel said, holding up his index finger. “I’ll get him.” He stood up and dashed away from the table.

"Neil, are you there?" Daniel began to call out. “Right here.” He turned around, only to find Neil with his glowing blue chip between his eyes. “Sarah’s boyfriend… He gave me these memories and techniques that I never discovered before…” Neil began. “He gave me the ability to phase through dimensions if I ever needed to…” “What?” “Let me demonstrate.” Neil began to become a static outline, almost blending in with the white background of the entire hallway. “And why would he grant this to you?” Daniel asked, tilting his head. “I don’t know, but he gave me one thing that I think is important, however.” Neil’s blue eyes glowed an even lighter hue of blue as he glared at the floor. As if his eyes were a projector, a few blue blurry holograms appeared on the ground. Two of them were laying down, on top of each other. The third stormed into a holographic door. “Buzz! What is the meaning of this?” The third hologram spoke. “I thought I could trust you, Laur- Buzz! And you, Mr. Buzz! You are fired! Buzz! Buzz! I knew something was up in that little perver- Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!” “I don’t think this is good, Daniel,” Neil spoke, canceling out the hologram with his own tears. “I’m not sure if this is part of the past or the future, Daniel. I’m scared…” “Don’t worry, Neil,” Daniel spoke. “I’m sure it’s just another one of those false memories…” “And I noticed one more thing!” Neil began to have an epiphany. “He had a chip on his scalp, similar to the size of yours. It had three chip-shaped ridges in there as well. Daniel patted his chip on his head. One by one, he tapped his finger on each ridge. One. Two. Three. There were three ridges.

Chapter 6:

Earlier that day, Samuel and Laura were walking down the suburban sidewalks of the small town they visited. The streaks of clouds that blended in with the open twilight captured Samuel’s eyes. “It’s a beautiful sight, don’t you think?” Asked Samuel, pointing to the sunset. “Yeah, it sure is,” silently spoke Laura. They walked by a seven-foot bush on the sidewalk. Its hedges were finely trimmed and little flowers on it began to bloom. “Well, that’s spring in a nutshell,” Samuel commented. As they turned the corner, they saw a simple two-story house with an enormous lawn. It contained flowers placed neatly to ensure the most artistic look possible with a walkway leading straight directly to the door. Leaning on the door was a young man whose arms were crossed as he tried to avoid getting his own hair in his eyes. “Samuel? Is that you?” Asked the man. “M-Mr. Williams, you should know what I look like by now,” Samuel joked. Laura turned her head to the side, trying to avoid direct eye contact with the man. “Laura, you know that he’s safe to look at now. We forgave him, remember?” Laura refused to look towards him, crossing her arms and staring at the sky. “Listen, do you have time to talk privately?” Mr. Williams offered as he walked towards Samuel. “Sure thing,” Samuel consented as he walked towards Williams. “What is it now?” “Read this.” “Huh?” Samuel snatched a piece of paper from his hands. “101 reasons why you shouldn’t and couldn’t win Laura’s heart,” he read. “What the hell is this?” Samuel began to slowly crumple up the paper. “You know how much I can make it right this time!” “You still don’t remember, do you?” Williams tried to explain. “You’ve seen what happened before, so do I need to explain to you for the tenth time? She will interfere with the mission and the research. That rat Daniel will corrupt her thoughts and then…” “I get it. I can control them. Just give me some time.” “Your loss, Sam. Your loss…” “Must you treat everything like it’s inevitable, Jack?” Samuel began to walk away. “I only say things I know are precise,” Williams muttered as he entered his house.

"Okay, Laura, are you ready to see the machine again?" Samuel said, placing his hand on a small metal door. Laura slowly nodded. “Why of course I’d like to see the machine again.” He scanned his finger on a nearby touch-screen, and the door flew open. Walking for a couple of minutes, they finally stood upon a huge platform surrounded with a glass barrier. The floor, walls, and lights all illuminated a white color. “This is the control room,” Samuel snickered. Laura’s chip that hung on her forehead began to slightly glow a hue of yellow. Looking out the glass, she noticed a giant spike with a small, smooth sphere on top. The platform of which the spike was on was only connected to a long metal beam that extended from the center to the area right below them. “Samuel, what are the dimensions of this thing?” Laura inquired. “Four dimensions…” Samuel then realized what she meant. “Oh! I’m sorry. That platform on the bottom of that thing is around 25x25 ft. The total height of the spike is around 20 ft. tall not including the sphere over there. Now, do you want to know how to operate the machine or not?” “Of course,” she clasped her hands together looking attentively at Samuel, with her forehead chip glowing brighter. “Okay, first you…”

Chapter 5:

The darkness of the night submerged Neil in a plane completely dark. Within this confined reality, he looked upon a shadowy figure. It was himself, dressed up, and more fancy. It had his hair similar to Neil, but with it swept to the side, looking taller and more handsome. Neil squinted his eyes, trying to make out the figure’s face. He couldn’t. It began to speak. “You say you want her, do you?” It spoke with an echoing monotone voice. “Y-yes, of course,” Neil began to assert his voice in confidence. “Why do you want her?” “Because I’m jealous of that boy Jack stealing the girl I’m into…” “I’m going to offer you a deal.” “Huh?” “You get to have her for 30 minutes tonight, through the eyes of Jack.” “And the penalty?” Neil raised an eyebrow. “Well, none,” it began to whisper. “For now, at least.” “Fine.” “Good, now pucker up your lips,” the shadow laughed as Neil wrapped his arms around a dark figure in front of him. As the world slowly came to light again, he was taller and embraced the uncovered shadow. Sarah Salem’s eyes beamed with light, piercing the dark shell she was concealed in. Slowly, it dissolved, and she appeared out of her dark, shadowy cocoon. “I love you, baby,” she spoke with a romantic enthusiasm. “I do, too,” said the body of her boyfriend. “How long have we been together? The days will start getting lonely after our departure, you know.” “I’ve liked you since the day we first met. And, I’ll always be with you…”

"Neil, are you there?" Daniel panicked while Neil laid on the ground. “Why, yes I am, thank you,” spoke the body of Neil with an aggressive tone. Without notice, he raised his fist and lunged towards Daniel. Taking a step back, Daniel glared into Neil’s lifeless eyes. “You looked at him for too long, did you?” He asked. “Who do you mean by ‘you’…” The body of Neil said. “Louis A. Neil. Programmer. Genius.” “Oh, him?” Neil asked, trying to muffle his voice. “He’s gone for now. Care to have a fight to pass the time?” He placed his open palm right next to Daniel’s throat, barely touching it. Daniel began to slowly back up, placing his hands in the air, and opened his mouth to speak. Instead of releasing words, he took Neil’s fist to his jaw. “Mr. Sky, what’s the matter?” Neil muttered. “You know what you can do with that mind of yours. So go ahead. Do it.” “He’s right, go do it,” Daniel’s other self rung in Daniel’s ears. “Do it. Don’t be afraid. You can control it. It is only temporary.” Neil took one step forward and kicked Daniel down to the floor, making his back crack when he landed. Neil raised his arm high into the air, and began to slice down on Daniel’s chest. As his hand moved, time seemed to slow for Daniel. The chip on his head began to ring a sound only he can hear. A monotone electronic voice began counting, “50 percent instinct… 60 percent instinct… 75 percent instinct… 85 percent instinct… 95 percent instinct…” Daniel instinctively grabbed Neil’s hand. “100 percent instinct.” He smashed Neil’s hand to the ground to the right of him. With his hand crushed, Daniel delivered a kick to the left to Neil’s side. He then tossed Neil over into the ground. Daniel proceeded to crouch next to Neil and punch him so hard that it could be heard throughout the Neighborhood. “Just don’t kill him, though,” Daniel’s other self intervened. “It’s only a training session as to what is to come.” “Shut up, ‘Mr. Sky!’ This is personal!” Yelled Daniel, still punching Neil. “Hahahahaha!” Laughed Neil masochistically. “Looks like time’s up!” With a flash of light, Neil’s eyes enlarged as he saw his friend ready to punch him in the face. “Ahhhhh!” Neil yelled. “Don’t hurt me… What happened?” “80 percent instinct… 50 percent instinct…” “You kinda conked out there, you know. You… Went insane,” Daniel said with sorrow, helping his friend up. “I was in a trance. With Sarah,” he said, pointing at her house. “I should really wash myself soon… My clothes are disgusting.” “Be thankful you didn’t get bruised or cut,” Daniel noted. “And you were ‘in a trance?’ Why does that sound familiar…”

Chapter 3

"Well, that worked better than expected," Samuel said, placing his arms away from his face. "It should be finished calibrating the signal it picked up by next week." “But wait, what if it picked up something empty in the universe, like an object similar to life?” Asked the short girl with the glasses. “Ms. Sarah Foxtrot, I do not think my machine detected anything more or less than actual life out there,” began Samuel with an aggravated tone. “It detects things out there for exact forms of life as similar to humans as possible. I don’t think this machine here can be wrong, especially with Neil’s help.” Samuel stealthily winked at Neil. He blushed and nodded as if he was thanking Samuel. “Now, keep working on your assignments, I won’t be here tonight. I’m going to teach Laura some tricks as to how to operate the machine tonight.” He winked at the tall, blonde-haired girl, faintly revealing a blush. She clasped her hands together and abruptly announced, “If you’ll excuse me…” She started to pace towards an open hall that lead to the inner parts of the facility. Samuel stood, smiling as he watched her image fade into the hall. “Uh, don’t you think that’s a bad sign, Samuel? Shouldn’t you go after her?” Daniel asked profoundly. Samuel began to falter his speech. “No, no,” he muttered. “I knew her for about a year now, ever since the incident with ‘the deal’ finally passed. Nothing much about her has changed since then,” Samuel seemed to stumble upon those last few words, sniffling as he finished.

Later that night, the whole group minus Samuel and Laura remained in the complex. All of them were typing furiously in their computers. “Uh, sorry guys. I have a date with my boyfriend tonight, I hope you understand,” sighed Sarah as she stood up from her plastic chair she’s been sitting on for hours. She proceeded to head towards the restroom deep within the hallway. “Neil,” Daniel whispered. “What do you know about her boyfriend? Do you have any idea why she’s with him day in and day out?” “Well,” Neil began. “Her boyfriend has an illness, for one. It’s fatal, but not contagious.” “He does?” “Yes, he does.” “I know this sounds weird, but, can you explain to me what you can do again with that chip on your head there? I’m a couple of months new here, you know.” “Well, I’m a bit dyslexic, to be honest… Mr. Waters gave me my first doctor’s appointment I’ve ever had, you know. They found it right away. Mr. Waters is quite the kind leader for a project like this. But, anyways, my chip allows me to program to perfection, as well as analyzing, well, anything from a decent distance away.” Sarah stepped from the hallway, appearing in a red dress, with a hint of white around her collar. Her entire chip could be seen right below her neck. “Sarah, you look great!” Neil complemented, jumping out of his chair. “Why thank you,” she shyly said as a thin red car appeared right outside the building. She opened the thin metal door out into the night, and before the boys knew it, she was off. Daniel began to cover his ears once again, as the same voice began to echo. “Hello, Mr. Sky?” the other Daniel spoke to him. “It’s me.” “Not you again,” Daniel spoke to him, yet leaving his mouth closed. “Now, now, calm down. You’re going to listen to me here. Sarah Salem’s boyfriend is the guy that’s most important to us right now. I’d recommend you see for yourself.” “How so?” “Bring some of Neil’s binoculars to Sarah’s house. I’m sure you’ll find out why he’s such a threat there.” “Neil!” Daniel screamed as he put on a plain black jacket. “We’re going to see what Sarah is up to!” “What?” “You’ve always wanted to know what he does with her, right? I’m sure this will be an experience for both of us. Bring the x-Ray binoculars with you as well.” Neil nodded obediently as he reached to grab a pair of binoculars. Right before 9:00, the boys headed outside, through the door.

Chapter 2:

The day was approaching sunrise, and the Department of Academics, Inquiry, and Research opened its doors for another day working on “the project”. Not many heard of this project, but they say that it would be revolutionary. After decades of searching for other life within outer space, scientists have found no signs of existing life. A young man by the name of Samuel Waters formed an idea; what if we could not look within the simple plane we’re all familiar with? What if… We can explore other dimensions?

That project began spectacularly. Being a young man with a small reputation, he began his research with a team of 4 other members. Each was given a special chip implanted within them to increase their assistance with the project. One was to control gravity for physical construction. Another one was to scan for all errors within a piece of work or methodology, especially for programming. Another was to copy whatever abilities he/she sees, to assist with others whom need extra help. The last one was to control the conflict of inner animalistic intent within the mind to insure clear and concise thinking. Together, they built the machine called the Plane Exploration Navigator, or as they liked to call it, the P.E.N. But then one day, the one with the controlled animalistic nature left the development of the P.E.N. Not many are sure as to why he left, but the person’s final words before leaving were, “The deal is sealed. This mind belongs to me.”

"Well, that is inconvenient," Samuel sighed while looking at his clipboard. He stood tall, with red, curly hair barely touching his eyebrows. He wore a simple laboratory coat and equipment as he stared out the nearby window revealing the outside world. "Well, what can I do to help?" A masculine-type voice echoed throughout the large interior. “Change some of the variables around. You know how it usually works, Neil. Play with it for a while.” Samuel instructed casually. Neil proceeded to calmly glance to where Samuel was. Neil was a simply short man for a 17 year old boy. His black hair was irregularly done, and looked ragged. He wore a suit, and it appeared as if it was an attempt at being fancy, but it was a failure. Between his eyes laid an object that resembled a computer chip of sorts. It was the size of a piece of hard candy. “Sir, do you think Sar- I mean Ms. Salem will be here today? I think I heard something about her staying up late last night with Jack,” Neil complained. “She’ll be fine, don’t you worry,” assured Samuel, “She’s a light sleeper. She will be here eventually. I mean, Jack is not that kind of guy to do ‘those’ things with her. He has a heart. I can guarantee that.” Abruptly barging through the doors to the right of the window, came two women. Both were blonde. The significantly shorter of the two wore glasses and had a chip the same size as Neil’s right below her neck. The other was taller, and her hair was tied up in a ponytail. She had a chip in the center of her forehead. Slowly pacing behind them, Daniel Sky walked in as well. “Glad to see we’re all here, now, let’s get to business,” Samuel said enthusiastically.