“Right now, it still is,” said Doctor Discovery. “But the Majito royal family of Garth ordered this built using the theories of an obscure scientist whose name I don't know. And, after testing it myself, I discovered that it does indeed work as the scientist's theories say it should.”
“Wait,” said Galaxy. “I thought you said that Princess Majito had attacked you and left you out here to die in space for rejecting her marriage proposal.”
“That was just a story I made up to distract you from the real reason I am out here,” said Doctor Discovery. “You see, Captain Galaxy, I did indeed go to Garth, where I wooed Princess Majito, but only because I wanted her prototype. When I stole the prototype and escaped, she did chase me and try to shoot me down, but then I activated the prototype, which took me to the other side of the universe, although it unfortunately did not save my poor ship's engines from being blown out and leaving me stranded in the middle of nowhere until you and your friends found me.”
“So it can instantly transport entire starships across the universe?” said Galaxy. “That's amazing. That could revolutionize space travel as we know it, if this news gets out and the knowledge of how to build these generators are made public.”
“So it could, so it could,” said Doctor Discovery. “Too bad that I have no interest in allowing anyone else to get this technology. I won't even let you get it, Galaxy, even though I am forever grateful for you and your friends for rescuing my life when I was certain that my brilliant scientific mind had met its end.”
“Why do you even want this technology, anyway?” said Galaxy. “What do you hope to gain from it?”
“That's simple,” said Doctor Discovery. His voice returned to that melodramatic tone from before. “I will use the prototype to defeat Professor Plagiarist once and for all, by proving who is the real man of science around here. By using the prototype, I will achieve what no man, especially not Professor Plagiarist, has ever even come close to accomplishing.”
Galaxy stared at Doctor Discovery blankly. “Wait, you mean to say that you are threatening my life just to get back at some guy who you have a dumb, made-up rivalry with?”
“Professor Plagiarist is my sworn enemy,” said Doctor Discovery. “If you had a sworn enemy, then you would understand why I am doing what I am doing. But you do not have one, so of course you do not understand.”
And here I was thinking that he might actually have a hidden seed of brilliance somewhere in that stupid mind of his, Galaxy thought. Guess I got a little too optimistic about him.
“Now,” said Doctor Discovery, gesturing at her with his gun. “Leave this placer at once. While a man of science does not use violence to achieve his goals, I believe that I would be more than justified in doing so in this situation.”
“Uh huh,” said Galaxy, as a way to give her time to think of a way out of this situation that didn't involve giving Doctor Discovery what he wanted. “Tell me, Doctor, what, exactly, do you hope to accomplish with this prototype? You didn't really say.”
“I see no harm in telling you,” said Doctor Discovery. “Simply put, I am going to travel to an alternate universe and prove to the Professor once and for all that I am indeed smarter than him. He has never been to an alternate universe, although I don't understand why, seeing as dimension hopping is a well-known technology that was discovered centuries ago by the Great Scientists.”
“No, it isn't,” said Galaxy, shaking her head. She gestured at the prototype behind her. “If it was, then this prototype wouldn't be as valuable as you make it out to be.”
“Believe what you like, Captain Galaxy, but that doesn't change the fact that I am going to do something that my arch enemy has never even bothered to try to do,” said Doctor Discovery. “Now, I must leave quickly. I have no idea how much time we have left before your friend gives me up to the bounty hunter who is after me. Now move or I will shoot.”
Galaxy bit her lip. She was completely unarmed because she had not thought she would need to protect herself down here, but now she wished that she had brought a weapon with her. Because she was absolutely certain that Doctor Discovery was indeed going to shoot, and probably kill, her if she did not move away from the prototype immediately.
But Galaxy did not want to move, because she did not want Doctor Discovery to get away with his theft. She was no fan of Zinarthian royalty herself, but she still saw theft as wrong no matter who you stole it from. Besides, she figured that this prototype was an important step in the evolution of dimension-hopping tech, so she couldn't let Doctor Discovery keep it to himself, not when this technology could be used for the greater good.
Again, however, Galaxy was not sure how to do that without getting shot. She would have to think quick, because she could tell that Doctor Discovery was about to pull the trigger any second now, and once he did, she would be done for.
-
“Well?” said Omanx, his large face on the screen scowling, or scowling as much as an octopus's face was capable of scowling, anyway. “You have ten minutes left in which to make a decision, but not a second longer.”
Space already knew that, because he had been glancing at the time on his com-watch and was aware of the five minutes that had already passed. He was just so stressed out at the idea of being blown to pieces that he was having a hard time thinking carefully about the current situation.
If I don't give up Doctor Discovery's ship—which I am not sure I want this guy having—Omanx will kill us, Space thought. But if I do give up the ship, then he will probably still kill us because he hates our guts.
Space had considered activating the ship's warp drive to escape, just like how they had the last time they had been cornered by Omanx (according to Omanx, anyway, because Space still didn't remember doing that), but he wasn't sure he could activate it in time. Even if he could, that didn't mean the Anagnorisis would be able to come with them. The sheer speed of the Adventure might cause the Anagnorisis to tear off and go hurtling into the depths of space, with Galaxy still on it.
Another possibility Space had considered was activating the Adventure's cannons and firing upon Omanx's ship, but that would just give Omanx an excuse to fight back and destroy him. After all, Omanx had a Delkarian warship, which were well-known throughout the Universal Alliance for their absolutely devastating firepower. The Adventure, on the other hand, was designed for, well, adventure, so its combat capabilities were not as advanced as that of a Delkarian warship's. There was no way that the Adventure would be able to handle the warship's cannons even with its shields all the way up.
The easiest solution was to give up the Anagnorisis and go on their way. But Space could not be certain that Omanx could hold up his end of the bargain. Besides, Galaxy wasn't back yet and he had no intention of handing her over to the bounty hunter who clearly hated them all.
Space looked at Sparky. Sparky looked at him and shrugged, which told Space that Sparky was just as out of ideas as he was.
I must delay, Space thought. Maybe if I delay long enough, Galaxy will return on her own and we can ditch the Anagnorisis and get the hell out of here before Omanx decides to blow us up.
So Space said to Omanx, “Well, Omanx, this is a very complicated dilemma I am facing, so of course I need a lot of time in which to think about it.”
“How is it complicated?” said Omanx. “You have two very simple choices: Survival or destruction. I know you humans aren't the most complex thinkers in the universe, but surely even you must understand the simplicity of the two choices I am offering to you.”
“True, true,” Space said, nodding. “They are very simple. But do you know what else is simple? Action holofilms. They tend to have pretty simple story lines: Good guy must fight horde of bad guys to save whatever he's fighting for, usually a pretty girl and sometimes the whole world or both. Pretty simple stuff.”
“And?” said Omanx. “Why do you bring up the subject of action holofilms when they have absolutely nothing to do with this current situation?”
“Well, it's because I was just thinking about how this seems like so many situations I've seen in such holofilms,” said Space, although even he was not sure where he was going with this. “Lots of those action holofilms have scenes where the main character is given a deadly dilemma by the villain, where both choices suck for the hero. This just reminds me of those situations is all.”
“Are you implying that I am the villain here, Mr. Space?” said Omanx. He growled. “There is nothing villainous about what I am about to do. I am merely practical and am willing to do whatever I need to achieve my goals.”
“I wasn't implying you are a villain exactly,” said Space. He tapped his chin, thinking hard. “You're a … you're a … well, okay, I admit you do fit the bill for 'villain,' but maybe this is actually an experimental holofilm in which no one is really good or evil and good and evil are considered outdated and silly concepts that do not fully embrace the complexity of Life as we know it and simplify the grayness inherent in morality.”
“Mr. Space, I am not an idiot,” said Omanx. “I can tell that you are trying to delay me with your inane ramblings about 'experimental' holofilms. None of which, of course, will distract me from forcing you to choose one option or another.”
“But is life really so simple?” said Space. “Why should I only have 'two' options? Is 'two' even really a real concept or is it an invented social construct meant to oppress us all and deny a voice to the marginalized?”
Omanx stared at Space. “You humans really do ask stupid questions, don't you?”
“Stupid, or deep?” said Space.
Omanx shook his head. “I am sick of talking to you. I am just going to have my men blow your ship into pieces and then take the Anagnorisis and anything on it for ourselves. Good bye, Mr. Space.”
With that, Omanx's face vanished from the screen, replaced with the words 'CONNECTION TERMINATED.'
Immediately, Space looked down at Sparky and said, “Sparky, where's Galaxy?”
“Still in the Anagnorisis, I believe,” said Sparky. “Do you want me to try to contact her? Her communication channel is still offline.”
“Keep trying, but at the same time, turn the Adventure's shields to their highest levels,” said Space. “Omanx is going to try to blow us up. Our shields might be able to last us long enough for us to come up with a way to escape.”
“The shields' levels are already rising, Mr. Space,” said Sparky, glancing at the holographic display that appeared in his hand, which showed the shields' levels rising, just as he said. “But what about Doctor Discovery? Do you want me to go and find him?”
“He said he was going to use the bathroom,” said Space. Then he frowned and looked toward the exit. “Although now that I think about it, it does seem rather suspicious that he hasn't returned yet. He can't have had to go that badly, could he?”
“I shall go check on him,” Sparky said. “Just to make sure that he is still here.”
“No, Sparky,” said Space as he jumped off the floating captain's chair and landed on the metal floor. “You stay here and keep an eye on Omanx's ship. Keep the shields up and at full power. I'll go check on Doctor Discovery.”
Sparky nodded as Space dashed out the exit. He ran down the hallway as fast as he could and skid to a stop outside the door to the bathroom, which had the room 'BATHROOM' written on it in large block letters.
Oddly enough, the door was not locked. The green light directly above the entrance was active. If the light had red, that would have meant that the door was locked and someone was using it.
Did Doctor Discovery forget to lock it? Space thought.
Shaking his head, he waved his hand in front of the door and it slid open noiselessly. He dashed inside, shouting, “Doctor! Sorry for barging in, but—”
He stopped speaking, however, when he saw the only stall in the bathroom open, revealing the toilet with no one sitting on it. Space did a thorough check-up of the room—even looking into the toilet—but he saw no sign of Doctor Discovery anywhere. It was like the Doctor had simply vanished.
Where could he have possibly gone? Space thought, running his hands through his curly hair as he stared into the mirror above the sink, which reflected his own worried expression. He couldn't have just up and vanished. Maybe he got lost somehow? I mean, he probably didn't return to his ship, right?
Space stared at himself in the mirror as he considered that thought. Then, when he finally understood where Doctor Discovery had gone, he saw realization dawn on his own face in an instant.
Dashing out the bathroom, Space thought, Gotta get to the Anagnorisis. Maybe if I am fast, I can get both Galaxy and Doctor Discovery out of there before Omanx decides to fire upon us.
-
“My patience is running thin, Captain Galaxy,” said Doctor Discovery. He waved his gun. “Trust me, light-guns can cause an intense amount of pain and damage if you're not careful. A fact that I, of course, discovered first before anyone else.”
Galaxy thought it bizarre how Doctor Discovery apparently felt the need to brag about his own false achievements in this situation. But then, Doctor Discovery was a bizarre character in general, so perhaps she should have expected it.
In any case, Galaxy noticed how Doctor Discovery's helmet looked a little too tight over his head. She found it amazing that he could speak through it at all. It looked too cramped for his head to move or speak.
Wait … Galaxy thought. If it's that cramped, then that means that noise is amplified in there. And I have a direct channel to his communicator.
“You seem to have lost your tongue, Captain Galaxy,” said Doctor Discovery. He raised the gun. “I guess, then, that you will die in silence.”
“Can I say one last thing before you shoot me, at least?” asked Galaxy.
“And what might that be?” asked Doctor Discovery.
Galaxy took a deep breath and then shouted—as loudly as possible—into the communicator attached to the inside of her helmet. She didn't shout anything in particular. It was just random shouting, meant to assault Doctor Discovery's ears and hopefully confuse him. It was loud in her own helmet, but not loud enough to distract her, probably because she had been expecting it to be loud.
Doctor Discovery, on the other hand, had clearly not been expecting the loudness at all. He doubled over, reaching for his helmet. He also lowered his light-gun, which gave Galaxy the opening she needed to attack.
Galaxy dashed forward and slammed into Doctor Discovery with her shoulder. The blow sent him staggering backwards and he even dropped his light-gun, but Galaxy caught it before it fell on the floor and she aimed it at his head before the Doctor even realized what was going on. Doctor Discovery froze when she aimed his own gun at his face, though the anger in his eyes at her actions was obvious just the same.
“All right,” said Galaxy, panting slightly. “Now that I've got you, why don't we go back to the Adventure? I'm sure that bounty hunter you mentioned will be more than happy to take you off our hands.”
Doctor Discovery shook his head. “You don't understand. I am a man of science. What I am doing is for the good of … well, fine, it is for the good of me, but just because it is for my own good doesn't necessarily mean that others cannot benefit as well.”
“You stole something that belonged to someone else,” said Galaxy. “That alone is a crime worth putting you behind bars for. Not to mention you threatened to kill me.”
“I wasn't really going to kill you,” said Doctor Discovery. “I—”
His lame excuse for attempting to murder Galaxy was interrupted by the Anagnorisis suddenly shaking. It didn't shake much—it felt like the source of the shaking was actually in the Adventure—but it was enough to make Galaxy look up and say, “What's going on up—”
Doctor Discovery slapped the light-gun out of his face and knocked her over. The blow surprised her, sending her falling on her side as Doctor Discovery made a mad dash for the prototype.
Shaking her head, Galaxy l
ooked over just in time to see Doctor Discovery jump on the prototype and start fiddling with the controls. The prototype made a loud humming sound, like it was coming to life, and then lights began blinking and flashing on its sides so rapidly that it hurt for Galaxy to look at them. She raised a hand over her eyes as she said, “Doctor Discovery, what are you doing?”
“I'm getting out of here, Captain,” said Doctor Discovery, his voice now full of manic glee. The lights on the prototype's sides flashed in a way that made his face look crazy. “To another quadrant, another planet, even another universe. For science!”
Galaxy tried to shout at him to stay, but the prototype was so loud that she could barely even hear herself think. She reached for the light-gun and aimed, but as soon as Doctor Discovery's chest was within her sights, a bright light exploded outward from the prototype, forcing Galaxy to close her eyes and cover her head to avoid getting hurt. She heard Doctor Discovery's crazy laughter amidst the sound of what might have been a dimensional hole being torn into the fabric of the universe itself, but the light was too bright for her to see what was going on. It didn't help that the Anagnorisis shook occasionally, which made it hard for her to stand up.
A second later, a loud boom sound almost blew out her hearing. It was impossible to tell for sure whether the boom had come from inside the Anagnorisis or from outside. Either way, it caused a huge headache to come over Galaxy, although with her helmet on, she could not do anything about it at the moment.
Then the light faded. Galaxy's eyes took about a minute to adjust. Then she lowered her hands from her head and looked up to see what had happened.
The prototype—and by extension, Doctor Discovery himself—were gone. All that was left was a barren, blackened patch on the metal floor, the only indication that anything had been there at all.
He got away, Galaxy thought. She winced at her headache. I wonder if there's a way I can go after him.
The Spacetastic Adventures of Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy: Season Two Page 5