"We should be nearing the core," Juppie said, still excited. It was exhausting after all these hours. But Dytis did feel a bit of the same thrill, after the fear of death washed away.
"Hey, I have an idea! Grab some hail. Come on, now," Dytis shouted.
"Don't need to shout, I'm right here. Why would I do that?"
"Just do it, before we reach the core. Come on, trust me, now!"
Juppie seemed to ponder it in silence. He was making calculations and simulations in that instant. "But why?"
"I had this idea. We don't know the properties of metallic hydrogen, right? It's all speculative?"
"Yeah..."
"But it is a superconductor, right?"
"Most likely, yes," Juppie said. "But I still don't understand why. If I risk grabbing a piece, it might get us stuck, ripping the arm off from our momentum, or just getting us stuck in a bigger piece."
The hailstorm got less and less noisy. They were definitely going through that layer of the weird substance. "TRUST ME!" Dytis cried out, unable to move, unable to act, heck, unable to wiggle his fingers and toes.
"Okay, Dytis." Juppie moved the suit's arm.
Dytis felt his hand open, and a hit of something solid, and his hand closed around it.
"Got it! Dude, this is unbelievable, first sample of metallic hydrogen, ever! High five!"
Dytis laughed, wanting to shake his head but being unable to. His buddy made him raise his hand for a high five that was done with one being inside the other, weird as that sounded. "High five," he said, smiling.
"Oh, you're right. It is a superconductor. Let me try something." Juppie spoke but of course had already performed an immense amount of analyses and tasks already, weighing all his options.
They reached the core. Dytis knew it, because the ride on the fly-swatter was over.
He was finally in free fall once again, gravity negated in the middle of the gas giant.
"We made it," Juppie whispered, showing the appropriate amount of reverence for once in his life.
Dytis choked down a laugh, he teared up. "I-I can't believe it. The core. It's gaseous, and we're here..."
"We're so AWESOME!" Juppie broke the seriousness of the momentous occasion. "High five!"
"High five!" Dytis shouted this time, it was well worth it.
They'd both die now, but it was worth it.
First panhuman to dive into a gas giant all the way to the core. He could already see the babes lining up.
Hours passed in darkness and freefall. It was worse than space, 'cause there were no stars to see.
"How long," Dytis said.
"I can keep you alive for a few days, but I don't recommend it. It won't be good for your psyche."
"No shit."
Another hour passed.
Dytis thought of his home. His friends, the ones he surfed and sky-dived with. The crazies who simply got who he was and why he did all the things he did. He really wanted to see them, one last time.
"Hey, Juppie. Try the entangled particles again."
"Come on, Dytis, they didn't work. I don't need to waste precious energy on a futile-"
"Just try it..." Dytis said softly, not feeling strong enough to complain. This dive was taxing to his body. Even if he hadn't done anything for the entire dive, it was far more than what a panhuman was supposed to survive from.
"Holy gas balls!" Juppie exclaimed.
"What?" Dytis said, woozy.
"It works! It must be the metallic hydrogen, it's sending out the signal from the entire layer."
"Can you call home?"
"Better than that. I can send a backup. I only have a few particles to work with, but I'm sure I can extrapolate the data from the other end."
"You mean, you can back me up, but with some of my memories?"
"Yeah. But we need to choose. It's either you or me, only one can be saved."
"Your data is more important to the Asterism, Juppie. You should back yourself up," Dytis said without hesitating.
"It makes sense, you're right. But this wasn't about the collected data, bro. This was a leap of faith. It will show us what can be achieved when organic persons and e-persons work together. It's bigger than me."
"Juppie, don't play the martyr now, I know you. Just do the logical thing. Send yourself back. You're more important. I'm just a glorified surfer."
Juppie spoke softly now, sounding hurt. "My friend, who told you that surfers and adrenaline junkies aren't important in this world?"
Dytis said nothing. He had no more energy left, and his body felt like it was about to slosh into goo. He was tired, hurt, broken, and possibly a little bit crazy at this point in his chosen ordeal.
"I'm gonna need to sacrifice some parts from the suit."
"What does that mean?" Dytis snapped angrily, now fed up with everything.
"Uh... Look, the back up might work, and we'll take that chance. But I will need to sacrifice some of the exotic particles on the suit, meaning it will lose structural integrity. It's best if I put you under before I start it."
"No!" Dytis shouted with the few scraps of strength he had left. "Don't put me under. If I'm gonna die, I need to feel this. I need to be awake."
"Buddy..."
"I said no!"
"Alright," Juppie sighed. "Get ready."
Dytis felt the familiar sensation of being backed up, it was weird, his synapses lighting up, like someone mapping out a city by turning on street lights in sequential blocks.
"This is it..." Juppie said. "Activating the entangled communication system. Goodbye, my friend. Remember to tell me all about our experience together."
"It was an awesome dive, wasn't it?" Dytis asked, his neck tightening from the feeling of impending death.
"It was absolutely rad, bro."
Juppie repurposed some of the material in the suit and invented an impromptu device that nobody had done before. He analysed the back-up, kept the bare minimum and sent it out with the precious few entangled particles he had left all the way to the "Call Me If You're Sick."
The suit collapsed under the pressure. Dytis screamed for a single second and then died, his body dissolved.
Juppie made sure the signal got out from his end, that was all he could do. His copy on the other end would not have these memories. Only his friend would.
And then let himself loose to the mercy of the Hot Jupiter.
There was none.
The End.
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Upwards and Onwards
What did you think was the road stop for man to explore the empty reaches of space? Faster than light travel? Interstellar navigation? Time dilation?
Puh. We beat all that by sheer force of will.
No.
It was micrometeoroids.
Rocks.
Fucking space rocks.
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