Chapter 2 - Of Drives and Jackets
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Somewhere Outside of 404
2010-01-26 20:16:22: Metallic g_rock wanders through the jungle. He hears an eerie but familiar hum rising around him. He turns slowly, raising his cane like a foil. “Ah, I've been looking for you.”
Several Minutes Later
With one final mighty attack, The Improbability Drive's inch-thick titanium casing splits open, and the machine lies still.
G_rock's muscles ache, and his already dented and sooty jacket smoulders with new burned patches.
He collapses to his knees, before falling backwards onto his back, trying fitfully to catch his breath. The raw Improbability gradually fades from the air. It's finally over.
G waits, patiently, willing himself back to his feet. He knows what comes next.
A metallic creaking sounds from the scorched earth. G watches the jagged edges of the Improbability Drive's remains, the jagged edges that are now trying to bend themselves back into shape. . .
“No,” he says quietly. “That's enough.”
The Improbability Drive lets off a little spark, and the edges of the casing begin to seal themselves back together.
G throws himself at the machine and casts one final, mighty attack upon its weakest point. Shards of metal spin off in all directions like a firework, and the casing lies bare, exposing the shifting, writhing circuit boards beneath.
G brings his cane up, and rushes it down again, burying it as deep as he can into the Drive's inner workings. He flings his jacket in front of himself and waits for the inevitable blast.
A single, heavy arc of pure improbability roars out of the smoldering remains, stabbing straight into the drive-born metal fabric, instantly restoring it. G slings it smugly back over his shoulders and walks away from the clearing. He pauses and turns, calling back “Thanks! Just what I-”
There's a flash of light and pain, and then only numbness.
A rip in the machine's casing curls upwards, seeming to smile at the retraining personel who show up to drag G away. There is no bargaining with the drive.
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