Radical
GENIE OF THE COMIC BOOK
NOTE: This series contains references to pop culture. The only characters I own are Kevin, Jennifer, Andy, and Wayne.
Chapter 1
The quantum teleporter the scientists at the Institute of Theoretical Research had been developing was going into action.
The item being teleported was a copy of Cosmic Defenders #1, a comic book given to Dr. Jennifer Ericson by her boyfriend Kevin Switzler, who was also the writer in addition to having designed the characters. (The women may have been busty and scantily-clad, but in Kevin's defense not a one was a "damsel in distress".) According to the theory of quantum entanglement, the book was being scanned and disintegrated in one place, then its information would be transmitted into a receiving antenna and molecules would be reconfigured in the receiving unit to recreate the book.
As the book was disintegrated in the transmitter, an accompanying flash occurred in the receiving unit seconds later. Jennifer, her eyes protected by the goggles she wore, went to the receiving table and waited for the door to open. On the platform was Cosmic Defenders #1.
The shapely, redhead scientist opened it, carefully reading the book, checking for any flaws: smudged ink, typing errors, miscolorations -- anything that might indicate that there had been an error, meaning that the teleportation was a failure. She had seen The Fly -- both the 1950s original and the remake with Jeff Goldblum -- and didn't want to take chances.
Finally satisfied that everything was perfect, she put the book down. As she did so, her cell phone beeped. It was the Egyptian Bazaar theme, the corny tune they played in old movies. The screen displayed Kevin's name and number. She hit the "Talk" button and said, "Hi, Kevin."
"Hey, Jen," he said. "How's it going?"
"Business as usual," she said.
"Whatcha doing over there? Turning lead into gold?"
"It's kind of top-secret," she said. "Besides, no offense, but it's complicated and you probably wouldn't understand."
"I dunno; it might make a good issue of Cosmic Defenders," he said playfully. "Okay, I'll pick you up. Bye!"
Unfortunately, fate had other plans.
"Preparing to send," said short, slightly chunky Andy Travers, hitting the button.
The scanning beams began to play over the comic book -- which was still in Jennifer's hands. "Wait -- stop!" she shouted. "I'm not ready!"
But it was too late. Searing white light cascaded over both Jennifer's hands and the comic, disintegrating them both. Then the transportation effect washed over all of Jennifer's body, causing her to be dissolved in turn.
"Oh, shit, we killed Jennifer!" shouted Andy.
"Look at it this way," lanky blond Wayne Malcolm said philosophically. "We were gonna be testing live subjects eventually anyway." Andy clocked him in the face and he went down.
Then Andy rushed to the receiving platform. To his dismay, only the comic seemed to be there. "Jennifer?" he shouted. "Where are you? Oh, man, Kevin's gonna kill me..."
Hello? asked a voice. Can anyone hear me?
Andy turned. Jennifer's voice seemed to be emanating from the comic book!
"...so, obviously," said Andy to Kevin when the latter showed up, "Jennifer's atomic structure must have gotten entangled with the comic. Interestingly, though, she's still 'alive', which ties in with certain theories of consciousness where..."
"Never mind all that," Kevin demanded to know. "How the hell do we get her out of there?"
"Well, we could try analyzing the computer records and see how it happened in the first place..." suggested Wayne. He was still sporting the shiner Andy gave him.
"So...what was it like, being teleported?" Kevin asked.
Surprisingly painful, said Jennifer's voice vibrating from the comic. It may have seemed instantaneous to an outsider, but I literally felt every atom in my body disintegrate, bit by bit. As for what happened to my mind...it was weird. You ever read The Jaunt by Stephen King?
"Read it in high school," said Kevin. The Jaunt is a science fiction story about the discovery of teleportation. A horrific side-effect of the process (in The Jaunt) is that although the process is instantaneous for the physical body, the mind perceives it as an eternity of being conscious in nothingness, which ultimately results in madness.
It was kind of like the opposite, Jennifer explained. As if billions of years were being squeezed down into split-seconds. My sense of space was wonky, too. I felt as if my consciousness was miles wide, while pulled in on itself. I'm still feeling that way.
"Are you...comfortable or anything in there?" asked Kevin.
It's kind of weird...I can see scenes from the comic book, in three-hundred-and-sixty three-dimensional space. I don't seem to have a body...I seem to be the space between objects, if objects in a comic can be said to be real. It kind of reminds me of the Holographic Universe theory where...
"That's great," said Kevin noncommittally. Despite writing a sci-fi comic, he wasn't as "up" on quantum physics as he liked. Then he noticed something on the comic book. It was a blot of ketchup. "Dammit, Wayne," he swore, "you got Greasy Burger all over Jennifer's comic. You'd think you'd be more careful with her..." He started to wipe the blot with a paper towel...and blinked. Something like static crackled across the book...
Huh? I think something's happening, Jennifer informed him. Keep it up!
Kevin rubbed harder, working up as much friction and static as he could. Suddenly the comic began to glow brightly. Kevin dropped the comic and backed away as a glowing mist seemed to arise from the comic. The mist began to take on a form, to solidify...
Kevin gaped at what he saw. The top of the mist had solidified into Jennifer's head, and the rest of it roughly approximated her body! The Jennifer-thing looked down at herself. "Hmm...so this is the new me. Kind of weird...but then, so's everything else all of a sudden."
Kevin fainted.
NOTE: This series contains references to pop culture. The only characters I own are Kevin, Jennifer, Andy, and Wayne.
Chapter 1
The quantum teleporter the scientists at the Institute of Theoretical Research had been developing was going into action.
The item being teleported was a copy of Cosmic Defenders #1, a comic book given to Dr. Jennifer Ericson by her boyfriend Kevin Switzler, who was also the writer in addition to having designed the characters. (The women may have been busty and scantily-clad, but in Kevin's defense not a one was a "damsel in distress".) According to the theory of quantum entanglement, the book was being scanned and disintegrated in one place, then its information would be transmitted into a receiving antenna and molecules would be reconfigured in the receiving unit to recreate the book.
As the book was disintegrated in the transmitter, an accompanying flash occurred in the receiving unit seconds later. Jennifer, her eyes protected by the goggles she wore, went to the receiving table and waited for the door to open. On the platform was Cosmic Defenders #1.
The shapely, redhead scientist opened it, carefully reading the book, checking for any flaws: smudged ink, typing errors, miscolorations -- anything that might indicate that there had been an error, meaning that the teleportation was a failure. She had seen The Fly -- both the 1950s original and the remake with Jeff Goldblum -- and didn't want to take chances.
Finally satisfied that everything was perfect, she put the book down. As she did so, her cell phone beeped. It was the Egyptian Bazaar theme, the corny tune they played in old movies. The screen displayed Kevin's name and number. She hit the "Talk" button and said, "Hi, Kevin."
"Hey, Jen," he said. "How's it going?"
"Business as usual," she said.
"Whatcha doing over there? Turning lead into gold?"
"It's kind of top-secret," she said. "Besides, no offense, but it's complicated and you probably wouldn't understand."
"I dunno; it might make a good issue of Cosmic Defenders," he said playfully. "Okay, I'll pick you up. Bye!"
Unfortunately, fate had other plans.
"Preparing to send," said short, slightly chunky Andy Travers, hitting the button.
The scanning beams began to play over the comic book -- which was still in Jennifer's hands. "Wait -- stop!" she shouted. "I'm not ready!"
But it was too late. Searing white light cascaded over both Jennifer's hands and the comic, disintegrating them both. Then the transportation effect washed over all of Jennifer's body, causing her to be dissolved in turn.
"Oh, shit, we killed Jennifer!" shouted Andy.
"Look at it this way," lanky blond Wayne Malcolm said philosophically. "We were gonna be testing live subjects eventually anyway." Andy clocked him in the face and he went down.
Then Andy rushed to the receiving platform. To his dismay, only the comic seemed to be there. "Jennifer?" he shouted. "Where are you? Oh, man, Kevin's gonna kill me..."
Hello? asked a voice. Can anyone hear me?
Andy turned. Jennifer's voice seemed to be emanating from the comic book!
"...so, obviously," said Andy to Kevin when the latter showed up, "Jennifer's atomic structure must have gotten entangled with the comic. Interestingly, though, she's still 'alive', which ties in with certain theories of consciousness where..."
"Never mind all that," Kevin demanded to know. "How the hell do we get her out of there?"
"Well, we could try analyzing the computer records and see how it happened in the first place..." suggested Wayne. He was still sporting the shiner Andy gave him.
"So...what was it like, being teleported?" Kevin asked.
Surprisingly painful, said Jennifer's voice vibrating from the comic. It may have seemed instantaneous to an outsider, but I literally felt every atom in my body disintegrate, bit by bit. As for what happened to my mind...it was weird. You ever read The Jaunt by Stephen King?
"Read it in high school," said Kevin. The Jaunt is a science fiction story about the discovery of teleportation. A horrific side-effect of the process (in The Jaunt) is that although the process is instantaneous for the physical body, the mind perceives it as an eternity of being conscious in nothingness, which ultimately results in madness.
It was kind of like the opposite, Jennifer explained. As if billions of years were being squeezed down into split-seconds. My sense of space was wonky, too. I felt as if my consciousness was miles wide, while pulled in on itself. I'm still feeling that way.
"Are you...comfortable or anything in there?" asked Kevin.
It's kind of weird...I can see scenes from the comic book, in three-hundred-and-sixty three-dimensional space. I don't seem to have a body...I seem to be the space between objects, if objects in a comic can be said to be real. It kind of reminds me of the Holographic Universe theory where...
"That's great," said Kevin noncommittally. Despite writing a sci-fi comic, he wasn't as "up" on quantum physics as he liked. Then he noticed something on the comic book. It was a blot of ketchup. "Dammit, Wayne," he swore, "you got Greasy Burger all over Jennifer's comic. You'd think you'd be more careful with her..." He started to wipe the blot with a paper towel...and blinked. Something like static crackled across the book...
Huh? I think something's happening, Jennifer informed him. Keep it up!
Kevin rubbed harder, working up as much friction and static as he could. Suddenly the comic began to glow brightly. Kevin dropped the comic and backed away as a glowing mist seemed to arise from the comic. The mist began to take on a form, to solidify...
Kevin gaped at what he saw. The top of the mist had solidified into Jennifer's head, and the rest of it roughly approximated her body! The Jennifer-thing looked down at herself. "Hmm...so this is the new me. Kind of weird...but then, so's everything else all of a sudden."
Kevin fainted.