Galvan Prime
Day 01
The galvanic ship descends gently into the landing area of the Galvan Prime Research Center. The doors open and Azmuth lands on the access ramp with a young blonde girl following close behind. The girl had no official name until a few hours ago, so she was named Eunice by a trio of Earthlings.
Azmuth was walking with his tiny steps to the entrance gate of the laboratory. At no time did he turn to check if the girl was still following him. His wish was to switch her off to her receptacle form and continue with his planned experiments, but he promised the Tennyson boy to keep her in this dysfunctional appearance.
Eunice looked at her surroundings with exaltation. She had only been alive for a few hours and each new discovery was worthy of receiving her full attention. Several times she held the impulse to run to some strange object and touch it to see what would happen. "The Great Thinker Azmuth is going to get angry" he said to himself.
As soon as the access gate closed behind them, Azmuth and Eunice continued to walk down the corridors and hallways with their dialogue based on mutual silence. The other employees of the laboratory watched the slender pink figure walk through the corridors following the Chief Scientist, and there was a lot of chatter and comments that spread through the place.
I think we're attracting attention, thought Eunice.
"Yes, we are," said Azmuth.
"Excuse me, sir?" she asked.
"Yes, we're attracting everyone's attention," he answered without turning around.
But how did he know? Could he be able to read thoughts!
"Excuse me, sir," said Eunice, leaning forward slightly, trying not to speak too loudly to be heard, "but by chance-"
"No."
"I-I..."
"No, I'm not able to read your thoughts."
"But then-"
"It's just a matter of logic, Unitrix. We rarely have creatures of other species in this building and I went out on a research trip two months ago and just came back without telling anyone."
They stop in front of the elevator entrance. Azmuth stands with his hands behind his back waiting for the transport. Eunice, in turn, continues observing the surroundings and catching the numerous glances fixed on them.
"So it's not my fault, all this commotion? I really don't want to be a nuisance."
"No, Unitrix," interrupted Azmuth, "it's both of our faults. Now come on, the elevator has arrived."
Inside the cylindrical space of the elevator, Eunice had to keep her neck bent, because the ceiling height was not designed for her height. There was no elevator music, as Azmuth hated this and forced the removal of ambient sound from all locations. It cut his concentration, according to him. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of the elevator motor exerting its traction.
"Mr. Azmuth," said Eunice.
He stared at the door in front of him and said:
"Yes."
"Thank you very much for allowing me to come."
The Galvanian answered nothing.
The single-note beep that indicated a "You have arrived!" alerted insiders and outsiders to the presence of the elevator on the floor. As soon as the door opened, Azmuth followed walking with his usual kyphosis toward his living room.
Eunice was not sure what she should do from there. Should she follow him? Should she stay there? Was there a place where she could rest from her trip? She decided to ask:
"Mr. Azmuth, what do I do now?"
The Galvanian raised only one hand in the air and answered:
"I don't know, something useful, I hope."
***
Day 03
Eunice was still getting lost in the corridors of the laboratory, but she had already made considerable progress on her knowledge of the place. With the help of some of the laboratory employees, she discovered a place that she could adopt as her room. Exploring a little further, he found the workshops, the library, the storerooms, and the pantry.
She saw Azmuth only on the day of her arrival, and even then, her last sentence reverberated in her mind. How could she be useful there?
She was in the most advanced research center in the galaxy. A place created and constantly developed to bring to the world the most amazing creations ever invented. Therefore, nothing could be more logical and useful than to create something extremely necessary to the universe. She made up her mind: She would become a scientist.
First step: learn to read.
Before the first step: try to remember where the library was. Was it on the fifth or on the forty-seventh floor?
***
Day 12
Multidimensional Fidgerian calculus is really not knowledge for me, thought Eunice. Her head rested on the tablet as a sign of giving up.
The library was occupied only by the young woman and the librarian.
Okay, she had managed to learn about Niwrad's multi-temporal evolutionary theorems, the entropic cadence scale of the universe and, earlier, pluripotential biochemical nanomechanics. But why does multi-dimensional computation have to be so complicated? Couldn't it be as easy as Catzian monomolecular physics?
"I've had enough, I can't take it anymore," Eunice whispered without taking her head off the tablet.
When will I have learned enough to start practicing science? She thought about going to Azmuth and asking for some line of research to develop, but was afraid she would be scolded if she didn't know how to answer something.
"No," Eunice raised her head in determination, "I can't give up!" She lowered her eyes to the first lines of the book and read again.
However, she felt as if she had acquired so much knowledge in the last few days that she was forced to unlearn to read, because it wasn't possible! I read, I read, and I don't understand anything!
"Now I'm serious, I give up!" And she rested her head on the table again in defeat.
He closed his eyes and meditated for a few moments. He thought about why he was doing all this. Not only why, but for whom? For herself? To prove herself to Azmuth? But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find an answer....
"So long, Mr. Azmuth!" said the librarian.
Eunice stood up in shock. Azmuth was here! Did he see me? She ran towards the corridor to look for the library exit. Hiding behind a bookcase she saw the tiny silhouette of the scientist disappear as the doors closed.
May he not have seen me, may he not have seen me!
Eunice walked to her place of study. As she got closer, she realized that on the table there were not only one, but two tablets. Could someone have forgotten them there?
She took the forgotten tablet in hand to put it back. But first, he decided to read a few lines of the written text to try to determine on which shelf he should put it.
He read one line, two lines, and continued until he finished the paragraph. The book was about multidimensional Fidgerian calculus, but compared to the previous one - based on suffering - it was as if this one had been written for a primary school child, so simple and well explained.
Eunice decided to forget about returning the book. She sat down again without taking her eyes off the tablet and continued to feed her knowledge. Not with a horrible liver and jingo stew, but with a delicious lasagna Bolognese with ice cream for dessert. Sorry about the metaphor, but I'm just hungry at the moment.
***
Day 19
Standing in front of the door to the main lab, Eunice took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down to face another day of "trying to get into some line of research".
In the last three days, unfortunately, she had accomplished nothing.
She spent much of the day standing around like a decorative object moving around the lab. The times she tried to communicate with the head scientist and ask for permission to be part of the research, she only received a "Shoo!" or silence in response.
But today was going to be different. She was determined and would not take no for an answer. She took one last deep breath and pressed the button to open the doors.
What followed was the personification of chaos.
Red lights flashed throughout the hall. A loud siren tried to warn those present that an explosion was imminent. Galvanians were running around trying to find a way to interrupt the experiment. Dr. Uhmnael's research with D particles ended up resulting in an absurdly unstable reaction inside reactor 7. It was a matter of time before five floors of the building disappeared in a powerful explosion.
Eunice ran into the laboratory, dodging the scientists who were moving like ants in a colony under attack. She approached reactor 7 cautiously. Steam and smoke escaped through the gaps and pipes, indicating the progressive increase in pressure that had been established there. Successive flashes signaled that the chain of reactions was feeding back and becoming increasingly unstable.
Dr. Uhmnael shouted to one of his assistants:
"Start the cooling process!"
Eunice looked at the scientist in disbelief at what she was hearing. She had studied about this kind of feedback reaction, and although it was not with D particles, she knew that lowering the temperature could greatly amplify the reaction force.
"Doctor Uhmnael, don't do this!" Eunice shouted, "This kind of reaction gets worse if you just lower the temperature!"
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" replied the scientist "Get out! Don't you realize how dangerous it is here?"
They won't listen to me, thought Eunice.
The teenager approached the assistant in charge of cooling the reaction and, as if taking a doll out of the way, moved the Galvanian aside and positioned herself in front of the operating table.
"What is she doing!" shouted Uhmnael "Don't touch that, you'll get us all killed!"
Eunice ignored the chatter around her. Concentrating on the reactor about to explode in front of her, she changed parameters and variables through the buttons on the panel.
We must initially raise the temperature until a process of deceleration of the cadence is observed, followed by the insertion of three wikers of Úons particles associated with the gradual removal of pressure...
Eunice felt something small grab one of her arms.
"Stop it right now, you idiot, you don't know what you're doing!" said the Galvanian holding her arm.
The alien's resistance to the young woman was practically nil, so she continued with her interrupting work.
Now I lower the temperature at a rate of one degree every two seconds and…
More Galvanians clung to her body. Maybe one would not do the work, but as the amount increased, Eunice began to have difficulty moving.
And I change the electrogravitational field to 3u776…
Eunice was beginning to give way with the weight of the aliens. With difficulty she pressed the last button she needed.
A yellowish light invaded the laboratory and suddenly disappeared. The reactor, which only a few moments ago was threatening to end the lives of everyone there, went silent. A layer of ice began to form on the surface of the machine, accompanied by the light fog that forms on cold days.
The sirens finally fell silent, just as the red lights finally decided to rest. The employees looked at each other trying to understand what had happened.
It was then that a junior scientist shouted out:
"We are going to live!"
The earlier frenzy turned into a celebration, with hugs and shouts of cheers. The Galvanians who had once tried to stop Eunice, now helped her up from the floor.
"It was bad, human, we apologize for what we did and I hope you can forgive us," said a Galvanian.
"Don't worry, we're alive and that's what matters," Eunice replied with a smile.
The party was interrupted when the laboratory doors opened and a familiar voice resounded throughout the place:
"Who was responsible for almost destroying my lab!?" asked Azmuth.
Dr. Uhmnael walked towards Azmuth with his head down, embarrassed by the whole situation. Then he said:
"Great Thinker Azmuth, it's my fault."
Azmuth said nothing, just stared at the scientist.
"I must have calculated something wrong, or failed to check some parameter before starting the experiment, and it turned out that the D particles entered a state of feedback reaction and so on-"
"And how did you interrupt the process?" Azmuth ran through explanation.
"Excuse me?"
"How did you stop the reaction? After all, we're not dead, so you did something!"
"Actually, sir, I don't know how the reaction was interrupted." The scientist turned towards Eunice and continued "It was the human who intervened and managed to interrupt the process."
Azmuth stared at Eunice.
The girl didn't quite know how to interpret her creator's gaze. She just remained paralyzed with an uncomfortable chill down her spine. Perhaps it was the reactor behind her that emanated an icy air, who knows.
"Unitrix, please come with me to my laboratory." said Azmuth.
***
Day 22
Don't worry Azmuth didn't hang up on Eunice or anything like that. Without giving any further explanation, he made the young girl his personal secretary. In this way the girl was obliged to accompany the Galvanian at all times. I thought I would say 24 hours a day, but the length of the days on Galvan Prime are different, so it wouldn't make a good sentence. You get the point.
Honestly, Eunice was not very happy.
She had spent days working hard to be able to cope with a survey, yet now she was forced to follow Azmuth like a domestic dog. Is that what it means to be useful to him?
The only thing more fun than this desk job was being able to watch Azmuth and his experiments. I had been working as a secretary for two days now and had managed to gather enough notes to fill a book. Of course he couldn't have known that: Azmuth was absurdly annoying about the possibility of information leaks.
But although she couldn't be a scientist during the day, it was at night, in the recesses of her room that she embodied the Great Thinker Eunice and spent hours developing her theories and prototype equipment. Whether she would one day be able to put them into practice she could not say, but just being able to plan was able to satisfy some of her thirst for science.
***
Day 47
Eunice approached Azmuth's room with a set of documents that demanded the scientist's attention. How she was going to get him off one of his researches and look at the documents, she wasn't sure. Azmuth hated bureaucracy.
Just a few steps away she heard shouts from inside the room. A discussion!? But with whom? Azmuth didn't shout, he just spoke firmly. His interlocutor, on the other hand, made a point of telling the whole floor that he was there. It was not possible to clearly define what was being said, so Eunice slowly approached the door and put her ear to the ground to listen.
"Don't you dare speak that name," the voice shouted, "You don't have the right!"
"And you have the right to come to my laboratory and make this kind of ridiculous scandal? Don't give me those ignoble arguments, my dear boy!" said Azmuth.
"Very well then. We're done here. You have three days to give me an answer, if not..."
Eunice heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door. Desperate, she turned away from the door and tried to pretend that she had just arrived. When the door opened, she found Councilor Fahtzi coming out of the room.
"Good morning, young lady!" said Fahtzi with a smile. "How are you?"
"I-I'm fine, sir."
"How wonderful!" Fahtzi turned to Azmuth and said, "And don't forget what we talked about, Great Thinker, I need an answer from you as soon as possible! Galvan Prime is counting on you!" And he went down the corridor, walking unconcerned.
Eunice followed the Councilor with her gaze until he disappeared into the elevator.
I wonder what happened here?
"Unitrix, come with me," said Azmuth as he passed by the girl's side and headed for the elevators.
The two remained silent the whole way. The destination: the communications sector.
As soon as they entered the room responsible for reporting to the entire research center, the sound technicians stepped away from their panels and greeted Azmuth respectfully.
"Open a channel to the whole building, I need to send a communication to everyone," said the scientist.
After a few seconds, the technician confirmed that the channel was established, Azmuth stepped up to the microphone and began to announce:
"Attention all employees of the Galvan Prime Research Center, this is Azmuth speaking. I hereby announce that as of today, all operations, research and experiments conducted by this center are suspended and all employees and researchers are dismissed until further notice. I thank you all for your support over the years and ask you to clear the building by the end of the day."
Azmuth stepped away from the microphone and walked back towards the elevators. Eunice, the technicians and all the employees of the research center remained stunned by the news. And now what?
"Unitrix," said Azmuth.
Eunice forced herself out of the catatonic state she was in, and quickened her pace to accompany the scientist.
And now? Was she also forced to leave the Research Center? She didn't want to ask that question.
The teenager followed Azmuth through the building, unable to pay attention to the path. Her thoughts were a whirlwind of doubt. She didn't notice that the Galvanian was taking a different route, trying to dodge any employee that came along. The next thing she knew, the two of them were in front of Eunice's room.
"May I enter your room?" asked Azmuth.
"Mr. Azmuth? But why?"
"We need to talk and I'm sure that my laboratory at this moment must be crowded with angry people."
Eunice remembered the countless notes and theories she kept hidden in her room. She thought about denying entry, but what did it matter now?
"Please come in," she said, opening the automated door.
Azmuth could not hide his surprise. Was there a mess? Yes, there was. But mostly there were clear examples of a creative and impressive mind thirsting to break free on every piece of paper and note stuck on those walls.
"What would you like to talk to me about?" Eunice sat up in bed.
"You are probably thinking 'What is going to happen to me now?' am I right?"
"I'm used to you doing that. But yes, you are right."
"Unitrix, I don't expect you to understand my reasons."
"Actually, sir, I want at least one reason."
"I know you do. But I can't tell you."
"Is it about your new project, the ultimatrix?"
"How do you know this?"
"Sir, I follow you all day long. Maybe you sometimes forget that I am by your side, but I am always there. One of these times I ended up seeing notes from you about this new prototype."
"And have you mentioned this to anyone?"
"Of course not! I would never do that! In fact, I am offended that you would even consider it of me!"
"I'm sorry, it's just that unfortunately this information leaked out and I honestly can't think of anyone responsible."
"And you thought it could be me? Is that why you came here?"
"What? No! Unitrix, please calm down!"
An awkward silence fell over the room.
"Actually..." said Azmuth.
"'Actually?'"
Azmuth climbs onto Eunice's bed and stands beside the girl.
"Actually I came to make you a proposal."
"And what would it be?"
"I don't know how things will be here on Galvan Prime from now on, and I would like you to return to Earth. I believe that the Tennyson boy and his family would welcome you with open arms.
"Sir, but what about you?"
"Don't worry about me."
"I'm not going to just leave the research center and run away."
"It's not a question of running away, Unitrix, it's a question of preventing further problems. I will talk to Magistrate Tennyson and in a matter of hours you will be on your way to Earth. You will be safe with the Tennyson boy, the Osmosian, and the human girl with that thing on her head."
"A thing on her head?"
"Yes, that thing that looks like a weave of orange threads over her head."
"Hair?"
"Is that hair? But the way she displays that hair doesn't make sense!"
"Are you saying the ponytail, sir?" Eunice takes her hands to her own hair and holds it up, simulating Gwen's hairstyle "That way, you mean-"
Azmuth jumps up and touches the back of Eunice's head, deactivating the construct that gives her human form and returning her to her original cylindrical receptacle form.
"I'm sorry, Eunice."
***
Day 198
Galvan Prime Central Prison
Eunice crouches down and hands the mechamorph cube into Azmuth's hands.
"Use the armor to get the Magistrate out of here, Mr. Azmuth," Eunice said, then stood up and looking at Azmuth from above continued, "I believe the inactive form is already enough to help you in this task."
"Don't be ridiculous, Unitrix, let's go. There's not the slightest possibility that you'll be able to face them alone."
"I know that."
Eunice turned back and faced the corridor with the prison guards coming towards her. The girl took two fingerless gloves from her pockets and put them on. She then took a small headset and installed it in her right ear.
Azmuth stared at the girl, then at the Magistrate, who was writhing in pain at his feet.
Eunice pressed once the button on the headset and said:
"Begin experiment. Acinonyx jubatus."
She then watched a hairy texture similar to cheetah fur grow on the palm of her gloves. She closed her hands and a small green light escaped through her fingers.
"Go now!" she said, before setting off at a high-speed four-legged race down the corridor.
The girl ran and jumped along the walls, hitting the guards in mid-air and dodging her tormentors' shots. Her speed and reaction time were amazing.
After clearing the corridor, she reached the cell hall again. From behind a corner, an armored vehicle appeared and drove toward him. On top of the vehicle was a photon cannon, capable of taking out a Vaxasaurian easily.
Eunice looked at the vehicle and compared it to the exit from the corridor behind her. In a matter of seconds she formulated a plan:
"Onthophagus taurus!" Again the green light slipped through her fingers.
The girl set off in the direction of the vehicle, dodging the shots that opened holes in the prison floor. When she got close to the bumper of the armored car, she grabbed it with all her strength, making the wheels of the vehicle skid on the ground.
Sweat dripped down Eunice's face, and then, in one last impulse, she lifted the vehicle and threw it over her head. The armored car crashed into the entrance to the corridor and, like a huge stone saddling a grave, blocked the main path between the guards and Azmuth.
Eunice was breathing heavily. Her gaze emanated fury and determination. The guards were piling up around her ready to fire.
"I'm sorry, Azmuth," she said.