PPMC made a mad dash to prep everything for blast off. Chenoa's speech was her cue that they were down to T-Minus one hour. She grabbed Dan's astronaut suit from his bedroom, buttoned it down, and returned to her cockpit. She draped the suit over the co-pilot seat and checked her time machine. Once PPMC was sure it was ready, she shut it off and tested her horn. Honk! Its purpose was to scare off any prehistoric animal who came too close.
The next thing PPMC tested were her headlights. She needed them to find her way through the wormhole.
Finally, PPMC ensured the light speed button worked. Even with it, the trip to the black hole would take a few days, but PPMC fretted not. She planned to beef Dan up during those few days and get his lazy bum ready for some research. She already had his two best friends ready: Senior Mop and Junior Bucket.
If PPMC had a throat, she would clear it, but since she didn't, she rubbed her hands together instead. This was the moment 200 years in the space center's prison had led to. PPMC remembered her early days when Chenoa's ancestor built a miniature, AI-powered model spaceship as his first draft, but an unfortunate kink in her programming crippled him for life. That wasn't going to happen to Dan. The space center learned from their mistake, but PPMC wondered if lingering guilt from the accident was considered an emotion.
She brushed the memory away and escorted her hands to her cockpit's hatch. "Let's do this thing!" she announced, dropping it like the New York Ball.
The first thing she saw were Dan, Ben, and Chenoa with their hands over their ears.
"I think your horn's good, PPMC," Chenoa admitted, dropping her arms.
She faltered. "Oh, whoops." She forgot about the human's sense of hearing. PPMC struggled to find her words. "Come in, come. Dan, it's time to give you a makeover."
"Just don't turn me into a cyborg," he growled, moody as ever. Sweat trickled down his temples, and he coughed into his arm.
Chenoa asked the question. "Dan, are you feeling all right?" She moved her palm toward his forehead, but Dan smacked it away.
"I'm fine. Let's just get this stupid launch over with."
"Geez, calm down." It was strange to see Chenoa irritated. Or was annoyed the better word? "I merely don't want to send you up if you're getting sick, Dan," she added.
"I'm not! I've always wanted to travel through a black hole. It's been on my list of Things I Want to Do Before I Die for a while. Or was it my list of Death Plans? Ugh." Dan slapped his hand to his face.
He, indeed, was the Master of Sarcasm, wasn't he? His attitude screamed he couldn't wait to travel time, but he kept trying to hide his excitement. Only a true lover of geologic time did that.
PPMC and Chenoa helped Dan put on his astronaut suit. Ben, meanwhile, kept his distance and gripped the wall. Did PPMC see worry on his face, or was she imagining things? She assumed that's what fear looked like.
"Chenoa?" Ben said, pushing off, "before you put his helmet on, may I have a moment with him, please?"
"Of course, Ben." Chenoa handed PPMC Dan's white and gold helmet and left the cockpit.
"Let me guess," Dan stated, turning to Ben. "This is the moment the parent gives a huge speech about kicking the kid out of the nest?"
"... Maybe?" Ben stuttered. "Is it a crime for a parent to say goodbye to their kid before they leave for college?"
"That's next year, Dad."
"Hands-on research up the geologic time scale is close enough." Ben grasped Dan's shoulders. "Let me look at you for a moment, Daniel."
"You know I don't like people staring at me, Dad."
"Well, too bad because I need to." Ben tilted up Dan's chin. "Dan, I know we have our kinks, but I want you to know that no matter how annoying you are, I will never get rid of you. You're all I have left of your mother. Please"—he hugged him—"stay safe. I left a gift for you in your room. It may not be as good as the car, but I hope you'll use it to understand that you belong here—in 3023. Not in the Precambrian Time, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and early Cenozoic Eras."
"Are we done, Dad? I don't have time for this." Dan released himself. "We're in and out. Molly's waiting."
Ben crossed his arms. "You know there's more to life than one-night stands, right, Dan?"
"Not when you're the only senior virgin and have a negligent father."
Ben arched his eyebrows. "When will you understand, kid, that you're not seeking intimate love but the love you lost after your mother passed?"
"You're one to talk." Dan moved away from him. "You don't know what love is, Dad."
"Uh, I think I do," Ben huffed. "It takes two to make a kid, Dan."
Wow, those two had a rocky relationship, didn't they? They could argue for hours, especially when Dan turned on his I Know Everything phase. PPMC didn't know if she was ready for teen drama.
Dan waved Ben away. "Move along, Dad. You're cluttering up my workspace."
"What the—? You stole my line!" he nearly yelled.
"Well, it's mine now. Goodbye." With those words, Dan snatched his helmet from PPMC and sat in the pilot seat. He slipped it over his head and folded his arms.
Dang, what a prick. This was going to be harder than PPMC thought.
***
Dan wanted nothing to do with Ben. Pfft, and he said he knew what love was. His negligence toward Dan obviously said that.
Besides, Dan knew Ben wanted a girl—not a boy. Becca told him that the day she died, but Dan had kept it a secret from Ben. And while it was true he was part of the small group of humans who were naturally conceived (most were created and genetically modified in labs nowadays), Ben still wanted a girl. Dan was surprised he never made one himself. Becca couldn't have any more kids after Dan because of her illness. He cringed thinking about that.
"Dan," Ben said behind him. A long pause followed. "I love you."
OMG! Dan wanted to burst out laughing. His dad was going to pull that game on him? Seriously, what an ass.
He did not return Ben's make-believe comment. He remained in the chair and thought about geologic time and his hook up until Chenoa returned.
She stood next to him and scrolled through her tablet. "All right, Dan, we're down to T-minus thirty minutes. You don't have to do anything. PPMC's astronaut and pilot here. Once y'all get into space, we can no longer communicate with you. The journey to the black hole will take a few days with light speed jumps."
"Are y'all putting me in cryosleep?" Dan inquired. He saw it in sci-fi movies all the time.
Chenoa giggled. "No, we're not. PPMC will prepare you for the journey those few days to the black hole."
Boot camp? Dan was too lazy for that. He and PPMC were supposed to be in and out.
Wait, something crossed his mind. If Chenoa wouldn't put him in cryosleep, did that mean he would be awake through the wormhole?
Oh, hell no.
Dan almost got out of the seat, but Chenoa strapped him in.
"You'll be fine, Dan. PPMC will keep you safe."
"But… But…" Dan inhaled. "In forms both big and small."
Chenoa left him and went to PPMC's hands. "You ready, Dan? PPMC?"
"No."
"Yes."
Dan and PPMC seemed to glare at one another.
"Perfect!" Chenoa clapped and hopped up and down. "Then let's get this show on the road!"