Chapter 22: Chapter 17: Deep Space
We passed the International Space Station and all the planets with PPMC's first jump to light speed. Coming out of it, she had to recharge until the next day.
Deep space was beautiful beyond compare. There were so many stars, galaxies, nebulas, etc. It felt like a dream, but I knew it wasn't. Some stars were brighter than others, and some had different colors. Not only that, but the beauty went on and on.
PPMC's transition from hyperspace to flying was just like her ascent... gentle. The straps holding me down unbuckled and freed me. I finally had the use of my arms and legs again.
I pulled my helmet off my head and peered out her windshield to deep space. "Wow."
"Isn't it amazing?" PPMC asked, helping me with the rest of my astronaut suit. She stuck it in another compartment that was parallel to the compartment where she put my gauntlet.
She returned it to me, and I took it. "Thank you," I said.
"No problem."
I took a moment to admire the space scenery. Now that PPMC was a starship, it was much easier to move around her cockpit. I looked out to the everlasting stars, galaxies, and nebulas and kept my eye out for Darth Vader's Star Destroyer. I was so lost in the beauty that I did not hear PPMC talking to me until later.
"Daniel, would you like to see your room?"
"Oh, sure." I glanced at her hand, which hovered in front of my face. We left the cockpit and stumbled upon a long hallway behind it.
On my left, a black hole-proof window stretched down the length of it, and to my right were doors. The hallway was wide and a perfect place to practice some hoverscooting. The ceiling, walls, and floor were smooth like marble. They reminded me of the Gravity Room.
PPMC walked me down to my room. It was about halfway between her cockpit and stern. While doing so, I read the labels on the doors: kitchen, emergency room, dining room, library, lounge, and oh! I should also mention that PPMC had a pool. Oh man, I was living large! I would have to take some time to check out everything.
My room was small but comfortable. It was next to the library. My walls were gray, and my bed was glued to the floor. Its sheets and pillows were also gray. It was right next to a window, similar to my bed back home. There was also a closet, dresser, and mirror. A second door led to the bathroom, and a plasma screen TV came down from the ceiling above my bed. My hoverscooter, suitcase, and a red and white backpack rested on top of it.
"My hoverscooter!" I said. I rushed to my bed and checked it. It had been completely unharmed during blast off. That was because PPMC put all the luggage in a special compartment that cushioned it from black holes, wormholes, and supernovas. The backpack was new, but it had the book Dada gave me about 5022 inside it, as well as the pen and a notebook. I found a note tucked in between the notebook's sheets.
Dear Dan,
This is a gift from all of us at the space center. Your dad told us that red is your favorite color. He also said that you're very creative. We thought it would be easier for you to take notes with a notebook rather than using that big head of yours. The backpack was last minute, but PPMC made sure you got it. Good luck on your journey, and call us if you have any problems.
Sincerely,
Your friends at the space center
P.S. Why don't you chill in the pool your first day in space? The water's warm, and you have a beautiful view.
So that's what I did. I changed into a pair of shorts and grabbed my hoverscooter.
PPMC took me down the pool. It was at her stern. The pool was long, rectangular in shape, and about eight feet deep at its deep end. Just like the note said, there was a large window in the room that had a magnificent view of outer space. Next to the window was a hot tub. There were also some pool chairs scattered about the room, as well as a diving board at the deep end.
Cracking my shoulders and knuckles, I hopped onto the dive board and glanced at PPMC's hand. "Watch this, PPMC! Cannonball!" I cannonballed into the deep end, creating a huge splash. My toes touched the bottom. I quickly swam to surface. The water felt like bath water. The space center wasn't kidding when they said it was warm. I smiled at PPMC and asked, "PPMC, are you going to come in?" What a stupid question. PPMC was a robot, and robots couldn't get wet.
She shook her hand like a head and said, "No thank you, Dan. I'm comfortable here. But I'd be glad to get you some lunch. What would you like? I have spaghetti, sandwiches, fruit, tacos–"
"Tacos!" I interrupted. "Do you have hard and soft?"
"I have it all, Danny."
"Then yes! Today's taco day!" I lifted my hands out of the pool but ended up slipping back underwater.
PPMC went to go grab my food.
While I waited for her to return, I played in the pool. I dove underwater and swam to the bottom, using my feet to kick back up to surface. I felt like a merman swimming into an unknown sea. Afterwards, I decided to give the hot tub a try. Oh man, I never wanted to come out! Just sitting there and peering out to space was a dream come true. The space center really hit me up. I ended up eating my tacos in the hot tub. I stayed in there so long that my fingers started to wrinkle.
Eventually wanting to do something else, I changed back into my adventure uniform and next went hoverscooting up and down PPMC's main hallway. I used Hoverscooter 22's board and scooter, switching between both forms. I would ride the scooter down to one end of the hallway, and then quickly change it into a hoverboard and fly back the other way.
I was doing just that when PPMC interrupted my playtime. "Hey! No hoverscooting in my hallway!"
She startled me so much that I ended up crashing through one of the doors–the door to the emergency room.
It was a small, hospital-like room that had a bed and a first-aid kit hanging from the wall, as well as the emergency telephone. I fell on top of the bed, and it fell forward. It smashed into the wall. The first-aid kit shook.
Hoverscooter 22 leaped into the sky, right when PPMC entered the room. "Daniel! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." I pushed the bed off me and glanced at her hands.
"What are you doing, kid? You could've been seriously injured!" she snapped.
"But I'm bored!"
"Bored? You're bored? Well, I know something that will keep you entertained." PPMC's hands left the room, but they soon returned with a mop and bucket. She threw them into my arms, which knocked me back onto the ground. "Why don't you get off your butt and clean me?"
"Clean you? Forget it!" I rose to my feet and glared at PPMC.
"If we're going to survive that black hole, then you need to make me spotless!" she snapped.
"But, PPMC!"
"No buts! I'm going to keep you busy, Dan!"
And busy she did. I scrubbed down every inch of PPMC, but she was never satisfied. She always said, "You missed a spot!" or "Don't forget the pipes!" She even made me dust off her hands. It took us a few days to reach the black hole. Every morning, PPMC would get me up, and we would do another light speed jump. It was never fun because she had to strap me down all over again, but she said it was "absolutely necessary". Sleeping in was forbidden under her roof, unfortunately.
Even after light speed, she would give me a list of chores to do during the day. They included sorting the library, dusting off her pipes, cleaning her "precious" mechanical body, and washing the dishes. Heck, I missed the first day when I swam in the pool. I never had to wash dishes back home. Geico did that.
PPMC actually turned out to be quite stubborn, but I guess I wasn't that much different. At one point, I attempted to put my chores aside and go hoverscooting, but she caught me almost immediately. It was no fair that she had hands that could reach through as many as three doors and hallways at the same time. Maybe the space center built her to be a little too OP?
She never played with me, but instead gave me the same excuse that Dada said. "I'm busy."
You're watching 5001: A Space Odyssey, PPMC! You are not busy!
What a jerk.
The days progressed, and my nervousness started to spike again, because I knew we were getting closer to the black hole. Well, my nickname for it was "My Deathbed". I hoped and prayed that time would stop, so we wouldn't have to deal with it, but that far from worked. Before I knew it, it was the day before the big event.
I finished up my morning chores, and PPMC rewarded me with a tuna sandwich. She took some time to explain the plan to me.
I sat in her lounge room, with my sandwich in my grasp, and her hands floated in front of me. There were beanbags, a TV, games, and another brilliant view of outer space. I ate my sandwich quickly, but it wasn't because I was hungry. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I was stressed. I tried to bury myself in a beanbag, but to no avail.
PPMC's explanation was short and sweet, but it was enough to give me chicken skin. "Okay, Dan, tomorrow is the big day. Here's the plan. I'm going to wake you up early to get you strapped in the cockpit. Afterwards, I'll have to change my shape again. Of course, you should remember this from your test, but I'll technically have to turn into a spaghetti strand. We will make one final jump to light speed, which will take us straight to the black hole. We'll have no choice. It'll go ahead and eat us. If we work together, like we did during the simulation, then this should be a walk in the park. We'll be in and out of the wormhole in a flash. Do you have any questions, Dan?"
I ended up stuffing my whole sandwich in my mouth, so I couldn't speak. I must have looked ridiculous because PPMC crossed her arms and said, "Oi, I couldn't agree with you more."
I banged on my chest as I tried to get the rest of the sandwich down my throat. This was the first thing I said after I managed to do it: "Whoopee, I'm going to die in less than twenty-four hours."
"That is so true," PPMC stated.
"Say what?"
She laughed. "Oh, lighten up, Dan. Don't take it so personally. I'm not going to throw you out of the windshield while we're going through the wormhole. Although, that wouldn't be such a bad idea."
"Are you saying you want me to die?" I shrieked.
"I'm just pulling your leg, kid. I like to do that."
"I hate you, PPMC."
"I know."
I had a hard time falling asleep that night, so I just pulled my knees up close and stared out my window to outer space. There was nothing but stars: no nebulas, planets, or galaxies. PPMC and I were far from Earth and stuck in deep space.
I clutched Ms. Tyesha's handkerchief close to my chest and went through the book Dada gave me. Each page had a holographic image that came to life with a video. I watched one on hoverscooting, as well as one on the sights and smells of Greenville. I thought about Molly, the space center, Dada, Claude, Geico, and Mother. I was sure that right now, Professor Julian was scheduling my funeral.
PPMC would return my spaghettified body, and then I would get a new nickname. No longer would I be the "Star of the PPMC Project" but "Spaghetti Dan! Come Get a Helping"!
"This bites," I mumbled under my breath.
Now how I fell asleep, I may never know, but PPMC woke me up bright and early. Although, space was always dark.
PPMC impersonated a mom. "Come on, Danny boy, or else you'll miss the bus."
"I don't mind," I said. I pulled my covers over my head and fell back on my pillow.
She literally dragged me out of bed. She dropped me on the floor and went to go get my adventure uniform. "Now, Charlie, we don't have time for this. What, is there a math test you forgot to study for?"
Ha! You're hilarious, PPMC!
She tossed my uniform on top of me and gathered up my book, backpack, and hoverscooter so she could put them in her special, black hole-proof compartment.
I merely groaned. I did not want to get up from the floor.
One of PPMC's hands dropped down next to my ear, and she whispered, "How about this, Dan? Once we get through the wormhole, I'll make you some waffles?"
That got me to my feet. "Waffles!" Waffles were literally my favorite breakfast food as a child.
I quickly changed into my uniform and took a moment to stare at my handsome face in the mirror. Oh, I was going to miss it. Did girls go for guys who had spaghetti-shaped cheeks? I patted them with both hands and pulled on them like a baby, but then I coughed again. I accidentally ended up sneezing in Ms. Tyesha's hankie. Oops. I hope she didn't mind a little snot on it. I hated having a cold. That was literally the worst time to get one. However, it was destiny for me to get sick. How do I know this? Well, this wouldn't be Through the Wormhole if I didn't.
There was a reason why I couldn't eat before going through the wormhole. PPMC didn't want me to toss my cookies. There was going to be a lot of twirling and jerking, and that wouldn't be fun on a full stomach.
Terrified, I ducked under my bed, hoping and praying that PPMC wouldn't find me, but she was too smart for that. She pressed a button, and my bed lifted off me, folding in two. My dresser and mirror mimicked it. The space center also included special compartments for furniture as well. They installed them in the walls of the ship.
I came to the conclusion there was no way I could hide. PPMC would always find me.
Her hand peered down on me, and she said, "Don't be such a baby, Dan. Come on!"
Oh, help me.
The second I stepped into PPMC's hallway, she jerked. I fell into the window. "What was that?" I asked.
"Gravity. The black hole is already starting to pull us towards it," she replied. "We need to hurry to the cockpit so I can transform."
Another jerk threw me into her arms.
PPMC helped me. She lugged me to her cockpit and made haste to dress me in my astronaut uniform. Then, she strapped me in my seat.
I recalled the simulation. Remember, Dan, it's just like Portals and Aliens.
PPMC did a quick system check. She said everything was accounted for, but then her time machine started to beep.
I gasped and yelled, "PPMC, the time machine!"
She tried to comfort me. "It's all right, Dan. It's just getting ready to turn on. It knows we're nearing the black hole."
"This is ridiculous! What are we even doing here?" I asked. Peering out to space, I tried to spot the black hole, but I saw nothing. Just stars.
"Dan, this is no different from the simulation," PPMC explained.
"Of course, it's different! It's the real thing!"
"Just stay calm. The black hole thinks we're a star."
"Oh, that's reassuring!"
"Just think about the reward you're going to have after this–nice, syrupy waffles."
That did sound nice, but PPMC and I were going to be the waffles, instead. I just knew it. "We're going to die!" I shouted.
"You whine too much. Watch this and prepare to be amazed!" PPMC's hand pushed by me. Her mechanical fingers brushed up against my uniform. She pressed the button for her second transformation.
Nothing.
Another jerk tossed me forward in my seat, and I glared at her. "What happened? I thought you were going to transform!"
"Something's wrong."
"Oh, of course! Of course, something goes wrong when we get close to the black hole!"
"Dan, this is bad. This is so bad."
Kids, never put your trust in a starship. It does not end well.
PPMC moved her hands up and down her time machine as she tried to find the source of the problem.
I thought back to Portals and Aliens. In it, you had to unlock the gun in order to use it. There was a certain button that did just that. I noticed that just above the transformation button was a small switch about a gun-length away from it. I smiled and pointed at it. "There. It's just like Portals and Aliens," I said.
PPMC turned her hands to the switch, and she laughed. "Ah, there we go! It was just locked. Hold onto your space pants, Dan!" She pulled up the latch and tried pressing the button again. She transformed that time.
Her walls caved in, just like the simulation, until they were only a few feet away from my arms and chair. Like my bed, mirror, and dresser, the co-pilot seat folded in two and disappeared below PPMC's floor. Now it was just me, her hands, and the time machine. We were a spaghetti-shaped starship floating in deep space, and it was time for us to travel through the wormhole.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone