Brian Saves the World, Maybe

Chapter 38 - What Comes Next

That evening, the Vice President addressed the nation, asking everyone to pray for the President's recovery, and calling for unity of the nation. Investigations were underway, and he vowed that all parties involved would be swiftly brought to justice.

The news sources all said basically the same thing, which was not much.

The President had been shot during a visit to a power plant. He had been rushed to the hospital and was believed to be in critical condition. At least one suspect was in custody, but there were no details as to the attacker's identity.

* * *

The next day, Brian sat at his desk at work, staring at the upgrade gun. He couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. The Borae had to be behind it. Was this the first action they had committed with the enhanced chips? What would be next?

Before this, the notion of an alien takeover, though ominous and threatening, had also been more nebulous. This had changed things. It had become even more real, somehow. Now it was hitting closer to home, and the path to a nuclear war seemed clearer and shorter.

It didn't seem possible that he could do anything to prevent that now. He was too small and insignificant. Having TV in his head had raised the alarm, but only to himself.

Was he supposed to simply sit back and wait for his aunt to do something; to hope that whatever plans she had made would be successful?

I have learned something about humans, Brian. They don't just give up.

Some do.

That is correct.

Brian waited for a moment. No "but"?

I do not understand.

Brian chuckled, in spite of the circumstances. You're a lousy motivator, you know that? He glanced back at the upgrade gun, frowning. He had to try something—anything—even if it seemed next to hopeless.

If he could spend some more time in the Gateway, maybe he could finally get some answers.

Brian nodded to himself, then grabbed the upgrade gun, pointed at his head, and pulled the trigger.

He saw the words, "Upgrade in progress. Do not turn off or unplug your chip during this time."

Brian frowned. How would I even do that?

After a few seconds, the words, "Upgrade complete" were displayed.

Brian waited for something else to happen, but apparently, that was it.

He shrugged. TV, did you get that? Is everything okay?

I believe so. It appears I am able to communicate with the new chip through your original, and your chip remains unactivated.

Brian let out a deep breath. That seemed too easy. Can you try loading the Gateway program, TV?

Trying now.

The next thing Brian knew, he was standing once again in the Gateway corridor.

That is interesting.

Brian flinched. TV? You're still there?

Yes. It appears the upgrade allows us to stay connected within the Gateway.

Well, I don't mind the company, Brian thought.

"Greetings!"

Brian jumped, then turned to see that Zed had appeared behind him. This time, he wore stone-washed jeans and a leather vest. "Any chance you could, like, play a soft chime sound or something before you start shouting in my ear?"

Zed seemed to ignore the question. "Possible destinations include, The Elevator, Harvest Simulation."

"What happened to the Observatory?"

"The Observatory is closed for renovations."

"Right, that makes sense," Brian said, rolling his eyes.

"Possible destinations include, The Elevator, Harvest Simulation."

Let's check out the elevator, I guess, he thought. He issued the command.

A door opened, and he stepped into a small room with silver walls. It appeared to be a normal elevator, with columns of buttons displaying floor numbers.
It looked familiar actually, as if he had been in this elevator before. There were floors listed from 21 down to -21.  Of course—It's just like The bunker elevator!

* * *

47 browser tabs! Ralph thought, shaking his head. He had just come from Jack Martin's office. What kind of idiot opens 47 browser tabs, and then wonders why his computer is slow? Got to tell Boss about this.

Ralph pulled one earbud out, letting it dangle, and knocked on Brian's office door. No answer.

He shrugged and turned to go. As he did so, his foot met something soft, and he heard a pitiful, yowling sound. Ralph stumbled back against Brian's door and was met by Bentley's baleful eyes.

"Bentley!" Ralph gasped. "You scared the—" Bentley's echoing barks drowned out the remainder of Ralph's declaration.

"Sorry, boy. Lemme see if I have a jelly for you." He had grabbed a handful of jelly beans for Bentley before visiting Jack's office but had been eating them along the way.
He dug around in his pocket, found something, and pulled it out, grinning. His expression shifted to a scowl. It was that almond he had pulled out of a candy bar from earlier. He dropped it in disgust. Bentley lumbered over and licked it up with his fat tongue. He seemed to roll it around in his mouth for a moment, before letting it fall back to the floor, plastered in slobber. He hit Ralph with an unimpressed stare.

"I know, right?" Ralph said, nodding. "Hang tight. Boss has some jellies in his desk. Gimme a sec," he said, digging in his other pocket.

Brian had given Ralph a key to his office in case he needed something while Brian was out.

Ralph unlocked, then opened the door. He took a single step into the room, then yelped, and leapt back, once again landing on Bentley's paw, resulting in a separate, more impassioned yelp from Bentley. Worse yet, Ralph had twisted his ankle, and he crumpled to the floor, clutching it.

Ralph hadn't expected to find Brian sitting at his desk, frozen in place, with his mouth gaping open. He collected his wits, stood up clumsily, and scampered into the office, quickly beckoning the dog to follow.

Ralph locked the door, then fell into a chair. He looked at Brian.
"In that trance, again," he mumbled to himself. "But, how? Did he..." Ralph noticed the upgrade gun on the desk. "Must have!"

Since he didn't feel like limping around on his ankle yet, Ralph decided to wait for Brian to wake up. He fed Bentley some jelly beans, grabbed the gun, and began aiming at things around the office, taking mock shots.