Well, that was a rough morning. My back still hurts from Zot’s dance “lesson” yesterday. So does my hip. And my neck. And both elbows. Even my nostrils are sore. Man, I just don’t understand girls.
Everybody but Grimnee is here, so I ask about their ideas for getting rid of the Zorb.
“Your dad’s lab is on the bottom level of the space station, right? Well, all we have to do is go outside, cut a hole in the floor, lower the containment vault out of the lab, take it over to a black hole, and dump it in. Problem solved. Any questions?”
“Um… a couple. How do we cut the hole? How do we transport the Zorb? How do we find the nearest black hole? And how do we know that throwing the Zorb into that black hole won’t destroy the galaxy?”
“Hey, that’s for somebody else to figure out. I’m strictly an idea man.”
“Yeah, a bad idea man.”
“I suppose you can do better?”
“Sure. In my plan we build a time machine, and I get in it, travel back to five minutes before right now, and stuff a sock in your mouth so we don’t have to listen to that ridiculous plan.”
“Hey, c’mon, you guys. Cool it. I know we’re all a little tense right now, but let’s just listen to what everybody has to say. You never know when an idea might lead to a real solution. How about you, Zot? What have you got?”
“Nothing.”
“Really? It’s all hands on deck here, Zot. We need everybody’s help.”
Nope. Definitely don’t understand girls. This isn’t going as well as I hoped.
“How about you, Brian? Are you getting anywhere on the design of that Zorb energy-neutralization beam thingy?”
“It’s no use, guys. I’ve tried everything I can think of to stay calm enough to work on it, but it’s no use. All I end up with is a belly full of pickles.”
Well, that about does it. Grimnee’s not here, and Mippitt isn’t programmed for strategic thinking, so that leaves old Spotcho as our last hope for a good idea.
“Oh, I have a great idea. Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with the Zorb. I figured we had enough manpower dedicated to the Zorb issue last night, so I focused on coming up with an idea for your one big thing, Kelvin. Your reputation changer. And I’ve got it. C’mon, follow me.”
Sure. Why not? Since it looks like I’ll be mining grismak crystals the rest of my life, I may as well do it with a good reputation.