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by Saless
Chapter 25
Jill groaned, "Sarah, I hope you're not getting your hopes up again."
Sarah shrugged. "Maybe, but I've got to try, right?"
"I suppose so." Jill sighed.
Mike seemed confused, but shook it off. "You want to try this now?" he asked. Sarah nodded. "Okay, lets go."
Sarah printed out the last chapter of the story and stapled it together. Finding the last mention of the Professor she opened a portal to his lab and stepped through, followed closely by Mike and Jill.
"Well…that's different." Mike said upon seeing the strange contraption on the other side of the portal.
"That's it." Sarah said excitedly. Jill put a steadying hand on her shoulder.
"We need to talk to this professor, right?" Jill reminded her.
"How did you get in here?" someone called out. They turned to see an elderly man with white hair.
"Are you Professor Burton?" Sarah asked hopefully.
"I am. Who are you?" he replied.
"I'm someone who needs your help. I used to be Sean, and I need to be again." Sarah explained.
The professor quirked an eyebrow quizzically. "I take it to mean you are claiming to have been male, and want to be again?"
Sarah nodded. "Yes, will you use that machine of yours on me?"
The professors eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What do you know of this machine?"
In answer, Sarah handed the professor the printout. "That's the last chapters of a story I found online. I used it to get here. I can open portals to other worlds using books."
"You really expect me to believe that?" the professor asked incredulously as he looked over the printout. He gasped in surprise after several minutes of reading. "Where did you get this?!" he demanded.
"I already told you. Read more if you don't believe me." Sarah replied. The professor did just that, his expression going from suspicious to incredulous and finally to awestruck.
"There's no way you could have all this information! Open one of these portals for me, please." He asked eagerly.
Sarah was a little surprised at the change in the professor, but obligingly opened a portal. She didn't even realize she was doing it without the story in hand, but Jill and Mike did. Their reaction was drowned out by the professors. "Amazing! I wonder if my machine could achieve a similar result…" he mused.
Sarah closed the portal. "Uh, professor, about changing me back…?"
He looked startled and then said, "Sorry, of course I'll try, this is amazing! You understand that you must concentrate on what you want to happen, right?" Sarah nodded. "Okay, into the machine then!"
Sarah climbed into the odd contraption as instructed. The professor made sure it was set up properly and switched it on. Arcs of electricity surged over the machine and Sarah passed out.
"Is she okay?" Jill asked worriedly.
"Nothing to worry about, I've done this before!" the professor said cheerfully. He turned off the power and checked on Sarah. Frowning, he said, "She's fine, but I'm afraid it didn't work."
Jill wasn't surprised, it wasn't exactly the first time things had gone this way. Mike helped the professor get Sarah out of the device and laid out. "Why wouldn't it work?" Mike asked.
"I believe it is the will of the individual that powers and directs the effects of the machine, it simply amplifies the power of the human brain. If she wasn't concentrating, or wasn't sure she wanted to change back, either of those things could have prevented the change." The professor explained.
Mike frowned, "Well I know she wants to change back, so I guess her concentration must have slipped. Can we give it another try when she wakes up?"
The professor frowned in thought. "We should make sure of what happened first, and I'm not entirely comfortable with putting her through that twice in such a short time. It could be dangerous."
There wasn't much more to say about that, so they waited for Sarah to regain consciousness. A few minutes later she did. "Did it work?" she asked hopefully. Before anyone could answer she realized her voice still sounded female and said, "It didn't, did it?"
Jill shook her head sadly, "No, it didn't. Did something distract you at the last moment?"
Sarah frowned in thought. "No, I was concentrating on being Sean again as hard as I could."
"Are you sure that's really what you want?" The professor asked kindly.
"Of course it is, that's why I'm here!" Sarah replied angrily.
"Maybe it's Venus' curse?" Mike offered.
"What's this about a curse?" the professor asked. Jill explained. "I suppose that could be a factor. That's outside of my experience, I'm afraid. Perhaps you'd better have a talk with Venus if her curse is preventing you from changing back."
"No way!" Sarah hastily exclaimed. "I'm not dealing with gods ever again!"
The professor shrugged, "I don't know what else to tell you, then. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help." They thanked him and he handed the printout back to Sarah. She opened the portal and they walked back through.
As soon as the portal was closed Jill said, "Sarah, do you realize that you opened the portal back without the story in your hands?"
Sarah frowned at Jill. "What are you talking about, it's right here!" she asked, holding it up.
"Not now, before when the professor asked you to demonstrate your portals. You had handed the story to him to read." Jill explained.
Sarah thought back through that sequence of events. "I…I guess you're right! I'll have to experiment on our next trip, but maybe I only need the book to open the portal there, and not back again! That would certainly make things easier. We might not even need to take the book with us!" she exclaimed excitedly.
"Lets save leaving the book behind until we're sure you can open the portal without it at will." Mike suggested.
"Okay, I guess that's a good idea." Sarah agreed, flopping onto the couch.
"You look tired, are you alright?" Jill asked, concerned.
"Well I did just get electrocuted, I think being a little tired is understandable." Sarah replied sarcastically.
"Do you want to go back home and take a nap?" she suggested.
"If you don't mind, I think I'll just curl up on the couch here." Sarah replied, fitting actions to words. Before Jill could even answer Sarah was fast asleep.
"I guess that answers that!" Jill said. She led Mike into the kitchen so they could talk without waking Sarah.
"I really think we need to convince Sarah to talk to Venus." Mike said firmly.
Jill choked on her laughter. "I don't think that's going to happen, Mike!"
"Why not? She's got to see it's the only option left!" he protested.
Jill smiled as she replied, "I don't think she wants to change back."
This time it was Mike choking on his laughter, to Jill's annoyance. "That's a good one, Jill! Sarah's been pushing constantly to get herself changed back, there's no way she's going to stay that way!" he exclaimed.
"I think she only wants to change back because of Erica. If Erica were out of the equation she would stay as she is happily, I think." Jill replied.
Mike shook his head in wonder. "I don't know where you got that idea! Trust me, Sarah's never been the least bit feminine. There's no way she's going to accept being female for the rest of her life!" He said this with such conviction that Jill began to doubt her own conclusions. She decided to let it go for now.
"How would you suggest we get her to agree to talk to Venus, then?" she asked.
Mike shrugged. "No idea. Lets find another book, though, just in case." He replied. Jill had almost forgotten that their book had been destroyed when Sarah was cursed.
"Good idea." Jill agreed with a nod. She still had her doubts about Sarah but she'd go along with her and Mike for now.
"Why don't we make up some sandwiches so Sarah can eat when she wakes up." Mike suggested, pointing out the time. Jill looked skeptically at Mike. "What, you know I can make sandwiches! I'd have starved in college if I couldn't!" he protested.
"I know, I'm just teasing!" she replied with a smirk. They got out all the ingredient they'd need and started preparing lunch. By the time they'd finished making the sandwiches and eaten their own Sarah was stirring.
"Hey guys." She said sleepily as she stumbled into the kitchen. She plopped onto the nearest chair and reached out for a sandwich. "Thanks." She mumbled around her first mouthful.
"Your welcome, but don't talk with your mouthful!" Jill complained. Sarah made sure to swallow before sticking her tongue out at her friend.
To Be Continued…
Professor Burton, and his device, are used with permission from the talented Tanya Allan's story Weird Wednesday
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Comments
YES YES YES I was right!
So it was from one of her stories.
That was a curious statement on the doctor's part, given that his machine achieves transformations by amplifying the power of the brain, a possible reason for Sarah not changing back into Sean is she/he wants to stay a woman. Is it her/his subconscious or something else? That wizard earlier hinted at something, that he knew what was preventing him being changed back. Is the curse in part that you want to stay female so strongly subconsciously your conscious self can't overpower it, sort of the "monsters from the ID " in Forbidden Planet?
She must go back to Venus, only she can undo the curse, if, in the end it really was a curse. As a near omniscient goddess in those few moments she must have read their hearts, their souls and having not had much worshipers in ages, on a whim granted Sean a boon, a boon he would not admit to. That deep down inside she was a woman in her soul. Oh she was a man in all other things, a tomboy as it were but secretly she was a woman. maybe that's what his/her girlfriend saw in him? Under this theory, Venus acted angry and said that she was cursing Sean so that Sean could not reflexively say no to the gift of womanhood. I have my suspicions if Sarah went back alone to Olympus Venus would be honest, its only since Jill and Mike were along she gave Sean/Sarah the *out* of it being all a *curse*? If it really was a curse it would have been something like Narcissus and Sean falling in love with his own reflection or his being turned into a beautiful statue.
Or am I up a creek without a paddle just above a high waterfall?
John in Wauwatosa
John in Wauwatosa
That was my theory, too.
Our omniscient author said that I was giving Venus a lot of credit. [snicker]
Since his Pass On What You Have Learned characters noted a bond, I would have to guess that finding that Sean has jumped the fence won't change her love for him -- though it may change her lust.
I think that becoming a shape shifter would make Sarah ecstatic. She could be male when necessary, and female when she wants.
Are there any high waterfalls in Wisconsin?
Ray
Big Manitou Falls...
...is the tallest in the state, at 165 feet. Look here for more information. Completely not what you wanted, but you >did< ask. :-P
-Liz
-Liz
Successor to the LToC
Formerly known as "momonoimoto"
Hmm, what can I answer
Hmm, what can I answer without it being a spoiler? Uh, you might have a paddle? ;)
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Up the Crick
If you're up the crick, it isn't a big problem because the current will bring you back. It's being down the crick that's a big problem.
Anyhow... What can you answer?
You can answer that we are both certified geniuses, and that we made incredible insights with scant data.
(Or maybe 'certifiable' is a better description.)
Ray in Cadillac
I wouldn't think
Science could correct a Magical problem/curse. Regardless of what Sean/Sarah really wants to be. As I recall, Venus was aiming at Mike and Sean jumped in front of the blast and saved him. If it had been a friendly blast/or boon then his possessions wouldn't have been destroyed..
My 2 cents
Frank
I was wondering if anyone
I was wondering if anyone would notice that, about Sean's clothes (and their contents) being destroyed. Does that mean something though...? (Insert maniacal laughter here) ;)
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
The Feather
From the beginning of the story could be from Pegasus.
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
'Fraid not, just a winged
'Fraid not, just a winged guy with the hots for Sean! ;)
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
What If
Ok, sorry this is likely to become a bit long winded, but bear with me.
First off, been enjoying this VERY much. Thank you Saless for the great story so far.
Alright, what if most all are making a fundamental mistake about the nature of the story universe? Assuming the current popular readers interpretation model of the stories' mutliverse is correct and each of these stories represent an actual universe that the author of the book somehow tapped into, then the easiest fix would be to realize that they are a part of a story as well and pull a Dark Tower Series and visit Saless to convince her to put things right?
OTOH, what if these universes they visit aren't real at all? What if they're a sort of pocket dimension off of consensual reality that is created by Sean/Sarah and possibly influenced in its nature by her and whomever travels with her? Sarah is desperate to get back to being Sean, but desperation breeds both hope and pessimism in many. Mike and Jill seem to think that only another god/goddess can put things right. So unless there's a quantum shift both or either in subconscious or conscious belief about this working out that Sarah can be turned back it isn't going to happen. The other factor in the belief, while Sarah seems adamant about getting back to being Sean, and being straight, there is the "boy/girl doth protest too much" factor. Sean / Sarah may have repressed any homosexual / tg feelings and sublimated them to their subconscious, in which case they're not likely to ever get any traction on putting things back the way they were. After all if you lie to yourself long enough and hard enough, you eventually begin to believe it.
Anyway, there's my $.02 on the mechanics of this. Can't wait to see how it plays out.
The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once - Albert Einstein
I love to hear all the ideas
I love to hear all the ideas about what's really going on here. You have some interesting ones, but of course I'm not going to tell you if you're right or not! ;) I'm glad you're enjoying it, thanks!
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America