" Leonard Speaking"
' Pill Leonard Thinking'
Warehouse, Washington DC
Leonard pushed a cart, loaded with food, inside the warehouse. It has been two days since the simulations and troubleshooting began. Now, he has increased his chances to 97%, but there are still risks. A lot of energy will be required for his transformation, and his body will need this sustenance. Placing his cart by the door, Leonard looked around his warehouse. It has almost been four months into his sabbatical, and the effect of the Pill was visible around the warehouse. His venture in gambling, his profits in the stock market and all the knowledge he had learned over the past four months were deeply reflected in the objects around the warehouse. His computer setup was upgraded with his knowledge of quantum physics, chemistry and computer systems. His phone was self made, with a graphene chip he printed with his 3D printer. Other technology, decades ahead of anything available right now.
But now, his experiment will achieve something centuries ahead. He was going to unlock human potential, even control the randomness of evolution. His body will soon be human version 2.0, an upgrade that would have taken centuries to develop on its own. He turned to MedBud, "Do we have enough power to run the Chrysalis?"
MedBud replied, "Sir, we have fully charged about a hundred graphene batteries. They should be able to power the Chrysalis. As a precaution, we have also connected the device to the grid with a transformer. Should the batteries prove to be insufficient, the grid will power the device to completion. QBot has made sure that the connection is seamless, so that the device is not shut off during critical processes."
Leonard looked at QBot, a robot inspired by the wonderful astromech, R2D2. He had made it to assist with some basic tasks around the warehouse. Instead of the traditional R2D2, he had created the main body to look like a ball. Fitted with new age gyroscopic sensors, nimble robotic arms, and balancing devices, the robot was something straight out of Star Wars. The robot turned to him and beeped in binary. Leonard smiled at the useful guy. He turned to MedBud and commanded, "Prepare the procedure. Today, we optimize humanity."
Apartment 4A, Pasadena
A group sat around the sofa, with copious amounts of Chinese food spread across the tiny table. As everyone ate, they found an unnatural atmosphere spread around the table. Sheldon kept eating without a care in the world, but the rest found it awkward. Originally, they thought the reason was Leonard's absence, but the real reason was something different.
Sheldon smirked a little, "This is nice, it's been a while since we have sat around the table since Wolowitz's wedding."
Amy looked at the people around the table. Previously, there were three couples and Raj, but now, the dynamics seem to have changed. Now, Howard and Bernadette, married, seemed a little distant. Sheldon and Amy have lived together since Howard's wedding, but the warmth that the group had was missing. The hardest hit was Penny. She seemed cut off from the previous group dynamics.
No one was interested in answering Sheldon. They silently buried their heads in the food. Sheldon seemed to catch on to the awkwardness. He sighed before announcing, "I have something to announce."
Everyone perked up as Sheldon continued, "I have seen how the group doesn't seem interested in these weekly gatherings. It seems everyone has become more reclusive since Leonard threw that hissy fit and left the apartment. While I would not have done this, I have decided to forgive Leonard and invite him back to the apartment once he returns from his sabbatical."
Howard interjected, "Do you think he will even want to come? Don't forget, he even missed my wedding."
Sheldon looked at Howard as if he was an idiot, "Howard, Leonard was busy, he didn't have enough time for meaningless celebrations. Besides, this is his home, where else would he go?"
Howard gritted his teeth in annoyance before sharing a look with Bernadette. Picking his food quickly, he closed the lid and left the room with Bernadette. Sheldon looked perturbed before asking Amy, "What did I do?"
Amy explained, "Sheldon, their wedding might seem pointless to you, but it was a big deal for them. It's like you winning the Nobel Prize but someone mocking your achievement. Besides, even if he was busy, Leonard would at least contact them. Even Penny hasn't heard from Leonard for a while."
Sheldon seemed to realize, "Oh! I see. I would apologize for that."
Penny spoke tiredly, "We are not the one you have to apologize to Sweetie. Well I am done, I'll see you tomorrow."
Amy waved, "Good night bestie."
Penny simply waved and left. Raj slipped quickly afterwards. Amy and Sheldon cleared the empty plates. Sheldon placed a kettle and turned to Amy, "Amy, do you think Leonard will come back?"
Amy looked at him, "Why do you ask? Didn't you think that he was just throwing, as you called it, a hissy fit."
Sheldon looked down, before sighing, "Leonard has completely cut off contact with me, as well as everyone else. I went to Seibert the other day. According to him, it was Leonard himself who brought up the sabbatical to him. If he had the offer before, he would have told me. But even during the days he is away from the apartment, he never cuts off contact with everyone he knows."
Amy looked a little guilty. After all, she, in her drunken state, had suggested that Sheldon use dirty tactics. Still, she tried to comfort him, "Maybe he wanted the project to be a surprise. And, many such projects are really secretive. He might have been asked to keep it a secret. Besides, weren't you happy when he left? You even celebrated once when you "
Sheldon was pensive at that before replying, "I know. You should know Amy, that I am a very particular person. For the past eight years. I have shared this apartment with Leonard. He is like a fan or a television, a permanent fixture in my life. Among all of my friends, he is the only one who stuck with me. For all intents and purposes, he is my best friend."
Amy tried to approach his view from a logical point, "People change over time Sheldon. Maybe Leonard also decided to change himself. Your behaviour of taking him for granted has made him angry enough to change."
Sheldon scoffed, "As if he could ever change. Even Dr. Beverly Hofstadter explained in her book that Leonard is not someone who is capable of change. Maybe she will have some insight on where he is and what he is doing. I will contact her."
With that, Sheldon stood up and looked for the phone. For once, Amy did not know what to say.
Warehouse, Washington DC
Leonard lay in the Chrysalis, his clothes folded to the side. QBot silently rolled around, connecting various wires and cables, building batteries and making sure the Chrysalis would function well.
MedBud approached Leonard and explained the process again, "Sir, the process is irreversible. As you know, it will place you in a Bio-Resonance field. This will vibrate you down to the DNA. It will also make you and your DNA extremely malleable. While your body is in this field, the Chrysalis will bombard your body with quantum photonic lasers. The resonance will maximize at the IHG state. When every cell in your body resonates at that frequency, every gene will be changed to the IHG. A couple of warnings; your body has a 1% chance of developing unplanned mutations; Even when your body has changed itself, your body will require at least a week to fix all your existing conditions, like your asthma, your myopia and other health issues. I suggest you eat a lot of nutritious food and exercise a lot."
Leonard removed his glasses. He had not taken the Pill today, hoping to prevent any interference. His eyes immediately blurred as the Chrysalis closed around him. For a while, dark thoughts came to his mind. What if he failed, what if he developed something like cancer…what if he died. But before these thoughts could overpower him, he thought of many other things. He thought of his recent knowledge and achievements, and how he would hate for them to go to waste. He thought of Chaldea, a group in its infancy, hoping to improve the situation of the world. He also imagined blond hair and sharp grey eyes. He remembered the small gestures she made, her smile when she found someone who understood her. Its funny how he had dated beautiful women like Penny and Priya, but Paige gave him the closest feeling of a deep connection.
Leonard breathed a sigh before a whirring sound came from the device above his chest. It started with a small buzzing sensation, quickly intensifying to a full blown tremor as the device started vibrating his body. Then the pain came.
Outside the Chrysalis, MedBud kept a close eye on Leonard's condition. He saw as the cells started to vibrate under the influence of the resonance field. It saw how Leonard's fist gritted itself.
Leonard wanted to scream, but no sound came out of his mouth. Everything in his body shook but he did not find any strength to move. It felt as though his entire body was a giant funny bone, with a single touch sending a numbing shock to everything.
Before the pain could end, the diodes at the ends of the Chrysalis started to send exotic near infrared radiation. The pain became worse, as Leonard felt his body heating and burning. He wanted to scream more but he could do nothing to counteract the pain. Soon, Leonard passed out in the Chrysalis as the device kept rewriting him.
Inside Leonard's Mind
Leonard seemingly woke up, his body floated in a dark void. His eyes tried to find where he was but nothing was visible. In the distance he saw a small point. Leonard floated closer to the ball, watching it glow lightly. As Leonard touched it, he saw the ball burst with a large bang. He saw the debris fill the world around him, forming clouds of different colours. Soon, the clouds started to condense and glow, forming large clusters.
As Leonard looked around this void, he saw as the clouds continued to shrink, and one seemed to call to Leonard. He approached a small glowing spot that started to spin and collect the dust around it. Soon, Leonard realized why this ball seemed so familiar. This glowing ball was the Sun, and the balls around it were the planets. He focused on Earth and saw as it began to cool, turning from the fiery ball to a planet covered with water. He saw how landmass formed, how life originated in the ocean.
Leonard observed life as it grew in the oceans, starting from a single prokaryote to eukaryote, to plants to algae, to trilobites and molluscs. He saw the first fish, the first amphibians and how they became reptiles. He saw the reptiles who were not suitable for land die, while the suitable ones kept living. He saw the dinosaurs and how they lived in three distinct eras. He saw environmental changes wipe the earth clean, starting over from the few survivors left.
Soon, he observed the start of mammals. He saw how they populated the Earth, how human beings came into being and how they started to conquer the earth itself. Soon, Leonard started to get bored of this. His mind yearned for something else. He saw the physical phenomena change. From three dimensions, everything expanded into two. He saw the universe keep expanding into a sheet, constantly unrolling into the infinite. Leonard shifted his perspective and the universe became a line. From this perspective, he saw the universe become a thin line with its own wave, constantly vibrating.
Leonard breathes hard, "The String Theory. But is this it?"
Suddenly, he saw the string connect with another string, forming a Mobius strip. He saw how the string seemed to tangle in itself, forming knots, bunching up to form balls, their vibration translating to energy, forming a large ball. Leonard's perspective shifted again. He saw countless balls gather together forming structures. Some balls were small, some large. Some inexplicably joined, others just near. The balls kept tightening, holding entire universes in them.
Leonard's eyes widened, "The Multiverse. So it exists. But where can we find something that big."
Suddenly, the perspective shifted again. This time the balls began to shrink, they started forming a mass, then it kept increasing. Finally, Leonard could focus on the macro, he saw the aggregate forming another Leonard.
Leonard was dumbfounded for a second, "What does this mean?"
The Other smirked, "You know what it means. Think about it. What is a universe? What is the multiverse? What is God? If you think, you will have the answer."
Leonard thought for a second and answered, "Everything is God, every atom is a universe. Any aggregate of these atoms is a multiverse."
The Other smiled but put a rhetorical question in front of Leonard, "But then, why is the energy in the Universe constant?"
Leonard smiled, "Because Universes are separated by dimensions. Every higher dimension is made by many lower dimension multiverses. If I can manipulate these higher dimensions, you can even write on a proton. There would be no difference between a paper and an atom. I just haven't found a method to do this. This could actually explain everything. Why various core theories are constant at different levels. Why travelling the multiverse is seemingly impossible. You cannot jump to a higher universe or a lower universe. It is like a comic book character jumping out of the comic book into real life. Neither can a higher dimensional being go to a lower one. It would be like jumping into a comic book and living in that world."
The Other smiled a wide smile, "Now, you are ready. You understand the fundamental nature of the world. You understand the common factor."
Leonard asked, "Who are you?"
The Other smiled, "I can be anyone you want, but you can call me Author. Now, it's time to wake up."
Warehouse, Washington DC
Leonard woke up with a start. He was still in the Chrysalis, but the device was off. His body was wracked with pain. As soon as the lid opened, Leonard stumbled out and took a deep fevered breath. He stumbled to the fridge, tearing into the food. As soon as he took a bite, his senses exploded with information. He could taste everything, from the condiments, to the water that once irrigated the leaf he was chewing. Every hormone the animal was given, every pesticide that ever touched the vegetables. Thankfully, his senses quickly adjusted to a bearable level. He looked around, his eyes took in every detail with clarity. As the food reached his stomach, he felt his digestive system quickly break down the food. Almost every bit of energy in the food was efficiently absorbed. Even a single bite brought him warmth. He had previously experienced his regular state and the Pill-enhanced state. Right now, he was a cut above his Pill-enhanced state. Even the pain he felt during the procedure was slowly fading with every bite, as his enhanced Immune system fixed his injuries and nerves at record speed.
MedBud approached Leonard from behind, quickly scanned his body and informed, "Congratulations Sir, the procedure was successful. Your body is repairing the damage it had accumulated in record speed. Your bones and muscles are slowly strengthening with the nutrients you consumed. I would still recommend that you exercise to enhance your strength and organ health."
Leonard finished his food and sat on his chair. He looked at the ceiling before announcing, "Hello world, I am Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, previously, I changed according to you, now, I am going to change you in my image."
AN: Thank you to Darren Burns, Steven Mullen, Haku, Darth Melkor, MatthewHankins and Nathanfor their support.
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