20 Planet Gazing

"Imitation eventually becomes competition."

- Lodestone

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8 Minutes Later

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I wake up. I'm still lying on the picnic table. Candy and Lodestone are sitting next to me. They are kissing, fondling each other. Lodestone sees I'm awake, smiles. Candy sees I'm awake, and disentangles herself from Lodestone. The regulars move away. Porno's over, time for the psychodrama.

I actually feel pretty rested. Like, I can think again. I lay on the table and stare up at the new planet.

Finding Doc-Danger's name, or lab, or last known location, isn't going to help me find him. He isn't there. I will still look for these things - I must attempt to assume his responsibilities - but they won't help me find him.

Also, what am I going to do when I find him? I believe he needs help, but what help am I able to provide? If he's hiding from someone, I'm likely to lead them straight to him. If he's spaghettified across spacetime, I can't help with that either. Hell, if he broke his leg in the woods, he'd probably crawl out before I found him.

I need to look at the impossible answers, and try to understand them. Find a way to keep them from Lodestone and whoever created her. Though, a sophisticated A.I. would be the perfect tool to study them with.

I can't study math in the condition I'm in. I gaze at the planet for a while. Then I close my eyes.