Chapter VII: The Elephant in the Room (Part Paleozoic)

 "Halt." One of the Security Androids, S-23–as shown on his multi-colored, block-like body—held up his hand before Dan passed through the gates to the subway. "Identity, please."

 Oops, Dan forgot he needed to scan himself into the city. Slightly panicked, he dismounted his hoverboard and felt around for his license. "Where is it?" He patted the pockets of his overcoat. "Uh, excuse me just a moment."

 "Are you looking for this, Daniel?" Ben's voice suddenly said behind him, and Dan leaped out of his skin.

 "Whoa!" He whirled around and almost smacked Ben with his hoverboard. Luckily, his instincts kicked in, and he stopped it.

 He pushed the board back into Dan and offered him his ID. "You forgot it in the car."

 Dan smacked his lips—"Bro, I knew that"—and accepted his license.

 "Sure you did," Ben said, shaking his head. "You still have a lot of growing up to do, my son."

 Dan growled and clenched his teeth. That was big talk coming from someone who never spent time with him. Regardless, he didn't feel like arguing, so he faced S-23 and showed him his license. "Where are we staying, Dad?" he questioned while the android prepped everything.

 He didn't pay attention to Ben's answer because dirty fantasies of him and Molly in bed together after four years of waiting plagued him. Was this normal for someone his age? Should he have been concerned? No, no, it had been four years. It was time. He merely needed to get through the weekend with Ben, and then a woman would finally love him again.

 Because of his arousal, Dan assumed Ben said they would take one of the Colored Walkways to a hotel. When his spell lifted, he found himself on the other side of the mechanical gate, standing next to the floating Maglev subway. When did he move? Dan searched for Ben and saw S-23 scanning his ID with a bright, translucent ray.

 The gate opened, and the robot announced, "Please enjoy your stay in Downtown Greenville."

 "Are you okay, Dan?" Ben inquired, approaching him. Was that all he had to say? What about "I'm sorry" for the traffic jam incident or another clue about PPMC?

 Ben tried to embrace him, but Dan shoved him off and rushed onto the train. It looked like the only way to get rid of him was if he knocked him out with a sledgehammer. The urge to do that was too great. Dan would wait until they reached the hotel, though.

 He and Ben grabbed the last remaining seats on the subway. They passed through a few glass sliding doors in the capsule-like interior. Dan took the window seat and pressed a button on the arm. A holographic shield appeared and gave each of them their own space.

 While they waited for the train to depart, Dan scrolled through his half's Internet Browser and found a playthrough of Portals and Aliens. The journey to Downtown's Heart Platform would take a while, and he needed a distraction.

 Dan tucked his hoverscooter under his seat and pressed his back on the window, placing his hands behind his head.

 "You kids and your video games," Ben stated. The subway jerked, and he swayed like a ballerina with it.

 Not even five minutes into the ride, Dan started to shake uncomfortably in his seat. He crossed one leg over the other and clenched his fists.

 "What's wrong, Dan?" a nervous Ben queried.

 Dan dropped the screen and covered his fly, chuckling nervously. "I have to pee."

 Ben groaned. "What the—? I told you to go before we left the house."

 "Yeah, well, I didn't listen. So, if you'll excuse me." Dan crawled over Ben and tumbled into the aisle, embarrassing the heck out of him.

 He gritted his teeth and growled, "Daniel!"

 Dan stood and glowered. He soon dropped his angry face and hustled for the lavatory at the back of the subway. On his way there, he couldn't help but notice a few people staring at him.

 Some even whispered, "Is that Daniel Matton?"

 Dan screeched to a halt. How did these people know his name? Was it some breakthrough in technology? He tried not to let it get to him and moved on, but stopped again when he heard a woman talking with her friend.

 "Can you believe it? After 200 years, the PPMC Project is finally complete!"

 Wait, what? PPMC? Dan swore his ears snapped up.

 The woman's friend asked, "Do you think it can really travel through a black hole, wormhole, and white hole?"

 She replied, "Professor Chenoa seemed certain."

 Dan knew it. He knew the PPMC Project had something to do with space, but that still needed to answer why Ben brought him to the city. He was the astronaut. Dan was the paleontologist. Were they even going to a hotel or the...? No, Dan was second-guessing himself. This was an average father-son vacation, and he had a woman waiting for him to return.

***

 The journey to the Heart Platform was one not easily forgotten. Dan returned from the bathroom right on time and glued his face to the window.

 As if it were a roller coaster, the subway hit an opening in the underground railroad and started to ascend. Dan barely saw the tips of the skyscrapers at the end and jiggled like a little kid. "Yes!" he eventually blurted once the train reached its peak. It dropped and soared through Greenville's skyscrapers—over the Colored Walkways, Falls Park, and neon lights. "Go, baby! Go!" Dan shouted.

 Ben chuckled next to him.

 A few hoverscootists passed the train and waved at Dan.

 "I wanna do that! I wanna do that!" he exclaimed, shaking Ben's shoulder.

 "Once we get to where we're staying," was his reply. "The Heart Platform is coming up, and we'll take the Purple Walkway there."

 Darn, if only Dan remembered where the Purple Walkway took people! It had been so long since he last came to the city.

 Ding. Ding. Ding. The subway's intercom turned on. "Attention, passengers, we are approaching Heart Platform," declared the engineering AI. "Please collect all belongings before disembarking the train, and come witness the magic of Heart's Holographic Dinosaur Show in honor of PPMC Day. We hope you enjoyed your ride."

 Ben cursed under his breath. It was for a good reason, too.

 "PPMC Day?" Dan inquired, meeting his father's widening pupils. He could barely see his irises. "What's that?"

 Ben got up quickly when the subway stopped. "Daniel, let's get to where we're staying first, and then I'll explain everything."

 Would he? Dan wished he had a lie detector to know for sure. What did the PPMC Project have to do with him, the aspiring paleontologist, instead of the astronaut? What was this Holographic Dinosaur Show that waited for them at the Heart Platform, and why did Dan feel like he had just embarked on a grand adventure?

 Because he had.