"Leonard Speaking"
'Leonard Thinking'
The Library, New York City, Three Weeks later
A splash of water hit Leonard's face as he chased away the sleepiness from his eyes. For the past three weeks, Leonard had been functioning with little sleep. Despite his IHG modification, continuous wakefulness had started to grate on his nerves.
Wiping his face, Leonard looked around the lab. Over the past three weeks, he had modified the lab to house the Chrysalis. The floor was overhauled with the help of Null, allowing Leonard to install thousands of second generation Graphene solid state batteries. Looking at the shining coffin like Chrysalis, a sense of apprehension washed over him.
Over the past weeks, Leonard had done many things, some of which were inexplicable even to himself. His body would freeze at times, followed by periods of frantic construction and modification, often accompanied by pain and blood loss. It had disturbed him deeply
Leonard looked over the calculations once again. If he wanted to survive this, everything should be double checked. Sofia stood near the Chrysalis, her eyes taking in the scene before her with apprehension. No matter how much Leonard checked, she felt nervous. Finally, Leonard approached her behind the radiation shield, "Okay, we are ready now. You only have to observe. Once the process starts, it can't be stopped. Luckily, it only lasts half a minute."
Sofia asked, "Are you sure about this?"
Leonard stopped smiling. His eyes narrowed in solemnity as he said, "Not really. It is something I have to do, but I am not sure at all. The risk of something going wrong is much higher."
Sofia tried to persuade him, "What if we wait a while, check the safety, or at least test the procedure."
Leonard shook his head, "No, we cannot wait. I have to see this through."
Sofia spoke softly, "What if something bad happens? How will I face Paige?"
Leonard smiled before going towards a separate room and bringing out a silicone bust of himself. He pointed to the bust and said, "You will have this."
Sofia looked at the bust, before remarking, "I don't see how this helps."
Suddenly, the bust opened its mouth and said, "I assure you, in the scenario where prime doesn't return, I will be able to guide Chaldea, until they no longer need me."
The sudden voice startled Sofia, who jumped slightly. She scrutinised the bust, before asking, "What is this Leonard?"
Leonard explained, "This is an artificial simulation of Dr. Leonard Hofstadter. Over the past weeks, I scanned my brain, before building a SynthBrain model. All my knowledge, my personality, ambitions, thoughts, feelings and ideas, are also present in the bust."
Sofia sighed, before asking, "Do you think this is enough for Paige?"
Leonard went quiet, before answering, "This bust also has my final message for her. In case I vanish, the bust will deliver the message. If I survive, the bust will become a new AI for a project I had in mind."
Sofia could say nothing, as Leonard walked towards the modified Chrysalis. However, before he could give any command, he froze. His eyes went blank, as he looked around the machine. The first thing he did was rearrange battery connections in the Chrysalis, then he coded the exact values for the experiment. As the preliminary work ended, Leonard turned back to Sofia.
Sofia was shocked. Leonard was bleeding through his nose and eyes. There were dark veins, running from his torso to the edges of his face. Yet, his face held no emotion, no trace of discomfort, nor pain. What struck her the most were the eyes. Leonard's eyes were full of life, thoughts, and emotions, yet here he stood, his eyes blank like deep tunnels. Without waiting for a response, Leonard sat down cross-legged, waiting as the support machinery warmed up for its use.
Leonard's Mind
Leonard stood in a crumbling hall, many of his clones looking worse for wear, as black veins were visible on their faces, arms and chests. The Author looked around, "Looks like your mind has fractured some more. This might be the last time we meet."
Leonard chuckled, "Aren't you all me? If I live, we will meet again."
Leonard walked out of the throne room, towards a tower. As he looked out of the window, everything was frozen, as the landscape was illuminated in blue.
Outside
Leonard, with the same blank stare, connected the small Chronon container into a dedicated slot. He had to send word to William, who made the device and siphoned enough Chronon from his store.
As the machine got ready, Leonard removed all of his clothes, popped open the hatch, and laid down in the Chrysalis. Suddenly, the Chronon field covered him. On two sides, subatomic protons were accelerated, which met their critical velocity, colliding near Leonard's chest.
Soon, a stable black hole was formed, and within a second, Leonard's body started to disintegrate, turning into a Chronon-contained mass of energy. The black hole decomposed, leaving its energy behind. Finally, a single cell was placed in the high energy atmosphere.
Leonard's consciousness
Everything was gone, as Leonard floated in darkness. The darkness came in waves, yet Leonard paid no attention to it.
Leonard looked around in the darkness. He thought of his life before. His mother's insults, his father's indifference, his siblings' contempt, then a shared apartment, countless experiments, Sheldon's insults, pining after Penny, always afraid, nervous and alone.
Then came his life after the Pill, going to Vegas, meeting Paige, the first Chrysalis enhancement, and all his achievements with Chaldea. The memories kept running, some strong, some mundane, yet every memory made Leonard.
Finally, one memory stood out from all. Paige was going towards the flight to Norway, before she turned back and said, "Remember, you have to come back to me. I don't care how you do it, but you have to."
Suddenly, the entire consciousness trembled, as a single speck of light was illuminated. In the back of his mind, Leonard realized that this was the single stem cell. The speck continued to grow, as Leonard started to feel things again. The consciousness was alight, as Leonard watched his entire inner world reform in front of his eyes. Soon, the sights, sounds, smells and feel returned to him.
Leonard watched his entire mind rebuild itself, with a mixture of medieval design and futuristic additions.
The Author appeared behind him, smiling, "We succeeded."
Leonard sighed, "We did. I feel different now."
The Author chuckled, "Then wake up now. Take stock of your situation."
Outside
Sofia cautiously peered at the Chrysalis, her body carefully hidden behind a radiation shield. It still boggled her mind that Leonard was willing to do something like that. She watched as the hatch opened, with no other movement visible. Her mind conjured up images of mutants and monsters waking up after scientific procedures. Before her mind could spiral in panic, a pale hand gripped the edge of the hatch.
Leonard slowly pulled himself up, his body covered in a white, ash-like substance. Unlike his last enhancement, where his body needed to adapt, this time, he was intuitively familiar with every part of his body. His muscles felt denser, his bones stronger. With a strong, vigorous heartbeat, Leonard released the breath he had been holding. He opened his eyes to look around. Before the procedure, Leonard had dark brown eyes, but now, they were icy blue.
Covering himself with a sheet, Leonard watched as Sofia walked out from her place, followed by MedBud. She commanded, "MedBud, a complete diagnosis and genetic scan."
MedBud followed through, "The osteocytes have been modified with a stronger cell membrane and cross linking of connective tissue. The muscle fibers have stronger contraction ability. The ATP count has increased, which allows for quick strength and quicker recovery."
Leonard smiled, before continuing, "What about the internal organs?"
MedBud replied, "The digestive function is improved, allowing for digestion of a variety of organic matter in a faster span of time. The lungs have expanded, allowing for enhanced blood oxygenation, the Kidneys have streamlined the filtration process, and the hearts are healthy."
Sofia paused at that, "Hold on, hearts? As in plural?"
MedBud affirmed, "Indeed, the mutation has changed the DNA in a fundamental manner. His body has not only increased in strength, but has greater resilience. His oncogenes have stable triple-helix formations removing cancer formation along with heightened healing abilities, his brain is slightly larger and more complex than human brains, The strengthened organs need more blood, so the body developed a dual heart circulatory system."
Soon, Sofia started testing Leonard. He was quite strong due to the IHG, but now, Leonard felt that he could even drag a yacht by himself. His body was resilient, although he couldn't test it efficiently. His speed and reflexes saw a significant increase, as Leonard could now dodge bullets. Sofia found herself laughing as she saw Leonard dodge Null's attacks when she controlled them.
However, the most significant change was in his brain function. Leonard was already a genius before the procedure, but that genius was pushed to monstrous proportions. His understanding of matter, energy, dimensions and temporal phenomena had increased, along with his thinking speed and parallel processing ability.
As the tests concluded, Sofia sighed, "I have seen many things in my life. But you are definitely the most outrageous of them all. A veritable Superman."
Leonard grinned at that, before he said, "I don't have words to thank you enough."
Sofia smiled, "Don't worry about it. It was nothing. I should go now, Ethan and Mike are waiting for me at home."
Leonard nodded as Sofia left. He whispered, "One final test."
Leonard has previously linked all his senses to achieve synthesia. Now, as Leonard linked his senses together, a change occured. The previous dark surroundings became bright blue, with ghostly figures of Sofia, MedBud and him moving around. As he focused, he saw movements creating faint ripples around the people.
Leonard hummed, "What am I looking at?"
Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him, "Those are temporal ripples."
Leonard snapped at the sound, finding a clone of himself in the place. This clone was unfamiliar to him, so he asked, "I know the others, but who are you?"
The clone smiled, before replying, "Does it really matter? We are the same, no matter what names you give me. The others can interact with you anywhere, but you will only find me here, at the nexus of your senses. Call me Chrono, if it would help distinguish between me and the others."
Leonard was silent for a moment, before asking, "Why does this synthesia stage look so different?"
The clone shrugged, "Isn't it obvious? Your previous senses were good, but now, you have higher dimensional senses, and a brain that can make sense of those higher dimensions."
Leonard looked around with his new sense. He sighed, "This doesn't feel real at all."
The clone sighed again, "You'll get used to it."
Leonard closed his eyes, as his senses relaxed. Going to a bed at the very corner of the lab, he quickly laid down to a restful sleep."
That Evening
Leonard woke up, well-rested, and ready for the world. After a quick stretch, he went to take a shower. As water cascaded over him, he remembered something. Quickly finishing his shower, he dialed Paige.
Paige, who was organising materials for Project Stargate, received Leonard's call. With eyes full of joy, she answered the call, "You succeeded!"
Leonard, laughing at her excitement, "I did. I have never felt better."
Paige whispered, "Your voice sounds different, it's deeper, and more mellow."
Leonard chuckled, "If you knew the full extent of my changes, you would ignore the voice altogether."
Paige's laughter subsided, as she asked, "Was it scary? I didn't want to ask about the procedure before. Now that it is complete, how was it?"
Leonard grew somber at that. No matter how successful the procedure was, it was the truth that he came close to death yesterday. He answered, "It was scary. I felt my consciousness disappear in real time, before everything came back."
Paige closed her eyes in relief, "You kept your promise."
Leonard smiled, a hint of relief, and happiness, shining in his eyes, "Your promise kept me together."
Changing the topic, Leonard said, "The trip was quite good for Chaldea. Sofia has completed her Universal Cure. Chaldea has conquered cancer for mankind."
Paige jumped with joy, "This is great news. When will we announce it?"
Leonard thought for a moment, "You remember, when we met, we discussed how many scientists never get a platform to show their research. How about we give a platform to every Chaldea scientist?"
Paige sighed, "I think I get what you want to do. If Sofia is okay with it, let's do this."
After a moment, Paige asked, "So, when are you coming back?"
Leonard replied, "The day after tomorrow. I need to meet with Stan tomorrow."
Paige said, "I'll be waiting for you."
Leonard hung up, feeling sweetness in an otherwise bitter world.
Nuovo Vesuvio, Long Island, New York
Stan looked at the two storey restaurant. He had seen such places during his time with the cartel. Only people with secrets to keep chose restaurants like these. The fact that Leonard asked him to meet here, already told him something. Over the past few years, Stanhad left 'Gustavo Fring' behind, and joined Chaldea. Now, he not only had status, but he was completely in light. While Leonard and the rest of the scientists were the visionaries, he was the one who turned their visions into best-selling products. Under his leadership, Chaldea had slowly become a global giant.
With measured steps, Stan walked to the second floor and entered the booth. Leonard was waiting for him, but there was something off about him. As soon as their eyes met, Stan saw those bright blue eyes, different from Leonard's original brown. But like a good employee, he didn't ask about them.
Leonard stood up and greeted Stan, "Good afternoon Stan, how have you been?"
Stan wore a gentle smile, which would have scared people in the past, and said, "Never been better. What about you?"
Leonard shrugged, "Quite busy lately. I am working on a new project in Norway. But before I left, I needed to talk to you about something."
Stan nodded and sat down. Leonard didn't talk right away. He called a waiter and ordered, "We'll have the burrata with green beans and arancini. For the entree, the quail and seafood trentino. And bring a bottle of Chianti."
As the waiter left with the order, Leonard closed the door, before taking out a phone. Moving around the booth with meticulousness, he explained, "This place used to be a favourite of mob bosses. There might be bugs here."
Finally, he sat down and started to talk, "We have made a breakthrough. Sofia has completed her research on cancer."
Stan was surprised, "Did we succeed?"
Leonard smiled, "Yes. Chaldea has found a universal cure for cancer."
Stan exclaimed, "Amazing! We should call a press conference."
Leonard stopped him, "Yeah, about that. I don't want to announce it in a conference. Curing cancer is a massive achievement, and every Chaldea scientist should celebrate this. I want to use this opportunity to give a stage to every scientist under our banner."
Stan was puzzled, as Leonard explained, "Do you know about the World Expo?"
Stan answered, "Like the one in Milan last year?"
Leonard smiled, "Exactly. Let's do something similar. Let it serve as the platform for Chaldea. We will call it the Chaldea Expo, where people from all over the world can see our discoveries and inventions."
Stan said, "It will certainly boost sales and cooperation. I'll send invitations to diplomats and world leaders as well…"
As the two kept discussing, time went on. Unknown to them, ever since NSA lost against Chaldea, the government had their eyes on them. Neither men knew that, across the city, another conversation about Chaldea was already underway.
AN: Another chapter completed. Apologies for the slight delay. The Third Arc will end at the Expo, and will follow with a Time skip. Stay tuned for more.
AN2: I wish to thank all my patrons for their continued support. I know, many have subscribed specifically for this story, but I have a lot more to offer, and I would love to present it. Thank you.
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