Originally posted on December 31, 2024.
“You can’t do it!” Jackson shouted at his business partner Gin, “We’ll never get it back up and running again. And if it’s not working, we’ll never get back to normal!”
“We have to shut it down! It’s malfunctioning!” Gin insisted, “And it’s already too late for normal. This thing is already literally merging people’s bodies together. It’s only going to get worse from here. It could start fusing us with animals or inanimate objects! You could end up with pigeon wings for arms! Or a watermelon in your head instead of a brain! Right now, we’re still lucky we remember enough to know HOW to shut it down. If my fusion with Nadine had gone the other way, she’d be standing here befuddled with her head and my body instead of the other way around.”
“But how are we going to get Nadine back? Or...Frannie?”
Gin heard the pain in his friend’s voice and frowned as he looked at Jackson’s one feminine leg, which had once belonged to Jackson’s girlfriend, Frannie. She was one was one of the first people merged into someone else when the machine started malfunctioning. He knew Jackson felt responsible.
“It’s not your fault, man,” Gin said, “No one expected this to happen. But she’s gone. Keeping this thing on isn’t going to bring her back. But shutting it down will stop anyone else from going through that pain. I’ve done the calculations; this thing is going to be exponential. That’s so many more loved ones gone.”
Jackson paused for a moment. “Do it,” He said.
Gin pulled with all his might, realizing how much more difficult this was for him now that he had Nadine’s weak muscles instead of his own. He then grabbed with the other hand, but it still wouldn’t budge. But then it finally started to move and he noticed Jackson behind him helping to pull just as the explosions began...
