This time, the machine would work properly. Bill was sure of it.
Finally, he had found the wire that had been causing all of this trouble--just a little piece of frayed plastic, and he nearly causes a city-wide blackout. But now that it was fixed, there wouldn’t be any further problems. He would make sure of it. Bill rocked back onto the heels of his feet and admired his handiwork with a grin. Not a circuit out of place.
This time for sure, Bill told himself as he stood up and strode over to his computer. He tapped a few keys, and immediately the machine blinked on. He could hear the steady hum of its inner workings under everything--music to his ears.
All that was left was the test run. Bill activated the start-up procedure on his computer, then stepped into the elevator-sized pod that he had set up. As the doors were closing, though, a memory flashed through his mind of a similar experiment, one that he had also tested while he was alone in his house. That time, he’d gotten himself stuck as a Clefairy for a long while before he’d managed to convince some trainer to help him.
Maybe this is a bad idea, Bill thought. With a disappointed frown, he opened the doors and halted the program. He really had to hire an assistant. It would make these things so much easier.
For now, though...really anyone would do. Bill was confident enough in his ability to press some random passerby into helping him for the afternoon. He didn’t even bother to shut down his computer before stepping out of his house and into the clear sea air outside.
Bill squinted at the bright sunlight. It was a warm, lovely day outside, and there were more than a few groups of people enjoying the beach not far from Bill’s house. The Cape was a famous date spot, and most of the people assembled there were obviously couples. Bill avoided them entirely; he thought they might be a little busy.
Then, finally, Bill spotted a man who seemed to be by himself. Sure, he could be waiting for someone, but it could’t hurt to ask, right? Bill jogged up to the dark-haired man, grinning, and clapped down on his shoulder. “Hey, chief! You free to help a guy out this afternoon?”
