Scatter

Written for the Daily Flash Fiction Challenge with a word limit of 300.

The prompts: This story must contain the words: test, trouble and scatter

Scatter

Professor Andrews sat in the Enviro-Chamber with his finger hovering nervously over the button. Through a small port, he could see Professor Stein giving him the “go” signal.

Andrew was aware that this might be the end of himself. Accordingly, his subconscious mind offered up a short episode of “My life flashed before my eyes.”

It had started three years ago…

“Watch this,” Professor Stein said as he threw a switch.

The stapler disappeared.

The professor smiled as his audience of one sat in stunned silence.

“Now watch this.”

He threw another switch and the stapler appeared in thin air a few feet away. It immediately fell to the floor.

“I don’t understand,” said Professor Andrews. “You called me in here for some sort of magic trick?”

“It’s no trick, Andrews. I have figured out how to direct the particles of the subatomic world.”

“What?” asked Andrews with obvious skepticism.

“I sent a subatomic signal to all of the atoms in the stapler, telling them to scatter. At that point, the stapler became a collection of disassociated particles.”

“And when it came back?”

“Same idea except this time the signal was to regroup. I am having a little trouble with that last part. There is always a little subatomic drift that makes it hard to determine where it will re-materialize.”

Since that time, there had been one test after another. Failures followed failures until successes began to turn the tide. Tests progressed from inanimate object to plants and then lab rats. The Enviro-Chamber had been a big breakthrough. Now the subjects could survive no matter where they reappeared; even if it was in a wall.

Now for the ultimate test subject.

It was time to make history.

Andrew took a deep breath and pressed down on the Scatter button.

Word count 299



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