T H E
U N O F F I C I A L

H O M E     P A G E

Fan Fiction

This page is created by a fan for other fans and is in no way affiliated with, approved of or endorsed by Hanna Barbera or Turner Productions. Please see my disclaimer.


This is a crossover between JQ and "Reboot", that marvelous all-CGI
cartoon that ABC used to show (the fiends! They cancelled their
order!); I *think* even people who haven't seen Reboot might find it
interesting.  (And maybe even start watching. Toonami, 4pm weekdays.)

 This story takes place after the end of  Reboot Season 2 (when Bob
was cast out into the Net by MegaByte).

Thanks to all my beta-readers, espcially Carlos Rodriguez, who 
provided valuable information.

Disclaimer: Most of the characters in this fic are not mine.  Jonny,
Jessie, Race and Benton belong to Hanna-Barbera.  Bob, Dot, and Enzo
belong to Mainframe Entertainment.

Archiving permission granted.

Islands in the Datastream 
by Winnie Lim

"...so you see how we could increase the alloy's tensile strength by
40%," Dr Florence Chan said, adding a few figures to the diagram on
the screen.

Two continents away, Benton Quest nodded approvingly.  "Fine work, Dr
Chan.  Go ahead and roll out a prototype."

"Hold on a second, Dr Quest," interrupted Blake Twinly, the company
accountant.  "Just how much would this cost to implement, Dr Chan?"  

"I have the figures for you right here, Mr Twinly," Dr Chan replied
smoothly, opening up a window on the screen.  "As you can see,
operating costs will rise by a mere 0.000045% to fully implement this
new development."

"Hm," Twinly said, sounding disappointed.  "I suppose it's up to Dr
Quest, then."

"We'll put it to the board for a vote," Benton said.  "Ladies and
gentlemen, please submit your votes.  A yes to go ahead with the
prototype, a no to place the project on hold."  He opened up another
window on his screen and watched as the grid on it began to light up.

No one noticed a small data upload come in from Antarctica's node.


##########

The landscape was unfamiliar.  Cold circuits stretched on for
centimeters in every direction.

"Hello?  Anyone there?"  No answer.

Bob ran a hand through his silicon-toned hair and sighed.  Another
system, and still no Mainframe.  

His heart-TSR ached at the thought of his former adopted home.  All
the time he'd been in Mainframe, all he'd wanted was to return to the
Net.  Now all he wanted to do was go back to Mainframe.

"Well, I guess I'd better find a way out of here,"  he said to
himself, and turned around.  The portal that had delivered him to this
new system had vanished.

He turned around again, and jumped back.  "GAAAHHH!!!"

A small army of binomes stood before him.  They looked like the ones
in Mainframe, but each one wore a tiny green stylized "Q" on its
silver-and-black reboot icon.

"Intruder, identify yourself," said a 0 binome sternly.

"My name is Bob.  I'm a Guardian," Bob said.  "I come from Mainfr --
the Net."

Three binomes were busy scanning Bob.  "Its output appears to have a
value of 'TRUE'," said a tall 1 binome.  "Its format is Guardian."

"Its function is to mend and defend," added another 1 binome, reading
its instruments.  

"I could've told you that," Bob said.  "Look, I'd be pleased to be on
my way, if you could just tell me where the exit portal is."

"Only the Users may open Exit portals," the first binome replied.  It
seemed to be the leader of the squad.

"Users?  There are more than one for this system?"  Bob asked.

All the binomes nodded solemnly.  Bob noted that these binomes were
serious, businesslike little bits -- unlike the cheerful,
happy-go-lucky citizens of Mainframe.

"Okay, so when will the Users open another portal?"  he asked.

"Unknown," replied the 0 binome.  "There were many instances in the
past when the Surd invaded this system through the portals and caused
much damage.  Now the Users control all portals."

"What's the name of this system?"  Bob asked.

"This system is called Questworld."

##########

Jessie had finished her homework some time before and was now absorbed
in a book, curled up in an armchair across from Jonny.  Outside, rain
was pouring down.

Jonny chewed on his lip and flipped through the logarithm book,
searching for an elusive value.  Race hadn't even allowed them to use
calculators.  

"Jess -"

"No more hints, Jonny," Jessie replied, calmly turning a page.  "I've
already helped you more than I should."

"Hmph," Jonny sniffed, turning back to his homework.  He looked
longingly at the terminal on the desk, just a few inches from him, and
reluctantly went back to his book.  At least he was on the last
question now.  As always, it was the trickiest.


##########

"What is Questworld?"  Bob asked the lead binome.  Having realized
that they couldn't evict the Guardian program without an exit portal,
the binomes had decided to escort him to the Principal Office and let
the Command.com figure out what to do with him.

"It is a virtual-reality environment designed to simulate experiments
and environments that would prove too dangerous in the Users' world,"
explained the binome.  "Questworld is also used for recreation."

"Hold it.  There are things that are dangerous for Users?"  Bob
repeated.

"Correct, Guardian," answered the binome.

"Interesting," Bob said, carefully filing away the information in his
read-only memory.  Users weren't as all-powerful as he'd thought.

##########


"Finished!"  Jonny said triumphantly, dotting the last i and crossing
the last t.  Jumping out of his chair, he said, "Let's get out of
here."

Then he saw the rain still pouring outside the French windows.  "Or
not."  His face brightened.  "Let's go into Questworld."

"You go ahead," Jessie said, turning a page.  "I want to see how this
ends."

"Would you at least be the monitor?"  Jonny begged.

"Okay," Jessie shrugged, getting up.  Not taking her eyes from the
book, she followed Jonny to the passageway that would take them to the
lighthouse.


##########

"We have arrived," another binome said, stopping at a gated entryway. 
Behind it was a gigantic silver sphere.

The lead binome entered a series of commands into a keypad at the
gate, and the gates slowly opened.

"By the way... who is the Command.com for this system?"  Bob asked.

"That would be IRIS," the binome replied.  "This way, please."

##########


"Sure you don't want to play?"  Jonny asked Jessie as he settled into
the seat.  

"I'm positive," Jessie replied.  "Besides, our dads would kill us if
we both went in without a monitor."

Jonny shrugged.  "I guess."  He activated the visor, and a green
stimulus field materialized before his eyes.

"Loading Carrier Command," Jessie announced.  "Questworld login,
subject: Jonny Quest."  She began the countdown.

Jonny barely heard her say "Going hot!"  as the sensory stimulus took
over.


##########

The lead binome's beeper went off.  Casting an eye upwards, he said
quietly, "Oh, no."

"What is it?"  Bob asked.  His question was immediately answered by a
familiar pinging and a booming voice.

"Warning.  Incoming game.  Warning.  Incoming game."  Lightning
crackled, and the bottom of a descending Game Cube was visible in the
sky overhead.

"We must evacuate this sector immediately!"  said the binome.  

"No way!"  Bob exclaimed.  "I've got to get into that Game!"

"You'll be destroyed!"  cried one of the binomes as Bob broke away
from his escort.  "The User always wins!  This whole sector will be
nullified!"

A corner of Bob's mouth turned up.  "I don't think so."

Then the Game Cube landed.

##########

Jonny ran a quick systems check.  Everything was in order.  He fired
up his retrorockets and took off into the star-filled void of space.

##########

Bob found himself on the deck of a huge space carrier, and looked
around.  He smiled to himself.  "Carrier Command.  Piece of cake."  He
tapped his icon twice.  "Reboot!"

##########

Jonny checked his radar screen.  The enemy carrier was but a lightyear
away.  He grinned, and gunned his hyperdrive.

##########

Bob took half a nanosecond to admire the starfighter that had
materialized around him -- ::Someone's been tinkering with the
program.  Nice.:: -- and touched the ignition icon on the control
panel.

##########

Jonny glanced out the sides of his starfighter as his squadron split
up to take on the opposition's forces one-on-one.  He noticed one of
the enemy's fighters dispatching fighter after fighter with ease. 
::That's a new one,:: he thought.  ::Must be that new randomizer I
installed.::  A ferocious grin spread over his face.  ::But it hasn't
been able to beat me yet.::

##########

Bob watched as one of the User's squadron cut a devastating swathe
through Bob's comrades.  ::That must be the User,:: he realized. 
::Pretty good.  For an amateur.::  He banked hard to avoid an enemy
missile, and coolly shot the offender out of the sky.  

##########

Jonny looked around again.  Except for himself, his entire squadron
was space dust.  The opposing squadron wasn't doing too well either --
only two remained, the Red Baron (as Jonny had taken to calling it)
and one other.  Jonny targeted the Red Baron and fired a proton
missile.  The Red Baron dodged the missile, which plowed into the one
other remaining fighter.  Now it was just the two of them.

##########

"Sorry about that," Bob apologized to his former comrade.  "I promise,
you won't have de-rezzed in vain."  He returned his attention to his
opponent, and smiled in anticipation.

##########

::This guy's good,:: Jonny found himself thinking as he dodged another
volley of lasers from the Red Baron.  He shook his head.  ::What am I
saying?  This isn't another person.  It's just a computer program.:: 
He tried to get a targeting lock on his opponent, but the Red Baron
zigzagged crazily, confusing the targeting computer.  Frustrated,
Jonny turned off the automatic targeting and concentrated on the view
out the viewscreen.

##########

Bob executed a lazy barrel roll, easily spinning out of the path of
the User's missiles.  "I'm done playing," he decided, whipping his
craft around and gunning his retros.  He shot past the User, who began
to turn, but it was too late.  Bob emptied his missile tubes and laser
guns into the User's starboard and tailsection, and watched with
satisfaction as the starfighter exploded.  

##########

Bob flicked off a mock salute as the new clump of space debris flew
past him, carried on by its forward momentum.  "Stay frosty."

##########


Jonny sat up, a bemused look on his face as he deactivated the visor.

"That was quick," Jessie commented.

"I lost," Jonny said in a disbelieving tone.

Jessie shrugged.  "Happens to the best of us."

"Not to me," Jonny said firmly.  "This was Level One of Carrier
Command.  I've aced Carrier Command a hundred times."  

"You're probably just having a bad day," Jessie said consolingly.

"No way," Jonny shook his head.  "There was this one fighter that was
-- it was almost like it had a mind of its own."

"Oh, come on," Jessie said.  "You're taking this a bit too personally,
aren't you?"

"I swear, Jess,"  Jonny spread his hands.  "It was almost spooky."


##########

"Game over.  The User lost.  Game over.  The User lost."

The last of the Game Cube disappeared into the distance.  Bob looked
around, and saw a perimeter of barriers and emergency vehicles around
the area that the Cube had occupied.  

The binomes cautiously approached Bob, regarding him with awed
expressions.

At last, a 1 binome spoke.  "You defeated the User."

"Yep."  Bob made a show of dusting off his hands, and smiled.  

The binomes dropped their previous decorum and cheered lustily.  Bob
nodded modestly, and held up a hand.  "Now, where's IRIS?"

"I am IRIS," a low voice said behind him.  Bob turned, and his jaw
fell.  

IRIS was a stunning blond sprite with lilac skin.  Her eyes were a
cool blue, and she wore a form-fitting black pantsuit with sensible
boots.  Like the binomes, she wore a silver-and-black icon with a
stylized green "Q" on it.  And that voice!

"Bob, I presume,"  IRIS said, extending a hand. 

Bob took the offered hand numbly, positive that he had a goofy smile
on his face.  "Pleased to meet you," he said, feeling slightly dazed.

"On behalf of Questworld, I want to thank you for saving this sector,"
IRIS said, shaking his hand warmly.

"Thanks aren't necessary.  It's my job," Bob replied gallantly. 
Remembering that they hadn't been formally introduced, he added, "I'm
a Guardian."

"We have heard of your format," IRIS said.  "But we have never hosted
a real Guardian from the Net.  Our Users prefer to use more primitive
means of defense, such as firewalls."

"Begging your pardon, ma'am, but firewalls aren't known to be the most
efficient protection systems," Bob said.

"We know," IRIS agreed.  "The Surd had breached the defenses many
times."

"The Surd," Bob mused.  "That's the second time I've heard that term."

"You do not know of the Surd?"  IRIS asked.

Bob shook his head.  "What is it?"

"The Surd's format was viruslike.  It destroyed at random, and
attempted to reformat Questworld's functions for the purpose of
harming the Users."

"Wait a nanosecond.  The Users can be harmed by the system?"  This was
getting stranger and stranger.

IRIS shook her head sadly.  "It was not part of Questworld's purpose,
but yes."

Bob was incredulous.  This went against everything that he had been
taught about the User-system interface.  "And the Users permit this?"

IRIS nodded.

"Are they insane?!"

IRIS shrugged.  "Unknown."

Bob sighed.  "I have GOT to get out of here."

##########

"Okay, okay," Jessie said, holding up her hands.  "Let's run a
checksum and see if there's anything in there that's not supposed to
be in there."


##########

"One moment.  I'm receiving a request from the Users," IRIS said,
shutting her eyes.  Opening them again, she turned to a binome. 
"Chex, please fetch the census data for the last minute."

"The Users are running a checksum," she explained as the binome jogged
off.  "They must suspect that something is wrong."  She looked at Bob.
 "If they were to know you are here, they may attempt to remove you."

The binome came sprinting back up with an organizer, which it handed
to IRIS.  "Thank you, Chex," IRIS said, opening the organizer.  "I
will hide your presence for the moment, Bob, but it will not hold them
off for long."  Her fingers flew rapidly over the keys, and a column
of light erupted from the tiny screen.  "There.  You will be safe for
now."

##########


"Checksum checks out OK," Jessie reported.  She frowned.  "There was a
bit of a lag in getting the results, though."

"Could be it's trying to hide," Jonny said.  "Let's run the
maintenance utilities."


##########

A number of binomes suddenly sprouted toolboxes and cleaning supplies.
 IRIS looked around as they all bustled off to Questworld's different
sectors.  "The Users have activated the maintenance commands,"  she
told Bob.  "Don't worry, they'll keep you safe."

"Thank you," Bob said.  "But what I would really like to do is return
to the Net and try to find Mainframe."

A frown passed over IRIS' delicate features as she considered this. 
"Only the Users may open portals to the Net," she said.  "And since
the Surd --"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Bob sighed.  "Extra security precautions."

A huge sprite shaped like a vacuum cleaner came sniffing around Bob. 
IRIS looked at it sternly.  "No, Hoover, Bob's clean," she said.  The
vacuum cleaner snapped off a smart salute and clattered away.

##########


"Nothing," Jonny said in frustration, reading the reports from the
utilities.  "No viruses, no file corruptions.  Guess I'll just have to
go in and look for the problem myself."

"I think this is something for your dad to handle," Jessie said. 
"Something that can hide from both the system and the utilities has to
be something to be reckoned with."  Then she smiled.  "Of course, you
could just be overreacting."

Jonny made a face at her.  "I know when there's something wrong, Jess.
 And there's definitely something wrong here."  He tapped in a couple
of commands.  "Okay. I'll start with a look around the RAM." 


##########

"The Users are coming!  The Users are coming!"  a binome screamed,
running up to IRIS and Bob.

"The Users can enter the system?"  Bob asked as the binome continued
screaming and running around in circles.  The other binomes had
scattered when it appeared.

IRIS nodded.  "If the situation demands it, yes.  They must be very
suspicious indeed to take this step."  To the screaming binome she
said, "Which User is it?"

"The one called Jonny Quest," answered the binome, who had calmed down
by now.

"Ah yes.  Jonny,"  IRIS said, with a patiently exasperated expression
on her face.  Bob had seen that motherly look before -- on Dot's face,
when the conversation turned to Enzo.  "He's always the impulsive
one."  A speculative look crossed her face.  "This may actually work
to your advantage.  Jonny is probably the one User who will understand
your plight."

"IRIS?"  a youthful voice called.

"There he is now.  Stay here, and do not come out until I tell you
to," IRIS said.  She hopped on her transport and flew off to the
silver sphere.

##########

Jonny tapped his foot.  IRIS usually didn't take this long to respond.
 There was definitely something wrong.

"Working," IRIS' mellifluous tones echoed around the sector.

Jonny looked around.  Something was different.  But -- what?  "IRIS, I
want to see a replay of the last Questworld session.  Third-party
viewpoint."

"Working...Session is loaded and ready for review."

"Start replay."

Jonny's surroundings turned into a field of stars.  Fighting off the
momentary vertigo, he watched as two star carriers materialized before
him. He could see his own fighter, a black and green craft, on the
deck of the carrier on his left.  There was a brief blue flash on the
deck of the other carrier, somewhere among the fleet of starfighters. 
Then the two squadrons took off from their respective carriers.

Jonny frowned.  What was that flash?  "IRIS, back up to the beginning,
and  increase magnification on enemy carrier 100%.  Decrease speed of
playback by 75%."

The view grew in size, and the playback started over.  Jonny watched
the starfighters intently, noting the small flashes of light in the
cockpits as each fighter powered up.  Grudgingly he allowed some
admiration at the level of detail in the game's programming.  

There it was again.  That blue sparkle.  Jonny had a much better view
of it now, and stopped the playback.  "IRIS, back to the beginning. 
Increase magnification to match my AE's configuration.  Same speed as
before.  Go."  

Jonny was now standing on the deck of the enemy carrier.  All around
him, starfighters powered up.  He turned to the Red Baron's
starfighter, and blinked hard as he saw that there was someone sitting
in the pilot's seat.

"IRIS, STOP!!!"  he yelled.  The playback obediently screeched to a
halt, and Jonny called, "Increase elevation 50%."  He was lifted up so
that the Red Baron's cockpit was at eye level.

Jonny tilted his head, not quite believing his eyes.  The pilot was a
blue-skinned humanoid with a genial-looking face and a mop of silvery
dreadlocks for hair.  It reminded Jonny of raw crystalline silicon. 
"Who *ARE* you?"  Jonny whispered, knowing that this was just a
recording and the mysterious pilot couldn't hear him.

Turning around, Jonny spoke.  "IRIS, identify intruder."

##########

The binome squad leader's communicator beeped, and he turned it on. 
IRIS' face appeared on the tiny screen.  "We've got trouble," she
said.  "The User knows of your presence, Bob.  He has issued a direct
order to identify you."

"What are you going to do?"  Bob asked, though he knew the answer.

IRIS looked solemn. "I must inform the User of your existence," she
said reluctantly.  "I can no longer justify further violation of my
programming."  

"I understand," Bob replied.

IRIS looked slightly more cheerful.  "The User may even be able to
help you where we cannot."

"In that case, lead on, IRIS," Bob said.

##########


"Jess, there's definitely a problem with IRIS," Jonny said.  "I've
recorded at least 3 noticeable lags since the game."

"Do you want me to call your dad?"  Jessie asked, now concerned.

"Not yet.  Let me see if I can find the problem first," Jonny said. 
"What the --"

"Jonny?  Is everything OK?"

Jonny's voice sounded strange.  "Jess, I think you'd better call my
dad."


##########

"Hi."  Bob felt like he was moving through a triple-thick energy
shake.  The transfer to User-time decelerated his motor functions so
that he could communicate with the User, and he found it agonizingly
slow.

The User looked stunned.  Bob noted a marked resemblance to the IRIS
sprite in the User's blue eyes and blond hair, though the boy's
texturemap tone was a sort of pink-brown.  He reminded Bob of Enzo --
a slightly older Enzo, to be sure, but the same earnestness shone in
the boy's wary eyes.

"Who are you?"  the User said at last.

"I'm Bob," Bob replied.  "I am a Guardian program from the Net.  My
function is to mend and defend"

"From the Net?"  the boy repeated.  His eyes suddenly narrowed.  "Are
you one of Surd's programs?"

"No!" Bob replied hastily.  He'd figured out that Surd was a bad word
in these parts.  "Look, I don't plan on sticking around.  I just want
to get out of here and go home."

The boy -- Jonny, IRIS had called him -- seemed surprised.  "You have
a home?"

Bob nodded vigorously -- as vigorously as he could manage in his
decelerated state -- and said, "Mainframe."

Jonny stroked his chin.  "Mainframe's a pretty generic term.  Can you
be more specific?"

Bob ran a hand over his head.  "It's run by a command.com named Phong.
 The file manager is Dot Matrix."  For a moment, an image of the
raven-haired beauty flashed into Bob's mind, and he swallowed hard. 
"And there're a couple of viruses in residence, Megabyte and
Hexadecimal."

"Hexadecimal!"  Jonny exclaimed.  "I've heard of that virus.  It's
totally chaotic and randomized."

Bob felt a surge of hope.  "Can you help me?" he asked.

Jonny grinned.  "I can sure try."

A voice boomed overhead.  "Jonny!  What's going on?"

"I just met a program," Jonny called.

"You MET a program?"  the voice repeated.

"Hang on.  I'll log out and explain it to you."  Jonny turned to Bob. 
"I'll be right back.  Stay right here."

"Where could I go?" Bob asked as Jonny waved and disappeared.


##########

Benton, Race and Jessie listened in open-mouthed disbelief as Jonny
described what he'd seen and who he'd met.

"We've gotta help him get home, Dad," Jonny concluded.  "We've got to
open a portal to the Net and --"

"Now hold on there, son," Benton said.  "We can't go opening up
Questworld to the Net.  You know what happened when we did that."

"I know," Jonny replied.  "But we could maybe download him to one of
the standalone CPUs, and then upload him to the Quest Enterprises
public server."

"Home?  Jonny, it's just a program," Race said.  "You're talking about
it like it's a person."

"Bob *is* a person," Jonny insisted.

"You mean it's sentient?"  Jessie said.

"As sentient as IRIS is," Jonny answered.  "And we have to help him
get home."

Benton was deep in thought.  Then he nodded.  "All right, son," he
said.  "We'll try your idea."


##########

Bob closed the hatch on the hoverboard, and turned it over.  "Let's
try it now," he said to the little binome beside him.

The binome looked doubtful, but activated the hoverboard anyway.  The
device squawked, making them both step back hastily.

The hoverboard jumped three millimeters into the air, sputtered a few
times, and slowly drifted down.  Bob and the binome watched it
cautiously as it settled down to its normal hovering level, humming
contentedly.

Bob grinned.  "Let me beta-test it first," he said, jumping onto the
black and white circles.  The hoverboard stayed level as Bob took it
through a couple of practice maneuvers.  "There you go," he said to
the binome, sliding off.

"Thanks, Bob!" the binome said, hopping onto the hoverboard.  Bob
waved as the binome zipped over the horizon and out of sight.

It had been minutes since he'd spoken to Jonny, and Bob was beginning
to wonder if he'd ever get out of Questworld.

Not that it wasn't a nice place.  In many ways it was better than
Mainframe -- the binomes were more efficient, no viruses like Megabyte
or Hex existed to disrupt the cyclic routine, and there were fewer
corrupted sectors like Lost Angles or the Tor.  It was a model system
that was much closer to the Supercomputer than Mainframe had ever
been.

Bob knew that he could settle down here and lead a comfortable life. 
He was popular among the binomes, with whom he'd shared some Gaming
tips.  The few sprites in Questworld were friendly and helpful, and
IRIS was motherly and kind.

But it wasn't Mainframe.

##########


"Any luck finding Mainframe?"  Jonny asked.

Jessie's forehead creased.  "No.  The closest I could get to narrowing
it down was figuring out that he originated in Canada."

"So we could upload him to Quest Enterprises' Canadian server,"  Jonny
said.

Jessie nodded.  "It won't get him right to Mainframe, but at least
he'll be a little closer than he was before."  

"Let's prep him for transfer," Jonny said.


##########

A troop of binomes came jogging up, bearing all manner of measuring
devices.  One of the binomes, who was carrying a clipboard, stepped
forward.

"Greetings, Guardian Bob," it said.  "We are here to measure you for
transport."

"Transport?"  Bob felt a light-ray of hope.

"Correct," the binome replied.  "Now if you would please raise your
appendages and relax, we will get to work."

Bob obliged, and was briskly measured, weighed, and assayed.  As the
binomes bustled around him, he saw IRIS approaching.

The binomes drew to attention as IRIS stopped before them, and hurried
off to present their measurements to the User.

"Good news?" Bob asked hopefully.

"The User Jonny is here," IRIS said.  "And I have detected that a
floppy diskette has been introduced into the system."

"Thanks, IRIS," Bob said, jumping onto his hoverboard and headed for
the RAM sector.

A small binome by IRIS' side asked soberly, "Is Bob going away?"

IRIS nodded.  "Yes, 101," she said.  "Gather the others."  The binome
looked up at her with sad eyes, and left.

##########

"Hi, Bob!"  Jonny greeted the sprite.  

"Hi, Jonny," Bob replied.  It still felt odd, addressing a User
face-to-face.  "IRIS told me you have good news."

The boy nodded.  "We're going to move you to a floppy, and take you to
a computer with access to the Net."

"Sounds like a good plan," Bob nodded.

"My friend figured out that you originated in a computer in Canada, so
we'll upload you to a server over there," Jonny said.  "You'll need to
limit your search to domains with the suffix *.ca."

Bob wrote the command to memory, and nodded.  "It's done.  Thanks."

"Good luck, Bob,"  Jonny said, and extended a hand.  

Bob grasped it and shook it firmly. "Thank you, Jonny." 

"No problem," Jonny said.  "I know what it's like to be far from
home."  He stepped back, adding,  "I'll see you on the outside," and
de-rezzed.

A crowd of binomes surged towards Bob, calling, "We'll miss you,
Guardian!"  "Be careful out there!"  "Come back and visit!"  "Bon
voyage, Bob!"

"Thanks for everything, IRIS," Bob said.

"Take care of yourself, Bob," IRIS replied.

"I will," Bob smiled.  "You watch out for Jonny.  He's a good kid."

"I know.  He's like a son to me," IRIS said.

A bright spinning disc appeared in the sky overhead.  "That's my
ride," Bob said.  "Gotta go."

Bob jumped back onto his hoverboard and took off towards the spinning
disk.  IRIS raised a hand in farewell, and the watching binomes waved
madly.

Bob felt the light envelop him, and emerged onto a pristine surface. 
A group of brightly polished binomes snapped to attention as Bob
appeared in their midst.  "Hi, guys," Bob said.  Looking around, he
observed,  "Brand-new diskette, never been used.  Makes a program feel
special."  He settled down and prepared to wait.

##########


"File transfer complete," IRIS sweetly informed the Quest team.

Jonny ejected the disk, and looked at Jessie.  

Jonny looked at the precious diskette in his hand.  "Let's get him on
his way."


##########

Bob looked around as a system began to form around him.  He was still
in the clean diskette space, but there was new scenery outside.

A portal opened up in front of him, and he felt the familiar pull of
file transfer.

::I'm on my way home, Dot,:: he thought.  ::I'm on my way home.::

##########


"There he goes," Jessie said as the File Transfer window popped up.

"Good luck, Red Baron," Jonny said as the meter reached 100%.


##########

The landscape was unfamiliar.  Cold circuits stretched on for
centimeters in every direction.

"Hello?  Anyone there?"  No answer.

Bob ran a hand through his silicon-toned hair and sighed.  Another
system, and still no Mainframe.  

But at least he was one step closer to home.


THE END

Comments welcome!  






© 1998 Winnie Lim

Your comments on this page are appreciated.


Disclaimer

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest and all characters, logos, and likenesses therein, are trademarks of and copyrighted by Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc., and Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc., a Turner company. No copyright infringement is intended by their use on this page. I and this page are in no way affiliated with, approved of or endorsed by Hanna Barbera or Turner Productions. This page is created by a fan for other fans out of love and respect for the show, and is strictly a non-profit endeavor.


Back to
JQ:TRA Home Page
A WinnieWorks Production
Created February 16, 1997


Free Speech:  Use It, Don't
Abuse It