CHAPTER 32: \ of religious proportions.

Ronald jogged out of the facility holding the STAB which, in turn, was balancing Steve, Wally, and the smoldering remains of Splatch, all of whom, to varying degrees, were in the process of discovering, mostly through trial, error, smoldering-and-doing-nothing, and attempts to use Star Trek problem solving logic, that the Shrink-To-A-Box was a fairly one-sided device, that very likely shrunk things, and, they guessed, required some form of a box.

It didn’t, for example, have a reverse.  In fact, it was simply a small metal cube with one large, red button, and an arrow that, one could only assume, had some form of “box and aim” related instructions in alien script written underneath.

“Ummm…” Summed up Steve’s ability to decipher the device’s intricate workings and mechanisms best.  Wally seconded with an “Errr….” As they walked around the large (at least from their miniscule perspective) red button, looking for anything even resembling a standard “Just reverse the polarity” switch that ALL science fiction movies had told them would be there. 

Steve kicked the side of the button in disappointment.  “There isn’t even something to open, with wires that we can splice and put into our wrist watch or something, to…”

“I swear to GOD Steve, if you say ‘reverse the polarity’ ONE MORE TIME…” Wally snapped.

"I... hey.  HEY!  HEEEEEY!” Steve suddenly hey’d.

“What!?” Wally whatted.

“HEY!!!” Steve yelled, loud enough so that even Ronald looked down from his crouched joggings with a little shush.  “I… I’m… I’m having an hypotenuse!"

Wally paused and did the mental, verbal, translational equivalent of the bamboozled Plain-Belly-Sneetches jumping through Sylvester McMonkey McBean’s Star Upon Thars Star Machine™, and took an educated guess. 

"…You mean an epiphany?"

"No, no... It’s like a life altering idea!"

"That's an epiphany"

"Well then what's a hypotenuse?"

"That's the longest side of a triangle... remember math 10?"

"Math 10?"

"Sure, A²+B²=C²?"

"Oh.”  Steve lied.  “…right."

At the mention of math, Steve quickly did his “avoid everyone’s eyes so as to avoid being called upon for anything, anywhere” body posture.

"Soooo anyway…”  Wally prompted, “…what was your epiphany?"

Steve paused for a moment.

"...huh."

"Well?"

"…I don't remember."

"You had a life altering idea, and you don't remember it?"

"…Nope."

"Nothing?"

"Not a speck."

"You're really something, Steve."

"…'s funny though."

"What?"

"I remember something about oranges again."