Professor Gravier greeted Bond and showed him to Goulu’s room. He had not left it since the incident. Professor Gravier explained that he even had to give him a mild sedative so the poor thing wouldn’t have random panic attacks.
“It’s better if I stay in the room with you,” the middle-aged man in the wheelchair added.
“No problem, Professor.”
Gravier opened the door. In the room, a short, skinny man was watching cartoons on a television screen. It was difficult to put an age on him. He had the tired features of an old man, but also a very childlike air about him. With his sparse hair and large pajamas, he reminded Bond of someone suffering from an incurable disease or a prisoner recently released from a Nazi concentration camp. Goulu was one of Doc’s first attempts at altering extracted DNA when creating clones of himself. If Bond remembered correctly, Goulu was the first viable specimen.
Goulu did not seem to notice the two men before the professor spoke.
“Good afternoon, Goulu. This is Bond. You remember Bond, don’t you? He’s here to talk to you. Would you mind turning off the television?”
“But it’s The Smurfs. It’s my favorite show. I can’t turn it off now.”
“Perhaps you could just pause it?”
Bond motioned to the professor. “That’s fine for now. He can keep watching while I assess him.”
Gravier agreed. Goulu hadn’t moved a bit, hypnotized by the cartoon.
“May I sit next to you?” Bond asked.
Goulu nodded, still not taking his eyes off the screen. Bond sat down and began to watch the cartoon as well, under Gravier’s perplexed gaze.
Bond watched the cartoon with Goulu for a few minutes. Then he took a deep breath and the screen got bigger. Another inhale and the screen got even bigger. And bigger. Soon it encompassed Bond’s entire field of vision. He was now sitting in the middle of a cartoonish forest. Bond could see some giant mushrooms in front of him, and cheerful music was coming from them. He got up and walked towards the mushrooms. They were as big as houses. They were houses, complete with doors, windows and chimneys. Several blue-skinned men with big noses and big ears, shirtless but wearing white pants and hats, were going about their day, most of them singing. Goulu was there, watching the blue men, laughing and singing along with them.
Bond walked over to him.
“Hi, Goulu. Long time no see. Do you remember me?”
“Lala, lala, lala… Oh… Hi… Yes, I know you. You’re one of Doc’s friends. You go on adventures with him sometimes? Are you on an adventure right now? Is Doc here too? Where is he?”
“Hmmm… Yes, you could say that. I’m on a kind of adventure. Doc isn’t here, unfortunately.”
“Is he okay? Is he safe? Is there any danger? Doc told me your adventures are dangerous! Are you here to protect the Smurfs from Gargamel? That’s very nice of you, but you know, they don’t really need your help. The Smurfs always manage to defeat Gargamel, you know?”
“No, there’s no danger now, but I’m here to protect you if anything bad happens.”
“I don’t really need your help. If Gargamel attacks me, the Smurfs will be there to help me. But, you know, he rarely attacks other people, you know. He’s kind of a coward. He only attacks the Smurfs because they’re smaller than he is. But he’s stupid and they’re smart, so they always win in the end.”
“I see. But there might be other bad people around. Bad people the Smurfs don’t know how to defeat. I’m here to protect you from them.”
Goulu’s voice changed a little. “No, no. There are no other bad people. Only Gargamel, and he’s stupid and weak, and I’m not afraid of him.”
He pretty much turned his back on Bond and went back to watching the Smurfs. They had become slightly smaller. The mushroom houses had also become a little smaller. The forest was a little darker.
“Goulu, look at me. There’s nothing to be afraid of. I’m here to protect you.”
“No, it’s just Gargamel. The Smurfs can handle him.”
Goulu’s voice was less cheerful. The little blue men were now only a few centimeters tall. The houses had become real mushrooms again. Goulu continued in a more tense tone.
“You know, I think Gargamel isn’t all that bad, deep down. He’s just sad and lonely and doesn’t know how to make friends.”
“Yes, Goulu, you don’t have to be afraid of him or anyone else. No one can hurt you when I’m with you.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Bond noticed that the trees of the forest were becoming whiter, some of them more metallic. They became straighter, like panels or walls. Soon, Bond and Goulu were no longer in a forest. They were in a corridor. They were in the infirmary corridor. Goulu’s eyes looked around, apprehensive.
“You’re in no danger with me, Goulu.”
Bond handed him a mop.
Goulu’s back arched a little. He glanced behind his back for a moment. No one was there, just him and Bond. Part of him looked relieved, but he still looked uncertain, as if things were not as he expected. He grabbed the mop. Hesitant at first, he soon began mopping the floor. Still looking around, but avoiding Bond’s gaze. On the other hand, the agent stared at him, not even blinking.
The little man whimpered.
“No… No… Please, no.”
Bond couldn’t tell if Goulu was pleading with him or someone else.
“There is nothing more to fear, Goulu. I’m with you now.”
“No… No… Leave me alone…”
He was on the verge of tears.
“I am here to protect you, Goulu. What happened? What happened in that corridor the other day? Tell me. You have nothing to fear.”
From the way he looked at Bond, the clone did not agree with that last statement. He stopped mopping and bent over more, trying to make himself as small as possible. He was almost on his knees. He tried to look at the floor, but couldn’t help glancing behind him and around him. Especially in the direction of Guardian Angel’s room. He was trembling.
“No… No… No…” he cried.
Bond turned his head towards the room and tried to see what Goulu was looking at, but the windows were darker than they should have been. He could see a faint light, though. It wasn’t coming from the monitors. It was a different light, more reddish and flickering.
“No… No… Please, no…”
The light got bigger, or closer. Goulu wailed.
“No… No! Leave me alone…”
That last squeal pushed Bond out of Goulu’s memory. It took him a second to reconnect with the outside world. Goulu was sobbing and shaking. Prof. Gravier held him in his arms. He looked at Bond, who apologized.
“It didn’t work. I’m sorry.”
“I figured as much. Now leave him alone, please.”
(to be continued)
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Author(s)
Frenchman, exiled on the other side of the planet, DavidB writes. It's not always very good, but who cares, the goal is to write. Sometimes, he also does other things.
MetaStructure is one of his longest-running projects. It was started in the early 2000s. Stopped many times. Started over a few times. Let's hope this time is the right one.
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