(old) Anomaly 207 (shelved for now)

==Chapter 2==

After a thirty-minute drive, I arrived at Times Square. It was weird seeing it so empty.
All the giant holographic billboards were gone and the normal screens read, "No Signal".
The police had done a good job at keeping it empty. There were roadblocks and policemen everywhere.
I was stopped by one. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to turn around. Times Square is off-limits for today." The officer said "I know officer, but I'm the son of Alex Mercury. I'm here to see what the problem is with the main control system." I replied, showing him my ID.
The officer took my ID, scanned it with his Holon, and looked at the screen. It went green and he gave my ID back. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience mister Mercury." He said letting me through. "No problem man. You're just doing your job."
I parked my car and got to the giant stage they were building. Behind it was a small van with cables coming out of the back.
I stepped inside and saw my father standing there. His blond hair was neatly done, but his eyes looked tired. Today he was wearing a simple plain blouse with jeans.
"Good morning Dad." I greeted him. He looked away from the computer he had been busy with.
"Oh, good morning son. I'm glad you could come so quickly." "No problem. So which one is malfunctioning?" He stood up and stepped away from the computer. "This one."
I sat down and plugged in my Holon. "DELTA. Run System diagnosis."
"System diagnosis in progress, please wait... System diagnosis complete. All hardware is functioning and responding. I suggest taking a look at the software."
I sighed. I opened the file that controlled everything and started to scroll through all the code.
The issue was at the complete end of the program. I had typed a variable with a space instead of an underscore. After changing it, I restarted the program. I looked outside and saw that all the screens had turned on. "There you go. Problem solved." I said.

The rest of the morning I spent helping to set things up. I carried construction beams, laid down electronics, and got food for the workers at McDonald's. When we were done with that I showed my Hover Boots to Dad.
I turned on Hover mode, making them function like invisible inline skates. I laughed as I zoomed around Times Square. Dad looked at me in astonishment. I stopped next to him and waited for his reaction.
Then came the questions. "How do they work? What power source did you use? What else can you make them do?" I looked at him. "I took the gravity pads from my old hoverboard and optimized them, making them twice as small, but just as powerful. As for the power source, I used a neutron powercell." I said, taking off the left shoe and showing him the circuitry inside the sole. "What is this for?" Dad asked pointing at a piece of the circuit. "That is a polarity switch. It switches the polarity of the gravity pads, giving them the opposite effect." I explained. Dad gave me back the shoe and after covering up the circuitry, I put it back on.
I showed him some of the other functions, like the jump boost and wall climb functions.
I wanted to show him more, but people started to show up. Dad looked at the time.
"Four o'clock already? Well, you'll have to show it more thoroughly later. The show's starting in thirty minutes." He hurried towards the stage, disappearing behind it.

I took out my Holon and called Lee. "Hey J, what's up?" He said as he picked up. "Hey. Are you on your way?" I asked. "Yeah, man. I will be there in five." He answered. "Good. See you then."
I hung up and made my way through the ever-growing crowd to get closer to the podium. On my way, I bumped into a girl making her tumble forward. I however caught her just in time, preventing her from falling "I'm sorry. I didn't see you." I quickly said.
She put a loose strand of her long, black hair behind her ear. "Doesn't matter. I also wasn't looking where I was going." She had a sweet, soft voice.
Wow. I thought. Then I noticed something on the ground. It was a sketchbook.
I picked it up and looked at her. "Is this one yours?" She looked at it and nodded. "Yes, it is. I must have dropped it." I handed it to her.
She was about to leave but then turned around. "You look familiar. Have we met before?"
I chuckled. "No, but you probably have seen me before, either on the cover of some magazine or at the last Mercury Tech Convention. I introduced the Holon Gen Seven."
I could almost hear the cogs in her head turn. And then I saw the realization in her soft, silvery-blue eyes. "You're James Mercury." She whispered. "I certainly am," I said, grinning.
"Is it true that you are attending New York University?" She asked, fiddling nervously with a strand of hair. "Yes. Why?" I asked. "I will be going there this year." Her voice became softer with the second. "Cool," I said. "Then maybe we will run into each other there."
"Yeah, maybe." She said. "Well. See you around then, uhm..." I fell silent as I didn't know her name. "I'm Skyler, Skyler Delacour." She said.
"Skyler..." I repeated. "Cool name. Well, I have to go, but I have the feeling that we will see each other again. Take care." I made my way forward again, leaving behind a still little flustered Skyler. "I spoke with James Mercury." She whispered.

I looked around to see if I could find Lee. I found him in the front row.
"You're late." He said. I laughed. "When are you ever in time" "Touché." He said.
I told him about my encounter with Skyler. Lee looked at me. "The vacation hasn't even ended and schoolgirls are already head over heels for you."
I elbowed him in his stomach. "Not funny," I said as he doubled over. "You know how I hate that kind of attention. Now shush, it's starting."
All lights on Times Square turned off, except the ones above the podium.
My father stepped onto the stage. "Hello, New York!" He shouted, his voice booming out of the speakers. "And Welcome to the new Mercury Tech convention."
The crowd cheered. "I'm glad to see that so many people have gathered here. There is so much to show. But let's get right down to business. I would like to introduce our newest invention. The PowerSuit." A giant hologram appeared above Dad's head. It displayed an exosuit, twice as large as your average human.
"This exosuit will be useful in many ways. It can be used in construction and firefighting. Or to clear out big pieces of rubble to search for survivors after a collapse."
Then, all of a sudden, somebody in the crowd threw something at Dad. It landed right in front of him and an LED started to blink. I acted before my brain could register what was going on. I activated my shoes, jumped onto the stage, and pushed Dad out of the way.
There was a loud explosion and a bright flash. People screamed. A pain like I had never felt before seared through my body. My ears were ringing and my eyes were blurry.
My head was tolling and darkness started to close around me. In the distance, I could hear someone shout my name.
But my mind slipped away into the shadows of unconsciousness and I heard nothing.