Here's the first victim, Dr. Quest.  Believe me, the hardest thing about this story is pairing off characters and songs.  I'm really striving to get matches that work.

Disclaimer: Characters and associated details are property of HB and are used for non-profit, entertainment purposes only.

Archiving permission granted.

THE REAL ADVENTURES OF JONNY QUEST

Synopsis: The Quest Team find new ways to express themselves.

"ON BROADWAY"

by Eric R. Umali

Part 1 - "This Is The Moment"

Benton rolled his neck.  If there was one thing that an ostentatious piece of hardware like the Dragonfly was good for, it was getting him and his family back and forth from its adventures faster than sound.  Unfortunately, that only held true as long as the aircraft was working.

The Quest Team SST was, at that moment, being overhauled, so their current mode of transportation was a rented Learjet.  Dr. Quest sat in the copilot's seat, with Race as ever at the controls, and the younger members of the family in the passenger compartment.  The team was returning from a typically harrowing experience in Dakar, and was en route to New York, a visit he'd promised Jonny, Jessie and Hadji.  They'd been looking forward to returning to the big city for some time.  But that didn't stop the bickering.

Everyone had acceded to Benton's wish to make a Broadway show part of the trip, but not a single one of them could agree on which of the current productions to see.  That disagreement led to the usual juvenile arguing between his son and Race's daughter.

Jonny sat as far away from Jessie as possible, a QuestWorld headset visible beneath his tousled blond hair.  Jessie wore one as well, and both tied to the powerful notebook computer at Hadji's fingertips.

"Race," said Dr. Quest, "are you all right for few minutes?"

"Sure, doc," replied the bodyguard.

Benton rose and sat beside his adopted son.  "Are they fighting it out in QuestWorld now?"

"No," replied the young man.  "They are running two simultaneous programs.  I did not believe it was possible, but they are.  Albeit with somewhat reduced capabilities."

"Very creative programming, Hadji."

"A most ingenious invention, Dr. Quest.  I am simply able to work with it."

Benton nodded, then rose again, gazing out of one of the windows.  His mind went back to years ago when he had first envisioned the virtual reality of QuestWorld, years before anyone else conceived of it as a physical possibility.  Despite every step he took towards realizing his dream, the naysayers were there, doubting and jeering.

Then, one fateful day, the computers in his lighthouse lab came to life, flashing and beeping in an intricate dance of data processing and image rendering.  On the giant view screen before him lay a digital world beyond anyone's imagining.  All it required was a test subject to enter that world.  He had looked down at the interface headset he held in his hand.

It reminded Benton of a story, both then and now.  Another scientist was told his theories were ludicrous.  Another scientist was told it couldn't be done, that he was playing with things that couldn't or shouldn't be tampered with.  But that scientist had defied them all, and done the impossible.

Benton closed his eyes, seeing himself in that lighthouse lab as easily as he could imagine himself in that Victorian English laboratory.  He knew that he stood on the precipice of a major discovery.  Now he merely needed the courage to step off.

But did he have it?  Did he, Benton Quest, have the strength to risk damage to his mind, the tool that had brought him to this place, for the sake of the dream he'd been chasing?  He thought of that other scientist, holding the chemical in his hand.  Dr. Henry Jekyll had found the courage to do the impossible, and so would he.

The scientist surveyed his laboratory.  It was now or never.  He looked at the tool in his hand, and knew.  It was as if music swelled around him, giving his knowledge and his heart a voice.

"This is the moment,
This is the day,
This is the moment when I know I'm
On my way-
Every endeavor
I have made ever-
Is coming into play,
Is here and now, today-

This is the moment,
This is the time,
When the momentum and the moment
Are in rhyme-
Give me this moment,
This momentous moment,
I'll gather up my past
And make some sense at last-

This is the moment,
When all I've done
All of the dreaming,
Scheming and screaming,
Becomes one-

This is the day,
Just see it shine
When all I've lived for
Becomes mine!

This is the moment,
This is the hour,
When I can open up tomorrow
Like a flower
And put my hand to
Everything I've planned to
Fulfill my grand design,
See all my stars align-

This is the moment,
My final test!
Destiny beckoned, I never reckoned
Second best!
I won't look down,
I must not fall-
This is the moment,
The sweetest moment of them all!

This is the moment,
Damn all the odds!
This day or never, I sit forever
With the gods!
When I look back,
I will recall
Moment for moment-
This was the moment-
The greatest moment
Of them all!"

The scientist took the plunge.  Dr. Jekyll drank formula HJ7 and succeeded-- he separated the good and the evil in a man, and was doomed for it.  Dr. Quest threw himself into the digital domain of QuestWorld and survived, and returned knowing he'd created an entire world for the exploring.

Returning from his reverie, he watched Jonny and Jessie engrossed in the virtual reality world and nodded once more.  Ingenious, indeed.

He returned to his seat.

TO BE CONTINUED...

"This Is The Moment" from the musical Jekyll & Hyde
Music by Frank Wildhorn
Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, used without permission

For a recording, I recommend Colm Wilkinson (of "Les Miserables") on the "Highlights" album.