This was another extreme protagonist exercise I did with Leslee at Borders. She carefully wrote one good one and I vomited out two so-so ones. I don't think either of my characters are very extreme - they are just in extreme situations. This story is called "The Experiment".
The experiment had gone terribly awry. Joe felt sick to his stomach as he got pulled further into the device. Six months ago he stood in a boardroom trying to justify his research to the CEO. When he found out his department was going to be downsized he ran through the company campus ready to save his baby at all costs.
That dash through the crisp fall air, up until the current moment, had given him the biggest adrenaline rush of his entire life. He was on the verge of a big breakthrough - his name would be infamous. He wasn't going to let those beancounters stand in his way so his flabby legs carried him through on this marathon and he shocked the CEO's personal assistant when he arrived pink-cheeked and rasping.
"I have a matter of the utmost importance to discuss with Mister Smith!" he said it with such authority that she just nodded absentmindedly in her smart green sweater. He straightened his posture and strolled into the CEO's office, fully knowing that he would probably get fired for his moxy. THe CEO stared at the intrusion. Joe stood his ground and presented his case about how the company would stand to make trillions from the new technology.
It was a great moment. It was Joe's best most defining moment. Now he was wondering if it was worth it. Would anyone remember him? They might not even know that he had ever existed. Joe had a lot of time to contemplate this. The parallel world communication device prototype had malfunctioned, sucking him into interdimensional space where reality spaces bumped and glided but where people should never travel.
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