012. Insanity

012. Insanity

Doctor Delbert Doppler completed his undergraduate schooling of a double major in Chemistry and Physics in three years, his masters in Observational and Theoretical Astrophysics in one and a half, his masters in Nucleosynthesis and Astrochemistry in two, and his doctorate in Extragalactic Astrophysics in three. In all of his nineteen semesters, he's never been taught what to do in this situation.

The situation being stranded on a planet no one else in the entire universe knows the location of, let alone knows exists, reduced to running and hiding out in the bryophyte-covered-sorry-excuse-for-a-home of an outdated, obsolete, out-of-his-mind and off-his-rocker bioelectric navigational bot, hiding from pirates, no less, who'd hoodwinked him into believing that they were actually an outstanding and phenomenal crew who had even served on the ship of the head of the Royal Navy, who were really only bloodthirsty and gold-hungry buccaneers and looters who obviously had no qualms whatsoever of blowing them to smithereens, and now placing his life into the hands of a boy barely fifteen who's been on probation for a quarter of his lifetime, trusting him and his less than exemplary sidekicks to bring back a little golden trinket that very likely is their only key to survival, leaving him alone to guard a woman, well, Felinid, who has sustained heavy injury and very possibly a concussion, who is delirious and delusional, who is now asking him-

Asking him.

"Oh, oh, I'm so sorry, Captain, what was that you said?" Delbert stumbles out of his rambling thoughts to focus on his infirm patient of sorts.

"I was merely wondering if you found me, well, you know . . . if perhaps I may sometimes come across to you as . . . no, no, that won't do," she falters in an uncharacteristic way and mutters incoherently to herself. Suddenly, she stops. With a determination in her eye, she looks up at the Doctor and demands-

"Do you think I'm crazy?"

Honestly, of all the possible questions that were going through the good Doctor's mind, this was not one of them.

"Ah, come again?"

"Do you think I'm crazy?" she asks with even more seriousness and force, if that's possible.

"Well, I . . . to tell the truth, I've never considered that, well no, I suppose I have, but no, I don't know . . . why are you asking me?" Delbert finally settles on answering her question with a question of his own. One of the very best of maneuvers when a man such as himself is dealing with a woman such as herself.

"Oh, I know you must," she sighs, ignoring his question. "Please, every being in this galaxy thinks I am, and I suppose everyone else is just waiting for it to be confirmed. My own mother thinks I'm mad, and Arrow knew it for a fact."

Delbert stares, dumbstruck.

"Captain, with all due respect, if that's what's on your mind now, despite everything that has just happened, not including what could potentially happen, I think that you're absolutely insane."