Cause and Effect

I haven’t been writing much due to upcoming exams but I found this on my word program last night, all ready to go! Quick description for you- this is a short one-shot on Professor Z taking place during his early twenties. I’ll let the writing do the rest of the explaining and see if it interests you at all…

CAUSE AND EFFECT

“Arthur Zündapp?” boomed an authoritative voice.

The petite, turquoise vehicle crept slowly into the imposing office. “Y-yes, sir,” he called out as he moved deeper into the room.

“Come, park yourself where I can see you,” replied a rather chiseled-looking, almond brown Ascari.

“Uh, OK,” stuttered the young male. He wiggled his hood in attempt to raise his monocle. He peered up at the desk but was unable to see the headmaster. Inching forward, he activated a portion of the shiny floor which lifted him to a level height with the desk.

Mr. Powell sat directly across from him with narrowed blue eyes. He rested comfortably on a red velvet platform on the other side of the large piece of furniture. He surveyed the applicant for another second, then sighed and dragged a file folder across the desk with his tire.

“Arthur,” he tried to smile, “Let’s discuss your portfolio.”

“Oh, yes, sir! I think you’ll find that I am very qualified for a position here at C.H.R.O.M.E.,” he nodded eagerly.

“M-hmmm,” the older car mumbled with disinterest and continued on, “I see you are quite advanced in the scientific area.”

“Yes! I have dedicated many hours of my time to master my knowledge in the subject,” Arthur babbled on.

“Yes…now, would you mind telling me about this…camera you have altered?” Mr. Powell queried with a hint of skeptism.

Arthur gave a prideful smile. This would be his ticket in for sure! “Well, I’ve actually brought a model with me if-.”

“Do just explain it, please,” the headmaster interjected.

“Ah, yes, OK. You see, what I’ve created is an electromagnetic pulse that has enough strength to make all degrees of explosions, combined with the right reactant of course. What I’ve discovered is that the pulse can easily be emitted from technology such as a TV camera. By rearranging the parts I was able to-.”

“A TV camera?” he was interrupted by the Ascari a second time.

“Yes, my research shows that the pulse is best projected from common television cameras. The components of it-.”

“Look, Arthur, I’m sorry. I’m afraid this is not a suitable piece of equipment for our company. It simply has no use,” Mr. Powell said plainly.

All gumption and hope drained from the intellectual car’s expression. This was his one big shot, and it was slipping from his tires faster than he could save it.

“Now” Mr. Powell began, “There is an alternate position I’d be willing to offer you.”

It was the smallest knock of opportunity, but he took it. “Oh! I’d be quite interested!”

The blue eyes studied him hesitantly. “What do you know about holographics? I’m looking for an engineer in the field. It is something we are highly impressed by here at C.H.R.O.M.E., something we’d like to implant with future spies.”

His mind ran blank until he was forced to admit the truth, “Holographics…are not something in my capabilities, sir. But I’m sure with some training I-.”

“Unfortunately that is all I can give you at this time. We need these advances in science and technology now. Your services will not be required with C.H.R.O.M.E. If you’ll exit to my left then one of our students will gladly escort you off the property,” Mr. Powell nodded, “Good afternoon, Mr. Zündapp.”

The lift in the floor lowered back to level ground. As it sunk, so did Arthur’s heart. His dreams were lost and his confidence crushed in the solid rejection. Without another word, he made his way in the direction Mr. Powell had requested.

Outside the doors he found a blue-grey Aston Martin sitting attentively. The car looked as young as him, and was obviously expecting his dismissal from the office.

“Mr. Zündapp?” he asked in a classic British accent.

“Yes,” Arthur sighed under his breath.

“Right this way, please,” replied the other car. He led the way down a series of halls towards the exit of the complex building.

“I’m sorry you weren’t accepted,” the Aston tried to comfort him.

“Oh, shut up,” he barked with irritation,” They took you in; you don’t give a flying tire that I didn’t make it.”

“Well, I-.”

“You think you’ll get anywhere?” Arthur cut him off in fury, “I’ll tell you what! You’re nothing more than me! They’ve got you working as a bloody door boy! You’ll never amount to anything in this stupid company!”

They both stopped, holding glares with each other. One was an inferno of anger, the other an iced stare of insult.

The Aston Martin motioned to the glass door they had approached and said coolly, “The door, Mr. Zündapp.”

He shoved past his chauffer and knew he would abominate this day, this company and this Aston Martin for the rest of his life.

The doors swung closed behind him, but not before he heard the British voice chuckle, “Bitter little chap…”

THE END~

I had to throw Finn in there.  :sunglasses: I thought it would be neat to establish some past history between him and Z too, seeing that they easily recognize each other later on in Cars 2. So, it is a possible scenario! Anyways, this was actually a fun piece to write although I have minimal interest in the Professor as a character. I hope you all enjoyed though and will feel compelled to leave me a comment. Thanks for reading!  :smiley:

It was great! I loved how you were able to fit Finn in there and show his past with Professor Z.

Thank you! :smiley: And congrats on first comment as always. :wink: He wasn’t orginally planned to be in there, but you know how the awesome Mr. McMissile can sneak his way in. :sunglasses:

Haha. It was a pleasure being the first reviewer again.

8D You may have first review on here, but you won’t be getting it on that art thread if I can help it. :wink:

We’ll have to see about that. But then again, Jonah could beat us to be the first poster.

Nice! :smiley: It’s interesting to think that Professor Z was actually wanting to work for C.H.R.O.M.E. back in the day. The bit towards the end too, that easily explains his later hatred towards Finn and the rest of the organization. :sunglasses: I love how you never actually mentioned Finn’s name… you gave enough indications through his mannerisms and descriptions that the name wasn’t necessary, it’s self-evident to the reader. That has a nice effect. :mrgreen: And, as always, here are a few lines I liked in particular…

I love the visual analogy of that first one, with the platform and his hopes sinking at the same time, and then the second one is just a perfect summary of both their personalities. :sunglasses: :wink: And every time I read the second one it reminds me of the scene on the oil rig where Finn is hanging above the camera, and the flame spouts up behind him. Right before Zundapp says “It’s Finn McMissile!”. I don’t know whether that was intended or not, but it’s a very nice foreshadow of what’s to come either way. :-D)

Oh, and I had meant to ask you a while back, but was “C.H.R.O.M.E.” the actual name of the spy agency or whatever in the movie, or did you come up with that on your own? :slight_smile:

So anyways, excellent job, Rebecca! Of course this doesn’t beat most of your other work, being a one-shot and all, but it’s still great. I’ll give it, let’s see… a 3.9/5. :wink: I really liked it though! :smiley: :wink: :sunglasses:

And dang, I thought I was going to beat you to first post, Jordan! One of these days… 8D

Who knows? Maybe one of these days it’ll be your lucky day. :smiley:

Great job! I loved the way you put Finn in there (and of course he did amount to something :slight_smile:). I really felt sorry for Zündapp. This is a good way of explaining why he is so bitter afterward. I really enjoyed it, so another great job!

Nice job! I just love all the foreshadowing these oneshots show. Like Jonah said, it’s a great explanation for the bitterness towards Finn and C.H.R.O.M.E. :slight_smile: I like how Finn was put in there too. :wink: And… heehee, “Arthur”, heehee. :laughing: That name fits perfectly. It was, like usual, well-written and I enjoyed reading it. :smiley:

I know this was meant for Rebecca to answer but I hope you don’t mind. C.H.R.O.M.E. actually is the name of the agency in the movie. :mrgreen:

:-D) Thanks! I take that as a great compliment! It is was a fun effect, and I’m glad it made sense to the readers right away. :slight_smile:

Thanks for your comments on those two lines too! The second one is a favourite of mine too. It took me a while to work that line out the way I wanted it to be, and I almost cut it at one point. Glad I kept it though! The foreshadowing to that scene was not intended, though that is a great connection now that you bring it up!

Don’t feel bad, Paulisha said almost the exact same thing not long ago. :wink:

Thanks so much! Yes, that is the irony of it- Finn sure did amount to something. :sunglasses: I’ve been getting lots of people saying that this is a believable scenario, so I’m thrilled that you thought so too! :slight_smile:

8D I know it isn’t German but the name just popped into my head and suddenly I couldn’t see it any other way. :laughing:

Yes, I mind! :smiling_imp: Just kidding, of course I don’t mind. 8D She’s right though, it is from the film. It stands for Command Headquarters for Recon Operations and Motorized Espionage. How Pixar came up with that blows my mind. :stuck_out_tongue: