Research scientist Bryan Smith, now a mere quarter of an inch tall, stood on his kitchen tabletop as a pillar of fire and light moved steadily across the vast plain.
He tried to look past the fiery column for any hint of his next-door neighbor, but the light burned his eyes. He did make out the god-like hand wielding the mammoth magnifying glass that focused mere sunbeams into infernal death rays.
As the lethal beam approached, he weaved to the right, attempting to run as fast as possible for a being reduced to the size of a small ant.
To his horror, he saw the fiery beam of light change course, adjusting to follow his every attempt at evasion.
Suddenly, the back door opened and the tiny man looked away from the beam to follow the entrance of another mega-sized teenager.
----
"WHATCHA DOING, DUDE?"
Tommy lowered the magnifying glass when he saw his best friend, Joe.
"ZAPPING ANTS," Tommy said, He chuckled when he looked down and saw that the weird pale ant was no longer moving. "IT'S FUN!" Tommy added for Joe's benefit.
Joe, however, complained in a loud voice about texts and phone calls unanswered. "DON'T YOU EVER CHECK YOUR PHONE?"
"I'M NEARLY FINISHED," Tommy answered.
The speck-sized man listened to the conversation between the two titans as he struggled to catch his breath, regain his strength and formulate a plan.
He didn't trust Tommy's buddy, but at least Joe wasn't chasing him with a death ray trying to burn him to a crisp.
Then, to his horror, Tommy raised the magnifying glass again, maneuvering to catch the sunlight at the best angle to produce a perfect zapping beam of energy.
Joe complained some more and watched with a frown as his friend resumed his chase of a pathetic little ant across the surface of the table.
As the tiny man ran for his life, he heard Tommy's voice directing Joe's attention toward him.
"DUDE, THERE'S SOMETHING WEIRD ABOUT THIS BUG," Tommy said. Yet again, he gradually directed the beam of light toward the little ant, only to watch it veer away from the beam. "SEE WHAT I MEAN?"
Joe yawned and remarked that he was bored. When he looked down at the table, he saw only a tiny, pale bug, much too small and insignificant to retain his interest.
At the same time, the tiny scientist took one more opportunity to communicate his true identity to his giant neighbor. "Yes, look closer," Mr. Smith screamed and waved his arms over his head. "Tommy, it's me! It's Mr. Smith, not a bug. Help me!"
"HOLD ON, MAN," Tommy said. "I JUST WANT TO ZAP THIS LAST ANT."
The little man shrieked and ran as fast as he could across the vast plateau of the kitchen table.
"BETTER BE CAREFUL, OR YOU'LL BURN A HOLE IN YOUR NEIGHBOR'S TABLE," Joe said.
Tommy scoffed and continued to follow the tiny bug with the incendiary beam right to the edge of the table.
As he ran, the shrunken man saw that he was coming toward the edge of the tabletop, which represented an unimaginable abyss for the tiny man.
Taking a leap off the edge wasn't an option. He was sure he couldn't survive the plunge to the distant floor. He stopped and turned to face his gigantic neighbor.
Tommy noticed only that the tiny pale bug had halted its flight. He chuckled and said, "LOOKS LIKE THE END OF THE LINE."
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