FicWad

Oscar Marx was in the officer's lounge at Star Force headquarters, when an ensign came in and spoke to him. The ensign said, "I have been sent to bring you to a meeting, sir, will you please come with me?" Marx asked, "What's the meeting about?" The ensign said, "I am not at liberty to tell you sir, there is a class ten security level on this." Now, Marx was really curious. Class ten was the highest security level. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, to enter into a situaiton with a class ten security level. The highest level of security he had ever been involved in was class nine, that that was several years ago. The ensign led Marx through the corridors, to a small room, and led Marx in. After Marx went into the room, the ensign left, and Marx looked around the room, it appeared to be empty.

After a moment a man walked into the room, it was not just any man, it was a Star Force Admiral. When Marx saw the stripes on the shoulder of his uniform Marx saluted. It was rare to meet an Admiral in person, even for Marx. The admiral introduced himself, saying "I am Admiral Kozaren." Marx said, "It's an honor to meet you, sir." The Admiral said, "So, you are Oscar Marx? Please sit down, Captain Marx." Marx sat down. The Admiral was shuffling through some papers he held in his hand, and Marx got impatient. Marx asked, "Can you tell me what this is about? The ensign told me that there was a class ten security level on this." The Admiral didn't stop shuffling through his papers, he only said, "Marx, I have been told that you are the best Captain in Star force. You have been chosen to become the Captain of a completely new star ship. Here, take a look at this picture." The admiral handed Marx a photograph.

Marx looked a the photograph, it looked like a lump of clay. The Admiral asked, "What does the photograph look like to you?" Marx said, "It looks like a lump of clay." Admiral Kozaren smiled and said, "It is actually a lump of the most sophisticated material that has ever been created. It is a lump of shape-shifting material." The Admiral opened a door, and led Marx into another room. Inside the room, there were several men wearing lab coats. They were Star Force scientists. The scientists were gathered around the table, staring at what looked like a lump of clay. The Admiral said, "This lump of material you see here on this table is a small piece of shape-shifting material."
One of the scientists turned to look at the Admiral, and he said, "We are ready for the demonstration, sir." The Admiral said, 'Very well, proceed." The scientists started plugging wires into the lump of material. The other end of the wires were connected to a computer. The Admiral said, "What you are about to see, Captain Marx, is a demonstration of a new technology, a technology that will change the course of history."

One of the scientists spoke to Marx, saying, "This is a small piece of shape-shifting material. It looks like a lump of clay, but it consists of millions of tiny particles called 'nano-particles'. These nano-particles can change their orientation to one another, when electricity is applied, collectively they change shape. This shape-shifting material can be re-shaped so that it looks like almost anything." The other scientist stopped fiddling with the wires, and said, "It's ready, the computer link is complete" The first scientist said, "The piece of shape-shifting material on the table is connected with wires to this computer. Now, the computer can send signals into the shape-shifting material, so it will change shape. When I press this button, the lump of material will change into the shape of a cube." The scientist pressed a button and the lump began to move slowly, after a few minutes it changed into the shape of a cube. The scientist said, "That's a cube. Now, watch this, I'll change it into the shape of a sphere." He pressed another button, and the cube slowly changed into the shape of a round ball, a perfect sphere. The scientist said, "Now watch this, "I'll change it into a pyramid." He pressed another button and the sphere changed into the shape of a pyramid.

Oscar Marx said, "That's interesting, but what does this have to do with me? I'm a Star Force officer, not a scientist." Admiral Kozaren said, "We are going to manufacture two hundred thousand tons of this shape-shifting material, and then we are going to install a warp drive in it. When it is finished, it will become the world's first shape-shifting star ship. It will be capable of changing shape, while it is in flight". Marx was stunned, he shouted "What?!" The Admiral laughed and said, "I just wanted to see the look on your face, when I told you about it. We are going to build the world's first shape-shifting star ship and you are going to be the captain!"