Harry's father, Scott, was just coming home after a science and technology conference downtown. His work in DNA manipulation was being praised, but it wasn't all his work. It was mainly being done at the local university. However, he did set up the same experiments in his own personal lab in his basement, to be worked on in his spare time.
When he would grow bored with thay project, he had different side-projects he would work on instead in his basement. One of those side projects, was creating an "Inanimation Machine." It was kept strictly hidden away in his basement. He deemed it too dangerous for anyone to know about it. Why he created the thing in the first place, is the fact that he took an interest in materials manipulation. Alchemy.
Well, not really "alchemy." Rather than trying to turn one substance into another through chemical reactions, he decided to attempt to do so more at the atomic level. Afterall, you could literally make anything, just by manipulating the numbers of protons and neutrons of an atom. And so, he conducted experiments, and eventually created a machine that could manipulate objects at such a level. Unfortunately, it proved much easier to manipulate carbon atoms into other atoms, than to do so with any other atoms.
One day, Scott had left the door open while he was in the basement, putting the finishing touches on the machine. The boy's damn dog, (that's what Scott called his own son; "The Boy") came bounding down the steps. The untrained, nosy little bastard immediately caused all kinds of chaos; (well, he wasn't exactly "little." He was a big goofy dog.) The damn dog knocked over his DNA experiments.
Frustrated, he grabbed the dog by the scruff of the neck, threw him into the machine, and turned him into a statue! It was both a relief and a success! He had turned a dog, into a stone statue!
But worried that it would be found out, Scott had to hide the statue. He had to pretend that the dog had run away, and had to hide the stone creature. The dog was far too big to lift out of the machine. He had to go to a hardware store and buy a pallet jack. He used the pallet jack after tipping the statue onto it, and move it a dark, unused corner of the basement.
But now, as he came down to his lab, he noticed immediately a few things out of place. Someone was down here! He walked through the aisle containing his DNA experiment, and noticed someone had touched them! He had to go through each vial to make sure nothing was missing.
Moving on, he saw that the Inanimation Machine was turned on! Quickly moving to the machine, he opened the door. And there, in front of him, was a naked statue of the boy!
Scott could only just stand there and gasp! His son was a statue! Someone turned him into a statue!
"Oh. No!" He breathed under his breath. "No, no, no, no! This didnt happen!"
He stood there in shock for many minutes, just looking at the boy. He was smiling with that cute, crooked, cocky smile of his. His big, beautiful, new, unworn adult teeth showing. He was in a casual pose. Looking down, his boyhood was at attention. Clearly, he was excited about something just before he went forever silent.
Even though he looked down on his son, he still loved him. And so, Scott began to sob. The ever-hopeful Harry was wondering why his dad was crying. He never saw him cry before.
"Why doesn't he just change me back?" he thought.
"Ok, get a hold of yourself," he said to himself. "What do I do now?" Scott said to himself again. He was in the habit of talking to himself. Most absent-minded people do that.
This worried poor Harry. The obvious solution would be to turn him back! Why wouldn't he turn him back!?
"Shit! There's no way turn inanimate matter back into living cells!"
Now Harry was terrified! Despite his stupid, goofy smile, he was absolutely terrified! He couldn't spend the rest of his life as a god damn statue! It was all he could do, just to get through the afternoon like this! Of course, he had no choice! And he'll never have any say in the matter! He's just going to be stuck forever as a statue of himself! Never to grow up, and always naked!
"What's his mom going to say!?" he thought. "Angela. Dammit! What do i ever say to her? 'Sorry honey, but I built a machine that turned our boy unto a statue!?'"
He stood there, thinking for a few minutes.
"I don't think so. I guess I'll have to hide this thing. Maybe beside Hiker."
"Hiker? So that IS Hiker! He went missing when I was six....so....that means....he was down here for.....six years!? As a statue!? Omg!" The thought of being stuck in this old basement for six years, with spiders crawling on him. Harry tbought about how long six years was! He was....why, he was in Kindergarten!
Harry could feel that spider crawling around inside his nose, when suddenly, a hand touched his right shoulder, and the world tipped sideways! He felt a hard metal object touch the inside of his left ankle. Then the world started to straighten up again a bit, as the bottom of his right foot landed on a metal bar.
The he felt big, warm hands grab both of his shoulders. He was looking at his own reflection for the final time, when he heard his father grunting as he was spun around on his right foot to look at the side of the booth he was in. The his left foot landed squarely on another metal rung.
Suddenly, he felt movement and saw the side of the inside of the booth pull away. He was dragged out from the machine. He was about to fall forward, and reflexively tried to reach out to catch himself. His body refused to comply. The feeling of falling faceforward and being totally helpless, terrified him for a second. But he heard a deep-throated "WHOA!" As two big hands caught him by the shoulders.
He was them set back right on both of his feet. The hands removed themselves fron hus scrawny shoulders. Then he felt a big meaty hand plant itself firmly right on the crown of his stone-covered head.
With on hand firmly gripping the statue on tge head, and the other hand on the handle of the pallet jack, Scott started to pull again. As he pulled the object out of the booth, Harry saw the computer monitor attached to the outside wall of the cursed Inanination Machine. The selections he had made mere hours ago in the drop-down menu. Statue. Stone.
His stomach dropped and his stony heart ached. That's all he was now. Just a mere statue. Forever stuck at the age of 12! When he should be running around outside, he was now being moved into a musty old corner of this basement, just to collect dust and cobwebs. To stand there forever in silent vigil next to another statue. That one of his dog.
Scott maneuvered the boy statue into the corner next to the dog statue. He did so, in such a way that Harry could still mostly see the rest of the basement. He could even see outside through the window on the opposite side of the room. Then his dad turned and started to walk away.
"Wait! I got a spider up my nose!" But he remained annoyingly silent and smiling, unable to ever properly express his discontent and discomfort.