Meanwhile, Bob's alter-egos were making their moves. In particular, Rafederokovic Phelps-Bolt-Ronaldo-Messi was also making good progress in order to enhance Bob's epigenetic fitness and genetic quality, as well as gaining him new insights regarding human experience - this time, from the viewpoint of an elite athlete and sportsperson.
*Tennis Golden Slam Final*
"-40... -15…"
The stadium is silent, the crowd collectively holding their breath as the formerly unknown wildcard, now turned fan favourite, steps up to the line to serve it out.
It's the Championship point…
*Bounce…*
*Bounce…*
The fluffy greeny-yellow ball is tossed up, and a few moments later, a 200km/hr rocket fires…
...His opponent swings desperately, wildly, but can't get their racquet on it ...It's ureturnable!!!!!!
"-Fault!!!!!!!"
"Oh come on!!!!!!!"
Premature Ejaculatory Cheers from several fans who think it's over are quickly hushed, as the upcoming, ruggedly handsome star wipes the sweat from his brow.
The racket subsides... The emotions are ratcheting up…
The tensions… are high...ly strung.
Bounce…
Bounce…
….Bounce…
"-And this time, he makes no mistake… !!!"
"AND HE'S DONE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"-Game -Set -Match…"
"...Phelps-Bolt-Ronaldo-Messi…"
"7-6, 6-7 7-6, 6-7 7-6…"
YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Radeferoko… Farefakokovjn, $%^*&*... *breathes* … And *Rafederokovic* is your new Grand Slam Champion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Who the hell came up with this name!"
"It's so friggin' hard to say!!!!"
"…"
Rafederokovic covers his face with his hands as he drops to the court, overcome with emotion.
[*Edit: I realised after I wrote this that the score doesn't make sense according to current Tennis rules, but the 5 set 7-6 scoreline landed better for me and was too hectic to change, so if you prefer, you can replace "-40...-15..." with a 68-67 Tiebreak and RFD about to serve it out 😛✨...]
___
*World Cup Football Final*
Rafederokic steps up to the penalty spot… glancing up at the terror-stricken goalie who is shivering… what?! Is that a wet patch on his pants?!?! What are we seeing here?!?!"
The score is tied 7-7, even after all the Extra times, but in the crucial final seconds, RFD had made his perfect run into the area and fired a rocket which forced a desperate line of defenders parked in the front of the goals to handball in order to keep the ball out of the net.
"And he takes his run up. Staggers… goes again!!!! And the ball flies into the back of the net!!!!!! He does it!!! Phelps-Bolt-Ronaldo-Messiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
___
Rafederokovic grinned as he saved his progress and switched off his gaming console.
He really enjoyed playing games…
As a break from his gruelling tennis, mental, athletics, swimming and football training of course!!!!
Never fear, the Author, having received so many power stones, would never do that to the esteemed readers, Rafederokic was of course the real deal.
___
As Rafederokovic continued to compete, excel, seeking to push the boundaries of what humanity might be capable of, all the while hoisting more trophies aloft and selling more clothing apparel, Bob continued to absorb and learn new insights from the experience.
One thing was for sure... having ability was definitely better than having none.
Everything added up. You wouldn't always see the results straight away, but effort was never wasted.
Rafederokovic hadn't always won, and at the beginning, he had in fact lost countless times. But the most important thing sometimes wasn't necessarily the glory moments, although they were absolutely memories that one would treasure as highlights for a lifetime.
Sometimes... the main thing was just showing up, and doing the work, every day.