Notes: "Phillip" was how his name was spelled when I started this series of stories. Also, slightly AU.
Speaking the Knowledge
by Estirose
c 2009
"Matsuyama. Capital of Ehime prefecture. Current city population: 515,282, not including temporary residents. Famous attractions: Dogo Onsen, Matsuyama Castle. Eight of the eighty-eight temples are there."
He reads the words that he recites, not so much out of the book that he carries, but the words that come out of the recesses of his brain. He doesn't really even need the book that much, but it makes it easier to focus and do his research and pull the information that he needs. Today, his subject of exploration is the city of Matsuyama in Ehime prefecture; he was investigating dangos before that and was pulled into the side research as he always did. He does not feel complete – the information does not feel complete – unless it is spoken. Even if nobody hears it besides himself, or Shoutarou, or whoever is nearby.
So, he shifts from topic to topic like a butterfly, speaking so that the knowledge is spoken out loud, so it is not lost in the library that only he can access. He knows, ideally, that the knowledge wants to be heard; but for some reason, most people have little patience for it, except those who want to exploit the knowledge.
He can feel the knowledge wanting to flood from his brain to Shoutarou's; this, he instinctively knows would be bad. He has studied Shoutarou as if his life depended on it; in fact, being able to meld with his partner for W is critical to his continued existence. Shoutarou would be shocked to know how much Phillip knows about him, from official papers to what he eats. Shoutarou is easy to research because he is in some ways part of Phillip now; he is part of the Library now in ways that Phillip doesn't want to explain to him. Shoutarou is not stupid; he'll eventually figure it out.
But he has to accept the knowledge in his brain just like Phillip does, or it will harm him. Phillip knows this because the knowledge knows this. The knowledge knows that to flood an unwilling soul would be to murder that soul, to destroy it utterly. But it still tries, because the knowledge wants to be one with Shoutarou, too. It wants him to accept it, be a true part of its library, one of its curators and custodians. One of the few researchers it allows. It isn't content with coming through Phillip's mouth, through the scribblings Phillip makes as he writes the knowledge down so that Shoutarou can see it. So that another person can see it. It wants to be one with Shoutarou too.
Which is why Phillip carefully shields his partner from the knowledge. Best to let Shoutarou use him as a walking search engine, let Shoutarou figure it out himself. Best to let only one voice speak the knowledge, one set of hands write it down. Best to let Shoutarou think he's weird because he can't stop speaking. The knowledge cannot stop speaking.
"Matsuyama has three sister cities. Sacramento, California, United States. Freiburg, Germany. Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Sacramento is the capitol of California. Sacramento has a school named Matsuyama Elementary School; Sacramento has sixty-eight elementary schools…."
Phillip is at home with the knowledge, and speaks it willingly. Maybe someday, Shoutarou will too.