REASON
By The Alchemist
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of the Dragonball Z characters. I am not making any money off this either. That's why I have a part-time job. I don't clean up after animals after school and on Saturday's for fun.
Authors Notes: I have always been told that if you can tell a story in ten words, don't use a hundred. The second part of advice went that if you need to use a hundred words to tell a story then don't use ten or the story will be lost. I don't know if I've achieved a good balance here or not, so please review and let me know if this is an improvement on my abridged version of 'Reason'. If you think that this is better, worse or I should write something in between the two, let me know. Thank you.
This story takes place after the whole destruction of Buu thing.
I live in New Zealand and I haven't even seen Trunks on TV yet. Everything I know after that time comes from the internet, so I may have a lot of details wrong. I have tried my best with ages, but again I may be wrong. If so, well, you can just call it an A/U fic.
Reason transformed into prejudice is the worst form of prejudice, because reason is the only instrument for liberation from prejudice.
-Allan Bloom
Chapter 1: The Threat Emerges
The hall sat silent, listening intently to Jaques ranting. "There was a time when we were free to choose our own morals, our own future. Now we have been denied that privilege. Our weakness cripples our freedom, we are bound by the manacles of inferiority. It seems now that all creatures are created equal, but to the extent that Son Goku sees fit. I was unaware that we had appointed a new god, someone to declare what is right and wrong; I was unaware that this nation allowed one man to have such power. It seems that in today's society it is acceptable to blind oneself to justice, but I refuse to shut my eyes. Will you open your eyes? It is not wrong to destroy one who has allowed our rights dwindle to nothing so long ago. We are all at the mercy of Son Goku, we rely upon him for our lives. What does he ask for in return? Nothing except for the control of our planet and control of the corruptible minds upon it. It brings shame to our people to allow such a travesty to continue unchecked. We shall not drink for a gradual change, instead we shall demand that our entire race is pulled from the gutter of mediocrity to a path were we are all equal, once more born with equal opportunities and freedom. Once more born with a life. For too long we have lived in Son Goku's shadow, we must pull our kindred into the light and allow them to bask in the radiance of emancipation. The time of his reign will come to an end, we shall regain control of our own destiny." The hall that was once seething with tension echoed with a riotous uproar while hundreds rose to their feet raising their hands high. Jaques looked upon the crowd and raised his hands in an ostentatious manner, playing the part that was expected of him.
The hall sat silent, listening intently to Jaques ranting. "There was a time when we were free to choose our own morals, our own future. Now we have been denied that privilege. Our weakness cripples our freedom, we are bound by the manacles of inferiority. It seems now that all creatures are created equal, but to the extent that Son Goku sees fit. I was unaware that we had appointed a new god, someone to declare what is right and wrong; I was unaware that this nation allowed one man to have such power. It seems that in today's society it is acceptable to blind oneself to justice, but I refuse to shut my eyes. Will you open your eyes? It is not wrong to destroy one who has allowed our rights dwindle to nothing so long ago. We are all at the mercy of Son Goku, we rely upon him for our lives. What does he ask for in return? Nothing except for the control of our planet and control of the corruptible minds upon it. It brings shame to our people to allow such a travesty to continue unchecked. We shall not drink for a gradual change, instead we shall demand that our entire race is pulled from the gutter of mediocrity to a path were we are all equal, once more born with equal opportunities and freedom. Once more born with a life. For too long we have lived in Son Goku's shadow, we must pull our kindred into the light and allow them to bask in the radiance of emancipation. The time of his reign will come to an end, we shall regain control of our own destiny." The hall that was once seething with tension echoed with a riotous uproar while hundreds rose to their feet raising their hands high. Jaques looked upon the crowd and raised his hands in an ostentatious manner, playing the part that was expected of him.
There was one whose exuberance was not quite so obvious. Trina stood and cheered, but her heart wasn't in it today. A lead weight hung from her hands and head forcing them to drop at the earliest possible opportunity. She caught herself reflecting on the times before she had met Mike and tried to coerce the thoughts from her mind, but failed. She had been unable to restrain the wistful assessments of her life from gaining control of her consciousness for almost a month now. Before she met Mike she had been happy to live under Son Goku's protection, she felt safe and secure in the knowledge that she could go about her daily life without threat of an egotistical maniac trying to control it. To her Goku seemed a good enough man, he never seemed to even be interested in the fame or worship. Now it was all different though, Mike had convinced her that it wasn't right for anyone to have that much power over anything. His power was supposedly unrivaled, something that Trina couldn't argue. "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely, your precious Goku is no different," he had said to her numerous times. She had been inclined to agree with him at first, especially when he spoke so passionately and forcefully. Still her muse constantly lead to the same point, society would never survive if there was not a power hierarchy and this had been proved numerous times. Besides, Goku seemed like a more than excellent candidate for the position of protector of Earth.
A voice sounded from behind Trina, hoarse from the constant yelling and screaming, "Babe, what's wrong?"
Spinning about abruptly Trina stifled a surprised gasp. "Mike, I didn't know you were there." Inside she found herself questioning why that was such a bad thing, but the answer came without effort. She didn't want Mike to think that she wasn't into this whole revolutionary group idea. She loved spending time with him, she just got lost in those eyes that dreamed of such great things. His ambition and passion made spending time with him a very full on and intense experience. For a small town girl who barely knew of aspiration there seemed something supernatural in his manner. All of this was something she didn't want to lose. If spending time with Mike meant that she had to attend a boring meeting now and then and act enthusiastic then that is what she'd do.
"So it would seem. So what's wrong? You don't seem, well, very into this tonight." Mike barely waited for the answer, he knew it would just be a feeble excuse. Ever since this had began Trina had been looking for the end. If only she knew what it all meant he thought.
"I'm just tired." The words were so natural. Trina hated the way she had become so used to spitting out lies as often as the truth. Her parents had raised her honest, but now she had grown up and left the childish ideals behind. Now one thing mattered and that was acting enthusiastic about Mike's interest. After all, this wasn't all they did. There were other things to live for.
"Right." His doubt was evident, but neither acknowledged it. "Do you want to go for a walk? Nobody will know." The poorly disguised euphemism for getting away from ears open for treachery was almost laughable, but neither even considered this. Instead their minds were on the argument that would surely lie ahead.
"Yeah sure."
The air outside was so cold it almost knocked the wind out of Trina's lungs. She instinctively pulled her coat lapels closer to her throat. As they walked down the deserted street they made pleasant, yet strained conversation each dreading the inevitably harsh words that would soon follow.
As if from nowhere, Mike suddenly stopped and turned to face Trina. "Son Goku will let the power go to his head soon, Trina. We have got to stop him before he holds the entire planet to ransom. It isn't right for one man to have so much power." For a second Mike found himself wishing that Jaques was there to see his feat, his strong speech that would convert a disbeliever. However, this thought was quickly crushed by realising what that would mean for Trina. The group was so fragile that it couldn't afford weak links and everyone was reminded of this constantly. For so long they had each tried to hide her skepticism, not only from the group, but from themselves.
Trina let out a small sigh and watched the small cloud float away from her lips. The speech was getting old. She waved her hand in a non-committed manner. "So you keep telling me, but he hasn't changed yet. I think that if he's made it this far and stayed honest, well, I just wonder if we'd be only moving him over for one far worse than Goku." The truth was somewhat liberating for Trina and she paused allowing the sound of truth to reverberate through her.
"So you still don't believe me." Mike said, cutting into Trina's contemplation. The statement was so blatantly obvious that it didn't really need saying except for the fact that it helped make it real for the two. Their complete denial of the problem had worked well, but the tension was building beneath the surface and would not stay pent up forever. Having said the words made it real and both Trina and Mike benefited from the reality, no matter how discordant.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can keep up this up forever. I want out Mike and you know it." The words stung Trina's mouth like acid, a verification of how much she didn't want this to end here and now.
"Babe, you are tired. You just need to sleep. I'll take you home, then I'll call you in the morning and see if you still feel that way."
The implications of this didn't go unchecked by Trina, but still she replied simply, "Kay." After Trina let in she rested her head on Mike's shoulders as he led her to his car. I nearly made it she thought to herself. Still, she knew that in the morning Mike would ring her up and eventually convince her that she was mistaken. She'd been through it before and was almost resigned to her fate, almost.
When they arrived at Trina's house the two looked a little dumbly at one another, not really sure if they were angry or not. Deciding for him Trina leaned over and kissed Mike, but parted after a couple of seconds seeing that he wasn't really into it. "Mike, I'm sorry. I've just had a long day and I'm really tired."
Mike wasn't sure if he should point out the obvious flaws in her logic or not. They had spent the day together and done nothing. Not to mention the fact that she hadn't yawned once for the duration of the day, nor had she let her eyelids droop for a second. Trying to ignore these discrepancies in her story he looked at the steering wheel and told her that he'd call her in the morning.
Trina resigned herself to her fate and got out of the car waving to Mike as he sped off, unable to ignore the fact that he didn't even notice. Noticing a small twinge at the corner of her eyes she fished about in her pocket for her key and entered the old building and began to ascend the first flight of stairs towards her decomposing apartment. Just being there made her more depressed. The smell of moisture sinking into her every pore, the darkness of the unlit corners and most of all the lonliness forced her mood into unimaginable depths. Trying to ignore her surroundings she had swept the mess from her bed and threw on some boxers and an old T-shirt. Trina lay in bed awake for most of the night, not sure whether she wanted Mike's call to come or not. He had a way of telling her what she needed to hear and always broke down whatever weak defence she could muster. She just wasn't sure if she wanted to succeed or not.
Mike on the other hand did not return home for some time. He knew that he would only end up watching late night TV kidding himself that he wasn't watching those movies for the more intimate scenes. Instead he drove through the town watching the people go about their lives, not knowing what threat hung above them, not knowing that a huge dagger lay dangling above the worlds only defence. Sometimes he liked to pretend that he didn't know either, but it was hard. The only peaceful times for him were the few seconds before he fell asleep and the few seconds before he fully awoke. In that time there was a blissful ignorance that could not be duplicated. The only time anything came close was when he was with Trina and he'd just given up the chance to do just that tonight. He let out a long wistful sigh. Sometimes he just liked to be reminded of what he was doing this for.
*
Back in the hall Jaques long ago resumed speaking, obviously building up to something big. The crowd was still with anticipation. Everyone was seemingly unaware that one of Jaques's most loyal followers had long ago left. "After years of struggling in vain, we finally have a weapon worthy of Goku. We finally have a chance to fulfil our promises to future generations. Ladies, Gentlemen, allow me to introduce our finest asset to this cause. Allow me to introduce Dr Gero's apprentice, Mr Paul Mancoff." The hall fell silent as a man in his late 50's crept onto the stage. His already thinning wispy hair was swept across his head in a very simple style. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes gave his face a creased appearance far beyond his age. He could have been mistaken for a much older man if it wasn't for the innocent eyes that seemed to peer out from beneath the aged shell, eyes that spoke of experiences that were never comprehended. His eyes questioned the world and in return most of those who saw those eyes questioned him.
*
The old man sat at a computer console typing away strings of programming code. His concentration barely wavered despite the noise of the production line in the room next door. A cautious knock was heard at the old wooden door and he abruptly stopped and straightened his back from its hunched curve. He spun his chair about and opened the door to find Jacques standing before him.
"Good afternoon Mr Mancoff. How is your work going?" The pleasant aura between the two was a relatively successful forgery. Secretly neither could stand the other. Jaques found Paul to be a social outcast, lacking any type of necessary people skills. On the other hand Paul viewed Jaques as a complete idiot, a man who would spit out motivating words without any means to back them up. Each complemented the other well, but neither liked to accept it.
"As well as can be expected under these conditions." The contempt was not really for the conditions, rather for the condescending attitude that he was forced to endure. Dr Gero had never been a very open or caring towards Paul and that never worried him. He appreciated the honest attitude and returned the favor, only speaking to Gero when it was necessary and never bothering with pleasantries such as asking after each others well being. It was this feigned environment that put Pauls mind on edge, it was alien and left him constantly on alert.
"To what conditions are you referring, Sir?" Jaques almost laughed at the title he had given Mr Mancoff. However, he thought that showing a little respect could avoid any unwanted rebellion and keep his rising star devoted to the cause.
"The continual interruptions!" Mr Mancoff was becoming highly irate now and Jacques decided to choose his words more carefully.
"I'm sorry, I just need an estimate on your time of completion." Jaques made a mental note to cut straight to the point the next time. He found himself wondering what kind of working conditions he had while training under Dr Gero, but decided he probably didn't want to know.
Mr Mancoff's eyes lit up as his masters had done so many years ago when he spoke of his work. "Well, with the resources available to me, I'm guessing I can have Nihyakugou, Sanbyakugou, Yonhyakugou and Gohyakugou ready in 4 day's."
The subtle hint concerning resources was not lost on Jaques and he seriously considering mentioning the tight budget, but decided against this knowing that Paul was already well aware of such restrictions. They had been made very clear before he was even allowed into the headquarters. Remembering his own advice from seconds earlier he resolved to just get what he needed and leave. "How long before Hyakugou is finished?"
"Well, Hyakugou will take the longest, solely because of his sheer size. It will take a long time to programme all the additional features. Give me a fortnight." The tension in his voice had lapsed into virtual non-existence and Jaques realised his tactics were already taking an effect. He had always been a people person.
"Wonderful."
The simple compliment was met by a slightly cold glance. "You know, since I'm doing all this work to create Hyakugou you should really be producing several of them. It is by far the most superior android."
"I agree with you, but we do not have endless amounts of money and we'll need to keep some for the day of the revolution." Jaques caught his tongue before it ran away with him.
"Hmm, but surely instead of the other four you could have created one more to the spec.'s of Hyakugou." Paul really hated confronting such a confident man over his decisions, but saw it in his best interests that Jaques was aware of the gamble he was making.
"We will not make the same mistake Dr Gero made. We must not concentrate our resources into two androids."
Paul wondered if Jaques noticed him cringe slightly. He hated thinking of his master as a failure. He had always been his mentor. He reminded himself that Gero was gone and he had a new boss now, one that didn't like to be failed. Still feeling contempt for the earlier remark though he replied a little curtly, "I hope you know what you are doing."
Jaques allowed this slightly insubordinate attitude slip this once not wanting to ruffle Mr Mancoff any further and answered, "I do."
"Give me a fortnight and 4 day's then."
"Very well." Jacques started to retreat quietly shutting the door behind him but just before the door was shut he added, "and thank you Mr Mancoff, the world is in your debt." Without waiting to see if this compliment would meet the same death as the last he raced off to his other responsibilities.
Once the door was shut Paul removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. It was hard holding up this appearance, but he had to do it in Dr Gero's honour. He couldn't let such genius go to waste. "Not just yet my dear boy, Son Goku will not die easily," he replied to Jacques's statement, very glad that nobody was around to hear him. Treachery was not treated lightly.
*
Please review. I'd love to know what you think.
*
Not really many changes in this, but let me know if it's better or worse, please.
It's possible, no, it's highly likely that this idea has been used before. I'm not a very original person when it comes to fanfiction. I did not intentionally steal anyone's idea so please don't tell me that I did. I don't really read a lot of DBZ fanfiction for the exact same reason, so nobody thinks I stole their idea. There are not a lot of possible variations on plot. Its pretty much, "Oh no, there is a new great power. I must kill it." There's the plot for about half the DBZ fics on ff.net. Mine is not excluded. Motives and origins may change, but it all comes back to the same simple basis. It may not be great literature, but it's fun.