A little more background on Daigoro. In the anime he was reading "From the
Earth to the Moon", one of the less famous classics by Jules Verne. The
Kenshin-gumi find Daigoro one day scribbling on the wall, seriously musing
about the possibility of space travel. Kenshin was the only one who didn't
think him crazy at the time.
About Jules Verne, he's the author of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and "Around the World in 80 Days". Lesser known books are "From the Earth to the Moon", "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and "The Time Machine". They were originally in French, then translated into English. He's one of the first authors to write believable science fiction stories. He was so good in his predictions that some of the gear he described, eventually became real inventions in the 20th century!
Disclaimer: the fic won't be based on the show Seven Days, nor on the book or movie "The Time Machine". I haven't seen them, and I haven't read the book! ^_^
(revised for tenses...past tense!.....past tense!....)
..............
"At the back of my house, I have constructed a simple mechanical device that could alter the time-space continuum for limited periods, carrying a single subject..."
"In Japanese, please, Daigoro-dono."
"Ahem! Put simply, I have back home a machine that can send one person back in time for a few days."
"Why not years, for example?" Sanosuke asked.
"I haven't worked out the parameters for sending a projectile through the time-space continuum for beyond the length of time of one quantum. So, for the time being, I have devised a stationary, rotatory machine that would do the job, still without exceeding one quantum."
"In JAPANESE, Daigoro!"
"For now I can't go that far back in time; the physics won't allow it. And I can't send a carriage, for example, hurtling into space. So I have a non- moving, but turning, contraption that would fit the purpose."
"Thank you! We don't know what you know about this weird science stuff, so we'd appreciate it if you keep it simple!"
"I'll remember, Sagara-san."
Daigoro had laid out on the futon several of his diagrams and computations, scribbled in English, French, and Japanese. Kenshin was now sitting up in the futon, while Sanosuke was peering over the weird scribbles from the side of the bed. He explained his machine and its parts, gave a little background on how he created it. Every 10 seconds, he pointed at another piece of paper, and another scribble or drawing.
"This is where you'll be seated," he pointed at the center of the contraption's diagram. "You'll be moving a few gears to set the timeframe, and I'll activate it from a control panel outside the machine. The device will rotate at 3 to 4 G's..."
"3 to 4 what again, Daigoro-dono?"
"Oh! The machine will rotate, and push you back in your chair until you feel 3 to 4 times normal gravity. Very uncomfortable, but it will be only for 30 seconds."
"And won't this, um, time-traveling, affect the course of history, Daigoro- dono?"
Daigoro sighed. "Himura-san, that's exactly the point! That's why you are going to do this!"
"But what about the rest of the events in the world, Daigoro-dono?"
"Oh, don't worry, Himura-san. Whatever events that you won't bother with back in the past, will not change."
Daigoro gathered up his papers, then added, "However, if you pull this off correctly, Himura-san, nobody will remember the events of yesterday and today as you know it. Not even me. That's because they will not happen. Once everything is settled, only you will remember what might have been. Consider it a job well done. Do you still need to rest this morning, Himura- san?"
Kenshin was still pale, and still a little dizzy, but he smiled and shook his head.
"Take me to your house, Daigoro-dono. I only ask that Sano come with me."
"Right behind you, Kenshin!" Sanosuke confidently told him.
Soon Kenshin, Sanosuke, and Daigoro weaved their way through the busy Tokyo streets and alleys, until they reached Daigoro's house at one end of town. It was cheap, and rather spacious for the price, so he and his wife had no complaints.
The front of the house held a receiving room, kept neat and tidy by Daigoro's pretty wife. The room next to it served as his office. It was filled with drafts, for translating French scientific journals and literary works into Japanese. The third room housed the kitchen and dining table.
Then behind the house, in a well-made wooden shack, Daigoro kept his machines and contraptions. The little shack was strewn with papers, used pencils, half-open notebooks, and dog-eared books in three languages. Kenshin only smiled at the mess. Obviously a woman did not visit here often.
"My wife comes by here once a week to sweep the floor, but that's all I allow her to do here. I would be so sorry to misplace one of my notes in the trash!"
"That's one very considerate little lady you have, you know!" Sanosuke noted. Daigoro only blushed.
"And what does she say to your time-traveling, Daigoro-dono?" Kenshin asked him.
"She makes me promise not to do anything dangerous, and she begs me not to be hasty, but she knows it's something I have to do for myself," Daigoro smiled in response.
Sounds a lot like Kaoru-dono, Kenshin thought. He remembered her visit in the middle of the night. It was not a delusion, he was convinced. Kaoru- dono did talk to me last night...
"Himura-san, are you still alright?" Daigoro asked in concern. "You're beginning to look sick again. I can do this myself, Himura-san, you know. I just asked for your permission...."
"No, no, Daigoro-dono. I'll do it. Kaoru-dono told me to." Daigoro did not comprehend Kenshin's last statement, but he nodded and walked deeper into his shack.
At the center of the shack, stood Daigoro's time machine. It was not large and looming. It was rather like a small, roofless carriage, with wheels removed, surrounded by gears, knobs, and switches. Most were located in front of the carriage nearest its passenger, forming the predecessor of the dashboard. To one side was a table connected to the machine, also full of knobs and switches, which Daigoro called his control panel. He proceeded to explain to Kenshin what knobs to pull, what switches to press.
"This one sets the day, this one the hour, and this one the minute that you want to go back to." He began. "And here it is displayed what day, hour and minute you came from." He pointed to a large red switch. "This one starts the rotation, so tell me first before you press it.
Kenshin was getting dizzy again with all of Daigoro's instructions, but still he tried to understand and remember what to do. At any rate, if he was confused, Sanosuke was not even listening! "Let me see if I got it correctly, Daigoro-dono. These knobs set the time..."
After a few more repetitions and clarifications, Daigoro was satisfied that everything was ready. Kenshin was told to step into the time machine.
"How far back do I set it, Himura-san?"
"One week from yesterday would be more than sufficient, I suppose, Daigoro- dono."
"Very well. However, you should know that even I haven't tried going back that far...."
"Don't worry. I believe in you, my friend."
Daigoro did not reply. He set the knobs for 7 days into the past, and fixed the seatbelt for the passenger.
"Again, I will remind you that my self from 7 days ago won't know about this trip. It's your decision to tell me or not. And if you pull this off right, Himura-san, none of your friends will notice that you stepped back in time. It will be your own secret to keep. It does not matter, though. What is important is..."
"....that Kaoru will not die." Kenshin completed the sentence. "I'm ready, Daigoro-dono. Let's begin."
Daigoro took his position at the control panel. Sanosuke stood behind him, away from danger.
Kenshin activated the switch, and began the rotation.
Out of the sides of the small carriage appeared two large rings, spinning in different directions, engulfing the carriage like a gyroscope. The spinning picked up speed, and soon the carriage itself was rotating as well.
"1 G," Daigoro called out. Kenshin began to feel pressed to his chair. "2 Gs," and he is nailed to it. "3 Gs!" The spinning and rotating became furious, and sparks flew.
"NOW!" He pressed a large button, and a huge flash of light filled the shack.
As the light disappeared, the spinning and turning ground to a halt, and everything was once again back to normal.
Except, the time machine's passenger was no longer there.
"DAIGORO! What happened to Kenshin?! Where did he go?! Answer me!" A frightened Sanosuke shook Daigoro furiously.
"Don't worry, don't worry, Sagara-san! It just means that we're successful! Kenshin got back in time 7 days!"
"Why should I NOT worry, Daigoro? What do I tell Megumi and Yahiko when I get home? How do I explain that Kenshin went back in time, as you say?"
"Sagara-san," Daigoro patted him on the back, "by the time you get back to the dojo, you and I will have forgotten everything that happened here, and Kaoru-san will be back in the dojo. That is, if Himura-san does it right."
"IF Himura-san does it right! What kind of assurance is that?" Sanosuke demanded.
"Oh, come on, Sagara-san. We know Himura-san better than that!"
"I hope so...." Sanosuke can only worriedly reply.
.................
Somebody please give me the name of Daigoro's girlfriend! Hope you liked this installment. Until next time. Ja ne!
About Jules Verne, he's the author of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and "Around the World in 80 Days". Lesser known books are "From the Earth to the Moon", "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and "The Time Machine". They were originally in French, then translated into English. He's one of the first authors to write believable science fiction stories. He was so good in his predictions that some of the gear he described, eventually became real inventions in the 20th century!
Disclaimer: the fic won't be based on the show Seven Days, nor on the book or movie "The Time Machine". I haven't seen them, and I haven't read the book! ^_^
(revised for tenses...past tense!.....past tense!....)
..............
"At the back of my house, I have constructed a simple mechanical device that could alter the time-space continuum for limited periods, carrying a single subject..."
"In Japanese, please, Daigoro-dono."
"Ahem! Put simply, I have back home a machine that can send one person back in time for a few days."
"Why not years, for example?" Sanosuke asked.
"I haven't worked out the parameters for sending a projectile through the time-space continuum for beyond the length of time of one quantum. So, for the time being, I have devised a stationary, rotatory machine that would do the job, still without exceeding one quantum."
"In JAPANESE, Daigoro!"
"For now I can't go that far back in time; the physics won't allow it. And I can't send a carriage, for example, hurtling into space. So I have a non- moving, but turning, contraption that would fit the purpose."
"Thank you! We don't know what you know about this weird science stuff, so we'd appreciate it if you keep it simple!"
"I'll remember, Sagara-san."
Daigoro had laid out on the futon several of his diagrams and computations, scribbled in English, French, and Japanese. Kenshin was now sitting up in the futon, while Sanosuke was peering over the weird scribbles from the side of the bed. He explained his machine and its parts, gave a little background on how he created it. Every 10 seconds, he pointed at another piece of paper, and another scribble or drawing.
"This is where you'll be seated," he pointed at the center of the contraption's diagram. "You'll be moving a few gears to set the timeframe, and I'll activate it from a control panel outside the machine. The device will rotate at 3 to 4 G's..."
"3 to 4 what again, Daigoro-dono?"
"Oh! The machine will rotate, and push you back in your chair until you feel 3 to 4 times normal gravity. Very uncomfortable, but it will be only for 30 seconds."
"And won't this, um, time-traveling, affect the course of history, Daigoro- dono?"
Daigoro sighed. "Himura-san, that's exactly the point! That's why you are going to do this!"
"But what about the rest of the events in the world, Daigoro-dono?"
"Oh, don't worry, Himura-san. Whatever events that you won't bother with back in the past, will not change."
Daigoro gathered up his papers, then added, "However, if you pull this off correctly, Himura-san, nobody will remember the events of yesterday and today as you know it. Not even me. That's because they will not happen. Once everything is settled, only you will remember what might have been. Consider it a job well done. Do you still need to rest this morning, Himura- san?"
Kenshin was still pale, and still a little dizzy, but he smiled and shook his head.
"Take me to your house, Daigoro-dono. I only ask that Sano come with me."
"Right behind you, Kenshin!" Sanosuke confidently told him.
Soon Kenshin, Sanosuke, and Daigoro weaved their way through the busy Tokyo streets and alleys, until they reached Daigoro's house at one end of town. It was cheap, and rather spacious for the price, so he and his wife had no complaints.
The front of the house held a receiving room, kept neat and tidy by Daigoro's pretty wife. The room next to it served as his office. It was filled with drafts, for translating French scientific journals and literary works into Japanese. The third room housed the kitchen and dining table.
Then behind the house, in a well-made wooden shack, Daigoro kept his machines and contraptions. The little shack was strewn with papers, used pencils, half-open notebooks, and dog-eared books in three languages. Kenshin only smiled at the mess. Obviously a woman did not visit here often.
"My wife comes by here once a week to sweep the floor, but that's all I allow her to do here. I would be so sorry to misplace one of my notes in the trash!"
"That's one very considerate little lady you have, you know!" Sanosuke noted. Daigoro only blushed.
"And what does she say to your time-traveling, Daigoro-dono?" Kenshin asked him.
"She makes me promise not to do anything dangerous, and she begs me not to be hasty, but she knows it's something I have to do for myself," Daigoro smiled in response.
Sounds a lot like Kaoru-dono, Kenshin thought. He remembered her visit in the middle of the night. It was not a delusion, he was convinced. Kaoru- dono did talk to me last night...
"Himura-san, are you still alright?" Daigoro asked in concern. "You're beginning to look sick again. I can do this myself, Himura-san, you know. I just asked for your permission...."
"No, no, Daigoro-dono. I'll do it. Kaoru-dono told me to." Daigoro did not comprehend Kenshin's last statement, but he nodded and walked deeper into his shack.
At the center of the shack, stood Daigoro's time machine. It was not large and looming. It was rather like a small, roofless carriage, with wheels removed, surrounded by gears, knobs, and switches. Most were located in front of the carriage nearest its passenger, forming the predecessor of the dashboard. To one side was a table connected to the machine, also full of knobs and switches, which Daigoro called his control panel. He proceeded to explain to Kenshin what knobs to pull, what switches to press.
"This one sets the day, this one the hour, and this one the minute that you want to go back to." He began. "And here it is displayed what day, hour and minute you came from." He pointed to a large red switch. "This one starts the rotation, so tell me first before you press it.
Kenshin was getting dizzy again with all of Daigoro's instructions, but still he tried to understand and remember what to do. At any rate, if he was confused, Sanosuke was not even listening! "Let me see if I got it correctly, Daigoro-dono. These knobs set the time..."
After a few more repetitions and clarifications, Daigoro was satisfied that everything was ready. Kenshin was told to step into the time machine.
"How far back do I set it, Himura-san?"
"One week from yesterday would be more than sufficient, I suppose, Daigoro- dono."
"Very well. However, you should know that even I haven't tried going back that far...."
"Don't worry. I believe in you, my friend."
Daigoro did not reply. He set the knobs for 7 days into the past, and fixed the seatbelt for the passenger.
"Again, I will remind you that my self from 7 days ago won't know about this trip. It's your decision to tell me or not. And if you pull this off right, Himura-san, none of your friends will notice that you stepped back in time. It will be your own secret to keep. It does not matter, though. What is important is..."
"....that Kaoru will not die." Kenshin completed the sentence. "I'm ready, Daigoro-dono. Let's begin."
Daigoro took his position at the control panel. Sanosuke stood behind him, away from danger.
Kenshin activated the switch, and began the rotation.
Out of the sides of the small carriage appeared two large rings, spinning in different directions, engulfing the carriage like a gyroscope. The spinning picked up speed, and soon the carriage itself was rotating as well.
"1 G," Daigoro called out. Kenshin began to feel pressed to his chair. "2 Gs," and he is nailed to it. "3 Gs!" The spinning and rotating became furious, and sparks flew.
"NOW!" He pressed a large button, and a huge flash of light filled the shack.
As the light disappeared, the spinning and turning ground to a halt, and everything was once again back to normal.
Except, the time machine's passenger was no longer there.
"DAIGORO! What happened to Kenshin?! Where did he go?! Answer me!" A frightened Sanosuke shook Daigoro furiously.
"Don't worry, don't worry, Sagara-san! It just means that we're successful! Kenshin got back in time 7 days!"
"Why should I NOT worry, Daigoro? What do I tell Megumi and Yahiko when I get home? How do I explain that Kenshin went back in time, as you say?"
"Sagara-san," Daigoro patted him on the back, "by the time you get back to the dojo, you and I will have forgotten everything that happened here, and Kaoru-san will be back in the dojo. That is, if Himura-san does it right."
"IF Himura-san does it right! What kind of assurance is that?" Sanosuke demanded.
"Oh, come on, Sagara-san. We know Himura-san better than that!"
"I hope so...." Sanosuke can only worriedly reply.
.................
Somebody please give me the name of Daigoro's girlfriend! Hope you liked this installment. Until next time. Ja ne!