In the Eyes of
a Child
Chapter Fifteen: The Evidence of a Reality
"We need information, and we need precise information. We want to know how strong these saiyajins truly are, and what we have to bear in mind when we get in battle with them. In short, you need to know as much about them as possible. Strengths, weaknesses, everything. Am I clear?"
"Yes, sir!"
The short black-haired kid, who was wearing a scientist's white robe, handed each of them a small yet smart-looking device. "You have to store the information you have gathered here. These will process the data, whatever form it will take, and transmit that encoded data to us. We will then decipher it once it comes into the main computer, so if ever it will get into enemy hands, what we know won't be exposed."
"And go with the blessings of the gods," the priest added as some sort of an afterthought. "They will be the primary keys to our success, so pray to them regularly and with much faith. They will keep you safe if you call on them. And bear in mind the words we were advised to ponder on since time immemorial, the battlecry that we were taught ever since we came to life..."
"Tnod yrc revo tlips klim," they chorused with a bow, before they all erupted into a two-minute prayer session that involved a lot of chanting, bowing, and floor-kissing. When it was all over, the two spies straightened themselves and saluted. "Sir, yes, sir! We are off to take over the world! Sir, yes, sir! We are off to take over the world! Sir, yes, sir! We are off to take over the world, yes bay-bee! Sir, yes, sir! We are off to take over the world!"
They went on with their little song until they stepped out of the ship's bridge, the door clamping shut as they did so. The genius among the alien invaders, who had seen them leave and bring their crazy antics along with them, shook his head in disapproval. He then turned to the priest and said, "Purple has never been a color favored by the gods. Let's pray that the situation will change for the better, this time."
"I refuse to put up with this! I swear, brat, I am going to---"
Trunks and Goten stuck their guns to Vegeta's sides and smirked in an almost too-synchronized fashion. The older of the two then raised his voice to address his master, who was walking in front of them with her arm locked on Gohan's own. "What are we going to do with him, Sir Boss?"
At that, Videl whirled around to face them. "Naughty, Vegeta. Naughty, naughty slave. You should obey me at all times, and don't complain! Whether you like it or not!" she exclaimed, stomping her foot as she did so. She then smiled. "Come, we go... ooooooh lookit that! That classroom's sooooooooooooo nice! What subject do we have next, Gohan-kun?"
"Physics," Gohan replied nonchalantly. Despite the fact that he managed to trap Vegeta inside the one the Saiyajin no Ouji built himself, he was still irritated by the turn of events. He still had a long way to go before the terror would be over... if it would be over in the first place.
"What's Physics, Gohan-kun?"
"Physics is a fundamental science that deals primarily with the basic laws of nature, as well as the study of matter, energy, and their relationship. It is generally divided into two broad areas: classical and modern. Classical Physics includes mechanics, thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism, light and sound waves, and optics. Modern Physics includes atomic and nuclear Physics," the demi-saiyajin recited, as if he memorized the contents of their book inside-out. In fact, he seemed to have memorized the contents of their book inside-out.
"A funda--- what?"
Gohan sighed heavily as the walked on, the rest of Videl's slaves marching behind them. "Fundamental science," he answered, shaking his head. The last time they had Physics class, Videl got full marks along with him. Now, she barely knew what the subject was all about. He thought of Sharpner again, and wanted to blame him very much, but he knew that it was pointless to do so.
The voice of his companion returned with an, "Oh." After a long pause, she asked, "What's that?"
"Nevermind."
"Today, we will talk about basic electronics," Mr. Nozomi began in an excited tone. He was obviously eager to teach the topic for the entire two-hour span of the said period. "So before we move on to the more complicated matters, like logic gates, we will first discuss the various terms that we will be referring to time and again. Now, who can tell me what a semiconductor is?"
Hands shot into the air, but he ignored them all as he went on with what he was talking about, completely forgetting that he asked the class about it in the first place. "A semiconductor is an element with four electrons in its outermost shell, like silicon and germanium. They are of four types, junctions included. First, there is the N-Type Semiconductor, wherein the semiconductor is mixed with a small amount of five-electron impurity. Meaning, the element is bonded with another element that has five electrons in its outer shell, thus creating extra electrons that wander around freely."
Gohan yawned as he leaned back into his seat. Too easy.
"The next type is the P-Type Semiconductor, wherein the impurity is the three-electron type. It has no free electron. Instead, it has a hole since the element the base element is bonded with has only three electrons, and the outer shell of an element holds eight electrons at maximum. Then there is the junction of the two types, and it, too, is of two types. The first junction is from P to N, while the second is from N to P. The second type produces a one-way current," their teacher continued to babble.
Most of the students were taking down notes; in fact, all of them were taking down notes except Gohan. His book was spread open, so was his notebook, but he was barely paying attention to what was going on. He was busy plotting his revenge on Dende --- if ever he would be given the chance to do so, that is.
"Diode means two-electrode, as it has a positive electrode or anode, and a negative electrode or cathode. It allows the passage of electrons in only one direction, like an on/off switch. It is of three types --- rectifiers, used to convert alternating current to direct current; detectors, used to separate information from transmitted radio signals or carrier waves; and light emitting diodes, used as indicator lamps in electronic devices," Mr. Nozomi droned on. "Next, we have the transistor. It looks like two diodes joined back to back, with three regions: the collector, the emitter, and the base. We also have what we call resistors, which are used to establish correct current and voltage levels throughout the---"
"This is so boring!" one of the graduating students blurted out all of a sudden, throwing his pen away in annoyance. "Come on, sir, I'm sure there's something else more interesting for us to talk about, not just these stupid electronic rif-raff!"
"I'm open to more interesting suggestions," the teacher countered coolly, rather cockily.
A girl raised her hand and asked politely, "How about Einstein's Theory of Relativity, sir?"
"Or electricity and magnetism?"
Suggestions then began pouring in, but none seemed to interest the teacher and the rest of the class. In no time, an argument started, which eventually led to even more arguments, and in turn led to more and more arguments. However, there was one suggestion that captured everyone's attention, including Gohan, who was almost asleep at that time. "What about time traveling?"
The term rang a bell in the saiyajins' heads, for all of them immediately thought of Mirai Trunks as soon as it was mentioned. After all, Vegeta's son from the future saved their lives by traveling through time to warn them and fight by their side. This time, however, a sense of dread that made the hair at the back of Gohan's neck stand crept through the demi-saiyajin upon realizing what had just been said.
"Ooooooh, time traveling! Nobody's ever done that yet, right?"
"That would be awesome!"
"Just imagine if we can visit places we haven't been to before because they don't exist anymore! That's going to be so much fun!" Hiroshi exclaimed from his seat in the second row. "We can go all the way back to Ancient Greece or Rome, or Ancient China --- just about anywhere, really!"
The chubby girl who was talking loudly at the auditorium squealed in the loudest voice she could muster, "I wanna see Gohan's battle with Cell!" That statement alone gained a lot of comments from her classmates and schoolmates --- and caused Gohan to sink back into his seat, his face turning a deep shade of red.
"Me too!"
"Me three!" Videl chimed in happily, bouncing up and down on her seat.
Her seatmate, however, was evidently annoyed by her childish reaction, and so he snapped at her, with sharp cerulean eyes that were so unlike the young woman's. "Shut up, Videl!"
She cried.
Gohan immediately bolted up and rushed to his girlfriend's side, desperate to calm her down and avoid any more trouble. He did his best to ignore the looks he was getting, despite the fact that he was getting uncomfortable by the moment. "Now, now, Videl, I'm sure he didn't mean that," he began softly, holding her as comfortably as he could. "Hush now, please."
"All right, all right," Nozomi-sensei said, clapping his hands to divert their attention back to him. "All of you, split up into three groups, and in half an hour, report whatever you know about time traveling. Winners get an automatic A for their finals."
Almost everyone rushed to Gohan.
It took a while for all the groups to be established, since most of the students wanted to be with Gohan even when it was simply not possible. Busy with the reports they were preparing, they did not notice the troublemaking duo, Trunks and Goten, sneak out of the classroom to work on the next step in Mission: Torture Gohan.
"Time traveling? Perfect..." Trunks whispered with a mischievous glimmer in his sapphire eyes.
They were about to board the metal craft that would take them to the surface of the planet called Chikyuu-sei when the younger of the two alien spies dropped to his knees and started another round of chanting, bowing, and floor-kissing.
"What are you doing?!"
He looked up and held a finger close to his lips, telling his superior to be quiet in an offhand way. "Praying," he whispered in reply, before he threw himself down to the floor once again to offer another prayer to the gods that they served and worshipped.
The other alien looked annoyed. "Not now, dummy!" he whispered back, irritation clear as day. "We have a mission to accomplish, and we have to accomplish it quickly! We have no time to lose, so be done with that and get up!"
The younger one looked offended, but he stood up, nonetheless. However, as soon as he was back on his feet, he protested, "But didn't the High Priest tell us to pray regularly?"
"You're all talking about theories, and theories will get you nowhere," Trunks announced in a very confident tone as he stepped back into the classroom with his sidekick, Goten. With mischief-filled eyes, he pulled his best friend to his side and sprinted towards the front of the room, jumping over tables, chairs and students in the process. "It's time we go for evidences."
Evidences... Gohan thought to himself, then he paled. Oh no, not a time machine!
Goten smiled at the group of students, causing most of the girls to go, "Awwwwwwwwwwwwww!" as he did so. At that, his smile turned sheepish, and he started rocking himself back and forth nervously. When he was nudged by his best friend, he remember that it was his turn to say what they had rehearsed earlier. And so he began his speech. "Most people think time traveling is just a dream. But it's not. It's more than a dream."
He stopped, swallowing. He forgot what he was supposed to say next. He opened his mouth, but not a single word came out. Then he realized what was going on --- everyone was staring at him, staring at him expectantly, and he began to panic. After all, he was not used to talking in front of people.
Once again, his best friend came to his rescue. "It's a reality. And today, we're going to show you the evidence of that reality," the older of the two demi-saiyajins blurted out in a smooth manner, then he pulled out a capsule from his pocket. "We're going to show you... a time machine."
