Chapter 14 SCIENCE! Part 1

Junior and Iggy stood in a room drenched in red lighting. Junior couldn't keep his eyes off of the developing photos, soaking up the liquid. He hummed something under his breath, not even fully conscious of the fact that he was doing it. He tapped his foot, as if that action would magically cause the photos to develop faster. He scrunched up his brow, squinting at this point.

"This is taking forever," he said.

"Well, that just requires us to be patient," said Iggy. He too looked down at the developing photographs. "This method has, admittedly, become more or less obsolete thanks to the advancements in Koopa Kingdom technology." He smirked. "Of course, I wouldn't have anything to do with that," he chuckled.

Junior rolled his eyes and sighed. "You know Iggy, you'd probably make a lot more friends if you weren't bragging twenty four seven."

"It's not bragging if it is factual," Iggy dismissed the statement. Junior shook his head; that's not how things worked, but whatever. Iggy was allowed to believe what he wanted to believe. At the very least, he got complex tasks done, even if it was with a sickening attitude.

Iggy adjusted his glasses and stared down at the photographs. "Any second now...any second now…" the black faded away to reveal color, color and shape. Iggy grinned. "Perfect." He took the photos out of the liquid and gave them to Junior. "How do these appear to you?"

Junior studied the photos. Somehow, he didn't know how, Iggy had managed to capture the expressions that he and Roy made spectacularly. Junior didn't know how, as he remembered that for most of the game time, Iggy had been standing behind them.

"Woah!" Junior turned toward his brother with his mouth gaping open. "This is amazing! How'd you do this stuff?"

Iggy chuckled. "A magician never reveals their secrets." He looked down at the photos too and held back giggles. "Look at Roy on this one!" He burst into laughter.

Junior took the photo and also laughed. Roy looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel from the angry expression he made at the TV screen. His pink head was red, veins bulged in his head like balloons. His mouth was wider than the mouth of a cave as his controller rested on the floor.

"Wow!" Junior covered his mouth to hold back the laughter. "Talk about crazy mad!"

"Yeah! His agitated emotional state has certainly caused him to adopt an expression of lunacy." Iggy giggled.

Junior nodded his head and laughed with his brother, enjoying the moment. Soaking it up, so to speak, similar to the developing photos. By the time they finished, they each let out a sigh.

"We should probably exit," said Iggy after a moment of silence. "The dim red lighting is not treating my retinas well."

"Good idea," Junior said with a nod.

With that, they went out into the decently lit hallway. Junior looked up at Iggy as he rubbed his eyes. He decided that now was as good a time as any to ask Iggy about his past.

"Soo...Iggy. Remember how you said that you wish to tell me some stories?"

Iggy removed his hands from his eyes. "Why yes! How could I possibly forget when you were so enthused by the scrapbooking idea?" He gestured for Junior to follow him. "Come with me to my lab."

The lanky genius led the crown prince through the winding hallways. Junior kept his eyes on his back, feeling his heart rate go up the more he thought about the possibility of hearing Iggy's story. Sure, he would probably dedicate a huge chunk of the story (or stories) bragging about his big brain. However, it was still another story, and Junior was all for hearing more stories.

They got to the lab within no time at all. Iggy cleared his throat as Junior closed the door and leaned against one of the tables. Junior went a little closer to him, all while gripping the notebook and the photos. He set the latter to the side and opened up the former. As he held his pen, he stared at his brother expectantly, excitedly.

Iggy smiled. "You are going to have a real appreciation for this anecdote."

…

I suppose you have heard the story about how I discovered Galaxium. People have probably told you it countless times, how such a young koopa could leave such an impact on the world that he lives in. Honestly, while I appreciate those words from them, there is also more to the story than that. A lot more.

You see, I was born into a peculiar world. A world that by all means I should not have been in. I was a scientist, born to be that way and destined to do great things. And yet, the world I lived in did not have appreciation for my talents. At the very least, not at that point in time.

I still remember how I felt before the discovery. I felt...odd. Out pf place, I guess you could say. I felt like I was the black sheep of my family, and that I was forever going to remain that way. After all, when one is just a three-four year old child, there is not much they can do to change their circumstances.

Regardless, I still wanted to stretch my mind, help myself along in the process of intellectual discovery. So, I turned to books. Pieces of classic literature fascinated me. I also garnered a real appreciation for textbooks. Actually, now that I think about it, I was probably more entranced by the nonfiction than I was by the fiction. After all, the fiction did not cover anything...substantial, i guess you could say. Sure, it told stories, and gave themes that were beyond impeccable. But nonfiction...NONFICTION covered everything. It covered the history of the Koopa Kingdom, it's relations with the Mushroom Kingdom. The royal bloodline, how the economy was set up between two completely opposed nations, and more. So. Much. More.

I loved textbooks. I loved history. But, above all else, I loved science. Sure, the science textbooks were very few and far in between. In fact, a good majority of them at the time were tucked into a small corner of the royal library, gathering mountains upon mountains of dust. I guess them being so lonely and set apart is what initially drew me to them.

Regardless, I still fell in love with the subject. I remember reading from the books one day as a four year old and thinking "Man is this intriguing!" Every subject under the sun relating to how the world we live in operated was touched upon on some level in that one book. Not only that, but every once in a great while, there would be mentions of people. People who left great impacts on their field and, as a consequence, the world at large. As I looked at the name of the Toad who had discovered DNA, I had an epiphany. I realized a dream that I never knew I had.

I wanted to get into one of these textbooks.

It was so perfect! I could definitely be able to do it! I was smart; I knew that even at the time. I loved the field of science, and on top of that, I had enough resources to do something truly incredible! I wanted to leave an impact on the world. I wanted to make sure that I wasn't just some random koopa with no legacy left behind when he inevitably died. I wanted...I wanted to change the world.

Junior...when I realized what I wanted to do, I actually gasped out loud. I closed the textbook excitedly, my heartbeat going through the roof. I smiled like a lunatic, for now I was dreaming big. And if I dreamed big, I had to share my dreams with others. I couldn't just let the flame die by hiding it under a bush or a basket.

So, I bolted toward the throne room. I leapt and bounded, excitement taking over every last brain cell. I was going so fast that I had hit the runner's high; I did not trip nor did I feel out of breath. I just continued on my way toward the throne room, desiring to speak to my father and his vizier. When I finally did get to Kamek and Bowser, I stopped and shouted at the top of my lungs:

"EUREKA!"

Bowser and Kamek gave me surprised looks. A moment of silence followed my joyous exclamation, but i hardly cared. I ran over to my father, sitting on the throne, and jumped onto his lap.

"Bowser, Bowser, Bowser! I know what I want to do with my life!"

Bowser exchanged a look with Kamek, who looked at me in fascination. Bowser also looked down at me with the same intrigued expression.

"And what would that be, Iggy?'

I grinned. "My desire is to get into a science textbook!"

Both of my parental figures blinked. Then, they burst into laughter, much to my little self's surprise and dismay.

"Hey! What's so funny?" I asked.

Bowser wiped a tear from his eye as his laughter died down. "Science?" he said between giggles. "You want to get into a science textbook?"

I blinked. "Yeah, what's wrong with that?"

Bowser chuckled. "Kamek, can you explain to Ignatius what's wrong with that?"

"Gladly," said Kamek. He approached and leaned down close to me. "Iggy, science is a...well, it's not exactly the most respected field in the Koopa Kingdom."

I blinked again. "What? How...how is that possible?"

"Because there is no use for it," Kamek said.

I felt anger boiling up inside me at that moment. Now, remember, this was before I cemented my name in he science community. This was before I had done anything that one would consider truly spectacular. Kamek would probably not say anything like this to me today, but then? He could say stuff like this to a four year old so dismissively and not have any major consequences.

"No use for it? But it explores how the world works!"

Kamek lifted his wand. "And magic allows us to change how the world works."

I shook my head. "Sci...science is important! How would we know about the cellular processes if it weren't for science?"

Bowser chuckled. "Iggy, please. Science is not important when we have magic."

I glared at him. "But what if it is? What if...what if there is a scientific explanation behind magic?"

"There may very well be," said Kamek. "However, there is no point in pursuing it. Magic has brought us so far. The traditions and rituals performed by magic are what allowed us to win the Koopa Mushroom War one hundred and fifty years ago. Magic is the main use of defense in our kingdom as well as the main way life is made convenient. Heck, magic is the whole reason why Ludwig is a special!"

I felt my face grow warm. "Magic…" I bit down on my lip and yelled out "MAGIC IS LAME!"

There was a silence as Bowser and Kamek stared at me. I started to cry; probably because all of the dashing of my dreams by them was overwhelming.

Bowser put his hand on m shoulder as I dried my tears away. "Oh, son," he said soothingly. "Look, I know that you like science, but…"

"You need to aim your sights on something more realistic," said Kamek. "You will make no progress within the field of science. And with a brain like yours, that would certainly be a waste."

I shook my head. I rejected that notion. I had to reject it.

"I will not put my brain to waste." I stood up. "I will give the field of science a good name! I will make you respect it!"

Bowser and Kamek snickered. "Yeah, okay," Bowser said.

With that last kick in the teeth, I stormed off, even more determined to make an impact than I was before.

…

Junior stared at his brother, feeling...sorry for him? Wow. Junior never thought that he would feel sorry for someone like Iggy, especially seeing how he had done what Junior expected and reference his intelligence throughout the story. This was just...if Bowser had ever told Junior that his endeavors were pointless...Junior didn't know if he would be able to handle that.

He supposed that made the fact that Iggy was where he was today all the more incredible.

"How did you turn things around?" Junior asked.

Iggy's eyes sparkled as he continued on with the story.