Early the next morning, the turbolift doors opened again. The lights were on full strength now, accentuating the "time of day". Shinza readily exited and made her way toward the console at the front of the room. Her assistants were more nervous. They didn't really seem to be all too convinced about what they had heard that morning, when Shinza had told them at breakfast that the specimen, which she no longer called "the creature" or "the fossil", but now Bahamut, had agreed to allow them to research him. It seemed to be a dramatic change of heart from yesterday. They were still of the opinion that this creature was rather violent and disagreeable, and not a complicated creature like themselves…as Shinza was beginning to realize.
The two somewhat crept in, seeming to stay close to the wall and cringing slightly, when they walked in the next day. They kept their eyes on the tank at all times, and braced themselves for some impact or accost. Shinza herself was already at her console, in the chair, and beginning to type away before they reached their own stations. However, what unnerved them the most is that as they drew closer, the head of the beast suddenly raised and aimed itself to them within the sac.
"He can move!" Sarap suddenly sounded. "I thought he was on neurotransmitter blockers…"
"He wanted to be off of them." Shinza answered, causing the blind organism to turn to her next. Her voice was calm and simple. "Because he's doing us this favor, I figured it was the least we could do for him."
I'm not going to bite you, if that's what you're scared of. The mental voice boomed inside Sarap's head. Besides, about all I can do even with movement is wade my nubs of limbs in this fluid and look around a bit. And even then, my neck is still sore. I think my bones need time to knit in it.
By now, Sarap was nervously staring at Bahamut as well as back to Shinza. This return had only made him more unsettled, especially when the creature joined in with talking again. However…at least he wasn't angry-sounding this morning. He seemed a bit irritated with how scared he was, but in the end he was able to down it. He forced himself to straighten up and walk the rest of the way to his console…trying not to look at the great creature in the tank staring at him through its dead eyes. He finally made it to his position, and began to fire up his own devices. Detec made his way to his own spot with some tension, and did the same.
Alright… Bahamut announced in everyone's mind. What do I do?
"You don't have to do much of anything." Shinza answered from her spot, looking up from her controls and to the creature. "Just sit or…um…float…or whatever, there, and we'll do the rest. First things first…I'd like to get a tissue culture."
The twisted mouth behind the breath mask frowned. Get the bad stuff out of the way first, I suppose.
Shinza looked up again. "Computer…obtain a tissue sample from the spec…er, designate Bahamut."
If possible, the creature appeared to roll its head back and groan slightly. He appeared to also be getting ready for the inevitable pain, and imagined great futuristic slicers coming in and cutting off a part of his skin. However, nothing happened. A few moments went by of silence. In the end, Shinza looked back down to her screen and began to type. Detec did the same thing. "And…we're done." She announced.
Now, the creature seemed to look puzzled. …Excuse me?
"That's it. We got the culture."
The beast hesitated for a moment, seeming puzzled. Hmm…that wasn't nearly so bad as I thought it would be. I thought you'd cut off a part of my flesh and stick it in a glass dish.
Shinza snickered at that…as if she honestly thought that was humorous, or a joke. "Maybe if we were medieval barbarians…but that would just be a senseless waste of material. We have nanites now that can excise a good layer of cells and maintain them…even grow them, if we need to. You didn't see it, but it took off a single column of tissue about as wide around as a dot of writing. Besides, even if we did need to take more, we would have put down a layer of synthetic skin as soon as we removed it, sealed all the blood vessels off, and given you a localized injection to prevent pain."
Bahamut appeared intrigued by this. Impressive…far beyond what we would have had on our world.
Shinza couldn't help but smile and snicker again. "Well…don't feel too bad. If your world was full of creatures like you, I don't think there'd be much need to worry about having all this technology, considering how advanced you are." After that, she turned to the assistants on either side. "Ok, boys. Analyze the protein structure and start running the basic fitness tests on him."
Do I have to do anything for that?
"Oh no." Shinza answered, quickly turning back. "Not at all. We already have all of the sensory equipment attached to you via the stints. You just need to sit there and act normally. We may have you breathe a bit harder later or subject you to warm or cold medium for a minute or so, but there's no need for that right now. This is going to be kind of a boring part for the next few hours…"
After saying this, Shinza pressed a few more buttons on her console. She activated a few devices. After pressing them, she looked to the ceiling, and saw a panel slide aside. A lens-bearing device slowly lowered from it and fixed into place. That wasn't all. Sound recording devices began to switch on around the room as well. With all of that done, Shinza turned expectantly back to Bahamut.
"So…how about we get started with the oral part of the research?" She asked. "Talk to us."
The body shrugged in the tank. About what?
"Well…anything, for a start." Shinza answered with a shrug of her own. "Like, you said you were an esper. What sort of a creature is an esper?"
The body hesitated a moment. One of its arms moved, for though it was handless it still made the old calculated movement of coming up to scratch the chin. However, on realizing that was impossible…the arm stopped.
Well… Bahamut started after a moment. Then, abruptly, he cut himself off. His tone grew cynical. I'm afraid you aren't going to get much from me if you're trying to record me. Keep in mind, though I sound clear as day to you three, the rest of the universe doesn't hear so much as a sound.
Shinza's face suddenly painted with recognition, and she frowned and smacked herself in the head. Of course. They were only hearing mental messages from him. With a groan, Shinza pressed a few buttons again. The camera overhead went back into the wall, and the recorders shut off. "We'll have to do something about that soon, if we can… Maybe we could hook up a voice synthesizer." She muttered aloud. With a sigh, she pressed a few more buttons on the computer, adjusting things. After a moment, a new program appeared on the screen, and she hovered her hands over the keyboard. "It's a good thing I took that typist course…we'll have to do it the old fashioned way."
I also regret to tell you a synthesizer would do little good either. Bahamut continued. The truth of the matter is, when you talk to me, I'm hearing nothing other than a confusing chittering of syllables. The only reason you can understand me and I you is because telepathy is a more universal code. In terms of language…I haven't the slightest idea what you are saying, and the same would go for me.
Shinza heard this, and she rolled her eyes and groaned again. She hadn't thought of that, but it made sense. "Darn it…" She sighed.
That's not all, I'm afraid. Bahamut went on. You had better couple recordings of my brain activity with your writing. That may lead people to think that I am actually giving you something to write down. Otherwise…I'm afraid you three could be mistaken for lunatics. As you aren't recording me saying anything to you, it will look a lot like you are talking to a mostly dead piece of tissue in a sac, and then writing down some fantastic delusion.
Shinza groaned and gave a whistle. "Wow…you sure have thought ahead about all this."
It's a rough habit to break. Bahamut simply answered.
The professor hesitated a moment, taking in all of these new details, and then went to work again. Fortunately, an active, thinking brain gave out its own signal, compared to one that was of a comatose creature, or of one that was just a basic creature without reasoning ability. Bahamut, however, was obviously a reasoning creature. And fortunately, as Shinza recalibrated the machinery, she noticed that she was recording activity of that kind from him. With that in mind, she sighed again, and turned back to her console once more. Once there, she inhaled deeply, and then looked up to him.
"Alright…shoot."
Very well. An esper…well, it's kind of a hard question to answer. On my world, we were the most intelligent beings for thousands of years. We were interested in pursuing knowledge about all things. Our high intellects combined with our long lives gave us tremendouswisdom of our world. However…we never did so much need to look to ourselves.
Shinza began to type this down, but kept her inquisitive mind working. "Really? You never became intrigued by signs of your previous civilizations? Old lore and history?"
To this, Shinza heard a chuckle. You're looking at our history, young lady. We had no past. We were born from the Planet in our original number. Their were eight of us at the start. We just woke up one day as children…and there we were.
Shinza gave a nod to this and wrote it down. "So…this would be the Creation Narrative for your religion…"
To that, however, Shinza suddenly felt a cold snap go through her mind.
I have lived through enough of history to see history become myths. Bahamut's voice suddenly retorted. What I just said was not a mere fantasy or children's story. I told you the truth. I was there, after all. We did not exist for thousands of years. Then…the Planet itself gave birth to us. The original eight of us. Please show me some courtesy. If you are going to wave off what I tell you as being some fabrication, then I think we might as well stop here before we go any farther.
Shinza was stunned, amazed at the biting retort that Bahamut had made. His voice had grown fierce and serious, and he blazed back at her with conviction. To anyone else…she might have overlooked this as some creature just being devout and faithful to their religion…while secretly trying to find the history behind the myth. However…Bahamut was not anyone else. What he was claiming wasn't something normal. She leaned in.
"Do…do you mean to tell me, that in this stor…er, history…you were one of the original beings yourself?"
That's what I just said. Bahamut answered somewhat roughly. I am immortal. I have been alive since that time.
This was puzzling. Until now, Shinza, and everyone else in the scientific community, discredited most religious stories. All creatures came from other creatures. They denounced any role of any creator playing a part in this, or something new arising. The only things that ever came that were new weren't new at all, but were the products of change for over thousands of years.And yet…Bahamut was now standing here, telling her this… What he said, of course, couldn't be true. It had to be some delusion on his part. He had to not be telling her something. He had to have come from other esper-like creatures, regardless of how long he lived.
"Well…who was your mother and father?"
Another thing I must warn you about…I despise having to repeat myself. My sole parent was the Planet itself. I had no other mother or father.
Shinza hesitated at this. What was this supposed to mean? He had to have something…
"Um…well…who took care of you when you grew up?"
I awoke already weaned. One of my older siblings cared for me, and for the rest of us.
Now it started to make more sense to Shinza. In truth…she felt a bit disappointed. It appeared that Bahamut wasn't a natural phenomenon at all…and that made her hopes sink a little. He had to be a genetic creation, some product of engineering from other intelligent ones on his world. It made sense, after all. What creature could naturally have the ability to live so long? Or utilize the sun's energy? Or have such mental ability? Or be able to withstand being in space? That was unfortunate. So much for rewriting phylogenies… But still, he was a marvelous creature to behold. He was well beyond the genetic manipulation their own race was capable of…
You don't believe me.
Shinza froze. Again, she cursed herself. She forgot that Bahamut could read her mind again. And the voice was curt and cold. Shinza swallowed a moment.
"…I don't want to be insulting, Bahamut." She replied after a moment. "It's just…well…we stopped believing in stories of creation long ago. We find it a little hard to swallow. I don't want to be the one to say this, but…it's more than likely that you came about through more natural means than you think. I mean…I don't want to discredit you or anything. I'm just…I'm just prone to the possibility that it was something that was more likely to have occurred. That's all. This is how my people would normally explain things, you know…in the realm of potential science. It's just a practical way of thinking of things. You can understand that, I'm sure. You're an intelligent creature yourself. You've had to have dealt with creatures that were not as educated or experienced as you. You know how they…well…" Shinza hesitated. She had a fear this would make the creature mad…or would get him to clam up. But she felt she had to say it. She had to explain herself. "…Well…confuse things. They become…fooled. I mean…I can easily see lots of people seeing you from less developed worlds and thinking because of your mental powers that you're some sort of god or diety. And you don't think of yourself that way, do you?"
Not at all. Bahamut responded…his voice still dark. However…I have to say, in the end of all things…that I'm surprised at you, Shinza.
The woman hesitated again at this, and looked to the tank in puzzlement.
Your interest…in these out of place artifacts…they are all about rewriting the scientific dogma of your world…and yet you so easily snub the first exception to the "rules" that you encounter.
Shinza was stunned at that response. She hadn't expected it…but, just as yesterday…she felt the truth in it strike her to the core. Bahamut was a very inciteful creature, it appeared…much more than she expected. And now, he had pointed out the obviousness of her sudden hypocracy. It didn't change her mind of course. Oh no…she still firmly believed that Bahamut was mistaken…that he had to be made through more natural means than this fantasy he had come to believe in. It didn't make her think less of him either. She just thought he was deceived and deluded. It could happen to anyone. However…she couldn't deny that she was acting a little out of her element in defending her theory. She supposed she should have been a bit more open-minded…
Yet how could she? This was preposterous. A world…a nonliving collection of elements…couldn't give birth to anything. It was simply not possible. Sure…some ecologists on her world tossed about the idea of a "Gaia Hypothesis", that worlds were so interrelated to their biotic and abiotic components on a global scale that worlds might in fact be organisms themselves…but she thought the idea was ridiculous. Worlds were rocks with gaseous or solid-based centers. Nothing more. They couldn't have children or think or do anything else but float in dead, empty space.
At any rate, Bahamut managed to calm himself after a moment, and continued. He didn't stop as he had threatened, fortunately. He went on for the next few hours to describe his other family members and the state of the world on his awakening. This only served to confirm in Shinza's mind that her theory was correct. If they had truly been regular creatures, Bahamut and his children should have looked the same. Some sort of race prior to their existence must have done it. Bahamut kept alluding to an "Old World" that had been around before him…and Shinza formed a theory about it. This last world seemed to have no concept for resource conservation or order, as her own society managed to adopt before they had a breakdown of world order centuries ago. However, at the peak of their technology, they must have tried to engineer Bahamut and the other seven espers that had been mentioned. Somehow…they must have survived the end of all other civilization and were dormant while the world recovered. When they woke up hundreds of years later, they could only assume, as they lacked any parents, that the green, regrown world around them had spawned them. Perhaps this "Ultima Nexus" that they spoke of was a former flying station that used the magnetism of Bahamut's homeworld of Gaia to stay aloft.
Even then, the story was fascinating. Bahamut began to tell stories of strange new climate patterns, plants the likes of which Shinza had never heard of, and countless other great facts about his world. For example…Gaia rotated once every 24 hours. Etteca, on the other hand, rotated once every 10 years. It was only due to the immense amount of geothermal heat that had been produced by Ettaca that life was sustained on the dark side for 5 years at a time. Gaia was much cooler, but with the sun continuously shining around it in small bouts, it managed to stay warm. He also told stories about how the flowers were fertilized by flying insects. Etteca had flowers, but most of the insects that pollinated them were subterranean beetles that went dormant for years at a time. The rest were pollinated through wind and specialized grabbing receptors. Overall, the flowers on Gaia had to be much smaller, but also more efficient.
Shinza's fingers flew constantly with new information over the keyboard for hours as tests were run non-stop. But eventually, she felt herself growing hungry. It was growing time for lunch soon, and that meant a break. She could hardly bear to tear herself away. This was all terribly fascinating to her. Yet in the end, she finally heard Bahamut come to a good point to stop, and broke it off.
"I'm sorry…I'd love to hear more about all of this, but it's getting to be time for lunch. We should probably stop here for now."
A pause from Bahamut's end. Alright. I take it that I myself do not need to eat, due to being suspended here?
Shinza shook her head. "No, you don't." She answered. "I guess we'll start again in an hour." After that, she began to push herself up from her chair. Detec and Sarap stopped their own work and began to turn away as well. Yet before any of them could get much farther, Bahamut called out to them again.
One moment.
Shinza stopped, and looked back to the tank again. "…Yes?"
If it is just the same to you…I would like something related to your race. I would like to start studying about your species in my free time. I don't have much else to do here.
The professor stopped at that. That was surprising. She had been expecting to learn from the creature…not the other way around. However, seeing how smart he was…she supposed it did make sense. After all, what else could he do? And perhaps he was curious about them as well. Nevertheless…this caught the woman off guard slightly.
"I thought you wouldn't be able to read it?"
I wouldn't. But if it has enough pictures, I can start forming associations. And I can gain a lot from visual data.
Shinza frowned and shrugged. "Sorry… The onlystuff we have is contained in computer data. And we can't very well get you over here. We'll have to rig up another screen to get it in front of you."
Bahamut hesitated after hearing that. …Very well. He answered with some disdain.
Detec and Sarap moved at this, and began to make for the exit. Shinza began to move as well…but hesitated. In the end, she turned back to the console, and the floating organism. After a pause, she shrugged.
"I…think I can put on some music though. It's not much…I don't listen to a lot…but it's something."
The creature hesitated again, but in the end nodded.
That would be nice.
"I know it's usually customary to wait until these voyages are over to present any findings…but with what we've found I think you'll agree with me when I say I couldn't possibly wait."
"I do… Wholeheartedly."
Shinza was back on A deck. After eating lunch, she had gone down and had her assistants run more tests on Bahamut while she continued to interview him. The amount of knowledge he possessed was amazing, and he continued to make her marvel with more and more. However, earnestly as she wanted to press him for more…eventually he forced her to stop. He remembered that she was supposed to "rig things up" for him, and he eventually halted and reminded her to take time out to do these things. She ruefully complied, and began to work out designs. She much rather would have continued to indulge in the wealth of information that Bahamut was giving her…but she had agreed. And she had to remember she was talking to a sentient creature now, and she had to be respectful to his wants and needs. Therefore, the afternoon wasn't nearly as profitable in terms of lore as the morning had been. But there was quite a bit of information none the less.
Now, Shinza was seated at the front of her room at the computer. She had activated the communications program, and was now sending her message across millions of miles of space toward her home university. She had managed to ring up an old mentor of hers, Dr. Folle, from the university who happened to work late, and also was on the board of commissioners who were reviewing her project. She was most delighted to share the first few nuggets of wisdom she had managed to obtain from her new acquaintance. She beamed with delight as she saw the change on his face on the display before her, where, back on Etteca, he was seated at a console and seeing her in much the same way.
He shook his head after a moment at this. Back on his screen, Shinza was crushed to one side while the data that she transmitted to him ran down the other half. He turned to her after a moment. "I can't believe you've managed to turn all of this up, Shinza. This is fantastic. I mean…it's a pity that the specimen is missing so many body parts and isn't mobile…and that you don't have any population to compare him with. But you'll pretty much make the front page of every other biological field if you can get a complete data set from him. He's beyond the dreams of any genetic engineer. When he wasn't like he was now…the specimen must have been the pinnacle of evolution. What I would give to know where he came from…"
Shinza whistled a bit at that. "You're not alone there. Hopefully, he'll give me enough information in future talks to try and deduce where it was." However, after saying this, Shinza's face fell slightly, and she looked a little nervous.
"And…um…his name is Bahamut." She finally added, a bit lamely…correcting Folle referring to him as the specimen.
"His name can be High Foofy King of Creampuffs for all I care." Dr. Folle answered. "You've got to keep him talking, Shinza. This biological data is already gold…but what he's telling you is worth even more. He's like a living encyclopedia about a world none of us ever knew existed. And if the people there managed to engineer him, there's no telling what else that his world has. Based on what he's telling you, he'll have information of great value to historians…geologists…ecologists…maybe even psychologists. The moment this report gets published, I know they'll want to shrink the head of a moody creature that's been around for 6,000 years."
Shinza looked a bit uneasy at that again. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "Well…I'd like to keep that quiet for now." She answered after a pause. "You see…he's not too happy about what's going on with him right now. The worst possible thing we could do to him is treat him like a sideshow freak for our people to gawk at."
Dr. Folle hesitated as well after hearing that. He twisted his face and thought a moment, but in the end gave a nod. "Yeah…I think you're right. For now, just keep everything low key. After all, you have seven and half more years out there with him…although in a month I think you'll have enough data to publish a findings paper. By the end of this year you'll probably be ready to give in your first test experiment data. And after that…there's no telling how much will show up. Already, I'd give my right eye to be on that ship right now."
Shinza couldn't help but grin at this, and made a teasing gesture by putting a hand up to her nose. "Na-na-na-na-na!" She teased in a mock fashion. "I'm here and you're not!" She ended with a raspberry.
Folle grinned and chuckled a bit as well. The two laughed a bit longer after that, but calmed down soon afterward. Folle smoothed himself out and gave her a nod. "Alright…keep up the good work. Send me your results when you think you have enough for a paper. I won't lie to you…people on voyages do normally wait until they return to publish anything…but if there was ever a time to make an exception, I think it's now. Good luck."
Shinza smiled, and gave a nod in response. "Thanks. See you soon, doctor."
Folle gave one more smile and a nod, and then disappeared into a blip as the screen shrank down into blackness and shut off.
All night, Shinza lay awake trying to think of new things to ask Bahamut the next day. Now that she had gotten an idea of what he knew, the thought of what else she could learn intrigued her. So far, he had only described the hovering land and the things there. Who knew what else there was? Perhaps ruins of the civilization that gave birth to him…or other incredible creatures that at least partially shared his genotype. She was so excited, and kept adding to her massive list of questions, that she couldn't barely shut her eyes or stop quivering with excitement.
She was up two hours early and scrambling to eat as quick as she could the next day. Her sleepy assistants lagged far behind her. They were excited as well, but only so far as the data they were collecting. Most of Shinza's inquires didn't hold as much interest. Besides, it wasn't like the specimen was going anywhere. After having spent a day with him, they were getting much more accustomed to him and at ease, and hence weren't too troubled by potential danger. But Shinza couldn't hold her excitement. She was finished with breakfast long before the assistants even got up to eat. She was then forced to nervously wait for them to finish as well.
At last, they were all done, and they went down to B deck. Shinza practically ran into the turbolift and went down, nearly leaving the others behind. Once they arrived, she dashed out of the front of the device and ran forward to take her previous position. As for her assistants, they moved at a more regular pace out to the sides to resume their own analyses once again. Shinza was already eagerly sitting in her chair by the time they reached their own locations.
"Good morning, Bahamut." She announced out in a hurried voice.
The head in the tank gave a nod. So it is morning. I have trouble telling what time it is in this place, even when the lights are dim. It has been a rather tedious night… I still seem to have much of my energy despite having this broken body.
Shinza didn't pay much attention to this. Her main concern was with getting started. Quickly, she leaned back in her chair and thought up her first question. "Ok…here's what I'd like to know first. Was there any evidence that your brothers and sisters could absorb solar energy like you, or, as you implied, did they all absorb somehow from their own elements?"
Shinza was a bit stunned when Bahamut replied simply.
No.
The woman blinked at this, a bit confused. "Excuse me? Was that a no to them absorbing solar energy, or absorbing from other elements?"
It was a, "No, I do not wish to answer your question".
Shinza hesitated again at that. Her face turned into more puzzlement. "I'm…not sure I understand…"
A sigh went through her brain as the creature leaned back in its sac. I answered questions all day yesterday…and I am rather bored with it. No questions today.
The professor looked to him in puzzlement. That was it? He was just saying, right off the bat, that he didn't want to be asked anymore questions today? It irritated Shinza a little. She had been up all night, planning all sorts of inquiries…and Bahamut had just up and canceled things right as they were going to get started. She ignored the fact that she had kept him talking for hours on end the other day, or the fact that the creature might be bored with having to respond to everything she wanted to know. However…Shinza had cleared her own schedule, deferring everything to her assistants, specifically so that she could ask him as much as she could in as short a time as possible. And now…he was calling it off.
Shinza frowned a bit, and leaned back in her chair. She looked around a bit at herself, and sighed. "…Well, in that case, I have nothing." She finally said. "I guess I'm done for the day…"
Oh no, you're not. Bahamut immediately answered, causing her to look back up to him. I may not be answering any questions today…but I didn't say anything about you.
The assistants looked up at this, and turned in puzzlement to the esper. Shinza herself looked up, and blinked slightly in confusion. "…Me?"
Yes, you. Bahamut answered. I have very little to do here, so I feel like providing myself with some mental stimulation at the very least. I said I wanted to research your race and people as well. However, since there's no computer available for me yet, I'll have to settle for you. You can tell me what I want to know.
The woman winced uneasily. Never before had she heard of a test subject testing its researchers. And this had caught her off guard. She had been so prepared to quiz Bahamut, and now she suddenly found him turning things around and aiming at her. This was irregular. However…she didn't want to make him upset again. Losing him would mean losing far too much. She supposed that she could deal with it. After all…it couldn't be that bad. It did seem like kind of a waste to her, however… In the end, she merely gave a shrug.
"Well…I guess that's ok…"
Good. Bahamut instantly answered. First question…what are you?
Shinza blinked at that, and looked a bit uneasy. "Well…like I said before, I'm an Ettecan…"
That term is about as meaningful to me as I telling you, "I am a mountain ibex." To me, you look rather like the humans of my world. You are a bit thinner, you have gill slits, and your ears are rather pointy…
On hearing this, a ripple traveled through Shinza's body. Instinctively, she turned red a little, and flexed her ears back before reaching up and putting her hands on them.
Bahamut hesitated at this. …Did I say something wrong?
"Oh…" Shinza slowly answered. "Um…not really. It's just…well…about my ears. I have rather long ears for my race. It's considered a mark of beauty back on my world…and all sorts of people would always come up to me and comment on my ears."
The creature hesitated for a moment at this.
…Lewd sorts of people?
Shinza blushed again, and nervously grasped the ends of her ears and pulled down.
No need to answer that. I understand now. Bahamut calmly answered, in a tone indicating he would leave the matter at that. He gave a second for Shinza to relax, to gradually release her ears and straighten up. However, on doing so, he spoke in a brighter voice. But that's something I'd like to know. Something like that. What is of interest to your race? What makes you different from the ones I know back home, or to other races on your world? For example…you said to me that you operate on a thirty hour day. Does that mean your world turns six hours slower than mine?
Shinza hesitated a moment. However, she did recover from the first question after a little, and gave a slight shrug. "Well…actually, no. Our world only rotates once every ten years. We have five years of light and five years of darkness…at least, what you consider a year. Because of that, we count our ages in days."
Interesting… Bahamut returned after a moment. What does that make you?
"Five and one noon days."
Bahamut gave a chuckle at that. Sorry…I can't help but laugh. It strikes me as somewhat amusing. I'm used to having much shorter time periods.
Shinza sighed a bit at that. "So does the rest of the universe. We now operate on the galactic standard day, which is 30 hours. We adjusted well to this. We found that we can adapt well to sleep and wake cycles of much shorter duration. Almost all of us have been doing that for over a thousand years now."
Now? What did you do before?
"Well…the truth is, it's no problem for an Ettecan to stay awake for five years at a time, like they would in nature…or how we used to."
Wow…that's impressive.
"It's really nothing. You see…we go to sleep for five years after that. In terms of your months, our ancestors spent the last few months eating protein rich foods and lots of mineral supplements. When the sun went down, we would find a nice spot to rest, lock our legs up, adjust our bodies, and go to sleep standing up. Over the first year of darkness, our skin hardens, darkens, and lifts off until we form a rock-hard chrysalis. We become totally dormant, to the point where our hearts beat once every two hours. Then we would stay like that until the next day, where we would slough off the old skins and have a new set."
Very interesting… Bahamut remarked in response. No wonder you had the idea that I might still be alive…
Shinza hesitated at that. "Well…it's really not the same thing. If there was an emergency, like something beginning to break the chrysalis wall, our bodies would reactivate. Besides, we may become very dormant, but we weren't anything like you. All of our cells continue to work, although at a very slow rate. You see…we age inside the chrysalis as well."
Bahamut's head raised a bit to that, seeming very interested.
"In the old days, before we had more regular hours, it wouldn't be uncommon for a child to come out a teenager, or a teenager to come out an adult." Shinza continued. "And there used to be cases where older Ettecans would pass away while in their dormant state." Shinza hesitated again at this, but then suddenly bowed her head and gave a snort.
The creature was intrigued by this. What was that for?
"Oh…nothing."
I am intrigued. Please tell me.
The professor sighed and leaned back a little. "Oh…it's just something that comes into my mind whenever I think of what I just told you." She answered. "We haven't entered this phase in centuries. I have no idea what it looks like. But in earlier times when we did it regularly…" She began to trail here, and sighed again. "There was this…superstition…"
The creature didn't look away. What sort of superstition?
Shinza sighed again. She leaned back a little and waved her hand afterward. "Oh…in our past, before we adopted science, we had tribal cultures that were run by myths. And one of them was that one who died while they were in the chrysalis wasn't dead at all, but that they were transforming, just like an insect does so when they go into a cocoon. They were supposed to be going to be some higher creature on another plain of existence. And so they would take their chrysalis and place it up in special areas along with other ones, and they would guard them."
Sort of like a cemetery. Bahamut answered. I understand. But why does this trouble you?
The professor frowned again. "It was a meaningless waste, that's why." Shinza answered. "Nowadays, our planet has such a lack of biomass that our bodies are efficiently recycled back into the soil once we die, to ensure we can be absorbed for future generations. But this…this stupid myth culture. All it did was take up acres of good land on our world with nothing more than stands with rotting bones inside. No one was ever going to transform into anything except wasted atoms that could be used by other organisms. Our ancestors had to give themselves burdens of guarding these plots against wild animals and invaders, and all for nothing. They were dead. Gone. There was nothing left. They never even bothered to break open a chrysalis to see the contents, to see if they were really changing or if they were just rotting away like the rest of us. And above it all…it was a reason for prejudice. People who had their relatives die in that state were considered nobler or better than other people. It was just a stupid act of fate."
The creature did not respond right away. He continued to float in his fluid, but kept his eyes focused squarely on Shinza. She exhaled again and tried to right herself as she sat there. The esper himself was quiet for a long while. But in the end, he spoke up once more.
It still seems to me to be an interesting little bit of information. He finally admitted. It's a pleasant thought. To me, it shows a universality of sorts between Gaia and Etteca. After all, many people on my world await another life beyond this one. The chance to perhaps become something else that is not so restrained or mortal…
Yet to this, Shinza merely snickered and shook her head.
"All it means is that your world still has fools and ours doesn't." She simply answered. "We've cast off those fairy tales long ago. It's a kid's fantasy. That's all. It's simply not possible. There's no scientific basis for it…just some dumb wish. Some people on my world still like looking into that stuff…but I just wish our society would hurry up and close that book in history, so we can get on with our lives."
Bahamut didn't answer this. He continued to float in the tank, and stared on at Shinza. After a moment, however, the woman sighed, realizing what she was saying and who she was talking to. She turned back to the tank afterward. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to insult you."
No, no…it's quite alright. Bahamut answered…although his voice was somewhat distant. However, this lasted only for a moment.
What can you tell me about your family?
Shinza hesitated at that, and felt herself grow a bit stiff. She hesitated a moment, but then she gave a shrug. "Ettecans have only one child nowadays. Population control. My mother worked a lot. My father did too at a plastics plant. Once I was old enough to go to school, I left."
Again, Bahamut hesitated. This time, Shinza's unease began to be replaced by visual irritation. It was obvious that she was growing terse with this. Bahamut stared at her a long while with his unseeing eyes. But then he snapped out of it, and he spoke in a brighter tone. Well, there's a lot of information I can gain from you by reading your mind, so you don't have to bother telling me anything, but I'd much rather have you just tell me. After all…mind reading is so rude. Why don't you tell me how you became interested in OVAs?
On hearing this, Shinza snapped out of it. She looked up and smiled immediately. This was a much better subject for her.
"You really want to know? It all started back in high school…"
To be continued...
