The Past and the Future
Good news first, the Tornado's been fixed. Finally. I even took a few photos of her right after the repair job, 'cause she has seriously never looked better. The work this week really paid off. I gotta thank everyone at Edwards again for all the work they did, and GUN for providing the repair materials.
Anyway, while I was away, it looks like I missed all the public surprise over my age in the past few days. Apparently in my last post I already kinda assumed most of you already knew I was eight, and that Sonic was fifteen. Oops. =P
So, I guess I shouldn't be surprised by this, but the most common question that was asked of me here and in my email inbox was, of course, "How do you know so much about engineering even though you're so young? Where did you learn all this?" And for a moment it looked like a lot of people thought mobians in general were super-geniuses before Sonic came out to deny that.
Well, if you really want to know, might as well tell you. The answer? The library.
See, long before I met Sonic, while my life was, well, not so happy, the only safe place I was able to find for myself, the only shelter, was the library, which was one of the few places I could enter without much problem. I'm not sure why, but in there, people mainly just let me be, unlike some of the ones outside who were constantly saying or doing things that really hurt me.
Then, inside the library, the most isolated spot I could find for myself, just to be safe, happened to be the engineering section, with the math and physics sections nearby. So, you know, I just read everything I could. It's not like I could do anything else anyway.
To be honest my memory on this is kinda fuzzy, as I don't remember when I started doing this…come to think of it, I can't actually recall anything in my life prior to that – they're my earliest memories. But I do remember that reading through all those books, a few of which were bigger than me at the time, I felt…peaceful. Happy even. I was learning. I just consumed all of the knowledge there, because I guess I just wasn't deterred by the heavy jargon and technical language used.
So I went to library literally almost every day, really, and stayed there for hours. Unfortunately they didn't open the whole day, and would close around dinner time. So when the sun set, it was time to get back outside onto the mean streets again. Though most of the time I was able to borrow at least one book, usually a smaller one because the big ones were too huge and heavy for me, so I could learn more even after leaving the building. And looking back, it was probably for the better anyway, since it meant I could try applying what I've learned outside using the scraps and junk I scavenged, rather than only studying all the theories indoors.
This situation lasted for three, maybe four years, I think, until one day, when I learned that the library had been abruptly closed down and moved to a different location, which was much further away from where I lived, practically opposite of the entire town. I had no means of transport at the time – or rather, I did, but I didn't exactly dare to fly in public – so it was as good as gone from my life. I was actually really deep in despair when it happened, with no idea how I could even go on from there. Thankfully, though, just the next day, a certain blue hedgehog arrived in the area.
Since then I've just been continuing to teach myself, all the way until today. Actually, after we first settled down properly on Earth, I had to relearn a lot of the terminology used, since humans and mobians obviously don't use the same terms, even though the language is similar. A quick example, Newton's Third Law was simply called the Action-Reaction principle where I came from. As for units, Newton, for example, was called Force Units or FUs, and Pascal was called Pressure Units or PUs. Yeah, I guess we don't really name anything scientific after people back on Mobius. Anyway, it's OK, though, I actually kinda enjoyed it. (And it also finally let me understand what exactly Robotnik was talking about when he boasted about the specs on some of his mechs or robots.)
Looking back, I don't think that I regret anything at all regarding my education. Even if I could, I wouldn't trade everything I've learned for anything else.
On the other hand, though… when I see normal kids and teenagers going to school, it really makes me wonder what could have been. What it would have been like to receive a normal education like everyone else. What an ordinary life in school would have been like, things like that. It was only after watching some TV shows and cartoons where the main characters are in school, as well as hearing Alicia talk about school life, did I realize I had no idea how to relate to what they were talking about. I have a feeling all of that could be something I may never get to experience.
Still, my life has come this far. No point looking back into the past. I'm just going to keep doing what I'm good at, to make a difference where I can. And deep down, I'm hoping that library's still doing well today.
So, based on your consensus, Sonic and I will put in out birthdates to make it so that we were born and have lived on Earth for sixteen and nine years respectively. Just hope it doesn't make it harder for me to get all those licenses though. XD
Anyway, I'll be busier in the coming weeks, and since I'm not sure when I can post again, I'll just dump all of this right here. Sonic's said he's planning to go to the Middle East to help out where he can there. As for me, I've finally ditched the crutches and started wearing my own shoes again, all way ahead of schedule, oh yeah! Really missed them. You know, I'm strongly considering putting shock absorbers into them to reduce the chances of that ever happening again, and Sonic's too, just in case. Maybe when I find the time.
I'm still walking a little funny since my therapy's far from done, but you know what? I think I'm in good enough shape to fly again at full speed. I'm going to try that jet mode again sometime next week, though I'll make sure to be flying higher than usual to avoid causing problems on the ground. I might even use it for work purposes, like if I have to check how a jet's condition is on the outside while it's traveling over Mach 1. Just a heads up to any of you photographer types ;)
Oh yeah, and I finally got some emails from some toy companies offering to make soft toys, or plushies, in my and Sonic's image, including 1:1 size models. I said yes. You can thank me later. XD
You know, I didn't expect this, but I feel a lot happier after typing all of the above. I feel like I should thank you all for that, really. So, that's all, see you next time! (Which is hopefully soon.)