Chapter 11: Let there be Light
As the day turned to evening, and the sun began to set, we had done it, and the six of us had gathered around to examine our work!
"All right!" said Chrome, his tone excited.
Senku chuckled and said, "It's the Kingdom of Science's special dual-wield, hand-crank generator!"
The generator was made out of two copper disks, the magnet, some bamboo, wood, and all tied together with some rope. The Kingdom of Science's flag hung from the platform, and there was a drawing of Senku's face on the copper disks.
"Nice, we've acquired electricity!" I said, my tone excited. "Benjamin Franklin, eat your heart out!"
"Who and what?!" Chrome asked, his tone both confused and shocked.
"Never mind," I replied sheepishly. "Figure of speech."
"We have to spin the two disks at the same time?" Kohaku asked. "That'll be pretty hard."
"We just need two people to do it together!" Suika replied, her tone excited.
"We'll have to spin it with perfect timing, or it'll crumble to bits." Chrome added.
"So, we'll need two people with perfect synergy to spin it then." I said.
"If only there were two people who worked in perfect sync and had a lot of energy." said Senku, his tone thoughtful.
We all paused to think, but then, amazingly, we all had the same idea as to who we could use to turn the generator! But then again, convincing those two was going to be a chore all on its own, especially with someone like Kinro around.
"You lot again," said Kinro, his tone annoyed, as both he and Ginro stood on guard duty. "What do you want this time?"
"I'll show you our awesome science machine!" Chrome replied, his tone confident. "Come with us!"
"Why would I go?" Kinro asked, his tone still annoyed, which sent Chrome collapsing to his knees in failure.
"You're as stubborn as ever," Kohaku said, her tone somewhat disappointed. "What are you not satisfied with?"
"He's obviously upset about his gold spear getting wrecked," Senku replied with a chuckle, as he scratched his ear with his pinky finger.
"Maybe you should promise to make him a new one if he complies with us," I spoke up.
Then, much to our initial confusion, Gen stepped up to Kinro and Ginro, who were just as confused as we were.
"Man, electricity is so amazing," said Gen, his tone proud and somewhat oblivious. "In a technological civilization, our world of sorcery, all sorts of contraptions work on electricity! With electricity, we might even be able to make and repair… gold and silver spears! Right, Senku-chan?"
In response to this, Senku leaned in and whispered, "Electro-coating isn't that easy - do you even know the recipe?"
"I don't know a single thing," Gen replied, his tone still proud and somewhat oblivious.
I facepalmed, while Kohaku said in an annoyed tone, "Gen Asagiri, your words really are as flimsy as a feather."
But then I looked at the two guard brothers, and their expressions spoke otherwise - Ginro looked like he had found a treasure trove of gold, while Kinro looked stoic, but convinced. Well, his words may be as flimsy as a feather, but when it comes to these two, they do the trick!
As evening turned to night, Kinro and Ginro were hard at work on the generator, cranking it away with all that they were worth!
"You can count on the brothers to be perfectly in sync with each other." said Kohaku, a smile on her face, and her tone pleased.
Senku chuckled again and said, "Now that we have Kinro and Ginro, the Kingdom of Science is really starting to shape up."
"Are they really making electricity?" Gen asked.
Senku then held up something on a leaf to Gen - it looked like a little brown string.
"This is steam-roasted bamboo string." said Senku.
"What's that going to do?" I asked.
Senku smiled and said, "You'll see."
With the light of day now gone, and the sky completely dark, Senku invited me and Chrome onto the roof of the Shed of Science with him.
"Do you need it to be a high spot?" Kohaku asked.
"It doesn't matter," Senku replied. "But hey, we might as well."
"Senku, why did you invite me up here?" I asked.
"Because you're the only one who knows the context," Senku replied.
"Context?" I asked, my tone confused.
"David, in the Bible that you read, were there any verses about light?" Senku asked.
"Yeah, plenty," I replied. "In fact, the first verses of the Bible, in Genesis, they talk about light."
"Chrome, are you afraid of the night?" Senku asked.
"Yeah, it is dark after all," Chrome replied. "Why do you ask?"
"There is no darkness in our age," Senku replied. "Old Edison erased night from the world with his incandescent light bulb. He conquered the twenty-four hour day, and with science, humanity defeated the night. This is going to light the darkness, for the first time in three-thousand and seven-hundred years - it's the flame of science. David, what does the verses in Genesis say?"
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," I replied, as Senku put two wires near the bamboo string. "The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said,"
Senku then put the two wires on the bamboo string and, much to all of our amazement, it started to glow, brighter and brighter, until… it lit up all around us! Like a beacon that broke through the darkness, it was the only source of light that could be found, probably in the entire world! This single, solitary light had broke through the darkness, and we could see at night again!
"'Let there be light'; and there was light," I continued, as Senku let out a grin, and Chrome continued to stare in wonder. "And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness."
"God's right, David," said Senku, his tone both proud and pleased. "The light is good - it's very good."
I smiled, and I looked up and around, as the light filled the sky - electricity and light may have been discovered before, but to us, this was a crowning achievement. The Kingdom of Science now had light and electricity - we were moving forward with restoring the world!
We were now inside the Shed of Science, as Kohaku explained to Suika who Tsukasa was, and how he was the one who killed Senku. Senku survived, but still, Tsukasa is bad news, since he wants to stop scientific progress, and didn't think twice about killing Senku to do it.
"So that Tsukasa person is a bad man, and Gen is with him?!" Suika asked in a panicky manner. "Then Gen's a bad person!"
"Maybe, but he still saved us from Magma," I spoke up.
"So he's a good person then!" Suika replied.
Senku chuckled and said, "He's neither a good person nor a bad person."
"He's just a throughly shallow bat of a man," Kohaku replied, her tone irked.
"Lions, Gorillas, Elephants, Weasels, Bats," I said with a chuckle. "Funny how many animals we all seem to be like."
"It doesn't matter whether Gen Asagiri is a good guy or a bad guy," Senku continued. "We need him to be on the side of the Kingdom of Science. We'll have him make a bogus report to Tsukasa saying 'Senku is definitely dead' - that's the only way we can win."
Chrome then got up, poked his head out of the shed, and yelled, "Hear that, Gen?! You saw it, didn't you, the insane light of Science?! Who cares about who wins?! Who gives a crap about whether Tsukasa or Senku has the edge?! The Kingdom of Science is just way more fun!"
Gen turned to Chrome and said with a patronizing smile, "Gosh, you're so passionate, young man - too bad, though - I don't have what you do, Chrome-chan. I'm the most superficial man on earth - all I care about is whether or not something will benefit me."
Gen started walking away into the forest, while I had to be the one to hold Kohaku back, as she was readying one of her knives to attack Gen with!
"Working with us will benefit him," I said, my tone somewhat comedic. "It'll keep that massive head of his on his own neck, rather than Kohaku removing it."
A few minutes later, as the five of us were going over what our next move was, Kohaku turned and looked outside, having heard what sounded like a scuffle.
"What was that noise?!" Kohaku asked, her tone worried, as she drew her knives and exited the Shed of Science.
Chrome, Senku, Suika, and I quickly followed her out, and we ran into the forest. But by the time we got to where we heard the noise, we saw what happened - Gen Asagiri was lying dead on the ground - he was bloodied, bruised, and he had been stabbed with a spear!
"Holy smokes," I said, my tone horrified. "Somebody killed Gen!"
"Gen, are you alright?" Chrome asked, his tone worried.
"How can he be alright?!" I asked, somewhat angrily. "He's been stabbed in the chest with a spear!"
"He obviously died instantly," Kohaku added, her tone solemn.
"This is terrible!" Suika added, her tone horrified.
"No, hang on," said Senku, coming forward and pulling the spear out of Gen.
"Oh, don't do that!" I protested, my tone horrified, as I looked away. "I can stand blood, but not guts!"
"David, look!" said Senku. "He guarded himself with bags of fake blood!"
"They're all over him!" Suika added, her tone excited.
"This is nuts," said Chrome, a smile on his face. "He covered himself with these things, just in case!"
I looked back, and saw that they were right - underneath Gen's coat were several bags, all of which were probably filled with the fake blood, meaning he had faked his death!
Senku cracked a grin and said, "Not bad - you're a magician through and through."
We carried Gen, who had awakened from his fake death, back to the Shed of Science. And there, we surveyed the damage that was dealt, and treated his injures using some healing leaves.
"He may have blocked it with those bags, but he's severely injured." said Kohaku, as she knelt beside Gen, her tone stoic.
Chrome let out a curse and announced, "We have to catch the attacker!"
"But who could've done a terrible thing?" Kohaku asked.
A few seconds after she asked that, Suika ran out the door of the shed, announcing that she was going to investigate. Meanwhile, we went to work on healing Gen, and after we did all that we could, the only thing that we could do now was to pray and wait.
The next morning, Suika returned, having found out who was the culprit behind the attempt on Gen's life. The culprit was that Gaston rip-off, Magma!
"Magma did it?" Chrome asked, his tone somewhat angered, as he pounded his fist into his hand. "That scoundrel!"
"I see…" said Kohaku, her tone inquisitive. "Gen Asagiri made those flowers disappear before their eyes - from Magma's perspective, Gen is the rumored outsider sorcerer that I brought with me."
"So he tried to kill him, thinking that he was Senku," I said, my tone also inquisitive. "To be honest, poor Gen was a mistaken target who was caught in the crossfire."
Kohaku let out a small scoff, and said in a somewhat annoyed tone, "It's a real insult that Magma believes my strength is due to sorcery, though."
"Well, you have the raw power of an actual gorilla," Chrome added. "So you're a legit gorilla."
I facepalmed, as Kohaku stood above Chrome, her weapons drawn and a look of fury on her face. Chrome, on the other hand, had taken off all his clothes, and was bowed at her feet, saying that he was sorry.
"Lioness fits her more, Chrome," I said, my tone annoyed. "She's got the strength, speed, and beauty of one, so quit calling her a gorilla."
"So why is Magma looking for an opportunity to kill you, Kohaku?" asked Senku.
Kohaku turned to look at Senku and said, "Probably… no, definitely… because of the Grand Bout."
"Grand Bout?" I asked. "What's that?"
"Once every generation, the village holds a large martial arts battle called the Grand Bout." Kohaku replied.
"So that's what that arena-looking thing on the far island is for." Senku added.
"Several months ago, on the day the village priestess, Ruri-nee, came of age, the winner of the Grand Bout was to wed her and become the village elder," Kohaku continued. "That's how my father became the current village elder."
"And let me guess, Magma was fighting for that position, and you had something to do with him not winning it?" I asked.
"Yes," Kohaku replied, her tone brimming with quiet fury. "I overheard him saying that Ruri-nee had a year at most, and that if she were to just go ahead and die, he wouldn't have to take care of her, and he could take the elder's seat without all the trouble - he even said he was going to make it look like she drowned herself, out of despair in her sickness!"
"That, that, that dirty, rotten, wretched…" I stuttered furiously, trying to think of all kinds of rotten adjectives I could call him, without going as far as swearing. "Good-for-nothing, swine, rat, beast, low life, vile, loathsome… villain!"
Surprisingly, a small smile appeared on Kohaku's face - in a weird way, she was glad that I was enraged at what Magma's plans were. But, then the smile faded, and she went back to her quiet fury.
"I attacked him, and I won the Grand Bout," Kohaku continued. "I declared that he was not fit to marry Ruri-nee. But since I won, the village didn't know who was going to marry my sister, and it was the last straw for my father to disown me."
"The last straw?" Senku asked.
"Kohaku has caused a ton of trouble ever since she was little," Chrome replied, his tone comical.
"Of course, the Grand Bout is set to be redone," Kohaku continued. "It's going to be held next month."
"And Magma must've killed Gen to win the Grand Bout, 'cause he thought that Gen was Senku, and he thinks that he is your source of strength," I said.
"So Gen's really dead?!" Suika asked, her tone worried.
"No, he's not dead," I replied, patting her on the head.
"Wouldn't it be really bad news if Magma became the elder?" Chrome asked.
"If Magma were to become the elder, it might be hard to even get the medicine to Ruri," said Senku, his tone thoughtful.
"Hard? It'd be impossible!" I replied, my tone troubled. "Not only that, but if that monstrosity becomes the village elder, he'll probably have all of us, and even Ruri, killed! And then, who knows?! He'd probably turn the village into a warrior nation, and then side with Tsukasa if they meet! Or maybe Tsukasa would kill him and take the village for himself, and then the world would be back in the stone age permanently! Basically, we can't let that guy win!"
"But…" Kohaku spoke up. "If a man from the Kingdom of Science were to defeat Magma and win the Grand Bout, marries Ruri-nee, and then becomes the elder, it'll solve everything - rounding up citizens for the Kingdom of Science, and giving Ruri-nee the cure-all medicine would be easy."
"So that's a new goal then," I said, my town now calmer. "We have to win that Grand Bout, at any cost."
As part of our plan to win the Grand Bout, we decided to recruit Kinro and Ginro into the Kingdom of Science. Kohaku, Chrome, Senku, and I went to ask them and join up, while Suika stayed behind to look after Gen. Kohaku then asked Kinro and Ginro if they wanted to marry Ruri, and while Ginro went on and on about her appearance (which made me facepalm, to be honest), Kinro just decided to skip the explanation, and asked Kohaku what her objective was. In no uncertain terms, this was Kohaku's response:
"I want to save my sister's life," Kohaku replied.
"All right," Kinro said, his tone affirmative.
"You don't need to explain any further," Ginro added, his tone now serious.
While Kohaku, Kinro, and Ginro trained hard, Senku and Suika focused on the science, while I was sitting cross-legged on the ground, took to chronicling these events. Chrome was watching the training from the Shed of Science, a rather reflective look on his face.
Kohaku told him that she'd prefer that Chrome train more than anyone, but Kinro and Ginro were the only ones who have a chance at defeating Magma, to which she was sorry about.
"Yo, Chrome!" Senku yelled, his tone patronizing. "She's being all 'sorry, sorry!' about our plan to get Kinro or Ginro to marry Ruri 'cause you're in love with her!"
"You're as brutal as ever." Kohaku replied, her tone absolutely perturbed.
"Come on, Senku!" I said, my tone annoyed. "It's bad enough he can't be in the Grand Bout, but do you really have to rub it in?!"
"It's all good, David, I'm totally cool with that!" Chrome replied, a smile on his face as he stepped out of the Shed of Science. "I can ask nothing more than the cure-all science drug to save Ruri so she can live a good life - I'm the genius sciencer, after all."
Senku chuckled and asked, "Job-changing from a sorcerer to a sciencer, huh?"
"Yeah, I'm not calling myself a sorcerer anymore," Chrome replied.
"Let's let the battle team deal with the Grand Bout, while we, the science team, focus on making the sulfa drug." said Senku.
"Heck yeah!" Chrome cheered.
I looked over at Kohaku, who was smiling, and said in an affirmative tone, "We're going to save your sister, and the entire village."
"I believe that, and thank you for believing that too." Kohaku replied, her tone equally affirmative.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention this," said Senku. "There's one more member you'll need to add to the battle team, and his great strength will be a valuable asset."
"Really?" I asked, my tone confused. "And who's that?"
"You, David."
"Wait, WHAT?!"
Chronicler Log #5
Kingdom of Science - Members
Senku - Leader, Professor
Chrome - Scientist, Resource Gatherer
Kohaku - Muscle, Protector
David (Me) - Muscle, Chronicler
Suika - Information Gatherer
Kinro - Warrior to save Ruri, Muscle,
Ginro - Warrior to save Ruri, Muscle
Taiju - Muscle, Resource Gatherer
Yuzuriha - Tailor, Craftswoman
Kingdom of Science - Allies
Village - Hopeful Allies
Gen Asagiri - Hopeful Ally
Kingdom of Science - Enemies
Tsukasa - Main Enemy
Magma - Enemy
Magma's cronies - Enemies
Kingdom of Science - Progress
First Project - Make an Antibiotic to help Ruri recover from sickness. - Still in progress.
Second Project - Get more manpower for the iron furnace. - Completed.
Third Project - Create a magnet. - Completed.
Fourth Project - Create a generator. - Completed.
Fifth Project - Win Grand Bout, and make someone from the Kingdom of Science the elder - In Progress.
Notes
We finished the generator, and we now have both light and electricity. Gen is currently out of commission, due to Magma attacking him, 'cause he thought he was Senku. Gen is alive, but barely, and needs time to heal. Now we have a new mission - to win the Grand Bout, a martial arts tournament where the winner becomes elder of the village. We need to get either Kohaku, Kinro, or Ginro to win, 'cause Magma is entering the tournament as well. And if he wins, it'll be game over for all of us, even Kohaku's sister, Ruri.
Also, what does Senku mean by adding ME TO THE BATTLE TEAM?! I'm a talker, and a lover, not a fighter! I prefer conversation, rather than hurting! I need some help to get out of this!
Though, this is for Ruri's sake, and maybe this'll help get Kohaku to notice me. But, I don't do well in fights - I think they're great in movies and TV, but real life doesn't work that way.
Author's Notes: Sorry about not posting a new chapter to this sorry - been busy with a lot of stuff, both in and out of FanFiction. But still, great to get back to this story!
R&R,
Heroboy005