Year 3000 Space Station X3
“We have a message from Jill!” Jinx arrived in the main lobby of the space station as the rest of the squad members gathered around him. “The job is almost done. They will think about it.” he read out loud.
“Hah! She took forever!” Mujika rolled her eyes. “I would have done it much sooner than her.”
“Stop being envious, Mujika!” Jinx commented.
Slightly losing her temper, Mujika arched her back, partially transforming into a porcupine. Quills started appearing on her forearm as she squinted her eyes. She flipped a dread of her hair backwards. The two sharp quills tied to her hair almost scratched Jinx’s face.
“Keep your quills to yourself, Mujika!” Jinx yelled.
“Coward!” she yelled back, as a low sarcastic smile grew on her face.
“Do you have to always flip your dread with the dangerous quills, every time you transform?” Jinx complained, as he took a step back to maintain a safer distance from her.
“Well…” Mujika said, the smile growing more evil this time.
“Ah, this typical smirk makes you look idiotic, pineapple-head!” Jinx mocked Mujika and instantly hardened his left arm to defend himself from a series of quills she shot from her wrists.
“You learnt how to transform partially, eh?” Sayla said as she tried to knock on Jinx’s left arm with one of her now extended tentacles, almost scaring him.
“Where were you, all this time!” he began, frightened.
“I am always around, blended in the surrounding!” Sayla winked.
“Stalker!” declared Mujika as she shot a series of quills towards a lethargic Sayla who dodged them easily. Sayla transformed into an octopus and tried reaching out for Mujika with two of her tentacles, while she tried strangling her with the third.
“Enough!” the chief said with an authoritative voice, “This is not the time to lose focus!”
“Which does not change the fact that I could have done the job sooner.” Mujika said in a passive aggressive tone, as she returned to her regular form.
“More important than the time spent,” the chief paused, “Finding the right people was absolutely germane for this mission.”
“The two candidates from the Ashtemato region seemed like good fits as well. They would have pounced onto Idiosyncrasy at the first available opportunity. Rintaro from Midohira, thinks quite a lot, idiot!” Mujika said with a scowl. “Also, I am sure Rakuten would be a problem too, soon enough!” she added.
The chief signalled Mujika to calm down. “Indeed, the candidates from the Ashtemato region had a good balance of logic and emotions. However, I could sense a strong aura strewn with greed, similar to the humans from Earth in the early days of Idiosyncrasy. I could sense the lust for power within them.” he looked around at the rest of the squad members who had gathered around. “Their ideologies were single dimensional. I feared the possibility of the events, that happened on Earth, repeating on Daikidageda.”
“Rintaro and Rakuten are weak-” Mujika pointed to her heart, “Here!”
“Rintaro is intelligent enough to think it through. His instincts are strong. He may not do his part in this mission for our sake, but he would willingly contribute towards the safety of humanity on Daikidageda.” the chief paused. “Warning them explicitly, would have shunned the possibility of them believing us. I wanted them to look at it as a warning.” The chief took a deep breath. “Rakuten, in juxtaposition, is modest. She will continually ensure that emotions are one of the primary drivers in their decision making and planning.” the chief said. “It is time, you start trusting Jill.” he said looking towards Mujika.
“Trust Jill? Hah!” laughed Mujika, “Like she trusted Haizaki!”
Annoyed by the fact that Mujika refused to back down, the chief looked towards Jinx, signalling him to read the rest of the message from Jill.
“Jill has established a good friendship with the two of them. She is confident that Rintaro will come along, but…” Jinx paused.
“But?” the chief asked, slightly concerned.
“Jill is worried that Rakuten is too affectionate towards animals, to embrace the idea of drawing fresh blood of an animal, to use Idiosyncrasy.” Jinx said with a trembling voice as Mujika gave out a low sarcastic laugh.
“I do not understand the affection they have towards animals!” Mujika snapped.
“Emotions… Something they possess,” the chief looked in Mujika’s eyes, “And we don’t.”
Mujika sighed.
“Hurting one today could save a thousand tomorrow!” the chief said pointing towards the window of the space station. “When Haizaki arrives, thousands will get devoured instantly. Only if Rakuten can think this throu-”
“Which is what Rintaro will ensure.” Jinx said confidently. “Rakuten is naive, but Rintaro isn’t.”
Year 3000 Midohira, Daikidageda
“That was exciting, wasn’t it?” Rintaro sounded livelier than usual.
“Hmm.” Rakuten responded.
“I did not like the Taccoz. The flavors were not subtle. Did you like it, Raki?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” she said.
“The weird green thing inside the Taccoz had a strange texture. I will never have Guag again!” Rintaro complained.
“Hmm.” Rakuten responded.
“Hey Raki, what do you think about Idiosyncrasy? Will it really work? Do you really think the green crystal Midohira will give us the strength of an animal? It sounds too good to be true!” he said as his eyes glowed. “We will no longer need to build ships, or the expensive automobiles! I would be able to run, jump, climb, swim, fly, dig, crawl or even think like an animal!” Rintaro paused to catch his breath. “Although, Jizen’s transformation frightened me a little. Were you scared?”
“I don’t know.” she said.
“Of course you weren’t scared!” he laughed. “Which animal do you want, Raki, have you decided it yet? Since you have always dreamt of flying, would you choose a beautiful toucan or a Blue Jay? Instead, if you choose a seagull or a gannet, you would also be able to dive in deep water!”
Rintaro paused for another breath. “Moreover, I am wondering which animal I should choose. I could choose a dolphin or an octopus for their intelligence, or I could choose a salamander, which will let me ble-” he looked to his left, only to realize that Rakuten had stopped walking. He turned around and saw her standing still at a short distance. He quickly walked towards her.
“What is it, Raki?” he asked, as he saw tears rolling down her cheeks. He tried to hug her, but she pushed him away, wiping her tears.
“Fresh blood?” she asked.
“Yes, just a small amount! Isn’t that amazing!” he exclaimed.
“And this is acceptable to you? You are not feeling horrible about it?” she asked, aghast.
“Acceptable? Horrible? What are you talking about, Raki? This is a scientific wonder!” he said, still sounding a little excited.
Without responding, Rakuten broke out into a brisk walk.
“Raki! Hold on, Raki!” Rintaro screamed, as he tried to catch up with her.
Rakuten curled her fingers into a fist, her hands glued to her sides. She continued her abnormally paced and silent walk back home, not uttering a single word. As they reached, Rakuten hastily opened the door and barged in without waiting for Rintaro. The rest of the evening was silent, as they went to bed.
“I am sorry.” Rintaro said, calmly, as he slid into the blanket. “I got carried away.” he added.
Still silent, Rakuten faced away from Rintaro.
“Please talk to me, Raki.” he requested politely, as he tapped on her right shoulder. Unable to persuade an adamant Rakuten, he sighed and gave up.
“Did it not cross your mind, that a poor animal would be hurt, if you were to use Idiosyncrasy? Is it really acceptable to hurt them? If yes, then what for? For your greed? For you to be perfect?” Rakuten finally broke the silence.
“No, I wa-” Rintaro was cut short.
“You have a warm blanket to sleep in this luxury, that you call home. You had a fulfilling meal for dinner, just how fortunate one could be! You are already living a happy life, and yet, you wish to make it better, at the cost of a poor animal?” she sniffed .
“Are you so insensitive to hold a dolphin with your hands and draw a little amount of its blood? Tell me, Rin, how exactly do you plan on doing that? Would you stab it in the guts, or would you rather pierce its fin? How about you gouge out its eye?” she yelled.
“Raki!” Rintaro said, horrified.
“Should I try snapping a strand of your hair? Would you feel the pain, then?” she screamed, as she sat on the bed, glaring at him.
“Raki!” Rintaro said again, his hands trembling this time.
“And this will allow you to fly, jump, breathe underwater - well, congratulations! You just upgraded your already perfect life!” she said as she clapped her hands, sarcastically.
It was Rintaro’s turn to be silent, as he had never heard Rakuten yell in anger. He stared into her eyes, as the faint moonlight refracted through the windowpane. He could see a teardrop rolling down her right cheek as Rakuten lied down again, on her back this time. A gusty breeze picked up outside, which sent chills down their spines. Rakuten wrapped herself in the blanket, a little tighter this time, as she closed her eyes.
“Have you imagined the terror that is coming our way? When they come over, from Earth?” Rintaro said, his tone sounding slightly colder this time
“They?” mumbled Rakuten.
“The bad elements from Earth, the ones that Jizen and her friends have fled from.” he said.
“They would take back as many Midohira crystals, as they could, which would let them use Idiosyncrasy to a greater extent.” Rakuten responded, rather sheepishly.
“No, they are not interested in Midohira crystals. They do not have the necessity to depend on a depletable resource like Midohira crystals. Their implementation of Idiosyncrasy is programmatic and much more advanced than what we would have here. It does not make sense to travel across galaxies, for simply obtaining a limited resource, which is a rather cruder version of their implementation of Idiosyncrasy.” He paused for Rakuten to process what he said. “Do you remember when Jizen told us that humans on Earth have overused Idiosyncrasy? I imagine that many of their powerful species have gone extinct and they have arrived at a point where they do not have any strong animals remaining to extract DNA from. They are coming here, to Daikidageda, to seek our animals.”
“If their technology is advanced, wouldn’t they be able to extract the DNA out of animals without hurting them?” she asked.
Rintaro curled his lips into a sadistic smile, however, the terrified look in his eyes grew more acute. “Do you remember when Jizen told us about humans on Earth being devoid of emotions? If they do not feel the urge to express an emotion, something as simple as smiling, do you imagine them expressing a rather heavier emotion of empathy, especially towards animals?”
He paused as he looked at Rakuten. Her eyes had widened slightly. “They are coming to Daikidageda with a solitary objective - to capture the possibly stronger animals and use their DNA to strengthen themselves. Moreover, I fail to believe the fact that Daikidageda is a perfect copy of Earth. My instinct tells me that we are different, in some way. If there happens to be a difference in the structure of our DNA composition, I am certain that the bad elements from Earth would attempt to exploit these differences to perform experiments on us.” Rintaro whispered, deeply engrossed in his thoughts.
“Wh-what are you getting at, Rin?” Rakuten asked, with a shaky voice.
“Did you carefully notice Jizen’s legs? I remember them being a little too longer in proportion to the rest of her body. I have observed that she slouches a little, every time she tries to stand or walk. Her skin has a different texture as compared to yours and mine.” Rintaro said. “I believe there is a subtle difference in the way the living species on Daikidageda are structured as compared to the ones on Earth. This disparity would almost certainly be a matter of curiosity for them. After all,” he looked at the ceiling, “Curiosity is what has always driven science, which in turn, has driven technology.”
Rakuten kept staring at Rintaro, her eyes wide open this time.
“Their technology sure is more advanced than ours, but my instinct tells me that our animals are more powerful than theirs. When they start pulverizing Daikidageda, isn’t it our responsibility to save humanity and also, the animal kingdom, on our planet.”
Rauten gasped for a breath. She tried to cup her hands to stop them from trembling. Rintaro held her hands and softly rubbed his thumb around her fingers.
“There is no way we can fight them and their technology, but we have purer human instincts and emotions. Using Idiosyncrasy wisely, could bolster it further. We need to draw that small amount of fresh blood. We need to make peace with the fact that we would hurt animals in the process. We need to live the rest of our lives, burdened by the guilt of hurting...even killing an animal.” Rintaro looked towards Rakuten, trying to calm her down. “However, by hurting one today, we are laying a foundation to save a thousand tomorrow. We need to make this conscious sacrifice Raki, for the future, for your concept of a perfect society.” Rintaro said as he hugged Rakuten.
“Wi-will they kill thousands of animals, Rin?” she asked.
“I have not seen the future, Raki, but I am seeing the present. We are helpless but I think there is a way to avoid the massacre,” he paused “Idiosyncrasy.”
Rakuten shut her eyes tight as Rintaro ruffled her hair.
“Will humans, devoid of emotions, be cruel? Will they not be as pleasant and caring as Jizen?” she asked.
Rintaro shrugged his shoulders.
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