MissingNo
Inactive Member
An unremarkable man made his way through a crowd at a Yamataian starport. He carried no luggage except for a messenger-style shoulder bag and was dressed in a casual two-piece suit. Security gave him no trouble, and he didn’t give them reason to.
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Morimoto didn’t look like he was on a vacation. His hair was messy, but in a way that made it look perfectly styled to look like that. And, even though he wore casual clothes, he held himself like a soldier.
Settling down on a bench at one of the monuments, he put his bag next to him and pulled out a tablet. A nine-year-old boy plopped down next to Morimoto, watching as the man pulled up a program and took a picture of the monument, translated it to a three-dimensional model and isolated it from the background. Once that was done, Morimoto paused and looked at the kid. The boy’s eyes were still locked on the screen.
"Hm?" The noise wasn’t approving or disapproving, but it served its purpose and got the boy’s attention. When the child was looking at him, Morimoto lifted his eyebrows up in a “can I help you?” manner.
The boy looked at him curiously, then back at the tablet screen. "What’cha doin’?" The kid pointed at the model.
Morimoto studied him, then looked back at the screen himself. "Why do people come here?"
The boy looked surprised. "You don’t know?" he asked, raising an eyebrow of his own. "Okaa-san says it is so people will remember the wars. That one is from the Fourth Elysian War. Over that way they have one for the Second Draconian War. I know they have others, but I haven’t seen those yet." The kid shrugged. "They take us there on field trips for school sometimes. I like this one, though."
Morimoto looked up at the monument. It was a rather ostentatious thing, by his standards. Maybe it was simple by other standards. "Why do you like this one?" he asked.
"Because." The boy’s face grew solemn. "Mom says that’s where Dad died." He looked at the monument too. "He was on a ship called the 'YSS Ketsurui Chiharu'. They said…they said he…" The boy looked down. Morimoto turned back to look at the kid.
"He died defending what he believed in. And, when I grow up, I want to protect what I believe in too." The boy’s eyes turned hard, staring at the monument. Then he sighed. "That won’t be for a few years, though. I’m still too young to fight."
Watching the boy’s mood move from friendly to sad to proud and determined in the span of a few seconds was fascinating to Morimoto. He was taken out of his analysis by a question. "Hm?"
"I asked if you were a soldier," the boy repeated. "You act like one. Do you protect something?"
The question made Morimoto pause. He fought. But, even though it never crossed his mind before, he wondered: Why did he fight?
Finally he nodded. "Yes. I do." A notification beeped for his attention on the tablet, and he got up, saving the model and picture for later. "I need to go now. Where may I find a library?"
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There were more libraries than he needed, but it turned out they all shared a computing system that stored the recent news broadcasts and written articles. Morimoto skimmed them all, setting aside the ones that held his interest. While he was at that, he also had searches running on several other subjects: Ecology, as related to terraforming and ecosystem stability; the starship engineering for small craft, from the basics to intermediate complexity; the progression of high style contrasted with that of utilitarian clothing in Yamatai, with a similar search run for Nepleslian styles; various celebrations and holidays and their origins; along with a list of mythologies and associated references.
Everything was skimmed, sorted, and a large number (but not even close to being "most") of the results were uploaded into the data tablet. After his searches were completed and everything was sorted, Morimoto left to find a hotel and a place to digest the information he had gathered.
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After spending two days in Central Uesureya, sightseeing and visiting the other libraries, Morimoto took a short trip into the slums of Central Uesureya late in the second day. He wandered the streets there, talked with a few people, and then returned to his hotel.
On the third day, he returned to the nearest library before leaving Yamatai on a cargo transport heading toward NovaCorp HQ in the Kohana Cloud by taking a round-about route past Albini to avoid the Mishhu-held world of Tami. He never got there.
-----
Morimoto didn’t look like he was on a vacation. His hair was messy, but in a way that made it look perfectly styled to look like that. And, even though he wore casual clothes, he held himself like a soldier.
Settling down on a bench at one of the monuments, he put his bag next to him and pulled out a tablet. A nine-year-old boy plopped down next to Morimoto, watching as the man pulled up a program and took a picture of the monument, translated it to a three-dimensional model and isolated it from the background. Once that was done, Morimoto paused and looked at the kid. The boy’s eyes were still locked on the screen.
"Hm?" The noise wasn’t approving or disapproving, but it served its purpose and got the boy’s attention. When the child was looking at him, Morimoto lifted his eyebrows up in a “can I help you?” manner.
The boy looked at him curiously, then back at the tablet screen. "What’cha doin’?" The kid pointed at the model.
Morimoto studied him, then looked back at the screen himself. "Why do people come here?"
The boy looked surprised. "You don’t know?" he asked, raising an eyebrow of his own. "Okaa-san says it is so people will remember the wars. That one is from the Fourth Elysian War. Over that way they have one for the Second Draconian War. I know they have others, but I haven’t seen those yet." The kid shrugged. "They take us there on field trips for school sometimes. I like this one, though."
Morimoto looked up at the monument. It was a rather ostentatious thing, by his standards. Maybe it was simple by other standards. "Why do you like this one?" he asked.
"Because." The boy’s face grew solemn. "Mom says that’s where Dad died." He looked at the monument too. "He was on a ship called the 'YSS Ketsurui Chiharu'. They said…they said he…" The boy looked down. Morimoto turned back to look at the kid.
"He died defending what he believed in. And, when I grow up, I want to protect what I believe in too." The boy’s eyes turned hard, staring at the monument. Then he sighed. "That won’t be for a few years, though. I’m still too young to fight."
Watching the boy’s mood move from friendly to sad to proud and determined in the span of a few seconds was fascinating to Morimoto. He was taken out of his analysis by a question. "Hm?"
"I asked if you were a soldier," the boy repeated. "You act like one. Do you protect something?"
The question made Morimoto pause. He fought. But, even though it never crossed his mind before, he wondered: Why did he fight?
Finally he nodded. "Yes. I do." A notification beeped for his attention on the tablet, and he got up, saving the model and picture for later. "I need to go now. Where may I find a library?"
-----
There were more libraries than he needed, but it turned out they all shared a computing system that stored the recent news broadcasts and written articles. Morimoto skimmed them all, setting aside the ones that held his interest. While he was at that, he also had searches running on several other subjects: Ecology, as related to terraforming and ecosystem stability; the starship engineering for small craft, from the basics to intermediate complexity; the progression of high style contrasted with that of utilitarian clothing in Yamatai, with a similar search run for Nepleslian styles; various celebrations and holidays and their origins; along with a list of mythologies and associated references.
Everything was skimmed, sorted, and a large number (but not even close to being "most") of the results were uploaded into the data tablet. After his searches were completed and everything was sorted, Morimoto left to find a hotel and a place to digest the information he had gathered.
-----
From Starwilds to DeadBell said:
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After spending two days in Central Uesureya, sightseeing and visiting the other libraries, Morimoto took a short trip into the slums of Central Uesureya late in the second day. He wandered the streets there, talked with a few people, and then returned to his hotel.
On the third day, he returned to the nearest library before leaving Yamatai on a cargo transport heading toward NovaCorp HQ in the Kohana Cloud by taking a round-about route past Albini to avoid the Mishhu-held world of Tami. He never got there.
