Biology Notes 14/2/19                                                                                                                    Jacob Zandi



Flora

      — vegetation surprisingly similar to Earth

      — far more shakti density

      — no apparent consciousness

      — edible ones reeeal tasty

            ~inedible ones less tasty...? More research needed

      — consumption of more shakti-dense organisms does not appear to be toxic

            ~chorans too

            ~does not give us superpowers, either

            ~where does the shakti go????





Jacob's eyes widened as artificial light flooded his vision. It was as if the people of Gorod Volkov had conquered the night itself. As he walked past the blindingly bright billboards and shining diner windows, Jacob couldn't help but wonder if all urban settlements were this lively.

He turned to Serena. "Can you imagine how much power it takes to keep all this lit up all night? Think it's erudite-powered?"

Serena laughed. "You know, somehow I keep forgetting that Icesprout's all you know. This isn't that crazy; Volkov's the most populated city in Oshira."

"You don't say. Hey, why're you talkin' like this is nothing new for you? Last I checked, you spent just as many years in Icesprout as I did."

Serena blinked. "Oh yeah, that. I mean, come on, just because I know stuff doesn't mean I've seen it myself. I know you weren't the most studious guy around, but even you should know that!"

Jacob felt blood rush to his cheeks. "Well excuse me for going out and picking berries instead of reading about the darn things!"

"You're excused."

"You know what..."

Suddenly, Serena's head jolted to the side, and a wide smile split across her face.

"Hey, check it out! It's the first diner ever built on Choran soil! Mr. Menzel told me all about these places! C'mon, we gotta check it out!"

"No, what we 'gotta' do is find a place to crash. It's way too late to be wandering around, even if it's as bright as daytime. You want the Asura to steal us away or somethin'?"

"Come on, you don't actually believe that story, do you?"

"Mom was very convincing. Besides, you of all people know how real the Asura is!"

"Was. It's as gone as Earth. Though," she added with a smirk, "I suppose you could say its been granted eternal life, being passed down in stories to scare children into obedience."

Jacob sighed. "Whatever. Asura or not, bad people come out at night. Let's not tempt fate on our first day, alright?"

"Fiiine. Then let's go find Mr. Menzel. Knowing him, he'll let us bunk even if we didn't have a cent to our name!"

"... Please don't take advantage of my uncle."

Jacob and Serena laughed as they raced through the lamp-lit streets. As the Scout Leader of Gorod Volkov, Uncle Chris had one of the biggest pads around (or so he would boast). Apparently it was impossible to miss, so if they ever came by it would be easy to find him.

After an hour of wandering aimlessly, Jacob and Serena began to realize how relative the word "easy" was.

Perhaps Uncle Chris's "pad" was indeed one of the biggest around, but when even the smallest stores dwarfed even Dr. Spruce's lab, it became rather difficult to tell what was larger than what. And for as friendly as most of the shopkeepers were, their directions included far too many street names for two teenagers who'd only ever known the one road that wound its way around their village.

Exhausted and a tiny bit panicked, Jacob and Serena agreed to catch their breath on a bridge that looked over a small river. Jacob leaned on the stone guardrail, watching the water rush by. Serena looked out at the city on the other side of the bridge.

"Still think this city's not as big as they come?" Jacob called out. Though he couldn't see Serena, he knew she was shaking her head.

"Okay, so it's a little bigger than it looked. Still no match for Krepost, though. You seen pictures of that place? It's a literal steel jungle. We just gotta learn how to navigate these places. That's all."

"Navigate, huh? ... Huh?"

"What's up?"

"..."

"Jacob?"

Jacob didn't respond.

Serena watched as he slowly raised his wrist. On it was a neat little device that functioned as a clock, calendar, phone, and so much more.

Serena realized that there was one particular app that was included in "so much more," and her heart sank.

 

Once they typed Uncle Chris' name into the digital map, it took the entirety of twelve minutes to follow its step-by-step directions to Gorod Volkov's Fielding Center. Jacob and Serena spent the duration of the trip tossing back-and-forth self-deprecating jokes and exasperated rants about how promising their respective journeys looked. Once the Fielding Center's illuminated dome was in sight, however, they immediately dropped their conversation and raced to the shining building like puppies to a dropped steak.

The receptionist's head jerked up as the double-doors flew open. Jacob's attention immediately scattered as the sheer amount of furniture overwhelmed his senses.

The receptionist smiled politely. "Can I assist you two? It's awfully late for a visit, so if you're here for the Scout Leader..."

Jacob was still visually absorbing the numerous tables and the couches that wrapped around them, so Serena responded.

"Oh, we're actually not here for the center. I mean, this guy'll probably be dropping by again tomorrow for that. But that's not important right now! We're here for Mr.Menzel. Um, Scout Leader Menzel, I mean. Is he, uh, in?"

Even as the myriad furniture played monkey-in-the-middle with Jacob's attention, he couldn't help but chuckle. It never ceased to amuse him how differently Serena behaved

as soon as she ran out of breath.

"You're looking for Dr. Menzel? At this hour? Whatever for?"

Jacob stepped forward, prying himself away from the beautiful leather couches.

"Actually, he's my uncle. Well, he's basically my uncle, anyways. See, we just left on our journey, and we were hoping Uncle Chris could help us find a place to crash."

"I... see." The receptionist's eyebrows were still furrowed, but she nodded anyway. "Either way, I'm afraid now is a bad time. Dr. Menzel has been incredibly busy this past week, and hasn't agreed to see a single JF. And that's during working hours; to try and speak with him at this hour is a bitâ?""

Serena stepped forward, pleading. "At least tell him we're here, please! Tell him Jacob and Serena are here, and he'll definitely let us in! We don't have much money, so if Mr. Menzel can't help us, we'll have to sleep in the streets!"

She wasn't lying, per se. It was true that they were relatively poor, and at this hour they would be hard-pressed to find a hotel that would rent out a room within their budget. That being said, they weren't exactly broke. With enough effort, they could surely find somewhere to spend the night that was more comfortable than concrete.

As the receptionist's eyebrows furrowed even deeper, Jacob couldn't help but be equal parts amazed and scared at his friend's effortless persuasiveness.

"... I can promise nothing. Whatever Dr. Menzel says or decides is entirely up to him, so don't go getting your hopes up just because you get to speak with him. And I will remind you to tread carefully, since he has been in quite the foul mood as of late. Please do everything in your power to not make it worse. If that's even possible," she finished quietly.

Serena's eyes brightened, and the smile that spread across her face made Jacob's heart skip a beat.

"Thank you so, so much! I don't know what we would've done without you!"

The receptionist simply shrugged, and returned to her computer work.

Jacob followed Serena as they walked past the receptionist and into an almost blindingly white hallway. Several doors and a water fountain later, they found themselves at a noticeably cleaner door at the hallway's end. Jacob reached for the handle, but Serena stopped him. Gently, she raised a fist and knocked twice on the pristine door.

A grumbling voice was barely audible from within.

"Nnn... not now, Fre... come back later."

Serena glanced at Jacob, apprehension flooding her eyes. She looked back at the door, and knocked twice once more.

Again, the grumble. This time, it was louder.

"Didn't you hear... not in the mood...!"

Serena looked at Jacob again. To his surprise, she looked like she had absolutely no idea how to approach this. Then again, she didn't know Uncle Chris like Jacob did.

But Jacob had never heard him act like this before, either. From as far back as Jacob could remember, Uncle Chris was always upbeat, joking, and without a care in the world.

Perhaps Jacob should have realized that there was no way the most popular Scout Leader could be so carefree all the time.

Jacob leaned in towards the crack of the door, and softly called out.

"Uncle Chris? It's me, Jacob. Serena's here, too."

Though it was muffled, Jacob could make out some shuffling and thumping. The door began to open, and Jacob jumped back. He bumped into Serena, who had also been leaning in close, but they were too preoccupied by the door to even acknowledge the collision. Before them stood a man who was a good head taller than Jacob, even as his shoulders slouched. His short, slicked back hair now spun itself into a tangled mess atop his head, and for the first time in his life, Jacob saw stubble dotting his uncle's jawline.

But none of that compared to what happened next.

Uncle Chris' eyes flashed with recognition, and the corners of his lips curled upwards in a hauntingly shallow attempt at a welcoming smile. Jacob felt an indescribably heavy feeling in his chest that left him at a complete loss for words. Jacob never once thought the day would come when he would feel pity towards his larger-than-life uncle.

Serena must've been just as stunned, because Uncle Chris dropped the act immediately. Though his smile was gone, his voice still radiated warmth.

"You both seem well. Glad to finally be out of that tiny village? Sorry I wasn't able to see you guys off."

"Uncle Chris... What happened? You look..."

"You look terrible," Serena blurted out. Immediately, her hand flew over her mouth.

But Uncle Chris just laughed.

"Yeah, I guess I do, don't I? Y'all caught me at a pretty bad time..." he trailed off, then shook his head resignedly. "Aw, to heck with it. Y'all could've come any time this past week and it would've been 'a pretty bad time.' I guess at that point it's just a bad situation, huh?"

"What's going on?" Serena asked.

Uncle Chris scratched the back of his head.

"It's... a bit complicated. And it's really not the kind of thing you kids should be worrying yourselves over."

Serena grinned. "I don't know if you've noticed, Mr. Menzel, but we're not the same brats running around Icesprout anymore. The fact that we're here should tell you as much."

"Ha. You don't say." He looked them over. "So you two grown-ups think you can handle grown-up business now, do you?"

Jacob nodded. "And even if we can't, that doesn't mean we can just ignore it. Especially if it's made you so..."

Serena picked up where he left off. "Yeah, exactly! You've done so much for us all these years, so it's the least we can do to try and help you out, for once. Even if there isn't much that we can actually do..."

Seeing the ever-composed Serena as uncertain as he was made Jacob feel a little better. At the same time, he couldn't deny that there was a part of him that wished Serena could take the reins here. Maybe then he'd feel at least a little more confident that there was anything they could actually do to help Uncle Chris.

Uncle Chris shook his head with a sigh.

"Well, if you're both sure about this..."

He opened the door fully, gesturing into his study. Jacob and Serena glanced at each other, knowing full well that they were anything but sure about this.
The overhead lights were so dim that they barely reached the corners of the room. A cluttered desk sat in the center of the room, covered in folders and documents that couldn't be legible in this lighting. Behind it, a chair leaned up against the wall, a good two meters away from the desk. Though it had sounded like he'd gotten up in a hurry, the chair was flush to the wall, not thrown off to the side.

To their left, a well-kept couch was also drowning in paperwork, flanked on either side by file cabinets. Uncle Chris made his way to the other wall, where a window with its shutters down slipped in a bit of moonlight along with a quiet breeze. Despite the intense clutter, the fresh air kept the study from being too stuffy. Nevertheless, there was this dreary feeling about it all that Jacob couldn't quite put words to.

"Come take a look at this." Uncle Chris raised the shutters, and Jacob and Serena looked out into the night. From where they were, it almost seemed like the whole world was contained in this city.

Uncle Chris knelt down behind them. "See that really tall building? The one that looks like you could see the whole city from up top?"

Jacob and Serena nodded.

"That building is the local headquarters of our wonderful military. Right now, its home to a particularly bad apple. She represents the pyrrhic recklessness that was indispensable back on Earth, and maybe even during the Second Seraph War. But now that the days of us fighting to avoid extinction have passed, those military leaders and their extreme... 'methods' are just outdated. No, worse than outdated. It's just wrong. You guys remember learning about Lieutenant General Xavier? What he did in France?"

Jacob gulped. "Yeah. That's not exactly something you just forget."

Uncle Chris nodded solemnly.

"You're exactly right. It's that kind of horrific display of might that, no matter what you think of it, should never be repeated. And therein lies the issue. That mindset of 'cruel but necessary' has been the only thing between our species and extinction for decades. I don't like to admit it, but if those in charge hadn't been willing to throw away every law of war we'd written, those seraphs would've wiped us out in days. Same goes for Earth; then again, that one's debatable. But the point is..."

"... The point is that they're still doing it, right? Even though we're not at war anymore?" Serena asked.

"... Yeah. Due to the nature of life on Chorus, and our shaky relationship with seraphs and elves alike, the Director's decision to maintain martial law is not all that surprising."

Serena shook her head, noticeably upset.

"Does it even count as martial law anymore? Isn't the whole point that it's supposed to be temporary?"

Uncle Chris scoffed. "Right you are, Serena. But its all you two've known since birth, right? It's basically just our government at this point. But that's a tangent for another day. Let's get back to the piece of work who's taken over 'round these parts."

He pointed up at the towering building once again.

Jacob had been following along for the most part. History was far from his strong suit, and politics even less so, but he understood the point Uncle Chris was making.

What he didn't understand was how that tangent connected back toâ?"

"Uncle Chris..." Jacob began slowly. He felt a chill crawl slowly up his back. "What... What exactly are they planning?"

 

— — — 

The icy breeze felt almost warm as Jacob stopped to catch his breath. His ragged breaths coalesced into momentary puffs of fog before scattering into the night, and his nostrils burned in the cold, dry air. He heard Serena's footsteps come to a stop behind him. He felt a little bad; she was way more out of breath than he was.

"... Please... just wait... a sec..." Serena said between breaths.

Jacob shook his head. "There's no way you're okay with this."

"... Of course not."

"So what are you trying to stop me for? That's our home."

"... And? You think they're gonna care?"

"I don't care if they care! I care!"

"Oh yeah, that'll convince them, no doubt."

Jacob spun around, biting back tears.

"Why are you trying to just let this happen?! Mom, Dylan, Mrs. Menzel, the Otosakas... If we don't do something, we'll never see them again!"

"Define 'something.'"

"... What?"

"You said 'if we don't do something.' What is that something, exactly? Is it yelling at some soldiers to tell their boss to spare our little village? Is it running as fast as we can to try and evacuate the village, despite having no evidence whatsoever? Or maybe it's asking around and starting an uprising to overrun those headquarters over there? No, wait, don't tell me. There's a secret fourth option you've thought up that'll make this all work out."

"... What's your point?"

"Really? I get that you're upset, but come on! Use your head, Jacob. Even if we did have all the detailsâ?"which we don'tâ?"what do you honestly think two sixteen-year-olds could do about any of this? In case you've forgotten, we'd never even left the village before today. You think they're gonna give a rat's ass what we think?"

... It was all true.

Of course it was all true.

Whenever she wasn't catching her breath, Serena had this uncanny ability to look objectively at whatever messed up situation Jacob and Dylan found themselves in. Thanks to her judgment and surprisingly mature point of view, they'd been able to get out of countless bad spots. That was why, as much as Jacob hated to admit it, he knew she was right.

But that didn't mean he was willing to accept it.

"You're right. Of course you're right. Maybe they won't listen. Maybe even trying to talk to them will just be a waste of breath."

"I'd say it's a bit stronger than a 'maybe'..."

"Or maybe they will. Maybe the guards we talk to will see where we're coming from, and maybe we'll even be able to convince their boss, too! If you ask meâ?""

"That's way too many 'maybe's to take such a big risk! Jacob, you've always been an optimist, but even this isâ?""

"This isn't optimism, Serena. I know it'd take several miracles to even have a chance to talk to their boss. But if the alternative is to just stand by and let them wipe our village off the map... If that's what you're saying we should do, then..."

"Jacob..."

"Serena. I have to try. I can't not try. Even if I fail, even if I fall on my face and get thrown in jail or whatever, I have to try."

Jacob stopped to catch his breath. His heart had already been racing from running all this way, and now it felt like it was about to burst. Serena looked just as upset, but her miserable acceptance was nothing like his indignation. He turned around and started walking again. Hopefully by the time he got there, his heart will have calmed down enough to at least let him hold a conversation.

As he neared the headquarters, the two guards looked at each other and nodded. Jacob took a deep breath, steeling himself for the uphill battle he was about to walk into.