Work Text:
| | - psychic inner monologue in “journaling style”
“ ” - regular thoughts, regardless of psychic ability
“| |” - thoughts that are being psychically projected into someone’s brain
>” “< - thoughts that are being read (regardless of thinker’s knowledge of it)
“116,427,065,510…”
“116,427,065,511… “
“116,427,065,512…“
“116,427,065,513…“
|| You might think that given the level of my psychic powers, I would be able to shrug off the Petrification Field or at least get rid of its influence much quicker ||
|| You would be wrong. There is one thing in the world that I could do endlessly and that is sleeping ||
“116,427,065,514…“
“116,427,065,515…“
“116,427,065,516…“
|| You see, usually there is a constant pressure of people’s thoughts on my brain. Complaining, despairing, imagining, scheming. All that noise wouldn’t let anyone sleep in peace. Especially in a densely populated city.||
“116,427,065,517…“
“116,427,065,518…“
|| I do manage to get at least 8 hours a day, but for that I have to use my own powers on myself, basically putting myself into a sleeping state psychically with enough force to cut off the distractions ||
“116,427,065,519…“
|| So when all of the noise is gone and I can finally relax, I could have slept forever. Not a bad fate in my opinion. Except someone nearby keeps thinking numbers and so Loudly that over time even I could not help but notice ||
“116,427,065,520“
|| Well, good morning world. It’s time to meet the Alarm Clock. Maybe I can get him to stop for a few centuries and take another nap ||
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And so time passed
——————————
Senku was sitting on the highest spot in the observation/radio tower, not so much using the telescope to look at the stars, but just existing near it. It felt nice somehow to know that just a few steps and a gentle motion of a hand separated him from the view of space. Not the night sky, the way that people of all eras saw it, but Space, unlocked through the rigorous process of generations of scientists, charted and revealed in its depth by the force of Science. The feeling was… exhilarating in a way.
|| As I mentioned before, my ability to become invisible only lasts 10 minutes and stops working if any person touches me. Luckily, I have foresaw that no one besides Senku will enter this room high above the village for at least 3 hours ||
>” The temperature of the air slightly rose above ambient. The wooden planks, although too sturdy for creaks and groans, still carried the vibration of ascending footsteps much better than stone or regular ground would. Based on these observations I am not alone here “<
Of course, it wasn’t even a calculation worth going through internally for Senku, to understand who was sharing the space with him. The only person able not to camouflage, but actually turn himself invisible, Saiki. Luckily, that also meant that he would not have to talk to anyone in this time of thought and relaxation. He was 10 billion percent certain that if he had to say any additional words after the day of organising, planning, convincing, verbalising his thoughts in an understandable manner, the world would have to find another brilliant scientist to save it.
|| Of course you would know that I am here. Oh well, at least that means that I can be invisible in a chair instead of standing there trying not to attract attention ||
Saiki slowly moved to a nearby chair, freshly constructed of the better materials now available thanks to Senku, and planted himself in it, trying to get comfortable without producing too much sound.
It wasn’t the first time this happened. Being alone and not alone at the same time suited Senku just fine.
>” The only thing that is unclear to me is why he continues doing this. Is he observing me for some obscure psychic reasons? ;- Senku thought, returning his attention to the Space above and adjusting the telescope’s positioning -; Or is it just that he likes spending time here as much as me, but doesn’t want to interact? “<
“ Don’t mind me ” ;- calmly thought Saiki, without answering the question itself. He didn’t like it when Senku’s thoughts went to analyzing him. If Saiki wanted to analyze himself he would do it in his own time, thank you very much.
|| I just like how he thinks of the stars. See, to me, the stars are just objects in space. I could theoretically teleport to one or, without power restrictions, create as many new ones as I’d like. It’s mundane. Boring. Not a big deal. ||
|| But for Senku they mean so much more. The feelings of exhilaration and awe, of thirst for the future discovery. It is just. Nice. ||
Senku leaned in and looked through the stacked lenses. The Albireo binary star system hung there, in the deepest uncharted darkness. Almost unremarkable from this distance. Almost.
>” The distance to Beta Cygni, Albireo, is 364.8. The arbitrary number, not following any larger law of symmetry, and just by accident, almost exactly the number of days in one year. ;- thought Senku, maybe a bit more precisely and eloquently that he would usually, as if giving a lecture to a non-existent audience -; If we could communicate to someone there, at the speed of light, an achievement almost impossible even with the pre-Stone Age technology, we would only have exchanged 9 sentences with it since the day of the Petrification. The tenth would come after our lifetime, even if I’d manage to live to a 100“<
Saiki was seeing that inside Senku’s head he was giving a lecture inside some abstract university room. He immediately got the itch to place himself in the audience by influencing Senku’s thoughts, something he would not actually do, especially not on such a silly whim and to his friend. His new friend. The first and only friend he’d ever actually wanted.
——————————
And so time passed
——————————
“| No. I will not do it. |” - projected Saiki with a somewhat irritated tone
– But why? The Kingdom of Science could do so much with your help! ;- Senku replied with exasperation -; You refusing to use your powers to help on our biggest project, on the ship that you already volunteered to be on is 10 billion percent unreasonable!
“| Do you want this Kingdom of yours to become a cult? Because that’s how it becomes a cult. |”
– … wait.
– I see. You would not be able to stop yourself from overdoing something, would you? ;- said Senku, his tone significantly quieter and almost apologetic -; So when I see you around the village, people-watching or even helping with small things…
“| It is hard to be normal in an age where there are less than 1000 humans around and every second of them is a specimen so unique they should go into some record books. Right now my approval rate with the native village people is 43% and 57% with the revived population. I am seen as weird, but ultimately harmless and somewhat useful. If I lift a 500kg beam in front of everyone, I can’t take that back. And since this is all that is left of society, I wouldn’t be able to disappear into the crowd either. |”
Senku could see the logic in that. After all, turning his burgeoning society into a religious fanatic’s dream with a Living God or some nonsense like that would potentially affect the history of human civilization going forward. He was, however, mildly frustrated with Saiki’s desire for averageness and mundanity. Senku found being special and uniquely suited to a needed task to be exhilarating and so, he thought, were the rest of his friends. The loss of optimization gnawed at him, they could do things so much faster, skip so many tedious steps that stood between Humanity and the return to Space Age. Not even starting on the potential of researching the origins of Saiki’s power and how exactly it affected the world. It felt to him like there was a button with the label “Accelerate”, always in his vision, but never pressable, as if greyed-out by a Petrification beam of its own.
>” This kingdom of ours. ”< - thought Senku, looking Saiki dead in the eyes just long enough to make a point, but not so long as to start being unbearable.
“| ? |” - projected Saiki, not bothering with the word content of the thought and just sending a pure question.
>” Just correcting. You are also a part of it. “< - replied Senku, now actively looking anywhere but in Saiki’s direction. This was already feeling too soft for his liking, but he felt like he accidentally hurt his friend by pressing too hard and so pushed himself to be a bit more expressive for just a moment.
Senku did not say “sorry” directly, knowing he did not need to, especially while they were telepathically talking already. Saiki’s pose relaxed, an action that made him realise he was even visibly tense to begin with. It felt weird to him in a way, to be exposed like this, to explain things directly, without deception. But also, and maybe most importantly, he could feel for the first time that what he was, how he was, was being accepted completely and openly.
– I am planning to look for an oil field, as a part of the project. I think the ground team would be very grateful for another member ;- continued Senku out loud, in a voice just slightly raised so that someone in an earshot could hear -; It’s not flashy work, but necessary regardless.
|| Just like that || - Saiki smiled with the corners of his mouth
|| He found something that perfectly fits my requirements and still pushes the line of progress forward ||
|| Okay, maybe I will bring some Thorium from the search so he stops daydreaming of it. Which I will find accidentally. But after that I’ll consider us even ||