Please read the prologue before reading this story.
C&C is welcome.
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The Sum of All Parts : Yellow
All-Purpose Cultural Mecha Boy Ryu-kun
=====
Phase 0-I
"Meow!"
Natsume Ryunosuke tossed about. Sleep, he thought to himself.
Must... go back to... sleep...
"Meow!"
"Uhnh..." He shut his eyes tighter, as far as the bio-servos
would allow. He'd stayed up all night studying and now it was
threatening to disturb his sleep cycle, and he wasn't sure his dad
would enjoy readjusting his timing.
Then again, maybe he would. His dad was always tinkering with
something on him; his optics, his joints, even - sheesh! - 'Little
Ryu-kun' down there. Was his nutrient suspension fluid pressure okay?
Did the transition process between his normal and 'active' states
proceed smoothly? Ryu-kun was beginning to think all the diagnostics
kept him awake as much as studying did.
"MEEE-YOW!"
"Ah! Ah! All right! I'm getting up!" Ryu-kun shouted, bolting
upright.
He found himself face-to-face with a brown-and-white cat with
some of the hair on its head standing upright, kind of like a cat
cowlick. It had a toothbrush in its mouth.
"Oh, it's just you, Nuku-Nuku," he said, rubbing his eyes. "Is
it morning already?"
"Mee-yow."
"Okay, okay, I get the drift. I still have to make breakfast for
Dad and me." He stood up, grabbed the sheets, hoist them in the air,
and folded them in one swift motion. "C'mon, Nuku-Nuku. Let's go."
Nuku-Nuku leapt up onto Ryu-kun's shoulder as he exited his room
and headed toward the kitchen.
"Dad. Dad. Hey, Dad, it's time for breakfast."
Apparently, noted Ryu-kun, his father had pulled another all-
nighter. Or rather, was in the death throes of an all-nighter that
hadn't realized that the 'night' it was 'all' of had already passed.
An ashtray, filled to the brim with butts and smelling of a
combination of tobacco and burnt filter, was testament to this.
"Dad. Are you going to eat or what?"
"In a minute, Ryu-san. I'm nearly done here." Kyusaku Natsume
then typed in the finishing touches to his 'important' paper and
pressed the return key with a flourish. "Ha ha! Done!" Without looking
he put out his cigarette on Ryu-kun's hand.
"Look, Dad," continued Ryu-kun, "if you don't get moving we'll
both be late for class."
"Yes yes, this is important. Since this is my last day to teach
at the college and all I thought I'd prepare some documents for my new
job at NERV. Anyway, that's my boy, learning responsibility at such an
early age." Kyusaku patted his thirteen-year-old son on the head.
"Of course I learned responsibility at an early age! Who do you
think had to look after you ever since we left Mom?"
"There, there, Ryu-san, I appreciate your efforts. You know I
do. Why, I feel so proud every time..." Kyusaku looked down. "Uh, Ryu-
san, your hand..."
Ryu-kun looked down at his hand, then back at his dad. "So what?
I'm impervious to heat below two thousand degrees Celsius. And that's
just my outer bio-layer. You should know; you built me that way."
Kyusaku gave his son a stern look that filtered through his
bangs. "Son. You know better than that. Haven't I always told you that
you should react to stimuli like any normal person would..."
Ryu-kun finished wearily, "...so that I can fit in like any
normal member of society. I know, I know."
"That's good, Ryu-san."
A long moment passed.
"Well, get on with it," Kyusaku urged.
"Do I have to?"
"Absolutely."
"Okay, then. Ouch."
"Not good enough. That's not normal. It needs more feeling."
Ryu-kun sighed. This was starting out to be a long day.
For three blocks in all directions, a scream ripped through the
otherwise peaceful Monday morning air like a low-flying 747 going at
Mach 2, breaking several window panes and rattling a few tooth
fillings loose in the process.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
"Happy, dad?"
"What?"
"I said, are you happy? I did what you asked."
"What? I can't hear you, Ryu-san."
"Never mind."
Ryu-kun pulled his cap backward and gave a look at the full-
sized racer bike that his father had attached a sidecar to and
grinned. If there was one thing he looked forward to every morning, it
was this.
"Well, Ryu-kun," said Kyusaku with a piece of toast in his mouth
and papers in hand, "you know what to do."
Ryu-kun nodded. "Active Mode."
Ryunosuke shut his eyes as the command raced through his organic
brain out towards the electronic receptors, relaying it to the rest of
his body. Immediately his frame began to grow, his bio-covering
compensating for the extension of his cybernetic endoskeleton.
Ryunosuke liked the feeling; it made him feel like a superhero of
sorts, complete with transformation sequence, only there wasn't any
namby-pamby background music, nor did he need to chant something like
'Mystical Bishonen Transformation' or something. That and the fact
that his specially-designed clothes obeyed the same activation
commands; otherwise, things would get a little uncomfortable.
He felt his joints lock back into place and he opened his eyes.
"Well, I'm ready, Dad," he said in a significantly lower voice.
Kyusaku looked over his son as if to admire his handiwork.
"Damn, I'm good. You could pass for eighteen. And your clothes look
good, too."
"Of course I could pass for eighteen! You built me this way."
Ryu-kun cleared his throat. He could never get used to the abrupt
change. Then again, maybe he didn't want to. It gave him a rush, for
some reason...
"Ha ha, that's right. And your body is built to progress
naturally along the aging process until you hit twenty-one. Plus, you
are fully functional, if you know what I mean, right down to the
raging hormones you're supposed have at that age level."
"Dad! I'm thirteen! I'm not supposed to worry about that sort of
thing yet!"
"Ah, but what if the opportunity arises, especially considering
that you're MY son and you've no doubt inherited my manly good looks,
eh? It's best to be well-prepared, and well-equipped, for the job!"
"DAD!"
Kyusaku grinned. "Well, enough of that." He stepped into the
sidecar and put on (and held onto) his hat. "Let's go!"
"Roger! See you later, Nuku-Nuku!"
"Meow!" Nuku-Nuku called back from the third floor balcony.
"Contact!" Ryu-kun shouted, bringing the bike from zero to sixty in
three seconds.
"Ryu-san! We do need to get to school in a hurry, but not like
this!"
"Why not, Dad? It's a shorter path, right?"
"Yes, but does it have to be as the crow flies?!"
"...And so, I've decided that I can't go on making war machines
for your grandfather any longer. My conscience simply won't allow me
to do so."
"What?!" Natsume Akiko screamed at the video recording. "You
have the gall to have compunctions about my grandfather's line of work
after you married into the family? After you married me? Damn you damn
you damn you Kyusaku!"
"...and so I'll be taking our son Ryunosuke with me, and raise
him on my own," the tape continued. " Say goodbye to your mother, Ryu-
san."
Akiko watched though teary eyes as her then-twelve-year-old son
smiled and waved at the screen. "Bye, Mom! Don't worry about me and
Dad, we'll be just fine! You look after Great-Grandfather for me!"
Akiko paused the tape to look at her son more closely. His dark
eyes lit up by his smile, his brown hair highlighted by a natural red
streak. "My Ryu-chan! I'll never forgive Kyusaku for taking you away
from me!"
Her reverie was shattered as someone entered the room.
"Excuse me, boss, but there's something you might want to... Oh,
great, you're watching that darn video again, aren't you?"
"That's none of your business, Kiyone! I don�t pay you to make
comments like that."
Kiyone sighed, brushing her long black hair back with her
fingers. "Well, if you're going to be that way, ma'am, there's nothing
I can do. Anyway, Mihoshi was watching one of those morning feature
news shows this morning and..."
Akiko shrugged. "I never did care about those shows, what with
their traffic updates (as if I needed to know about traffic! I ride a
helicopter!), interviews with celebrities, who's sleeping with whom,
who's carrying who's child..."
"Not even if your husband is on one of them?"
"WHAT?! Let me see!"
Kiyone smiled and inserted in the tape.
On the screen popped up an image of Kyusaku riding the sidecar
of a bike flying over the Yamanote Line 7:30 train as it passed the
crossing. A rather handsome young man in a school uniform, probably in
his late teens, was driving the bike.
"That's amazing!" Kiyone breathed as the bike vaulted over a bus
and went in an apartment complex's third floor corridor, much to the
surprise of its residents.
"Who do you think he is?" said Akiko in wonder. "He's even got a
red streak through his hair like my little Ryu-chan!"
"Maybe he's your husband's gay lover?" Kiyone suggested.
Akiko glowered at Kiyone.
"Or, ah, that is, maybe he's a close friend of your husband?"
Kiyone quickly added.
"Well, whoever he is, he seems very strong and powerful..."
Akiko whispered.
"An Olympic athlete, maybe?" posited Kiyone.
"Yes... yes, that must be it," Akiko murmured to herself.
"I thought so," Kiyone said.
"It's Android MB 1124."
"Yes, it... What?!" Kiyone exclaimed.
"There's no doubt about it, that's the MB 1124 my husband was
developing before he left the company! He used my grandfather's
resources to fund the project then left the company with the
prototype! And he has the gall to pattern it after our - my - son!"
She slammed her hands down on her desk. "Kiyone!"
"Yes ma'am!"
"I want you and Mihoshi to find my son!"
"Yes ma'am! We won't fail you this time!"
"And when you've rescued him from Kyusaku," continued Akiko,
"eliminate the problems with POISON ONE!"
"What?" Kiyone asked in disbelief. "Isn't that a little too
harsh, ma'am? And what about your grandfather..."
"I'll explain it all to my grandfather! Just get going!" Akiko
barked. "Oh my poor Ryu-chan's probably going to some dirty public
junior high somewhere! Don't worry, I'll save you, my darling son!
Mommy's coming to get you!"
"We're here!" Ryunosuke yelled, screeching to a halt at the bike
parking area.
"Now remember, Ryu-san," cautioned Kyusaku, "no one must know
that eighteen-year-old Ryu-kun and thirteen-year-old Ryunosuke are
actually the same person."
"Yes, Dad, you tell me that every morning."
"Well, you can't be too careful, you know? I'll be at the
College if there's any trouble."
"Yes, I know that, Dad, now get going. I'LL be here if you need
anything."
"Right, then. I'm off!" And with that Kyusaku ran into the
college building.
Ryunosuke (or rather, Ryu-kun) discreetly stepped into the
storage shed and shut the door. He shut his eyes and muttered the
words �Normal Mode'. He felt his body returning to its same old
thirteen-year old state.
"Everything seems to be in place. The clothes are the proper
size, my joints don't feel at all stiff... I guess the transformation
went well. Oh, well." He then ran off to the junior high a few blocks
down.
"But Kiyone, I still don't understand why we have to work as
office ladies here!"
"Mihoshi, I already told you, we have to go undercover on this
planet because we tracked down a dangerous space pirate to this
location! Plus it gives us access to military-class vehicles that
aren't regarded as suspicious. I mean, we're not supposed to reveal
our identity as Galaxy Police Officers to the local people!"
"But the job?"
"Well, we have to eat, don't we?"
"I suppose..." Mihoshi looked over the map, her blond hair tied
up in a fluffy topknot. "I still don't understand what you're trying
to say about the map, though."
Kiyone slammed a fist down on the map table. "How many times
have I got to tell you? Since Kyusaku teaches at a school we have to
track down the road routes and try to find a school in the vicinity!"
"But..." Mihoshi gave Kiyone the sad-doggy-eyed look.
"*sigh* But what?"
"But, well, why can't we just trace a straight line from the
apartment complex since we know the direction they were going in and
try to see if there's a school in the way?"
Kiyone slapped her forehead. "There are roads, Mihoshi! You
know, those long things cars drive on?"
"But they were in a bicycle, not a car!"
"That's not the point!"
"But it IS the point!" Mihoshi argued. "The bicycle was spotted
making a beeline toward somewhere and it wasn't necessarily using the
roads! So..." Mihoshi traced a straight line on the map, "they should
be running into a school right around..." Her finger stopped at a
university. "HERE! And look! There's a junior high school only three
blocks away!"
Kiyone opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
"Of course, I could be wrong, Kiyone," Mihoshi said cheerily,
sticking her tongue out. "I mean, you're always the one pulling me out
of trouble, right? Kiyone? Kiyone?"
"Mihoshi, you're scaring me. You're actually making sense."
How in the world did he end up out here again?
Ryunosuke was currently standing out in the hallway four pails
hanging from each hand, one from his teeth and one perched on his head
- and not a drop spilled.
All he did to warrant this punishment was stare at Rei in class,
and if anyone deserved staring at, it was her. Her short hair, her
delicate face, her soft brown eyes...
Ryunosuke chuckled. If there was anything he inherited from his
father that he was proud of, it was his intelligence. Otherwise, he
mused, he'd simply be thinking something like 'Rei is cute'.
He sighed, dropping the pail that he was holding with his teeth
and catching it with his foot. Of course, the main problem with Rei
was her reluctance to speak about anything. Every time he spoke to her
he'd end up saying a lot and she'd answer with a soft 'yes' or 'no'.
Heck, he was lucky if he even got a 'I don't know' from her. At least
that was longer than one syllable! Sometimes he felt like such a fool,
shooting his mouth off when she would only volunteer so little of
herself.
He smiled, flipping the pail from one foot to the other. Then
again, she was a girl. His dad always told him it'd take more than
genius to figure out the opposite sex, and he figured since he was
only thirteen, there wasn't really any rush.
Besides, he could wait. He could live forever, after all.
Kyusaku spoke to his college physics class after exams were
over. "Students, I think I can say that you all did well in my class
this semester, and I would just like to say that I actually enjoyed
teaching this class. I thank you all." Kyusaku chuckled. Of course he
enjoyed it. He'd be hard-pressed to find a more hormonally-driven
class than this one. Give them one double-entendre while teaching
friction and they'll remember the lesson for life.
"Also, I may not be teaching again next semester, as I have
found a job where I can use my extraordinary genius properly.
Hahahahaha!" He struck a pose, giving the class a �V' sign. After all,
he was going to start work as Technical Advisor at NERV if his
interview went well. "Well, as I was saying, thank you very, very
much, and..."
Kyusaku paused and stared out the window, face pale. That
sound! It, it can't be... "Uh," he blurted out, "I've got to be going
now! Bye!" And with this he ran out of the classroom at breakneck
speed.
He switched on his radio transceiver watch and attached a
wireless earphone to his left ear. "Activate radio reception, code MB
1124! Come in, Ryu-kun! Can you hear me?"
Ryunosuke blinked as his father's voice filled his head. Damn,
did radio-band transmissions grate on the neurons!
[Yes, dad?]
~ The Poison One is closing in on your current location. Switch
to Active Mode and draw them away from the school! We don't want any
large incidents around locations where you're known to frequent. I'm
homing in on your location and am headed that way! ~
[Roger that, Dad. I'm headed up to the third floor.]
~ Good boy! I'll try and get the Land Rover from the machine
shop if it's ready. Out! ~
I can pick up the helicopter's sound signature, thought
Ryunosuke. [ETA five minutes. Good. ]
He reached the door to the rooftop and activated Active Mode
before breaking the door down. Sure enough, he could pick up the image
of the Poison One in the distance. Come and get me, he thought.
"Kiyone, I'm picking up the image of that cute android guy on
the rooftop of Ryunosuke's junior high!" Mihoshi said, lifting the
visor of her helmet, which had 'Police Magic' written on each side.
"Roger that, Begin our approach," Kiyone responded from the
gunner's seat, the Galaxy Police insignia on her helmet. "Arming dummy
warheads on hardpoints three and four."
"Uh, Kiyone, I don't think that's such a good idea..."
"Why not? They're not explosive warheads, they're just to warn
that android guy of the power of Mishima Heavy Industries!"
"Yeah, but what if he doesn't listen to your warning?"
"Why wouldn't he pay attention to my warning? Is he that
stupid?"
"Well, Kiyone," Mihoshi said thoughtfully (such as it was), "you
warn me all the time and it still doesn't do any good, right?"
Kiyone blinked. That sort of made sense, too. She shook her head
to clear it. "Ah, skip it, Mihoshi! The boss said she'd explain
everything to her grandfather, so all necessary procedures have been
initiated in order to authorize us to use deadly force! Besides, I
haven't had this chance to release my pent-up frustrations with you in
a long time! Firing dummy warheads!"
"I don't believe this!" Ryunosuke exclaimed. "They're actually
firing missiles at the school! Activate scanner sweep!" He raised an
eyebrow at the readings. " That's odd, no explosives armed? Great!
That means I can do... This!"
Ryunosuke caught one rocket by the tail fin, bent it, and
released it timed and angled precisely to strike at the other missile,
sending both in a calculated trajectory into the hangout of one of the
school gangs he didn't particularly like. "Sorry, Bomber Boys, but you
deserved that," he apologized half-heartedly, leaping off the building
and onto the windshield of the Poison One.
"Did you see what he just did, Kiyone? That was so cool!"
"Shut up and shake him off, or he'll break through the mylar
windshield!"
There he was, striking at two different places at once, one with
his left elbow and another with his head.
"Do we have to? He looks so cute!"
Kiyone snapped at Mihoshi, "Yes, yes, he's cute, but if we don't
stop him we'll get killed! Now climb two thousand feet and make an
abrupt nose dip at the peak!"
"Roger that, Kiyone! Maneuvering over the lumberyard and
beginning ascent!"
Ryu-kun figured through a quick calculation that by exerting
fluctuating striking force at differently angled locations of the
windshield he'd cause a sizable stress fracture in the mylar polymer
windshield in only a few minutes, which he would then utilize as a
tear point (since if he bludgeoned his way totally through the damn
thing sledgehammer-style it'd take him around half an hour just to get
through - mylar did withstand striking blows very well).
However, another property of the windshield was that it was
Teflon-coated, and he was finding it increasingly tough to keep a grip
on the surface as it accelerated upward, since it showed no exposed
seams.
Suddenly the chopper dipped, and Ryu-kun slipped off the
windshield and fell. Two thousand five hundred feet. Ryu-kun wasn't
sure if his frame was built to handle falls properly but he did know
that his legs were the best-built to handle the most stress, and he'd
calculated terminal velocity at standing position already, so he
positioned himself and braced for impact.
"That's it! Good work, Mihoshi!"
"Thanks, Kiyone!" Mihoshi grinned and scratched the back of her
helmet sheepishly.
Kiyone gave a pained grin, then started as the sensors began to
beep. "Oh, hey! I've picked up Professor Natsume on the sensor sweep!
He's approaching the lumberyard!"
"Okay, gotcha, Kiyone! I'm beginning our descent!"
"Ryu-kun!" screamed Kyusaku as drove into the lumberyard in his
Land Rover, helplessly watching his son crash into a pile of huge
timbers at terminal velocity. "Please let him be all right..." he
whispered as he watched the Poison One land in front of the Rover.
A figure stepped out of the cockpit. She took off her helmet,
revealing the face of a pretty dark-skinned blond girl. "Professor
Natsume, please turn over Young Master Ryunosuke to us and no one else
has to get hurt. I'm very truly sorry we had to do that to your
android friend, but we have our orders. So I order you to do so, in
the name of the Galaxy Police!"
A very loud *Ahem* rang out from the Poison One's speakers.
"Oh. Oh right. Let's try that again," the young lady said,
grinning sheepishly. "I order you to turn over Young Master Ryunosuke
to us in the name of Miss Akiko and of Mishima Heavy Industries!
Better, Kiyone?"
A very loud *Sigh* droned out from the Poison One's speakers.
Kyusaku growled, "Tell your boss I'm never turning over
Ryunosuke to her, after what she did to him last Christmas Eve!"
"Uh, okay, I'll tell her that," Mihoshi said. "Uh, what exactly
did she do?"
*Mihoshi!*
"Oh. Uh, I'm afraid we can't allow that, Professor Natsume, we
have our orders. So, uh, what do we do now, Kiyone?"
*What else? Threaten him with deadly force!*
Mihoshi wiped her temple with a handkerchief. "Uh, oh dear,
isn't that a little too harsh?"
*MIHOSHI!*
"All right, all right already! Sheesh, what a grouch!" Mihoshi
said.
A rumble erupted from the pile of timber.
"You can't threaten us like that! I won't allow it!" Ryu-kun
cried as he burst from the mess of lumber, carrying one particularly
large tree trunk over his head!
"Uh, I didn't catch your name, sir..." Mihoshi said, carefully
inching out of the way.
*Mihoshi! Stop exchanging pleasantries with the enemy!*
"Fine! You wanna know who I am? I'm Natsume Ryu..." Ryu-kun
began, but caught a look from his father and he changed gears in mid-
sentence, "...Taro, and I won't let you push us around anymore!" With
that, he threw the trunk at the Poison One.
If the mylar had a stress fracture before, it was totally
cleaved now, because it was completely ripped out from the metal
chassis of the Poison One as the trunk crunched through metal and
plastic, sending the ex-chopper skittering sideways for twenty meters.
"Ki...Kiyone!" Mihoshi cried.
"Was that a little too much?" Ryu-kun asked his dad sheepishly.
"Uh, it was just about right, Ryu-sa... Ryu-kun," Kyusaku said,
catching himself.
"Kiyone!" Mihoshi called out. "Are... are you okay?"
*Of course I'm okay!*
A metal figure emerged from the wreckage, carrying the log with
both metal hands.
Kyusaku's jaw dropped open, although the cigarette stayed glued
on the side of his mouth. "It's a Power Suit! Those things weren't
fully developed when I left the company!"
*That's right, Professor Natsume! Witness the true military
might of Mishima Heavy Industries! A small troop of these suits can
wage war on a small country! It's a state-of-the-art weapon, just like
you, Ryutaro!* Kiyone's voice cackled through the speakers on the
Power Suit.
"You're wrong! I'm not a weapon!" Ryu-kun replied. "I'm the
product of a labor of love!"
Kyusaku gave a start at Ryu-kun's words. He's absolutely right,
no matter what Akiko or I say or do.
*It doesn't matter what you say! Turn over Young Master
Ryunosuke or else! Mihoshi, take cover so you won't get hurt!*
"Uh, I was doing that anyway, Kiyone!" Mihoshi called out from
behind a tree.
Ryu-kun suddenly jumped on the log and dashed toward the Power
Suited Kiyone.
*Stop right there!* Kiyone cried, dropping the log and firing
several shots from her Arm Cannon.
But Ryunosuke deftly dodged each shot. [Actuators at the joints,
power source located on the backpack. Perfect.] He leaped in front of
Kiyone, and before she could react he had already made several well-
placed shots at the Suit's joints, rendering it immobile. Then he
ripped off the compact fusion accelerator on the Suit's back and
hurled it into the sky, where it exploded several thousand feet in the
air.
He pointed a finger at the awestruck Mihoshi. "You go tell your
mistress that we won't take any more of this from her!" He smiled.
"Got that, cutie?"
Mihoshi blushed and nodded weakly.
"Good!" Ryunosuke said, grinning. He walked toward his Father
and gave him the thumbs-up sign.
Kyusaku returned the favor with the 'V' sign.
"So, uh..." Ryu-kun began, not sure how to address his father in
this form.
"How 'bout just plain Kyusaku?" his father said, grinning wryly.
"Um, okay, then, Kyusaku," Ryu-kun started, uncomfortable with
not calling his dad 'Dad', "I guess it's back to class, huh?"
"What for? You've already missed most of today's lessons anyhow!
Let's go get you recharged!"
"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of a hamburger
and some French fries..."
"What a dreamboat..." sighed Mihoshi.
"Mihoshi! Get me out of this thing! Mihoshi!!!"
=====
OMAKE! OMAKE! OMAKE!
Four shards of the one mirror. Four fragments of a whole greater than
the sum of all parts.
And slipping in between the cracks are tiny little pieces of the
Nanban Mirror, changing reality by a ridiculously trivial degree.
Other shards of the one mirror. Tiny fragments of reality
substantially lesser than the sum of all parts.
DOROTHY-SENSEI : ANYTHING BUT BLOND
"Damn you, Seravi!" Dorothy cried as she flew out of Seravi's
little cottage in the woods. She'd just about had it with all the
jibes and the ploys Seravi kept pulling on her just because she
wouldn't go back to her old blond hairstyle. What was it and his
fixation on that silly girlish hairstyle? Didn't he realize he was
hurting her feelings?
She started to cry in frustration. "I just wish he wouldn't keep
picking on me just because I'm not blond!"
The fiery-haired wizard's tears fell on a miniscule fragment of
the Nanban mirror that flickered somewhat. But this time, because of
her power, the person making the wish sensed the power of the shard,
and she grinned.
One destiny slightly altered. One shard changing one reality by a
ridiculously trivial degree. One teeny tiny shard of the one mirror.
One fragment substantially lesser than the sum of all parts.
The Sum of Spare Parts : Anything But Blond
Dorothy and Seravi sat at the breakfast table eating in silence.
"It's all your fault, Dorothy! Why you changed your hair to red
is beyond me. It looks stupid on you." Seravi jibed.
What a rip-off! thought Dorothy. I made the wish on that Nanban
Mirror shard! I specifically wished that he wouldn't pick on me just
because I was blond! Why isn't it working!
"And furthermore," continued Seravi, "you look stupid with
straight hair. I liked it much better curled."
Moral: When making a wish, be a rules lawyer: Phrase your wish free of
loopholes.
=====
TimeRunner's Web Page:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/7482
=====
"Anyone can post messages to the net. Practically everyone
does. The resulting cacophony drowns out serious discussion.
Online debates of tough issues are often polarized by messages
taking extreme positions. It's a great medium for trivia and
hobbies, but not the place for reasoned, reflective judgment.
Surprisingly often, discussions degenerate into acrimony,
insults, and flames." --Clifford Stoll