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Resistance
Chapter 24: Idea
Fenek woke me for lunch by simply carrying me to the table and dumping me into a seat. I woke halfway and grumbled for the other half.
Lunch wasn't anything special, just the usual fare, but Atheros seemed preoccupied with telling the others how his shooting lesson had gone, and how he could now take care of himself.
Silvera smiled and nodded politely, while Agenor shot me an amused look.
Alanor seemed transfixed, but Tamara and Farath, who were both female, as Fenek told me mentally, seemed uninterested, preferring to speak amongst themselves about history, or something along those lines.
I settled for eating quietly, having not quite woken up yet.
Atheros, however, had other plans. "Father! My shooting just now was good, yes?"
I blinked and looked up, then shrugged. "Not bad for a first timer. Need more training. No issue there."
He seemed a little disappointed at my lack of enthusiasm, but smiled all the same, before resuming his chatter.
I finished up my food and demanded my writing materials back from Fenek, who reluctantly handed them over.
I hurriedly cleared my bit of the table, and brought over the papers to begin sketching. I had an idea...
There was a river just outside the town's east wall. Not really a river, but more or a large stream. The water ran clear, and we usually drew our drinking water from there. I wanted to shove in a waterwheel and build a generator...
Halfway through, Victor came in to report that they had just finished setting up the heavy machine guns around the perimeter, and Ren Jie was coordinating the setting up of additional defences in the town itself. Things were going smoothly so far, and if nothing cropped up, they would be done by evening.
I nodded, then showed him my hastily sketched blueprints.
The comments were, "Looks like a good idea, though it's a bit of a long shot. Don't really need so much power for now, but we could use it to power some floodlights or something I suppose, maybe even a computer."
I nodded. "Lets do it."
Victor smirked. "I'll link with the logistics people to get you some materials. Will come back and update you later."
I nodded and went back to my sketching. The waterwheel itself would probably be built with wood, perhaps reinforced with metal. The generator itself could simply be taken from a diesel generator, and hooked up to the wheel with a whole bunch of gears, up until I found a way to build a new generator from scratch anyway.
Perhaps we could make a drop in the stream bed to increase the speed and enhance the output of the whole thing...
Muttering to myself, I dug through my memory and scribbled down the relevant equations. Fenek, who had been transfixed, went off and got my phone for me, after reading my mind. While inputting the relevant values, I did some simplification to get my slightly rusty skills to work, before dumping all the values into the phone's calculator, while noting that it was due for a charge.
Fenek, who seemed to be happy enough as my assistant, went off again and came back with my solar charger. I thanked him and plugged it in, using the built in battery to charge the phone. I would put the thing by the window later.
I played around with the dimensions of the wheel, but didn't really get a very big output, even under ideal conditions. Of course, this was to be expected, but what I was getting was barely enough to power a handful of lightbulbs. If I were to use it to charge my phone, it would take about a week, which was in all aspects, ridiculous. However, some electric lights would still be good...
...it was something...
The idea was to use the area close to the stream to park and maintain our equipment, and some proper lighting would go a long way. Only thing was that we had no lightbulbs, and barely any cables.
Cables could be made, but lightbulbs on the other hand...
I didn't quite realise that I was absentmindedly scribbling all of my thoughts down on another sheet of paper, which ended with the words, 'time for another raid?' written down and underlined.
Atheros, who must have been watching for quite some time tapped my shoulder. I turned to face him. "Yes?"
He pointed at the bit about raiding and asked, a note of accusation in his tone, but he hid it quickly. "What do you wish to raid, Father? A village? I thought you don't involve innocents in your fights..."
I raised an eyeridge. "Village? You people have villages? I didn't even know that. Anyway, no, I'm not raiding something that I didn't know existed. We go after the warehouses storing confiscated human technology, basically to retrieve our equipment and other random stuff. Problem now is that they already know our tactics..."
Atheros stared, head cocked. "Warehouses?"
I shrugged and explained the whole thing. It took a while, but he got it in the end.
"Why don't you just go and ask to be let in? You are a dragon. There isn't reason for you to be stopped." Atheros remarked nonchalantly, while taking a seat. At least he seemed to be more at ease with me now...
I paused for a moment, then nodded. "You know, that shit may just work. We just have to look legit... I'll bring it up with my people and we'll plan for it."
Atheros nodded and got up to leave, seeming to be a little disappointed.
It dawned on me that my going alone would be suspicious, plus Fenek and Agenor were already known criminals...the others were too young...
I made my decision. "Atheros, sit down. I may have a role for you, if you'll do it."
The black dragon paused, then sat, suppressing a smile. He seemed to want to follow in my footsteps. "What will be my role, Father? I will be happy to help. Besides, I have a debt to repay, no?"
I shrugged. "Always good to have another guy on board. As for the debt, nah. I'm supposed to be your dad. I was just doing my job. Now, you'll probably have to follow me. It will make us look a bit more legit, plus I need someone whose face is not plastered everywhere on wanted posters."
Atheros paused then nodded. "Very well. What is the plan?"
I shrugged. "Don't know yet. I'll go and talk to the rest later."
Fenek broke in halfway. "You'll have to learn how to act like a proper dragon first."
Atheros snickered and nodded. "That is true, Father. You don't use your wings, and neither do you use your tail. The way you carry yourself is also...different."
I sighed. I could tell than Fenek had been wanting to say what he did for quite a while. "Fine. You two can give me lessons, and I'll teach both of you the sciences in return I suppose."
Atheros brightened up, although my response was quite flat, and Fenek just smiled. Both wanted to be taught and to teach. I subsequently went looking for Victor, who was in the guardhouse. He was in the midst of giving a bunch of new guys the rules of engagement. I scribbled a note asking him to call a meeting at my place before going off, not wanting to interrupt.
As I went about my business, I could tell that all eyes were on me. I quickly got my stuff done and made my way back. This time, I didn't trip on the blasted tail at all. A new record.
Unfortunately, Fenek told me that I would only be able to use my wings at least a few weeks later, with some magical help. He, however, was more forthcoming than Atheros, and told me straight that I would not be able to fit in amongst other dragons, at all. Basically, I made one really terrible dragon, all in all.
Instead of teaching me how to phrase things and the niceties, Fenek simply dumped all the information into my mind and together with Atheros, they ran through it.
It took a while. In fact, it chewed up the rest of the day. I did, however notice that their phrasing tended to lean towards the older variants of the English language, or it seemed so anyway. They also tended to be more blunt and to the point.
However, despite the short cuts that were taken, I got a headache anyway, and Fenek had me take a break.
Victor came in a while later, saying that the meeting would be at his place after dinner. The others had found the plan interesting.
I nodded as he went off. Fenek had gone to the kitchen to cook, and Atheros had sat himself down beside me.
Lacking a better thing to do, and wanting to distract myself from the slight headache, I grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled down some basic laws of physics. "Familiar with any of these?" I added, while sliding the paper over to Atheros, who had been watching.
I was hoping that he would recognise maybe one or two, but instead, he dismissed them as rubbish. He even laughed at the law of conservation of energy.
I rolled my eyes at him. "I don't know what you people were taught, but these are the proven basic laws of physics."
I noted that the other dragons, Fenek and Agenor included had suddenly clustered around the table, all peering at the piece of paper. I smirked and scribbled the same things onto a few more pieces, then passed them around.
Atheros glanced through the list again, and snorted. "No... I've seen no proof, Father. It is hard to believe."
I raised an eyebrow, then pointed to the F=ma formula. I explained a little about it, while noting that the entire bunch of them, who had been squabbling over the laws earlier had fallen silent. I chuckled. "As for proof..."
I simply tossed the pencil across the table. Atheros stared, scared. He looked ready to apologise, but I held up a hand. He cringed, but paused when I mentioned that I wasn't done and that I wasn't angry at all.
I reached over and retrieved the pencil. "Very simple. The pencil has mass, and when I threw it across the table, I exerted a force on it, and caused it to accelerate. Different form, but same equation."
What I received was a chorus of "ooooh" It was actually quite comical, especially for the children, who were staring at the laws again, wide-eyed.
Atheros nodded slowly. "But why did it drop, then?"
I shrugged. "Same reason why things fall to the ground when dropped."
Atheros stared. "Because the Great Elders decreed so when they created the worlds?"
I blinked. "The what created the what?....no...nothing of the sort. This is science, not religion. We look for logic, not belief. Anyway, it is due to gravity. I'll get to that another time. Just know that things with mass exert a force of attraction on each other, so the pencil and whatever else is here is pulled to the earth."
Atheros stared blankly at me. Fenek, on the other hand laughed. "You'll need history lessons too! This is most interesting! We must continue, but after dinner, which I must finish cooking. Perhaps you'll help me?"
I shrugged, while the others went back to their business. "Might as well. Need to give Atheros time to wrap his head around that anyway... He really catch no ball."
Fenek snorted at me. "You'll have to stop talking like that."
I made a face as I followed him to the Kitchen, while Atheros continued staring blankly at the paper. "I talk however the fuck I want to talk, Fenek. I know how to switch."
Fenek rolled his eyes. "I shall test you later."
I stuck my forked tongue out at him and began cutting the meat for dinner. "Test? Seriously? If you want, I suppose. Won't stop you."
Fenek rolled his eyes again as he helped to chop the spring onions.
Dinner was cooked and eaten in relatively short order, and I rushed over to Victor's place to attend the meeting, with Fenek and Atheros, who looked a tad nervous, in tow.
Chapter 24: Idea
Fenek woke me for lunch by simply carrying me to the table and dumping me into a seat. I woke halfway and grumbled for the other half.
Lunch wasn't anything special, just the usual fare, but Atheros seemed preoccupied with telling the others how his shooting lesson had gone, and how he could now take care of himself.
Silvera smiled and nodded politely, while Agenor shot me an amused look.
Alanor seemed transfixed, but Tamara and Farath, who were both female, as Fenek told me mentally, seemed uninterested, preferring to speak amongst themselves about history, or something along those lines.
I settled for eating quietly, having not quite woken up yet.
Atheros, however, had other plans. "Father! My shooting just now was good, yes?"
I blinked and looked up, then shrugged. "Not bad for a first timer. Need more training. No issue there."
He seemed a little disappointed at my lack of enthusiasm, but smiled all the same, before resuming his chatter.
I finished up my food and demanded my writing materials back from Fenek, who reluctantly handed them over.
I hurriedly cleared my bit of the table, and brought over the papers to begin sketching. I had an idea...
There was a river just outside the town's east wall. Not really a river, but more or a large stream. The water ran clear, and we usually drew our drinking water from there. I wanted to shove in a waterwheel and build a generator...
Halfway through, Victor came in to report that they had just finished setting up the heavy machine guns around the perimeter, and Ren Jie was coordinating the setting up of additional defences in the town itself. Things were going smoothly so far, and if nothing cropped up, they would be done by evening.
I nodded, then showed him my hastily sketched blueprints.
The comments were, "Looks like a good idea, though it's a bit of a long shot. Don't really need so much power for now, but we could use it to power some floodlights or something I suppose, maybe even a computer."
I nodded. "Lets do it."
Victor smirked. "I'll link with the logistics people to get you some materials. Will come back and update you later."
I nodded and went back to my sketching. The waterwheel itself would probably be built with wood, perhaps reinforced with metal. The generator itself could simply be taken from a diesel generator, and hooked up to the wheel with a whole bunch of gears, up until I found a way to build a new generator from scratch anyway.
Perhaps we could make a drop in the stream bed to increase the speed and enhance the output of the whole thing...
Muttering to myself, I dug through my memory and scribbled down the relevant equations. Fenek, who had been transfixed, went off and got my phone for me, after reading my mind. While inputting the relevant values, I did some simplification to get my slightly rusty skills to work, before dumping all the values into the phone's calculator, while noting that it was due for a charge.
Fenek, who seemed to be happy enough as my assistant, went off again and came back with my solar charger. I thanked him and plugged it in, using the built in battery to charge the phone. I would put the thing by the window later.
I played around with the dimensions of the wheel, but didn't really get a very big output, even under ideal conditions. Of course, this was to be expected, but what I was getting was barely enough to power a handful of lightbulbs. If I were to use it to charge my phone, it would take about a week, which was in all aspects, ridiculous. However, some electric lights would still be good...
...it was something...
The idea was to use the area close to the stream to park and maintain our equipment, and some proper lighting would go a long way. Only thing was that we had no lightbulbs, and barely any cables.
Cables could be made, but lightbulbs on the other hand...
I didn't quite realise that I was absentmindedly scribbling all of my thoughts down on another sheet of paper, which ended with the words, 'time for another raid?' written down and underlined.
Atheros, who must have been watching for quite some time tapped my shoulder. I turned to face him. "Yes?"
He pointed at the bit about raiding and asked, a note of accusation in his tone, but he hid it quickly. "What do you wish to raid, Father? A village? I thought you don't involve innocents in your fights..."
I raised an eyeridge. "Village? You people have villages? I didn't even know that. Anyway, no, I'm not raiding something that I didn't know existed. We go after the warehouses storing confiscated human technology, basically to retrieve our equipment and other random stuff. Problem now is that they already know our tactics..."
Atheros stared, head cocked. "Warehouses?"
I shrugged and explained the whole thing. It took a while, but he got it in the end.
"Why don't you just go and ask to be let in? You are a dragon. There isn't reason for you to be stopped." Atheros remarked nonchalantly, while taking a seat. At least he seemed to be more at ease with me now...
I paused for a moment, then nodded. "You know, that shit may just work. We just have to look legit... I'll bring it up with my people and we'll plan for it."
Atheros nodded and got up to leave, seeming to be a little disappointed.
It dawned on me that my going alone would be suspicious, plus Fenek and Agenor were already known criminals...the others were too young...
I made my decision. "Atheros, sit down. I may have a role for you, if you'll do it."
The black dragon paused, then sat, suppressing a smile. He seemed to want to follow in my footsteps. "What will be my role, Father? I will be happy to help. Besides, I have a debt to repay, no?"
I shrugged. "Always good to have another guy on board. As for the debt, nah. I'm supposed to be your dad. I was just doing my job. Now, you'll probably have to follow me. It will make us look a bit more legit, plus I need someone whose face is not plastered everywhere on wanted posters."
Atheros paused then nodded. "Very well. What is the plan?"
I shrugged. "Don't know yet. I'll go and talk to the rest later."
Fenek broke in halfway. "You'll have to learn how to act like a proper dragon first."
Atheros snickered and nodded. "That is true, Father. You don't use your wings, and neither do you use your tail. The way you carry yourself is also...different."
I sighed. I could tell than Fenek had been wanting to say what he did for quite a while. "Fine. You two can give me lessons, and I'll teach both of you the sciences in return I suppose."
Atheros brightened up, although my response was quite flat, and Fenek just smiled. Both wanted to be taught and to teach. I subsequently went looking for Victor, who was in the guardhouse. He was in the midst of giving a bunch of new guys the rules of engagement. I scribbled a note asking him to call a meeting at my place before going off, not wanting to interrupt.
As I went about my business, I could tell that all eyes were on me. I quickly got my stuff done and made my way back. This time, I didn't trip on the blasted tail at all. A new record.
Unfortunately, Fenek told me that I would only be able to use my wings at least a few weeks later, with some magical help. He, however, was more forthcoming than Atheros, and told me straight that I would not be able to fit in amongst other dragons, at all. Basically, I made one really terrible dragon, all in all.
Instead of teaching me how to phrase things and the niceties, Fenek simply dumped all the information into my mind and together with Atheros, they ran through it.
It took a while. In fact, it chewed up the rest of the day. I did, however notice that their phrasing tended to lean towards the older variants of the English language, or it seemed so anyway. They also tended to be more blunt and to the point.
However, despite the short cuts that were taken, I got a headache anyway, and Fenek had me take a break.
Victor came in a while later, saying that the meeting would be at his place after dinner. The others had found the plan interesting.
I nodded as he went off. Fenek had gone to the kitchen to cook, and Atheros had sat himself down beside me.
Lacking a better thing to do, and wanting to distract myself from the slight headache, I grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled down some basic laws of physics. "Familiar with any of these?" I added, while sliding the paper over to Atheros, who had been watching.
I was hoping that he would recognise maybe one or two, but instead, he dismissed them as rubbish. He even laughed at the law of conservation of energy.
I rolled my eyes at him. "I don't know what you people were taught, but these are the proven basic laws of physics."
I noted that the other dragons, Fenek and Agenor included had suddenly clustered around the table, all peering at the piece of paper. I smirked and scribbled the same things onto a few more pieces, then passed them around.
Atheros glanced through the list again, and snorted. "No... I've seen no proof, Father. It is hard to believe."
I raised an eyebrow, then pointed to the F=ma formula. I explained a little about it, while noting that the entire bunch of them, who had been squabbling over the laws earlier had fallen silent. I chuckled. "As for proof..."
I simply tossed the pencil across the table. Atheros stared, scared. He looked ready to apologise, but I held up a hand. He cringed, but paused when I mentioned that I wasn't done and that I wasn't angry at all.
I reached over and retrieved the pencil. "Very simple. The pencil has mass, and when I threw it across the table, I exerted a force on it, and caused it to accelerate. Different form, but same equation."
What I received was a chorus of "ooooh" It was actually quite comical, especially for the children, who were staring at the laws again, wide-eyed.
Atheros nodded slowly. "But why did it drop, then?"
I shrugged. "Same reason why things fall to the ground when dropped."
Atheros stared. "Because the Great Elders decreed so when they created the worlds?"
I blinked. "The what created the what?....no...nothing of the sort. This is science, not religion. We look for logic, not belief. Anyway, it is due to gravity. I'll get to that another time. Just know that things with mass exert a force of attraction on each other, so the pencil and whatever else is here is pulled to the earth."
Atheros stared blankly at me. Fenek, on the other hand laughed. "You'll need history lessons too! This is most interesting! We must continue, but after dinner, which I must finish cooking. Perhaps you'll help me?"
I shrugged, while the others went back to their business. "Might as well. Need to give Atheros time to wrap his head around that anyway... He really catch no ball."
Fenek snorted at me. "You'll have to stop talking like that."
I made a face as I followed him to the Kitchen, while Atheros continued staring blankly at the paper. "I talk however the fuck I want to talk, Fenek. I know how to switch."
Fenek rolled his eyes. "I shall test you later."
I stuck my forked tongue out at him and began cutting the meat for dinner. "Test? Seriously? If you want, I suppose. Won't stop you."
Fenek rolled his eyes again as he helped to chop the spring onions.
Dinner was cooked and eaten in relatively short order, and I rushed over to Victor's place to attend the meeting, with Fenek and Atheros, who looked a tad nervous, in tow.
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Very interesting idea, it opens new possibilities.
About physics lessons... I admit I'm not convinced by their astonished reactions to the laws. If I showed a random guy a formula without any explanation, his reaction would probably be "what the heck does these symbols mean?!" In most cases, I'd need more than 1 hour to explain the underlying theory, and even after that they won't get the beauty of this formula or understand what it's about without months of physic courses.
Experiments are indeed the best solution, I think.
About physics lessons... I admit I'm not convinced by their astonished reactions to the laws. If I showed a random guy a formula without any explanation, his reaction would probably be "what the heck does these symbols mean?!" In most cases, I'd need more than 1 hour to explain the underlying theory, and even after that they won't get the beauty of this formula or understand what it's about without months of physic courses.
Experiments are indeed the best solution, I think.