It was quiet, this late at night. Few were foolish (or unfortunate) enough to still be up-and-about when naught but the Cave Crawlers and Pugilist Scorpions roamed the vast, dark, freezing desert, out beyond the safe confines of Sunagakure. This was a time for peaceful sleep and fanciful dreams; not, as Yatamaru was doing, working.
Puppets never rest. He was no exception. In the wee hours of the morning, when he wasn't immobilized in a half-dead drunken stupor — which, these days. was the closest thing he got to sleep — he was busy toiling away on some project or another. Tinkering with his toys. Experimenting with new innovations. And yet, there is only so much that he could take. Day in, and day out, in the same routines? It got old sooner or later. For Yatamaru, it was sooner.
He had found himself roaming the quiet streets of Sunagakure. Not content to visit the same dive bars he frequented, nor did the allure of a night full of gambling and flirting appeal at the moment, the mechanical man ached for something new. Something novel. Lost in his own mind, Yatamaru figured that he'd know what he needed when he saw it. He turned a corner. In front of him, lights still aglow inside, was the Oracle's Library. Something clicked. He felt his feet take him up the stairs, past the empty reception desk, and into a world where nothing mattered but preserving that which was so difficult to obtain, easy to take for granted, and yet treasured beyond any riches: knowledge.
He was alone. At least, he was pretty sure he was. The place was so still that he could swear he heard his own chakra circulating through the artificial tubing that ran all throughout his body (even though that was a physical impossibility). He let his eyes wander from one book's spine to the next as he meandered aimlessly down the rows, and rows, of bookshelves. He wondered why he didn't come here more often. Recalling a time, many years ago, when he used to love the library more than anywhere else, he wondered further what had happened? He knew the answer. He just didn't want to acknowledge it.
Reaching the end of one bookshelf, Yatamaru was about to turn a corner and continue his wandering march when a title caught his eye: Annals of the Conqueror. He vaguely remembered this as an important tome, but for what reason or purpose he couldn't extract from the deepest recesses of his mind. Pulling the book out from its resting place, Yatamaru walked it over to a nearby table, sat down, and placed the book neatly on the table. Patiently studying its cover, taking in the fine, intricate, details that had been wrought so skillfully into the ancient leather, Yatamaru couldn't help but be impressed. It was a work of art. He had to see more.
Cracking open the cover, Yatamaru knew instantly why this book seemed familiar. Many years ago, as a boy, he'd stumbled upon this book as a means of learning the ancient language of Runic Terran. It had been a curiosity, a relic from a time long ago, and he'd attempted to learn it as a side-hobby. It had proven too difficult for him then, the grammatical structure of the language being too foreign — too ancient — for his younger self to properly absorb. He'd given up, and forgotten about it. Was it Fate that brought him here, now, to finish what he'd started?
Yatamaru decided not to look too far into it. Instead, he busied himself with reading. At first it was enjoyable — he found the uniquely difficult sentence structure to be almost akin to a challenging puzzle, and so poured over it like one. Eventually, however, it became clear that the rules for one were not the same for the other: whereas a puzzle could be figured out through careful consideration and innovative perspectives, a language needed to be practiced. It needed time. To Yatamaru, such a prospect was egregious. He would have to wait before he could master this skill? Not a chance. Not if he could help it.
Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise? Fate was an efficient mistress, and Yatamaru soon realized that this was the perfect opportunity to test a newly developed technique of his. Closing his eyes, clenching his right hand, and drawing upon his chakra. The process took but a minute, and when he was done a small, uncut, ruby rested in the palm of his hand. At least, it looked like a ruby — Yatamaru, however, knew better. This was a blank Crystal Drive, or CD: a high-storage, portable, chakra computation device of his own design. This was just the first step, however.
Methodically, Yatamaru began to transcribe the contents of the book in its entirety. Every sentence, every example, and every minute detail that seemed even tangentially related to the subject matter. It took a while — the last few paragraphs were completed as the sun began to rise — but not nearly as long as it should have. Yatamaru had merely been copying the contents of the book, not really taking in the knowledge. He didn't need to. Not yet, anyways.
Closing the book, and placing the completed CD on its top cover, he closed his eyes. Sharpened his focus. Cleared his mind. Gathered his chakra. He was ready.
Time seemed to slow down, but Yatamaru knew that wasn't true — his mind had sped up. He could feel the information from the CD pouring into his head, many thousands of times faster than he could have absorbed it naturally in the same time, and knew that it was working. He was Fast Forwarding. How long did he spend in this private mental training ground of his? It seemed like days. Over and over, he practiced the forgotten art of Runic Terran. Little by little, he improved. Repeated a thousand, million, billion times in his mind, he had achieved the skill level of a fluent speaker in no time; actually, to be precise, the entire technique had lasted only a minute in the real world.
Slowly, time returned to normal. The sun had risen perhaps a degree higher in the sun, almost imperceptibly so. Perhaps it was exhaustion from over-exerting himself, but Yatamaru thought the sunrise looked especially pretty this morning. "يوم آخر ، وشروق الشمس آخر. أتساءل ما الذي سيكون عليه باقي اليوم بالنسبة لي؟"
Surprised, Yatamaru hadn't realized he'd slipped into speaking Runic Terran almost instantly. His brain was adjusting to the new knowledge. Marveling at how effectively that had actually worked out, Yatamaru couldn't help but smile a tad. Pushing back his chair, and returning the book to its proper resting spot, Yatamaru pocketed the ruby CD for safe keeping. He was starting to amass a collection of these things — he'd really need to start cataloging them, or else he'd forget which one held what. Still musing and congratulating himself over a job well done, he didn't notice the empty reception desk had been filled while he had been working.
"Oh my, you're here early! I didn't notice you walk in. Have you been here all night, young man?" Caught off guard, Yatamaru flashed the receptionist a kind smile and brought a hand up to scratch at the back of his head in embarrassment.
"يا! لم اراك هناك!" he said, not even realizing what he'd just done. "نعم ، كان هناك كتاب لم أتمكن من إخماده. شكرا لحفظ هذا المكان مفتوحا في وقت متأخر جدا! أنا متأكد من أنني سأعود قريبا." He walked off, giving the woman a friendly wave goodbye, before he could notice the confused look she gave him. The whole rest of the day he'd have trouble switching between Common and Runic Terran, confusing shopkeepers, peers, and friends alike. But that, in Yatamaru's eyes, was a small price to pay for rapidly acquired knowledge.
[ooc]
Topic Entered/Left.
Utilized two of my CRPJ, Crystal Drive: Read/Write and Crystal Drive: Fast-Forward.
Puppets never rest. He was no exception. In the wee hours of the morning, when he wasn't immobilized in a half-dead drunken stupor — which, these days. was the closest thing he got to sleep — he was busy toiling away on some project or another. Tinkering with his toys. Experimenting with new innovations. And yet, there is only so much that he could take. Day in, and day out, in the same routines? It got old sooner or later. For Yatamaru, it was sooner.
He had found himself roaming the quiet streets of Sunagakure. Not content to visit the same dive bars he frequented, nor did the allure of a night full of gambling and flirting appeal at the moment, the mechanical man ached for something new. Something novel. Lost in his own mind, Yatamaru figured that he'd know what he needed when he saw it. He turned a corner. In front of him, lights still aglow inside, was the Oracle's Library. Something clicked. He felt his feet take him up the stairs, past the empty reception desk, and into a world where nothing mattered but preserving that which was so difficult to obtain, easy to take for granted, and yet treasured beyond any riches: knowledge.
He was alone. At least, he was pretty sure he was. The place was so still that he could swear he heard his own chakra circulating through the artificial tubing that ran all throughout his body (even though that was a physical impossibility). He let his eyes wander from one book's spine to the next as he meandered aimlessly down the rows, and rows, of bookshelves. He wondered why he didn't come here more often. Recalling a time, many years ago, when he used to love the library more than anywhere else, he wondered further what had happened? He knew the answer. He just didn't want to acknowledge it.
Reaching the end of one bookshelf, Yatamaru was about to turn a corner and continue his wandering march when a title caught his eye: Annals of the Conqueror. He vaguely remembered this as an important tome, but for what reason or purpose he couldn't extract from the deepest recesses of his mind. Pulling the book out from its resting place, Yatamaru walked it over to a nearby table, sat down, and placed the book neatly on the table. Patiently studying its cover, taking in the fine, intricate, details that had been wrought so skillfully into the ancient leather, Yatamaru couldn't help but be impressed. It was a work of art. He had to see more.
Cracking open the cover, Yatamaru knew instantly why this book seemed familiar. Many years ago, as a boy, he'd stumbled upon this book as a means of learning the ancient language of Runic Terran. It had been a curiosity, a relic from a time long ago, and he'd attempted to learn it as a side-hobby. It had proven too difficult for him then, the grammatical structure of the language being too foreign — too ancient — for his younger self to properly absorb. He'd given up, and forgotten about it. Was it Fate that brought him here, now, to finish what he'd started?
Yatamaru decided not to look too far into it. Instead, he busied himself with reading. At first it was enjoyable — he found the uniquely difficult sentence structure to be almost akin to a challenging puzzle, and so poured over it like one. Eventually, however, it became clear that the rules for one were not the same for the other: whereas a puzzle could be figured out through careful consideration and innovative perspectives, a language needed to be practiced. It needed time. To Yatamaru, such a prospect was egregious. He would have to wait before he could master this skill? Not a chance. Not if he could help it.
Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise? Fate was an efficient mistress, and Yatamaru soon realized that this was the perfect opportunity to test a newly developed technique of his. Closing his eyes, clenching his right hand, and drawing upon his chakra. The process took but a minute, and when he was done a small, uncut, ruby rested in the palm of his hand. At least, it looked like a ruby — Yatamaru, however, knew better. This was a blank Crystal Drive, or CD: a high-storage, portable, chakra computation device of his own design. This was just the first step, however.
Methodically, Yatamaru began to transcribe the contents of the book in its entirety. Every sentence, every example, and every minute detail that seemed even tangentially related to the subject matter. It took a while — the last few paragraphs were completed as the sun began to rise — but not nearly as long as it should have. Yatamaru had merely been copying the contents of the book, not really taking in the knowledge. He didn't need to. Not yet, anyways.
Closing the book, and placing the completed CD on its top cover, he closed his eyes. Sharpened his focus. Cleared his mind. Gathered his chakra. He was ready.
Time seemed to slow down, but Yatamaru knew that wasn't true — his mind had sped up. He could feel the information from the CD pouring into his head, many thousands of times faster than he could have absorbed it naturally in the same time, and knew that it was working. He was Fast Forwarding. How long did he spend in this private mental training ground of his? It seemed like days. Over and over, he practiced the forgotten art of Runic Terran. Little by little, he improved. Repeated a thousand, million, billion times in his mind, he had achieved the skill level of a fluent speaker in no time; actually, to be precise, the entire technique had lasted only a minute in the real world.
Slowly, time returned to normal. The sun had risen perhaps a degree higher in the sun, almost imperceptibly so. Perhaps it was exhaustion from over-exerting himself, but Yatamaru thought the sunrise looked especially pretty this morning. "يوم آخر ، وشروق الشمس آخر. أتساءل ما الذي سيكون عليه باقي اليوم بالنسبة لي؟"
Surprised, Yatamaru hadn't realized he'd slipped into speaking Runic Terran almost instantly. His brain was adjusting to the new knowledge. Marveling at how effectively that had actually worked out, Yatamaru couldn't help but smile a tad. Pushing back his chair, and returning the book to its proper resting spot, Yatamaru pocketed the ruby CD for safe keeping. He was starting to amass a collection of these things — he'd really need to start cataloging them, or else he'd forget which one held what. Still musing and congratulating himself over a job well done, he didn't notice the empty reception desk had been filled while he had been working.
"Oh my, you're here early! I didn't notice you walk in. Have you been here all night, young man?" Caught off guard, Yatamaru flashed the receptionist a kind smile and brought a hand up to scratch at the back of his head in embarrassment.
"يا! لم اراك هناك!" he said, not even realizing what he'd just done. "نعم ، كان هناك كتاب لم أتمكن من إخماده. شكرا لحفظ هذا المكان مفتوحا في وقت متأخر جدا! أنا متأكد من أنني سأعود قريبا." He walked off, giving the woman a friendly wave goodbye, before he could notice the confused look she gave him. The whole rest of the day he'd have trouble switching between Common and Runic Terran, confusing shopkeepers, peers, and friends alike. But that, in Yatamaru's eyes, was a small price to pay for rapidly acquired knowledge.
[ooc]
Topic Entered/Left.
Utilized two of my CRPJ, Crystal Drive: Read/Write and Crystal Drive: Fast-Forward.
"يوم آخر ، وشروق الشمس آخر. أتساءل ما الذي سيكون عليه باقي اليوم بالنسبة لي؟"
Another day, another sunrise. I wonder what the rest of the day will have in store for me?
"يا! لم اراك هناك!"
Oh, I didn't see you there!
"نعم ، كان هناك كتاب لم أتمكن من إخماده. شكرا لحفظ هذا المكان مفتوحا في وقت متأخر جدا! أنا متأكد من أنني سأعود قريبا."
Yeah, there was a book I just couldn't put down. Thank you for keeping this place open so late! I'm sure I'll be back soon.
Another day, another sunrise. I wonder what the rest of the day will have in store for me?
"يا! لم اراك هناك!"
Oh, I didn't see you there!
"نعم ، كان هناك كتاب لم أتمكن من إخماده. شكرا لحفظ هذا المكان مفتوحا في وقت متأخر جدا! أنا متأكد من أنني سأعود قريبا."
Yeah, there was a book I just couldn't put down. Thank you for keeping this place open so late! I'm sure I'll be back soon.