In that respect, I would think that the squeeze from the war and the push from the Robotech would have about equalized. Cell phones in the time frame of Macross at the beginning would be about the same as they are now.
If Garrick can prevent the Rain of Death, a techno-renaissance would take place that would surely make Earth into a techo-industrial juggernaut. Another consequence, though, is that it will probably slow their expansion since they won't quite have the same drive as before.
Anyhow, here's a little bit more.
That evening I sat
outside on the dock by myself with my iPad.
Having that was
both a joy and a sorrow. The tablet computer had more processing
power than most computers on Earth at this time do. But, because it
was so far ahead of its time there was no support available for it.
Anytime anything went wrong with it I was on my own.
Fortunately, it was
an Apple product, so very little went wrong with it anyhow.
Bundled up against
the cold, I was working on a plan of action to take against Yakage
when he would show up tomorrow. Granted, I wasn't laying out some
grand strategy, just some basic scenarios. I sighed as I paused to
stretch and gazed across the lake at Yosho's tree, Funaho.
“I know you like
me, Funaho, but why did you give me a seed to raise?”
“Who are you
talking to?”
I didn't jump –
you get used to people sneaking up on you here.
I turned to see who
it was and found Minagi hovering a few feet over me.
“Oh, hey Minagi.
Couldn't sleep?”
Minagi sighed.
“No. I talked to Sasami. She's real nice, wanting me to stay here
and be part of the family... but...”
“You're uneasy
about it,” I finished for her.
“Yeah. I know
she likes me, but I'm not to sure about everyone else here.”
“Well, like I
said before, we're all pretty friendly here... but sometimes you
gotta beat Ryoko back with a stick. Isn't that right, Ryoko?”
“BWAH!?” I
heard Ryoko shout behind me.
“EEYYYIIIEEE!”
squealed Minagi... who promptly dove... well, to my side, and tried
to make herself as small as possible to hide from Ryoko while
clinging to me for dear life.
I gave Ryoko an
exasperated look – sure enough, there she was with a ridiculously
huge mallet with kanji that read, 'Memory Restoration Hammer'.
“Ryoko, I have
got no idea where the hell you got that thing from, but I want
you to put it back right now!”
“Oh, c'mon
Gar-kun!” pouted Ryoko. “Don't be such a killjoy!”
“I mean it Ryoko.
You know that's not gonna help her and friends don't do that kind of
shit.”
“Oh fine!”
Ryoko grumped. “Did you really have to play the 'Friend' card?”
“Of course I did,
look at this poor girl, she's terrified out of her wits!”
I wrapped an arm
around Minagi as Ryoko came closer to get a better look at Minagi.
At first, Ryoko wore a disdainful expression and Minagi whimpered as
she came closer. Suddenly, Ryoko put on a scary face.
“BOOGA-BOOGA-BOOGA!”
Minagi screamed. I
hate to admit it, but she made it seem cute. Of course, all that
noise summoned help in a hurry.
“What the hell's
gotten into you Ryoko!” yelled Washu as she popped up from nowhere
and grabbed Ryoko by the ear. “You are coming back to the lab with
me and you're gonna explain to me, in detail, why you think hitting
Minagi over the head with that hammer is gonna fix things!”
Ryoko could only
splutter as Washu dragged her away.
I then turned to
Minagi who was still clinging to me, and wearing a face that was torn
between a fervent WTF, and bawling her eyes out. With one armed
coiled around her still, I gave Minagi a comforting hug.
“It'll be okay
Minagi. Ryoko will come around and before you know it you two will
be sisters.”
“But why does she
hate me so much?” whimpered Minagi.
I sighed. “Well,
it's because you knocked out her boyfriend and then nearly killed me
right before you lost your memory.”
“But... I don't
remember! I have no idea why I would do that! I don't understand
why you would even touch me after I did that.”
“Because you were
under programing at that time. And whatever Tenchi did to you wiped
that programming away completely. So, I'm being nice to you because
I see the real and true Minagi right now. And the real Minagi is a
very sweet girl that doesn't like doing mean things to people.”
Minagi gazed at me
for a short moment, then let go of me at last... but she didn't get
up. Instead, she shifted around so she was seated comfortably by me
and leaned her head on my shoulder.
“Thank you for
believing in me, Garrick.”
I said nothing. I
just gave her a squeeze with the arm that was still wrapped around
her. Minagi sighed contently and nothing more.
We watch the night
sky as the clouds scudded by for a few minutes in quiet contentment
until I noticed that my eyes were starting to get heavy.
“Minagi?” I
said with a yawn.
“Hmmm?” she
said, herself sounding sleepy as well.
“I need to get to
bed. And I think you do as well.”
“Ah, Garrick?”
asked Minagi.
“Yes?”
“Would you mind
if I slept with you tonight?”
Well that was
quick, I thought wryly to myself.
“I only have one
bed in my room, Minagi. Don't you have a bed made up in Ayeka and
Sasami's room?”
“There is... but
I feel that I'll be safer in your room instead.”
“You sure?” I
said with a mildly warning tone. “Because sharing a bed with
another person has profound undertones, both here on Earth and on
Jyurai.”
“I don't mind,”
Minagi replied with a nervous smile. “You're... so nice to me.
Sasami is nice, too... and I guess the others are... but you're the
only one that will hold me like this. And... it feels nice.”
I sighed. “Alright
then. You can come with me. I'd be lying anyhow if I said that I
didn't find you attractive.” And then, to her surprise, I pecked
her on the cheek right before I got up.
There'll be hell
to pay in the morning, I thought to myself as Minagi jumped up
and grabbed ahold of me, making it tricky to walk down the boardwalk,
but it just might be worth it.
“WHAT IS THAT!?”
“HUH!?” I cried out, popping up like a pop-tart from the toaster.
And then I registered the sound – that of Megumi Hayashibara's
adorably bubbly voice filling the air with the opening theme from
Love Hina.
On the roof
looking up at the sky, the sunlight is beautiful
Looking up to
the sky, my whole body fills with energy
“That would be my alarm clock,” I said with a sheepish grin to a
wide-eyed Minagi.
That's so
wonderful! Just being alive!
Let's never stop
or give up
“You're kidding, right?”
“Nope.”
Say goodbye to
the confusion of yesterday
These feelings
are bubbling up and boiling over
No matter how
many times they come back, these flowers will bloom
Memories are
always a sweet place to retreat
But if you break
from them, you can live for tomorrow
A blessed time
has arrived, so reach out your hands
“A little bubbly, isn't it?”
“It helps put this place into perspective for me.”
“I guess I can
see that.”
This lovely and
gentle skin, these hands have not yet reached
If I close my
eyes this image expands, a fascinating seed
“Oh, no subtext
there!”
That's so
wonderful! Just being alive!
Let's never
stop, I want to see how it was before
“Oh hush you,”
I said as I smacked the snooze button at last. As much as I liked
hearing that song some mornings, I didn't want to give Minagi too
much ammo – she was feisty when she was firing on all cylinders...
albeit a friendly sort of feisty.
And then Minagi
sniffed at the air. “What's that smell?”
I smiled.
“Coffee.”
“Which is?”
“A brew of
roasted and ground beans that braces you for the day to come. It's
kinda salty and bitter straight-up, so a lot of people experiment
with different roasting styles, flavor infusions, sweeteners and
creamers. Care for a cup?”
“I guess. Ah...
do you have a toilet in here?”
“Through the
curtain, across the common space, and inside that alcove there. Door
is to the right.”
“Thanks,”
Minagi replied as she teleported to the spot I indicated. With a
smile, I scooted over to the foot of the bed and went down the ladder
of my loft bed.
Minagi, it turns
out, isn't much of a coffee person... until you put a good dollop of
amaretto cream in her breakfast blend, then she starts asking for
more.
I had to cut her
off at the second cup for fear that she'd turn into Calvin on a sugar
rush – there are just some things mortal men are not meant to see.
Besides, breakfast
was about ready by then.
“Ready to face
the music?” I asked.
Minagi sighed. “I
hope they don't make too big a deal out of this.”
I scoffed
bemusedly. “I did warn you last night.”
“You did,”
Minagi replied fatalistically. “Alright then... let's get this
over with.”
I opened the
door...
...And was promptly
tackled by Ryo-Ohki, who transformed from Cabbit to Cabbit-girl-form
mid-flight.
“Dooouuuf!” I
said succinctly as I went to the deck.
“Nya?” said
Ryo-Ohki questioningly. She then looked up and saw Minagi. “NYA!”
“OOF!” cried
out Minagi as she was gut-checked by the Cabbit-girl.
“Eeyeah,” I
drawled as I picked myself up. “She's energetic that way.”
“Ah, there you
are, dear brother,” came Ayeka's voice. “And I see you have
Minagi with you, too. Sasami will be glad to hear that – she was
worried when she didn't come back to bed last night.” Ayeka then
leaned over and whispered to my in Old High Jyuraian, “Dear
Brother, you haven't been tending the garden, have you?”
I did mention that
I was learning the language, did I not?
“Of course not,
beloved sister,” I replied in the same tongue. “While we find
each other attractive, we're not quite there yet. Really, she just
didn't want to sleep alone. Like a child after they have a bad
nightmare.”
Ayeka smiled at
that. “So I see.”
“What are you
guys talking about?” asked Minagi.
“Private family
joke,” I replied blithely in Japanese. “Trust me, you would have
had to have been there for it.”
Ayeka got the irony
of that statement right away and dissolved into a fit of
ill-suppressed giggles.
Minagi could only
blink in confusion as she said, “I guess so.”
Needless to say,
that second statement didn't help my sister any, either.
Momentarily, we
managed to get downstairs to the Kitchen with Ayeka back to normal.
“Yaaayyy!
Minagi's here!” creid out Sasami as she ran over and glomped
Minagi. “We're going to have so much fun today, Minagi!”
I grinned and
leaned over to Ayeka's side and whispered, falsetto-toned, in her ear
using Old High Jyuraian once more. Oh yes, I was going to abuse the
hell out of that.
“We're gonna play
dress up dolls, we're gonna paint our nails, and then we'll have a
tea party...”
Ayeka glared at me,
but she could quite keep the grin off her face as she smacked my
shoulder.
God, it felt good
to have a family again.
“So, you and
Minagi, huh?” asked Ryoko as we peeled potatoes together for the
night's dinner. Minagi herself was helping Sasami with preparing the
meat.
I shrugged. “I
like her, and she doesn't have a thing for Tenchi. Besides, I think
this sort of thing is new to her, so it'll probably help that if it
doesn't work out between us I won't let it become messy.”
“Maihty strong
words 'ere, pardner,” Ryoko replied in English with a southern
drawl.
I snorted at her
ribbing me. “I've had at least one relationship end on good
terms.”
“Oh? What
happened?”
I shrugged. “We
were going different directions. I was in the military, going from
one school to another, and then to a ship stationed in Japan, and she
was in college and had family issues. We simply agreed that it
wasn't meant to be and moved on with our lives... I'm still pretty
sure she was absolutely heart broken, though.”
Ryoko chuckled.
“Lady killer, eh?”
I scoffed. “As
if. I hardly ever got the time to go out and date anyone. And just
breaking the ice with a total stranger is the toughest part. It's
always easier if there's a third party to make the introductions.
But, with the few girls I did manage to get my foot in the door
with... Their reactions were the same all around. I was like a storm
that blew into their lives and completely turned everything upside
down.”
Ryoko snickered.
“I can see that, too! Oh man, Ayeka was right! Minagi never stood
a chance! I can't wait until I tell her.”
My eyebrows
levitated as I gave Ryoko a surprised look. “Gleeful admission to
The Princess that she was right about something?”
“Bah,” Ryoko
replied. “This is you we're talking about here. In maters
concerning a certain someone else... well, that's when things get
interesting.”
I rolled my eyes at
that one. “Yeah, in the ancient Chinese sense of the word.”
Ryoko flashed me a
grin. “And don't you forget it, buddy.”
Up next, Garrick drops another Code Pondstrider, but can Washu talk down Yakage?
If Garrick can prevent the Rain of Death, a techno-renaissance would take place that would surely make Earth into a techo-industrial juggernaut. Another consequence, though, is that it will probably slow their expansion since they won't quite have the same drive as before.
Anyhow, here's a little bit more.
That evening I sat
outside on the dock by myself with my iPad.
Having that was
both a joy and a sorrow. The tablet computer had more processing
power than most computers on Earth at this time do. But, because it
was so far ahead of its time there was no support available for it.
Anytime anything went wrong with it I was on my own.
Fortunately, it was
an Apple product, so very little went wrong with it anyhow.
Bundled up against
the cold, I was working on a plan of action to take against Yakage
when he would show up tomorrow. Granted, I wasn't laying out some
grand strategy, just some basic scenarios. I sighed as I paused to
stretch and gazed across the lake at Yosho's tree, Funaho.
“I know you like
me, Funaho, but why did you give me a seed to raise?”
“Who are you
talking to?”
I didn't jump –
you get used to people sneaking up on you here.
I turned to see who
it was and found Minagi hovering a few feet over me.
“Oh, hey Minagi.
Couldn't sleep?”
Minagi sighed.
“No. I talked to Sasami. She's real nice, wanting me to stay here
and be part of the family... but...”
“You're uneasy
about it,” I finished for her.
“Yeah. I know
she likes me, but I'm not to sure about everyone else here.”
“Well, like I
said before, we're all pretty friendly here... but sometimes you
gotta beat Ryoko back with a stick. Isn't that right, Ryoko?”
“BWAH!?” I
heard Ryoko shout behind me.
“EEYYYIIIEEE!”
squealed Minagi... who promptly dove... well, to my side, and tried
to make herself as small as possible to hide from Ryoko while
clinging to me for dear life.
I gave Ryoko an
exasperated look – sure enough, there she was with a ridiculously
huge mallet with kanji that read, 'Memory Restoration Hammer'.
“Ryoko, I have
got no idea where the hell you got that thing from, but I want
you to put it back right now!”
“Oh, c'mon
Gar-kun!” pouted Ryoko. “Don't be such a killjoy!”
“I mean it Ryoko.
You know that's not gonna help her and friends don't do that kind of
shit.”
“Oh fine!”
Ryoko grumped. “Did you really have to play the 'Friend' card?”
“Of course I did,
look at this poor girl, she's terrified out of her wits!”
I wrapped an arm
around Minagi as Ryoko came closer to get a better look at Minagi.
At first, Ryoko wore a disdainful expression and Minagi whimpered as
she came closer. Suddenly, Ryoko put on a scary face.
“BOOGA-BOOGA-BOOGA!”
Minagi screamed. I
hate to admit it, but she made it seem cute. Of course, all that
noise summoned help in a hurry.
“What the hell's
gotten into you Ryoko!” yelled Washu as she popped up from nowhere
and grabbed Ryoko by the ear. “You are coming back to the lab with
me and you're gonna explain to me, in detail, why you think hitting
Minagi over the head with that hammer is gonna fix things!”
Ryoko could only
splutter as Washu dragged her away.
I then turned to
Minagi who was still clinging to me, and wearing a face that was torn
between a fervent WTF, and bawling her eyes out. With one armed
coiled around her still, I gave Minagi a comforting hug.
“It'll be okay
Minagi. Ryoko will come around and before you know it you two will
be sisters.”
“But why does she
hate me so much?” whimpered Minagi.
I sighed. “Well,
it's because you knocked out her boyfriend and then nearly killed me
right before you lost your memory.”
“But... I don't
remember! I have no idea why I would do that! I don't understand
why you would even touch me after I did that.”
“Because you were
under programing at that time. And whatever Tenchi did to you wiped
that programming away completely. So, I'm being nice to you because
I see the real and true Minagi right now. And the real Minagi is a
very sweet girl that doesn't like doing mean things to people.”
Minagi gazed at me
for a short moment, then let go of me at last... but she didn't get
up. Instead, she shifted around so she was seated comfortably by me
and leaned her head on my shoulder.
“Thank you for
believing in me, Garrick.”
I said nothing. I
just gave her a squeeze with the arm that was still wrapped around
her. Minagi sighed contently and nothing more.
We watch the night
sky as the clouds scudded by for a few minutes in quiet contentment
until I noticed that my eyes were starting to get heavy.
“Minagi?” I
said with a yawn.
“Hmmm?” she
said, herself sounding sleepy as well.
“I need to get to
bed. And I think you do as well.”
“Ah, Garrick?”
asked Minagi.
“Yes?”
“Would you mind
if I slept with you tonight?”
Well that was
quick, I thought wryly to myself.
“I only have one
bed in my room, Minagi. Don't you have a bed made up in Ayeka and
Sasami's room?”
“There is... but
I feel that I'll be safer in your room instead.”
“You sure?” I
said with a mildly warning tone. “Because sharing a bed with
another person has profound undertones, both here on Earth and on
Jyurai.”
“I don't mind,”
Minagi replied with a nervous smile. “You're... so nice to me.
Sasami is nice, too... and I guess the others are... but you're the
only one that will hold me like this. And... it feels nice.”
I sighed. “Alright
then. You can come with me. I'd be lying anyhow if I said that I
didn't find you attractive.” And then, to her surprise, I pecked
her on the cheek right before I got up.
There'll be hell
to pay in the morning, I thought to myself as Minagi jumped up
and grabbed ahold of me, making it tricky to walk down the boardwalk,
but it just might be worth it.
“WHAT IS THAT!?”
“HUH!?” I cried out, popping up like a pop-tart from the toaster.
And then I registered the sound – that of Megumi Hayashibara's
adorably bubbly voice filling the air with the opening theme from
Love Hina.
On the roof
looking up at the sky, the sunlight is beautiful
Looking up to
the sky, my whole body fills with energy
“That would be my alarm clock,” I said with a sheepish grin to a
wide-eyed Minagi.
That's so
wonderful! Just being alive!
Let's never stop
or give up
“You're kidding, right?”
“Nope.”
Say goodbye to
the confusion of yesterday
These feelings
are bubbling up and boiling over
No matter how
many times they come back, these flowers will bloom
Memories are
always a sweet place to retreat
But if you break
from them, you can live for tomorrow
A blessed time
has arrived, so reach out your hands
“A little bubbly, isn't it?”
“It helps put this place into perspective for me.”
“I guess I can
see that.”
This lovely and
gentle skin, these hands have not yet reached
If I close my
eyes this image expands, a fascinating seed
“Oh, no subtext
there!”
That's so
wonderful! Just being alive!
Let's never
stop, I want to see how it was before
“Oh hush you,”
I said as I smacked the snooze button at last. As much as I liked
hearing that song some mornings, I didn't want to give Minagi too
much ammo – she was feisty when she was firing on all cylinders...
albeit a friendly sort of feisty.
And then Minagi
sniffed at the air. “What's that smell?”
I smiled.
“Coffee.”
“Which is?”
“A brew of
roasted and ground beans that braces you for the day to come. It's
kinda salty and bitter straight-up, so a lot of people experiment
with different roasting styles, flavor infusions, sweeteners and
creamers. Care for a cup?”
“I guess. Ah...
do you have a toilet in here?”
“Through the
curtain, across the common space, and inside that alcove there. Door
is to the right.”
“Thanks,”
Minagi replied as she teleported to the spot I indicated. With a
smile, I scooted over to the foot of the bed and went down the ladder
of my loft bed.
Minagi, it turns
out, isn't much of a coffee person... until you put a good dollop of
amaretto cream in her breakfast blend, then she starts asking for
more.
I had to cut her
off at the second cup for fear that she'd turn into Calvin on a sugar
rush – there are just some things mortal men are not meant to see.
Besides, breakfast
was about ready by then.
“Ready to face
the music?” I asked.
Minagi sighed. “I
hope they don't make too big a deal out of this.”
I scoffed
bemusedly. “I did warn you last night.”
“You did,”
Minagi replied fatalistically. “Alright then... let's get this
over with.”
I opened the
door...
...And was promptly
tackled by Ryo-Ohki, who transformed from Cabbit to Cabbit-girl-form
mid-flight.
“Dooouuuf!” I
said succinctly as I went to the deck.
“Nya?” said
Ryo-Ohki questioningly. She then looked up and saw Minagi. “NYA!”
“OOF!” cried
out Minagi as she was gut-checked by the Cabbit-girl.
“Eeyeah,” I
drawled as I picked myself up. “She's energetic that way.”
“Ah, there you
are, dear brother,” came Ayeka's voice. “And I see you have
Minagi with you, too. Sasami will be glad to hear that – she was
worried when she didn't come back to bed last night.” Ayeka then
leaned over and whispered to my in Old High Jyuraian, “Dear
Brother, you haven't been tending the garden, have you?”
I did mention that
I was learning the language, did I not?
“Of course not,
beloved sister,” I replied in the same tongue. “While we find
each other attractive, we're not quite there yet. Really, she just
didn't want to sleep alone. Like a child after they have a bad
nightmare.”
Ayeka smiled at
that. “So I see.”
“What are you
guys talking about?” asked Minagi.
“Private family
joke,” I replied blithely in Japanese. “Trust me, you would have
had to have been there for it.”
Ayeka got the irony
of that statement right away and dissolved into a fit of
ill-suppressed giggles.
Minagi could only
blink in confusion as she said, “I guess so.”
Needless to say,
that second statement didn't help my sister any, either.
Momentarily, we
managed to get downstairs to the Kitchen with Ayeka back to normal.
“Yaaayyy!
Minagi's here!” creid out Sasami as she ran over and glomped
Minagi. “We're going to have so much fun today, Minagi!”
I grinned and
leaned over to Ayeka's side and whispered, falsetto-toned, in her ear
using Old High Jyuraian once more. Oh yes, I was going to abuse the
hell out of that.
“We're gonna play
dress up dolls, we're gonna paint our nails, and then we'll have a
tea party...”
Ayeka glared at me,
but she could quite keep the grin off her face as she smacked my
shoulder.
God, it felt good
to have a family again.
“So, you and
Minagi, huh?” asked Ryoko as we peeled potatoes together for the
night's dinner. Minagi herself was helping Sasami with preparing the
meat.
I shrugged. “I
like her, and she doesn't have a thing for Tenchi. Besides, I think
this sort of thing is new to her, so it'll probably help that if it
doesn't work out between us I won't let it become messy.”
“Maihty strong
words 'ere, pardner,” Ryoko replied in English with a southern
drawl.
I snorted at her
ribbing me. “I've had at least one relationship end on good
terms.”
“Oh? What
happened?”
I shrugged. “We
were going different directions. I was in the military, going from
one school to another, and then to a ship stationed in Japan, and she
was in college and had family issues. We simply agreed that it
wasn't meant to be and moved on with our lives... I'm still pretty
sure she was absolutely heart broken, though.”
Ryoko chuckled.
“Lady killer, eh?”
I scoffed. “As
if. I hardly ever got the time to go out and date anyone. And just
breaking the ice with a total stranger is the toughest part. It's
always easier if there's a third party to make the introductions.
But, with the few girls I did manage to get my foot in the door
with... Their reactions were the same all around. I was like a storm
that blew into their lives and completely turned everything upside
down.”
Ryoko snickered.
“I can see that, too! Oh man, Ayeka was right! Minagi never stood
a chance! I can't wait until I tell her.”
My eyebrows
levitated as I gave Ryoko a surprised look. “Gleeful admission to
The Princess that she was right about something?”
“Bah,” Ryoko
replied. “This is you we're talking about here. In maters
concerning a certain someone else... well, that's when things get
interesting.”
I rolled my eyes at
that one. “Yeah, in the ancient Chinese sense of the word.”
Ryoko flashed me a
grin. “And don't you forget it, buddy.”
Up next, Garrick drops another Code Pondstrider, but can Washu talk down Yakage?