Re: The Great Library

[kyte]

"Yeah hmmmm well i don't see anything." Kyte says as he trips over the trap door and faceplants into the ground. "that hurt like hell."

[zergio]

Will entered the library. He was looking for a good book to pass some time with, since he had nothing better to do.

[SamSeven]

Despite having asked someone about the library a long time ago, she hadn't come until now. It was pretty much what she had been expecting - most libraries were essentially the same.

She walked among the shelves browsing for nothing in particular. Sometimes that was the best way to find exactly what you were looking for.

[kotaro7914]

Kotaro examined the trap door. It was disquised as a small table. “This has his coat of arms on it, so this must be where he hid it.” Kotaro lifetd the table, taking the floor off with it. The sound it made echoed through the library. There was a large thick book underneath it. Kotaro picked it up and read the author. “This is it, this is Garshers DNA multiplication research.” Kotaro opened the book, revealing drawings of strange machines and transmutation circles. Kotaro read a passage of the book before closing it. “Crazy Bastard! He created those souless copies by using alchemy. Thats human transmutation!” Kotaro thought a bit. “I am one of the copies, do I have a soul?”

[SamSeven]

A strange sound bounced off the shelves and she hurried toward it.

That Kotaro person was at a small table - talking to himself, as seems to be a common trait among most of the poeple I meet - with a small book in hand. All she has heard in her hurry to this spot had been 'Do I have a soul??', so she pressed herself up against the shelf that was behind her and decided on a way to seem like she hadn't just stumbled upon something she might not have been meant to see.

[kotaro7914]

Out of anger, Kotaro threw the book at the wall. “Damn it all to hell!” Kotaro picked up the table and threw that well. “First I find out I'm a copy of someone, then I find out the original me is dead, and know I may not have a soul!” Kotaro went over to the book and picked it up. “You bastard from hell!” The transmutation circle on his right arm glowed as he transmuted the book into a smaller form. He placed it in his bag.

[SamSeven]

Well....I suppose there's not a whole lot of ways to avoid this...

She walked out from behind the bookshelf as casually as possible, and surveyed the scene. "Are you going to be alright, over here??" She asked, looking at the shattered remnants of a table.

[kotaro7914]

Kotaro turned to the new voice. “Dwyrin?” Kotaro sat down on the now tabless chair. He placed his hand on his head. “I'll manage.How much did you hear?”

[SamSeven]

"Hmm...Mostly, a lot of banging," she replied, evasively, "something about souls. Do you think it will rain today??" She put her hands behind her back, and turned to look out a nearby window.

[kyte]

Kyte stod back up. "Well you must have a soul if you feelings and if you can feel pain cause that's what the heart makes up." Kyte said he then used his alchemy to have a metal blade up to samseven's throat. he walked up. "Are you friend or foe?" He asked simply

[kotaro7914]

Kotaro grabbed Kytes arm and lowered it. "She's a friend Kyte, don't worry. Kyte, Dwryin,-Dwryin, Kyte."

[kyte]

(ok i posted that when she thought that kotaro was alone AND when she backed into the bookcase i explained it to Kotaro today)

[kyte]

"It's nice to meet you ..." Kyte said in a dark tone still sad about what had happened not too long ago

[SamSeven]

She raised an eyebrow at the newcomer, Kyte. "Could have fooled me with that greeting. What an unpleasant person you seem to be," she observed in light tones that did not match her expression.

[kotaro7914]

Kotaro smiled. “Don't worry about Kyte. He's just a little irritated right now.” He turned to her. “And I know your lying. There is no way you could not have heard everything with the way I was screaming.”

[SamSeven]

She smiled at his bluntness. "What part of what I said was a lie?? I did hear a lot of banging."

[kotaro7914]

“You heard more then you let on didn't you?” Kotaro knew she had to of heard the whole thing. She had emerged from behind a bookshelf, an obvious clue she had been listening in, if not the whole thing, then when he threw the table. “You were watching from behind the bookcase for a bit, werent you?”

[SamSeven]

"I usually do. Comes with the territory, you know??" Looking down at the shattered remnants of what was once a perfectly usable table, she sighed and pulled over a chair from nearby, and sat.

Abandoning the pretense of ignorance, she casually asked, "So who are you a copy of??"

[kotaro7914]

Kotaro pulled up a chair as well. “I am the bi-product of the failed cloning procedure of Kotaro Kuya, a deceased state alchemist and traveling merchant. He was killed by his superiors so they could test the cloning program. He and multiple others were cloned many times, all turning out to be failures. They could create the body, but couldnt get a reaction.” Kotaro opened the book he had recovered. “They couldnt get the clones to do anything. They lacked what makes a human, human. A soul. Then I came along. I retained the memories of the origonal Kotaro, inheriting his skills, traits, and personality. This allowed the military to use me as a pawn in the previous Ishval uprising.” Kotaro closed the book. “After my term in the war, I left the military. They never expected me to find out the truth. But my old C.O. Garsher, who wrote this book, couldnt let me go. He chased me down and tried to kill me. Instead, he died and lead me to the truth.” Kotaro shook his head. “This is a lot to try to understand, so I'll repeat myself if need be. The only thing now is...” Kotaro waved the book around. “...Do I have a soul?”

[SamSeven]

Dwyrin tried to remember as many details as possible and log them away for later use.

Kotaro's ending question gave her pause. Did he have a soul?? Well, there was all sorts of technicalities to be considered before she could even start to contemplate that, wasn't there?? Instead of the scientific/alchemic answer she might try to provide, she went with something less precise, but just as true.

"Does it matter??" Looking him in the eyes, she continued. "You are someone, aren't you?? You may not be the exact same Kotaro Kuya who once was, but from my point of view - for example, you are the only Kotaro Kuya who's ever existed."

[kotaro7914]

Kotaro contemplated her response for a moment. It was true in a way. He had met new people who had thought he was the real Kotaro, even when he thought he was. He told a lot of his friends about this new condition, and they seemed to not care. Did it matter that he was just a clone?

"Your right Dwryin." He said finally. "I guess it doesn't really matter if I am the real one or not. I am here, and I plan to stay."

Kotaro still had his doubts though. When he had thought through her response, it came to him on how he managed to get the memories of the original Kotaro when the other clones didn't. What was different between him and the other clones that were created? He opened the book and skimmed through it, finding nothing. "Damn, nothing. Wait-" Kotaro noticed that the last page of the book was thicker then the others in the book. It also seemed darker then the others. "He fused the pages?" Kotaro placed his automail arm on the page and transmuted the page into multiple layers, causing the page to revert to 3 extra pages. "What is this?"

The first page had Kotaro's serial number on the top. Underneath was a diagram of a ball of light and a human body. An arrow was pointing from the ball to the body. A transmutation circle surrounded the whole diagram.

The second and third pages seemed to be entries in a journal belonging to Garsher.

Entry 7:

The project B.G. Hazkam approved has been fruitless for all but one clone. Clone B-15 has been growing slower then the rest, seeming to grow at the rate of a normal human. Unlike the others, this one seems to respond when in human contact. Further experiments are needed to discover why.

Entry 8:

B-15 has reached the age of 16. He seems to carry the memories of the original subject, a trait not found in the others. It seems he doesn't contain the memories of us killing the original subject. Hazkam has ordered us to erase the records of Kotaro's military records to keep the brass from finding out.

Entry 9:

Hazkam had tampered with B-15 while he was growing using alchemy. Human transmutation failed, but he managed to attach Kotaro's soul to the clone by linking it through B-15's serial number tattoo. This explains how he attained the memories of the original subject. This may be a breakthrough for military history to finally destroy the resistance.

Kotaro dropped the book to the floor, his head spinning from confusion.

[SamSeven]

"Glad to hear it, Ko," she told him when he said he was here to stay.

Then something about his book seemed to confuse him and she walked over to him to get a better look. After a bit of mumbling to himself and some reading, Kotaro dropped the book to the floor and stared off into nothing, swaying slightly in his seat.

"Kotaro??" When no response was forthcoming, she picked the book up off the floor and flipped to the pages he had unstuck. B-15?? Ah, Kotaro, must be...
Destroy the- no way.

In the back of her mind a little warning sign went off. Not of danger neccessarily. But of value. For the first time in a long time, she ignored it and sat back down. She pulled her chair closer (Not close enough to be within his reach - she had come across this habit through hard experience), and waved her hand in front of the kids face. "Hey??"

[kyte]

Kyte had been sitting down reading some books for a while when he got up. "Yo Kotaro i'm gonna go i need to get some stuff off my mind." Kyte said and he then left.

(out)

[kotaro7914]

Kotaro shook his head, clearing his thoughts. “Huh?” He looked back at Dwryin, seeing she had read the pages.

[SamSeven]

"Where did you get this book?!" she asked, handing it to him.

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