|
This page, The KidVegeta Anthology/Be a Man/741 Age, is property of KidVegeta. |
741 Age[]
| Postcard
Correspondence-------------------------------------------------Address | |
|---|---|
| 3/31/741 Age
Dear Samuel, The past few months have been a whirlwind. Dr. Gero pushed us to the absolute physical limits of our bodies. Only a few of us have proved to be pure enough for the egghead's experiments, though. Me and Gero's son, Nagiri, both passed! We're in the elite group of Red Ribbon soldiers who got the biological enhancements. My surgery was four days ago. I got a psychic implant in my brain. Nagiri got some reflex boosters. After we heal up, Commander Red is going to send us on a mission to test out our new powers! I'm so excited. I have been lying here in bed just itching to move something with my mind! But the doctors say I can't try until my wounds have healed up. I'm getting pretty impatient! How's life back home? Is dad doing better? Is mom still all stressed out? How's school? Write me back when you get the chance. Love, Lukas |
Samuel Blue NTH 814502 CCR North City
|
| Postcard
Correspondence-------------------------------------------------Address | |
|---|---|
| 08/08/741 Age
Dear Samuel, It's been a while since I've written you. Commander Red has taken command of those of us who got the bio implants. He's calling us the Red Ribbon Elite. I like it; the name has an elegant feel to it. We have been doing some dark ops for him since we healed up. I can't talk too much about them, but it's been rather crazy. Nagiri is so fast. I've never seen a human move like he can. I have been working with my implant, but it takes a lot of concentration. I can only move small things right now, but it's getting better every day. Next week, Commander Red is deploying us to the far west of the world. We're going to disable a few Capsule Corp. manufacturing plants. They're some rival group of ours. I'm not exactly sure, but I think they're the ones who produce all those dynocaps that are all the craze right now. I don't expect this operation to be very dangerous, so I should be back relatively soon. If Commander Red allows it, I will return home for the holidays. How's life back home, little bro? What's high school like? Are you having fun? How's the art going? Write me when you can, and please stay safe, Sammy. Love, Lukas |
Samuel Blue NTH 814502 CCR North City
|
| Postcard
Correspondence-------------------------------------------------Address | |
|---|---|
| 12/11/741 Age
Dear Samuel, I'm back at Muscle Tower. It's been snowing a lot. Our mission to the Capsule Corp. manufacturing plants didn't go so well. We destroyed one of the buildings, but then we were ambushed by some guards. There were more than anyone thought there would be. We were completely outnumbered. My friend, Nagiri, is dead. I tried to save him, but there were just too many guards. I don't know what I could have done… but there had to be something. Maybe if I was a better shot or quicker or if I had trained with my psychic abilities more. I don't know. I don't know what to do, Sammy. He was my only friend here. Dr. Gero is taking it pretty hard too. He hasn't come down to check up on my implant since the mission. Only a few of us survived it, so Commander Red is dissolving the Red Ribbon Elite. I'm back in General White's army. I'm not sure what to do. I bought myself some roses to cheer myself up, but it isn't helping. Hope things are going better at home. I miss you all. Love, Lukas |
Samuel Blue NTH 814502 CCR North City
|
Endnotes:
- There are so few postcards in this year (and none next year) because Samuel is gone. Lukas doesn't know that yet, but since he's not receiving responses, there's no conversation going on. He's still updating Samuel, hoping that his brother is still reading what he is sending him, but he's doing it less frequently and in larger chunks because he's not getting responses.
- Nagiri's name is a pun on the Nigiri sushi. This is because in certain dubs, Dr. Gero's first name is "Maki", which is the name of another type of sushi.
- I like the idea of the Red Ribbon Elite. That they are physically-enhanced beings makes them seem like superheroes (or supervillains, depending on your point of view).
- Capsule Corp. and the Red Ribbon Army were direct rivals in the automobile market. This is why Blue was tasked with disrupting them.
- Blue calls capsules "dynocaps" as a nod to Dragon Ball, where they were called dynocaps more often than capsules.
- Blue saying he doesn't think the mission will be dangerous is misdirection, but any astute reader should realize that it means disaster is about to take place.
- I was in a weird emotional place when writing this story. I had just completed a workout and seen the article about Miley Cyrus sending that video message to her dying fan. I don't know how to describe how I felt about it all. The second line of the third postcard "It's been snowing a lot" probably is the best way to describe it. In that postcard, Blue is dealing with grief of his own. He doesn't confront it. Instead, he talks about the weather, which seems to mirror his emotions anyway. He's talking about how he feels in an indirect, metaphorical way. It's one of the more beautiful postcards in this story because of that.
- Nagiri was killed by Capsule Corp. guards, effectively portraying Capsule Corp. as evil, even though we know they aren't. It's cool to get a different perspective on them.
- Notice that Blue says Nagiri was his only friend. No mention of Dark. Dark will become important again later, but it's clear that Blue doesn't see him as a friend at this point.
- In the last postcard, Lukas notes that Dr. Gero is taking the death of his son hard. In The Perfect Lifeform, Gero speculates that he has hidden his grief well from everyone. This is a cool, subtle reference to TPL, and shows what an unreliable narrator Gero can be. It also shows that one's perception of their own emotional output may be different from the reality of it.
- Lukas bought himself some roses, because he loves roses, as shown in Dragon Ball.
- The third postcard's date (12/11) is my mother's birthday.