Chapter 5: Knowledge Is Power
Somewhere in the 14th District, in a room on the second floor of a suburban house.
[Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!]
The sound of the alarm clock jolted Grimzna awake, and Peter, who was also sleeping, began to wake up. Grimzna grabbed his swords and got up from the floor. He went to the bed and started to shake Peter awake.
“Oy, wake up.”
“M..o….rnin……oh, morning!”
“I’m not deaf, you don’t have to greet me so loudly.”
“Sorry, haha. I was just surprised.”
“Why are you surprised? Haven’t we agreed that I could take shelter at your place last night.”
“Yeah, never mind. I thought last night was a dream, it’s fine.”
“You’re not dreaming, kid. I flew you back from the park last night, and you vomited when you first met me.”
“I remember those clearly, yes…”
“I want to know, is there a library in your world?”
“Yeah, there is. Do you want to go there?”
“Yes, the library may contain information I need.”
“What sort of information do you need?”
“Anything that would help me better understand this world. I haven’t figured out what kind of world I am in right now.”
“Uhm, we don’t actually have to go to the library if it’s that kind of information you want. We can just stay in my room.”
“Huh? Does your room serve as a storage for archives from your world?”
“What? No! Hahahaha!!!”
“Then what is it?”
Peter laughed as he pointed towards his desk, where his personal computer sat.
“We can just search for any info you want on that.”
“That rectangular glowing looking thing?”
“Yup, it’s a computer. Anything you want to know is on there.”
Peter leaped off his bed and headed over to his desk. He pressed the button on his computer case, causing the monitor to light up, and his CPU powered up.
“This kind of stuff doesn’t exist in your world, right?”
“No, it does not. It’s my first time seeing it.”
“Yeah, I think magic fantasy world usually doesn’t have this kind of stuff.”
“What is it made of?”
“The CPU?”
“No, the whole thing.”
“I don’t know, probably a mix of plastic, metal, gold, all that stuff.”
“What is it powered by?”
“Electricity.”
Peter show Grimzna all the cables connected to his computer, all the way to the power socket.
“Most of the devices in our world are powered with electricity.”
“So electricity is the primary energy sources in your world?”
“Yup, pretty much.”
Grimzna silently thought – "Heh, Rael would be thrilled to know that somewhere out there, his power is of great use." Grimzna chuckled as he entertained himself with the thought of it.
“Hmm?”
“Nothing, just thought of something amusing. Not important. So how do we get information out of this thing?”
“Here, you use this thing called a mouse to control what you want to click on the screen. There are many search engines to choose from, many others prefer to use Noodle, but I prefer Firebox myself.”
“Is there any difference between these [search engines]?”
“Yes, the information they could find may be different, algorithm and whatnot.”
“I see, then I guess I’ll just ask my questions.”
“Wait, now that I think about it, I remembered I wanted to ask you some questions last night, right?”
“Uh…yeah, but you fell asleep. I’ll answer yours again when I’m finished with mine.”
“Hmmmm…alright then. So what do you want to know, with Firebox, all of your questions about this world can be answered easily.
Grimzna's curiosity knew no bounds as he asked Peter with an endless stream of questions, all centered around Earth. He inquired about the origins of Earth, its history, how the world functions, and the underlying forces that sustain it. Some questions were so fundamental that Peter could answer them based on common knowledge from his world. However, for the more intricate and specific inquiries, Peter relied on the search engine to provide accurate and detailed responses.
“Very interesting…”
“Oh, really? I was a hundred percent sure that you would find my world boring and gave up asking about it halfway.”
“Boring? No, I find it fascinating actually. A world that could live on without magic.”
“Good for you then, personally, I think I would find your world more fasc –”
Peter’s door was suddenly banged on repeatedly. It was his sister, yelling at Peter.
“Wake up, Peter! You pile of lazybones!!”
“It’s almost noon! Get down and have your lunch!"
Peter's initial excitement quickly turned into annoyance, and he yelled back in response.
“I was already awake, I just didn’t come down to have breakfast because I was busy!”
“Yeah, sure! Busy doing fuck all!”
Grimzna took a seat on the chair, observing the siblings' quarrel. After it came to an end, Peter turned and looked at Grimzna.
“Sorry, that was my sister, Melissa. The one that locked us out last night.”
“It’s fine, you should go eat first.”
“Yeah, do you want some too?”
“Yes, that would be nice.”
“Alright, wait here. I’ll bring the food up here. You can use my computer to search up any questions you may have first.”
Peter left his room and went downstairs. Now alone in the room, Grimzna decided to use the computer to search for keywords related to his world.
[Agromoth]
[Ceania]
[Ocara]
Still getting accustomed to using a computer. Grimzna slowly typed in various names, titles, and descriptions of individuals from his world, including his own.
[Short blonde hair guy with spear]
[Greatest wizard of the century]
[Hellhound of Ceania]
[Short military black hair girl with a spear and a sword]
Despite his efforts, most searches yielded no relevant results. However, there was one exception.
[Violet hair girl with green blade]
Among the irrelevant pictures that popped up, Grimzna was surprised to find something that matched what he was looking for. It was the pictures of a girl wearing samurai armor painted in red, wielding a green glowing katana. The illustration of the girl in the pictures resembled very much to someone from his world.
Peter now had returned from lunch and brought a plate of rice with a mix of vegetables and meat, along with a large glass of water.
“Here, these are for you.”
“Thanks.”
“So what did you find when I was downstairs?”
“Can you explain why this showed up, kid?”
Grimzna gestured towards the screen to show he had found on the screen.
“Oh, I think that’s the main character of a comic. Emerald Blade, I think?”
“Emerald Blade?”
“Yeah, it’s a comic about a samurai girl wielding a green glowing blade. It’s a pretty classic comic. I didn’t think your world would have comic.”
“Comic? No, our world does not have that.”
Grimzna began to eat his meal while simultaneously conversing with Peter.
“It’s something like a story book, except it has pictures, filled with dialogues.”
Peter excitedly grabbed a book from his bookshelf and eagerly showed it to Grimzna, using it as an example to explain the concept of a comic book.
“So they are not real?”
“Yeah, they are usually fictional. You know, made up!”
“Quite different from ours, we have story books in our world but the story, although sometimes largely exaggerated, they are often something that had happened in the past.”
“We have those too, we just call them history book.”
As Grimzna and Peter conversed, exchanging information, and comparing elements of their respective worlds, Grimzna noticed a common trait in Peter's questions. His questions primarily sought confirmation regarding the existence of objects or creatures in Grimzna's world.
“You know, for someone that was surprised of my existence, you seem to know a lot of details from my world.”
“Haha, that’s because magical world is one of the genres that exists in our story books. We call them fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, you name it! In our story books, world like yours is typically set in the medieval age with magic.”
“I see, so that’s why you asked me if dragons exist in my world.”
“Yeah, dragons, phoenix, griffons. These are all mythical creatures appear in the magical fantasy world. Although now that you actually exist, I guess it’s not really considered as fantasy anymore.”
“So, theoretically asking, if I’m discovered by your world, what would happen to me?”
“That’s hard to say, but people would probably be curious about you, some would perhaps fear your existence, but the scientists would most likely be excited of your existence, haha. Your existence could bring an adverse effect on our society and scientific understanding. The government would definitely try to hide you from public if possible and determine if you are peaceful.”
“And if I’m not?”
“They will probably try to capture you and locked you somewhere else for study. When I say study, it means running experiments and trials on you that may be considered unethical. I don't know, that's what I heard from people at least.”
[Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!]
Both Grimzna and Peter looked at the clock that was emitting the sound.
“Oh! It’s time for my Uni class!”
Peter hurriedly packed his bag as Grimzna watched him move around the room, gathering the items he needed for his class.
“I have to go to my class, I’ll be back in a few hours! Will you be alright on your own?”
“Yes, I’ll be fine.”
“Okay, stay in my room and don’t go anywhere else. I haven’t told my family about you, so they might think you are burglar if they find you in the house. Lock the door after I’m out, see you later!”
After Peter left the room, Grimzna locked the door and began contemplating what Peter had said. He pondered the potential consequences if he were ever to be discovered by the inhabitants of Earth.
Feeling a sense of unease from the potential consequences Peter had mentioned. He decided to use Peter's computer to search for information about the weapons of war that humans possessed. He wanted to understand their capabilities and any potential threats he might face if discovered on Earth.
Grimzna sat in front of the screen, watching countless videos showcasing the extensive range of weapons used by humans throughout history and into the present. From firearms and artillery to tanks, aircraft, and even nuclear weapons, he watched them all.
“*sigh* It seems I have nothing to worry about…”
“Their nuclear weapons pose the only significant threat to me, but it appears manufacturing them comes at a high cost.”
“Looks to me, I would be more of a threat to them than they are to me…I wonder how would Earth reacts if I decide to wage war against them…?”
An ominous and wicked grin spread across Grimzna's lips, as he gave in more thoughts to this idea.
