Chapter 7

Chapter 7

{A/N: Next chapter will be the pertrification.}

Deep within an airtight lab, a well-built thirteen-year-old girl worked intently at a monitor. Dressed in a delicate skirt with long leggings underneath, she wore a simple t-shirt that clung to her frame. Over it, she wore a black lab coat styled to resemble a long overcoat.

In front of her, delicate electronics whirred softly as they responded to her deft movements. Feeling the growing onset of hunger, Zoe pushed herself to reach a stopping point. When she finally did, she breathed a sigh of relief and stepped back.

Wiping her hands, she locked the equipment before exiting the airtight room. Moving to a nearby kitchen where she grabbed a pre-prepared meal from the fridge. While eating, she checked the messages on her phone.

Three messages caught her interest. The first was from her adoptive father, inviting her to see his latest project. Opening the messenger app, she sent him a message agreeing to visit.

The second message was a simple invitation to an upcoming tournament. After her initial victory over two years ago at the Kyoketsu-shoge tournament, she had become a rising icon in the martial arts community.

"Accept," she said. Her verbal cue activated a basic AI she had been developing. Instantly, the AI drafted a response email that she reviewed before sending.

The final message was an invitation to a news show. Apparently, the producers were trying to assemble talented young individuals from around the country for an interview.

"Decline," she instructed her AI. She had no interest in pointless showboating, preferring to focus on her projects. Finishing her snack, she cleaned up before heading back into the sealed construction room, eager to begin testing her new reactor.

***************************

A day and a half later, Zoe sat in the passenger seat of a car. Behind her, Senku was engrossed in one of the encyclopedias she had gifted him for his birthday.

"So what's this project of yours, Dad?" she asked, turning to the driver.

Chuckling, her adoptive father kept his eyes on the road while considering his answer. "I was actually inspired by your work. I think you'll love it—I managed to get help from some top experts from different countries."

Rolling her eyes at her dad's typical vagueness, she returned to her phone. On the screen, research articles and digitized textbooks flicked past at a speed only her enhanced brain could comprehend.

After a few minutes of driving, Byakuya pulled the car into a private lot before turning to the two young geniuses.

"Come on, guys. We're here. Put your books down for a second."

Sighing, Zoe tapped a button to halt the program on her phone. She turned it off and slipped it into her pocket before looking to the backseat, where her twelve-year-old brother put down his book and undid his seatbelt.

Getting out of the car, Zoe stretched briefly before surveying her surroundings. Pristine buildings stretched in all directions, each a different shape and size with only one unifying feature: a small sign that read 'JAXA.'

She gave her dad a questioning look. "How long has the Japanese space program been funding this university?"

Waving his hand in a so-so gesture, he ushered the kids toward the closest building. "They've been funding it for about a year and a half now. They actually started after I was accepted into the space program. The executives thought my project was worth the investment."

Nodding along to his explanation, the small group finally reached a closed-off lab within the building. Pushing open the door, Zoe's eyes immediately settled on what she assumed was his project. On a pedestal rested the upper portion of a woman's torso and head—not a real one, but a mechanical replica.

Both young geniuses crowded around the model, bombarding their father with questions. Standing behind them, Byakuya sweated nervously as they verbally deconstructed his project.

"Um... kids, that's not my project," he interrupted. "That's just a model I used to get funding."

He moved to the side of the room and stood next to a shoddily assembled box that looked like a mishmash of different parts. On top, two sensors pointed out into the room, and just below them, a sticker read 'Rei 23.'

Examining the mismatched robot, Zoe quickly deduced its function and purpose. "I'm guessing this little robot is designed for use in zero-g? I can understand how your model draws inspiration from my work, but I'm not sure how this does."

Eager to explain, Byakuya tapped away at a keyboard. The little robot powered up and monitors flickered on, lines of code rapidly scrolling across them.

"I was inspired by your work on Bots," he explained. "I figured if you could build an AI-powered robot dog to fetch stuff around the house, then why couldn't I build something to help astronauts on the ISS?"

Her eyes scanned the rapidly flickering code, quickly grasping the inner workings of the robot. Tapping her chin in thought, she ignored the casual conversation between her dad and brother as she tried to understand what she was seeing.

When she reached a point where the unique parts of the code started looping, she filled in the blanks. "This is actually a pretty good little AI you've got here. Quick question, though—what type of algorithm did you use for the base? From what I'm seeing, it looks like one I considered a while back. If it is, I made some improvements to that formula that massively increase its performance."

Walking over to stand beside her, Byakuya gave her a serious look that quickly shifted to embarrassment as he scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry to say, Zoe, but I have no idea. I told you already that I got help from people around the world for this. All I did was make the hardware."

Chuckling, Zoe gave her dad a knowing look before rolling her eyes and turning back to the little robot. "I'm actually not too surprised by that, old man. Either way, I'll send you a copy of my work, which you can forward to whoever you have working on this."

Smiling gratefully, Byakuya turned back to Senku as the two resumed their debate. Meanwhile, Zoe approached the robot's sensors with a knowing look on her face. Crouching down, she looked directly into the sensors, an unreadable glint in her eyes.

A few minutes later, the group wrapped up their excursion and headed home.

***************************

Deep within her lab, a sixteen-year-old Zoe sighed in frustration. Looking over the monitor, she wracked her brain to determine what had gone wrong. Sighing again, she spoke aloud to the empty laboratory.

"Miniature fusion reactor attempt 157—failure."

A beep sounded overhead as a digital voice confirmed the recording. Zoe turned back to her work; she had been working on this project for years now. Originally, it started with her attempting to make a high-yield battery for her androids.

The battery part of the project had been a complete success. Hoping to improve it further, she had delved into nuclear options, which led her to both fission and fusion—both of which she had successfully implemented on a large scale.

The problem troubling her now was how to miniaturize the reactors to a portable size. Sighing, she pushed away from her desk and stood up as her swivel chair collided with the far wall. Walking past the intricate console, she typed in a long pin code to enter the main chamber.

Donning a protective suit, she moved inside and retrieved a complex mechanical orb about fifteen centimetres in diameter. Disconnecting the hundreds of wires holding it in place, she turned and headed back to the door.

She dropped the failed reactor into a receptacle by the door, entered the decontamination room, and removed her suit. Checking the Geiger counter to confirm there were no spills, she pushed open the door and stepped back into the control room.

Barely slowing, she stormed out and into the small kitchen just down the hall. Sitting at the table, her robot dog Bots brought her a sandwich, which she glumly devoured.

Taking out her phone, she cycled through her emails, ignoring the spam and briefly considering a few from up-and-coming scientists before growing bored. She was about to put her phone down when a new email arrived—another invitation to the Nobel Prize ceremony.

Ignoring it, she set her phone down and leaned back in her chair, her mind adrift as she pondered her work from every conceivable angle.

"Urgh, I need a break," she muttered. "Maybe I should go to school for once? Nah, I'll go find a random gym to work out at."

Rising from her chair, she stretched lightly before contemplating a change of outfit. Looking down at her typical skirt, leggings, and t-shirt combo adorned with one of her many custom-made lab coats, she glanced up at a camera in the corner and consulted her digital assistant.

"What do you reckon, Jenny? Is my outfit okay?"

After a few seconds, a digital voice echoed from the speakers. "Yes, mistress. A quick Google search says your outfit is fine and obeys Japan's modesty laws."

Groaning, Zoe rubbed her forehead in regret. "Right... I forgot she isn't complete yet," she whispered.

Sighing, she walked toward the door, mumbling, "Anyway, this outfit is fine. It'll stop people trying to talk to me."

Donned in her full mad scientist attire, she locked up her privately owned lab and broke into a light jog.

Running along the shoreline, she took a small amount of pleasure in the weird looks people gave her when they saw an apparent mad scientist running at superhuman speeds. Some onlookers even nervously looked behind her, as if something might be chasing her.

Chuckling to herself, she passed her school during her jog. She briefly considered dropping in to greet her brother but decided against it. The school in question annually received an "anonymous" donation in exchange for falsifying her attendance and grades.

Shaking her head to rid herself of the mild annoyance, she finally arrived at a fairly popular wrestling gym. Pushing open the door, she paid the access fee before moving toward the ring. After checking it wasn't in use, she hung her coat on a nearby chair and jumped in.

Around her, people whispered to each other before slowly approaching. A young woman only a few years older than Zoe was the first to approach, jumping into the ring.

"Hi there, I'm Anny. Do you need someone to spar against?"

Like moths to a flame. She might be a good warmup, Zoe thought. Looking at the woman, she could see considerable muscles and a confident posture. Still, she immediately noticed how the woman's tone and stance indicated ulterior motives—something she'd come to expect.

To outside observers, Zoe stood 174cm tall and easily rivalled any model worldwide. With pure black hair and purple eyes, her appearance was, for all intents and purposes, perfect. She could also easily carry herself in a way that made her seem weak—a little trick she had picked up after people stopped wanting to fight her once they knew her true strength.

Smirking, Zoe lightly addressed the woman as she hopped from foot to foot. "Sure, I would love to spar. What discipline do you study? Boxing? MMA? Or something else?"

Looking surprised for a second, the woman's expression melded into a small smile. "I do boxing."

Nodding, Zoe continued to hop back and forth before dropping into a perfect boxing stance. She cocked her head at the woman. "Okay then..."

The woman also dropped into her stance as Zoe approached at a speed slightly lower than a normal person.

They clashed for a few minutes, but Zoe didn't even break a sweat by the time her opponent tapped out. Groaning slightly in annoyance, she scanned the gathered crowd for anyone who looked capable of giving her a good fight.

Her eyes traced the crowd, but she saw no one who captured her interest. Scoffing, she jumped out of the ring, annoyed. Swinging her coat over her shoulders, she pushed through the crowd and out the front door.

Walking along the streets, she eventually found a nice shady park where she sat down.

What should I do? Her mind raced a mile a minute as she wished she could slow down and relax. Unfortunately, her mind always worked at super speed and couldn't be slowed down. Deciding instead to figure out what to study next, she mentally explored her options.

"I know! I'll go study genetics," she said to herself. "Humans and other animals are just organic machines. I can probably figure out how to finish my reactor with enough study."

Having decided on her next course of action, she reached into her pockets for her phone. As she pulled it out, her AI was already at work gathering knowledge from across the internet.

{A/N: Stones?}