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Kingdom Hearts, "For Science" (Zexion+Lexaeus)
For someone who has grown up in laboratories and among researchers, backwater worlds with little to no scientific curiosity are a mystery that holds no appeal. Zexion's first impression of the Kingdom of the Floating Lights is not the best.
Contains some unfair picking on the Tangled universe, which does actually have a solid scientific foundation. Nobodies doing their Nobody thang. Written for![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fic_promptly to the prompt "For Science"
.for science.
Zexion had grown up in laboratories and among researchers. All of the memories that he could recollect of Ienzo's life were pages from the same book: his only memory of his mother was her boosting him up so that he could watch her centrifuge at work as she explained the concept; he remembered easily slipping away from Even's watchful eyes when his attention was captured by an experiment on the verge of success; he could still see Ansem's delight when he demonstrated an understanding of the physics textbook he'd been perusing; and, of course, he could never forget the moment when Xehanort slid into the seat across from him and invited him to join in on the research that he and the others were conducting.
Even after Ienzo had died and Zexion had been created in his place, science had been the predominant theme of his existence. After all, Nobodies were a new form of life, never before seen or studied, and so they had broadened the scope of their research and continued on with that most important of duties.
So when a guard called out to him, "Halt! What is your purpose here?" the first thing that came to his lips as he turned with eyebrows raised was naturally, "Why, research."
Lexaeus had tensed beside him, and Zexion shifted to touch his wrist, light and discreet, out of sight of the guard. He had shrouded them in illusion to make them look similar to the other denizens of the Kingdom of the Floating Lights with the specific intention of making them blend in, but he had assumed that it wouldn't be odd for two random men to visit the library. He took responsibility for their being noticed.
His suspicion that he had assumed wrong was justified. "Research?" The guard looked skeptical. "You aren't dressed like scholars of the University. What are you researching?"
"That's because we aren't affiliated with the University," Zexion said smoothly. "We've just arrived at the king's behest. We are scientists."
"Scientists...? What do you study?"
His uncertain tone suggested a lack of familiarity with the concept. Zexion suppressed a sigh. Sometimes the worlds that they visited were disappointingly backward. "We research and experiment with natural phenomena," he said helpfully.
After a beat, the guard's expression cleared. "You're here to study the effects of the sunlight flower?"
The good part about visiting primitive worlds like this was that it was easy to talk around their residents. The definition of a scientist could pass as an explanation for their field of study and could be interpreted however the listener liked -- and a sufficient amount of words on any scientific topic would likely do to satisfy the average man.
"We hope that the methodology we've used to study the local flora will be of some use to His Majesty," Zexion said, casting his eyes modestly to the ground for a heartbeat that was all the obeisance he owed the king of some insignificant, out-of-the-way world. "We have extensive knowledge of the biochemical effects of a wide range of taxonomy, and have brought the equipment necessary to identify the metabolic processes that result when used in a medicinal or ingested capacity."
It was obvious that the words were going right over the guard's head, but they sounded authoritative, so he only held out a hand and said, "Well-- You must have a summons from the King, right?"
Zexion's gaze flicked up, finding the banners that waved proudly overhead, and he reached for a summons that didn't yet exist. He could assume that the symbol on the banners was the emblem of the kingdom and very likely the royal seal; he could assume that with this level of scientific advancement a rolled scroll would be the most likely means of royal summons; he could assume that this library guard was hardly in the position of seeing high-level documents all that often and would not be in a position to judge its accuracy; and he could assume that the king's signature was a stately scribble that didn't have to betray that he had no idea what the man's name was.
Assumptions made, he created the illusion of a scroll and handed it to the guard. He waited very patiently for the man to look it over. Then the guard glanced back up with a rueful smile.
"I'm sorry if I gave you a difficult time, sirs," he said.
"It's quite all right. You're only doing your job," Zexion said, holding out a hand. "As we intend to do ours. It's quite a rare opportunity -- I imagine we might learn of some new use for the sunlight flowers in the course of our research." He allowed a satisfied smile to touch his lips below the illusion.
"But there aren't any others," the guard said. "What good could it do to study a flower that doesn't exist anymore?"
Zexion's first thought was that he had allowed himself to get carried away being passionate about his imaginary research and should have simply left when granted permission to do so, but the question drove all thought right out of his head. He was speechless with surprise. He could not even fathom the sort of mind that would ask such a thing.
Lexaeus shifted forward, calling the guard's attention to him. "It has the potential to completely change our understanding of biology and lead to advances in medicine and technology," he rumbled. "But even if it has no effect at all, it is still worth knowing for the sake of knowing."
The guard shook his head, handing back the illusory scroll. "I'll never understand science," he said confidentially as he turned to leave them.
"Obviously," Zexion said under his breath, cross. "Whoever heard of science not being a good enough reason?"
Lexaeus chuckled, low, and allowed Zexion to lead the way into the library. "I think it unlikely that we will find any useful knowledge here," he said.
"I imagine you're right." Zexion glanced at their surroundings with some distaste. "A world with so little scientific curiosity has no value to me or to anyone else." Which meant that though his diligence demanded a thorough report, they were wasting their time with this reconnaissance. He hated wasting time.
"Some good may come of it," Lexaeus said, as unruffled as ever, his presence calm and composed in a way that was uniquely his own. "Like studying the extinct flower."
A true smile touched the corner of Zexion's lips. "That's true. We can always observe the psychological effect of an invasion of Heartless on such an ignorant population."
"Yes. And little is more important than research into human nature."
It was what had ended their human lives in the first place, but that didn't make it less fascinating. It was the principle of the thing, anyway.
Contains some unfair picking on the Tangled universe, which does actually have a solid scientific foundation. Nobodies doing their Nobody thang. Written for
fic_promptly to the prompt "For Science".for science.
Zexion had grown up in laboratories and among researchers. All of the memories that he could recollect of Ienzo's life were pages from the same book: his only memory of his mother was her boosting him up so that he could watch her centrifuge at work as she explained the concept; he remembered easily slipping away from Even's watchful eyes when his attention was captured by an experiment on the verge of success; he could still see Ansem's delight when he demonstrated an understanding of the physics textbook he'd been perusing; and, of course, he could never forget the moment when Xehanort slid into the seat across from him and invited him to join in on the research that he and the others were conducting.
Even after Ienzo had died and Zexion had been created in his place, science had been the predominant theme of his existence. After all, Nobodies were a new form of life, never before seen or studied, and so they had broadened the scope of their research and continued on with that most important of duties.
So when a guard called out to him, "Halt! What is your purpose here?" the first thing that came to his lips as he turned with eyebrows raised was naturally, "Why, research."
Lexaeus had tensed beside him, and Zexion shifted to touch his wrist, light and discreet, out of sight of the guard. He had shrouded them in illusion to make them look similar to the other denizens of the Kingdom of the Floating Lights with the specific intention of making them blend in, but he had assumed that it wouldn't be odd for two random men to visit the library. He took responsibility for their being noticed.
His suspicion that he had assumed wrong was justified. "Research?" The guard looked skeptical. "You aren't dressed like scholars of the University. What are you researching?"
"That's because we aren't affiliated with the University," Zexion said smoothly. "We've just arrived at the king's behest. We are scientists."
"Scientists...? What do you study?"
His uncertain tone suggested a lack of familiarity with the concept. Zexion suppressed a sigh. Sometimes the worlds that they visited were disappointingly backward. "We research and experiment with natural phenomena," he said helpfully.
After a beat, the guard's expression cleared. "You're here to study the effects of the sunlight flower?"
The good part about visiting primitive worlds like this was that it was easy to talk around their residents. The definition of a scientist could pass as an explanation for their field of study and could be interpreted however the listener liked -- and a sufficient amount of words on any scientific topic would likely do to satisfy the average man.
"We hope that the methodology we've used to study the local flora will be of some use to His Majesty," Zexion said, casting his eyes modestly to the ground for a heartbeat that was all the obeisance he owed the king of some insignificant, out-of-the-way world. "We have extensive knowledge of the biochemical effects of a wide range of taxonomy, and have brought the equipment necessary to identify the metabolic processes that result when used in a medicinal or ingested capacity."
It was obvious that the words were going right over the guard's head, but they sounded authoritative, so he only held out a hand and said, "Well-- You must have a summons from the King, right?"
Zexion's gaze flicked up, finding the banners that waved proudly overhead, and he reached for a summons that didn't yet exist. He could assume that the symbol on the banners was the emblem of the kingdom and very likely the royal seal; he could assume that with this level of scientific advancement a rolled scroll would be the most likely means of royal summons; he could assume that this library guard was hardly in the position of seeing high-level documents all that often and would not be in a position to judge its accuracy; and he could assume that the king's signature was a stately scribble that didn't have to betray that he had no idea what the man's name was.
Assumptions made, he created the illusion of a scroll and handed it to the guard. He waited very patiently for the man to look it over. Then the guard glanced back up with a rueful smile.
"I'm sorry if I gave you a difficult time, sirs," he said.
"It's quite all right. You're only doing your job," Zexion said, holding out a hand. "As we intend to do ours. It's quite a rare opportunity -- I imagine we might learn of some new use for the sunlight flowers in the course of our research." He allowed a satisfied smile to touch his lips below the illusion.
"But there aren't any others," the guard said. "What good could it do to study a flower that doesn't exist anymore?"
Zexion's first thought was that he had allowed himself to get carried away being passionate about his imaginary research and should have simply left when granted permission to do so, but the question drove all thought right out of his head. He was speechless with surprise. He could not even fathom the sort of mind that would ask such a thing.
Lexaeus shifted forward, calling the guard's attention to him. "It has the potential to completely change our understanding of biology and lead to advances in medicine and technology," he rumbled. "But even if it has no effect at all, it is still worth knowing for the sake of knowing."
The guard shook his head, handing back the illusory scroll. "I'll never understand science," he said confidentially as he turned to leave them.
"Obviously," Zexion said under his breath, cross. "Whoever heard of science not being a good enough reason?"
Lexaeus chuckled, low, and allowed Zexion to lead the way into the library. "I think it unlikely that we will find any useful knowledge here," he said.
"I imagine you're right." Zexion glanced at their surroundings with some distaste. "A world with so little scientific curiosity has no value to me or to anyone else." Which meant that though his diligence demanded a thorough report, they were wasting their time with this reconnaissance. He hated wasting time.
"Some good may come of it," Lexaeus said, as unruffled as ever, his presence calm and composed in a way that was uniquely his own. "Like studying the extinct flower."
A true smile touched the corner of Zexion's lips. "That's true. We can always observe the psychological effect of an invasion of Heartless on such an ignorant population."
"Yes. And little is more important than research into human nature."
It was what had ended their human lives in the first place, but that didn't make it less fascinating. It was the principle of the thing, anyway.