Shin Kidou Senki Gundam W: Frozen Teardrop – Shokuzai no Rinbu Chapter 8

Peacecraft File 1

“Naturally they’re going to stand in confrontation to me.”

“Isn’t that what you’re waiting for?”

“Those boys (lit: they) will charge through/head straight on a different (vector) professionally. That’s what it is to me, {Zechs Merquis}.”

AC-195 EVE WARS Libra
Zechs and Noin

“It’s the strong that make the weak! [With] the Earth [playing the role of] the strong, the reality is the colonies [have been made into] the weak; they’re running [the colonies] down!”

“I hated anybody who was weak. They were incessantly trembling with fear over when they would allow themselves to attack. They couldn’t trust anyone, couldn’t say what they wanted to say, and I couldn’t forgive them for it.”

“That’s what the strong do!”

“Zechs, there are no strong people! The human race, all of it, is weak! As are you and me both!”

*

“It’s over, Zechs.”

“No, not yet! I still do not accept that I am weak!”

“The colonies themselves have decided and they will take the path to total pacifism…… your actions are meaningless!”

“This is, after all, [my?] b.l.o.o.d.y destiny…… don’t think there’s any escape from this crime (lit: sin)! This ends now, Heero!”

“Zechs, you’re supposed to see the future!”

*

“Why…… don’t you kill me?”

“Relena would be sad.”

“……”

*

“You are too pure. And too kind. But if you weren’t, I suppose that would mean [you] had no right to live.”

*

“In that case, I’ll (show you) I’ll survive through anything. As a soldier tougher than any other!!”

“Zechs!!”

“We’ll meet again, Heero!!”

AC-195 EVE WARS Libra
Zechs and Heero

MC-0022 NEXT WINTER

Brilliant golden light inundated the monitor. It was s.h.i.+ning from the {Tall Geese Heaven} my father piloted. When the flood of light finally subsided, the two-hundred-fifty Mars suits went cras.h.i.+ng down.

“Amazing, isn’t it……” Katrine said beside me, her large eyes opened even wider [than usual].

“The particles of the gold light from {Tall Geese Heaven} are nano-defensers that were developed for anti-mobile doll uses. Long ago, Treize Khushrenada was apparently requested to develop plans [for a device that] would annihilate the mobile dolls that were sweeping over the AC era,” Naina briefly explained clear mindedly as she opened a lunch box.

“Is a technique from such a long time ago useful now?”

“It’s ‘superst.i.tion,’ no it’s ‘blind faith’ to think scientific techniques consistently surpa.s.s and progress what came before, Katrine.” Naina took out the sandwiches and told us it was a “late lunch” as she handed Katrine and me a sandwich.

“We aren’t at the rendezvous point yet?”

“No,” I said, shaking my head.

“Are they there already?”

With my mouth stuffed with sandwich, I nodded in response to Naina’s question and switched this hovercraft to (auto-hover) in position 234/3/3-4<. of="" the="" vegetables="" stuck="" between="" the="" slices="" of="" bread,="" the="" tomato="" was="" juicy="" and="" especially="" good.="" while="" enjoying="" [the="" sandwich],="" i="" looked="" absently="" at="" the="" light="" that="" was="" approaching="" our="" s.h.i.+p.="" i="" knew="" at="" once="" that="" that="" luminous="" point="" was="" the="" small="" s.h.i.+p="" on="" which="" my="" mother="" and="" president="" relena="" rode.="" a="" few="" seconds="" later,="" they="" were="" within="" docking="" distance.="" behind="" me,="" katrine="" got="" depressed="" and="" sighed="">

“I fought using my family [#1] without knowing anything.”

I wanted to say that wasn’t true. The nano-defensers instantly reset the data acc.u.mulated in the unmanned machines [#2]. But there was someone to manage the mobile dolls’ systems and if they could (feedback [#3]) the data, it would be possible to restart them. I believed that, if it was the Maganacs, they were sure to respond, but Naina began speaking before I could.

“Even so, they weren’t effective against Snow White and Warlock. Moreover, it’s only just recently that those [nanotech] abilities have reached the stage of being able to be used practically, even though the theory came from the previous era, active application of nanotechnology has been the result of recent research.”

The reason people around me called me “reticent” was, I believe, because Naina was just too quick.

“This is delicious!” Katrine’s smiling face shone. “I’ve never had a sandwich this good before!”

“Sister Hilde taught me,” murmured Naina as she took a bite; her expression was somewhat sad. “There’s a trick to the distribution of mustard and mayonnaise…… she said it was the secret to drawing out the sweetness in the tomato.”

As she savored the flavor, Katrine muttered, “That old Professor Hilde Schbeiker, she’s been the authority on nanotechnology till now, hasn’t she?”

“Before she started the orphanage, her official [role] was as secretary in the Lanagrin Republic National Library…… in reality, she extracted data (that could be practically applied 236/2/14) from the enormous memory library from the past, and she’s been studying it since.”

“But ultimately that meant ‘Special Officer First Cla.s.s Zechs Merquise’ was allowed to appear, right?”

On the wide range radar on the submonitor, a point of light appeared and it was leaving at a fast pace. It was {Gundam Epyon}, which had left from the above-mentioned battlefield at once, changing to flight mobile armor mode and withdrawing back to the Lanagrin Republic.

“That’s not right, Katrine.” Naina again made the denial before I could. “That hologram was a program that started with Dixneuf Neuenheim died…… Sister Hilde only extracted [the data] which was used for selfish purposes.” 

It was the Neuenheim Company [#4] that made [our] father’s residual memories, which were in {Gundam Epyon}’s “ZERO system” into a three-dimensional real image but it was someone from the Lanagrin Republic who’d hacked [into whatever system] that lead us to the present situation. Both I and Katrine had initially believed Professor Hilde Schbeiker to be the ring leader. But Naina had said, “That’s absolutely unbelievable.” I could infer that, in the Lanagrin Republic government, there was an even more (unscrupulous) man behind the black curtain [#5]. Because Naina said it and she’d lived with Professor Schbeiker for several years, she probably wasn’t wrong. Their close relations.h.i.+p was vouched for by the deliciousness of this very sandwich.

“So the “PPP” [Perfect Peace Program] wasn’t Professor Schbeiker either?” When Katrine said that, the rear door opened and my mother and Lucretia and President Relena appeared.

“That’s backwards. Professor Schbeiker resumed her research in order to free Father Maxwell from the (spellbinding) PPP.” Even now, mother’s voice and Naina’s voice resembled each other. If I kept listening I wouldn’t be able to tell which was which.

“Besides, the basic concept of the “PPP” has existed since before we were born.” Mother spoke as she pa.s.sé me the two microchips to which the “files in question” had been saved, “This is what we had copied at the Preventer base and this is what Professor Schbeiker sent us.”

“May I ask you a favor, Milu?” President Relena asked, using a tone of voice far too polite for a guy like me.
“Yes.” If we put these two files with the “Zechs File” we had and ran them through the “ZERO system” to (calculation manage), a new file with a more diversified historical point of view would be made.

“What should I name the file?” A new file name was necessary to save it.

With hope-filled blue eyes, President Relena said, “’Peacecraft File’ if you please.”

When I looked at the contents of the file, the oldest thing was from AC 130. Since Mother and Father were born in AC 176, this was pretty dated “Heero Yuy” was in the heading for people and for a second, I was puzzled. That was not the Snow White’s pilot’s codename, I finally remembered it was the name of the legendary s.p.a.ce colonial leader. All the data until now had been unclear about the origin of Heero Yuy. He was born to a poor working cla.s.s which had been developed by s.p.a.ce 237/2/3 [adjectival order], put himself through school and after he studied abroad at a distinguished college, he specialized in political philosophy and think tank and stood up for the colonies is one theory, and another is that he originally came from an affluent family and when he went to the colonies on a college study trip and saw how miserable [the colonists] lives were, he decided he ought to become the [kind of] politician who could save their pitiful lives. Either way, the leader Heero Yuy resolutely confronted/fought against the Earth Sphere United Alliance as a representatives of the colonies. How old would Heero Yuy have been in AC 130, I wonder. It was AC 165 when he appeared front and center I history and it was AC 173 when he filed/sued for independence for the colonies which had purported demilitarization and nonviolence. Commonly, it was referred to as the “{Heart of s.p.a.ce} Proclamation”. Two years later on April , AC 175, he was a.s.sa.s.sinated for/by Earth’s political calculation. It had only been ten years, but Heero Yuy had certainly worked himself to the bone and had continued to work pa.s.sionately for [both] realizing peach on all of Earth and the wish for colonial freedom and the happiness of those who lived there. The image he left behind was like nothing so much as him running straight through (violent/super excited) history. The one thing I didn’t understand was how he came to have so much enthusiasm. The original reason, like where the man himself originated from, has forever been vague. Now, in the new “Peacecraft File” I held in my hand, it seemed possible to have a glimpse at one part of Heero Yuy’s character formation. My interest was suddenly piqued. It was probably one of my bad habits—being carried away by a sudden impulse and then wanting to put it into action. I asked Naina to pilot until we reached Elysium Island. And I received permission to look at the contents of the file from President Relena and Mother. I put on the virtual visor and [the word] “ZERO” immediately appeared. It began with the story of my great-grandmother, the Queen [#6].

AC-130-144

In a small country in Scandinavia on Earth, in the Cinq Kingdom’s Peacecraft household, [identical] twin princesses were born. It was spring of AC 130. Princess Sabrina and Katerina. They both had beautiful s.h.i.+ning blonde hair and clear blue eyes. This royal house had an old custom of not raising twins together. The elder sister Sabrina would remain in the kingdom and the younger sister Katerina would leave her filial home a few months after her birth and be sent to colony L-1 C11234, one of the Cinq Kingdom’s s.p.a.ce colonies. For Katerina, that was a happy thing. It was Sabrina, the [future] successor to the throne who was the unhappy one. She, who would one day be the queen, received a rigid education and had to master the manners and etiquette of the European court pa.s.sed down from long ago. Moreover, at this time, the Cinq Kingdom was in a state of decline. Cinq was abused by the calculations/expectations of the big countries neighboring it. Revolutionaries and rebels who resisted the Earth Sphere United Alliance, at the end of a withdrawal war 238/1/16, often took refuge in the Kingdom [of Cinq]. The Alliance Army likewise cast a net to produce similar results. From a geopolitical point of view, a country occupying a peninsula in Europe shoulders something like a burden of being fated to get swept away in the land power of the [main] continent no matter what. [Now situated] between a rock and a hard place, the revolutionaries and rebels challenged [Earth?] to a decisive battle intending to gain the upper hand, but the Unified Alliance with its overwhelming military power unleashed an annihilating battle It was no small trouble for the Cinq Kingdom which was [unfortunately] a convenient battlefield. After all, there was no way for them to be a party to the rebels and revolutionaries 238/1/1-2< and="" the="" contriving="" of="" a="" military="" budget="" from="" their="" mean="" financial="" situation="" obliged="" them="" to="" partic.i.p.ate="" in="" the="" war="" 238/2-1.="" after="" the="" war,="" the="" meager="" reparations="" and="" insurance="" paid="" out="" by="" the="" large="" countries="" was="" a.s.signed="" for="" the="" reconstruction="" of="" the="" ruined="" country.="" [cinq]="" was="" a="" terribly="" poor="" country;="" neither="" blessed="" with="" natural="" resources="" nor="" a="" thriving="" industrial="" sector;="" it="" lacked="" a="" single="" (positive)="" prospective.="" it="" was="" the="" people’s="" love="" of="" princess="" sabrina="" with="" her="" youth="" and="" dazzling="" beauty="" and="" [their="" love="" of]="" the="" humble="" royal="" house="" of="" peacecraft="" that="" they="" didn’t="" erupt="" in="" dissatisfaction="" or="" instigate="" a="" revolution="" or="" revolt.="" being="" raised="" in="" such="" a="" country="" as="" that,="" sabrina="" was="" bound="" to="" be="" a="" big="" of="" a="" homebody;="" she="" grew="" up="" to="" have="" a="" diffident="" and="" gentle="" character.="" undoubtedly,="" she="" was="" a="" sheltered="" princess="" raised="" in="" the="" tender="" care="" (of="" her="" wealthy="" family).="" she="" loved="" art="" and="" was="" deeply="" interested="" in="" pictures="" and="" music="" especially.="" her="" seldom="" seen="" smile="" was="" said="" to="" be="" exactly="" like="" that="" of="" an="" angel.="" yet="" her="" blue="" eyes="" were="" always="" full="" of="" worry/fear.="" the="" one="" who="" best="" understood="" the="" love="" girl="">< was="" the="" norwegian="" forest="" cat="" given="" to="" her="" on="" her="" thirteenth="" birthday.="" it="" was="" a="" black="" and="" white="" long="" haired="" male="" and="" he="" was="" named="" “somewhere.”="" he="" was="" given="" that="" name="" probably="" to="" symbolize="" sabrina’s="" own="" desires=""><. it="" seemed="" to="" be="" a="" name="" from="" a="" film="" from="" a="" long="" time="" ago="" in="" which="" judy="" garland="" sang="" {over="" the="" rainbow}="" in="" the="" opening="" sequence,="" but="" like="" pets="" everywhere,="" the="" name="" “somewhere”="" was="" abbreviated="" to="" “sam.”="" suppose="" cats="" have="" the="" ability="" to="" empathize/sense="" when="" a="" person="" is="" feeling="" lonely="" or="" sad.="" when="" she="" was="" feeling="" depressed,="" sabrina="" sat="" at="" the="" piano,="" sam="" always="" laid="" on="" his="" stomach="" on="" the="" left="" side="" of="" the="" keyboard="" and="" depressed="" the="" keys="" such="" that="" they="" made="" a="" discordant="" sound.="" whenever="" she="" heard="" that,="" she’d="" giggle="" and="" say="" “play="" it="" once,="" sam,”="" which="" is="" a="" line="" from="" the="" movie="" “casablanca”="" ((which="" comes="" from="" the="" same="" era="" as="" the="" wizard="" of="" oz))="" and="" then="" she’d="" begin="" to="" play.="" it="" wasn’t="" jazz,="" neither="" was="" it="" “as="" time="" goes="" by.”="" [#7]="" sam="" let="" out="" a="" small="" “meow”="" and="" sabrina="" gently="" played="" chopin’s="" “nocturne="" #1="" (夜曲第一番)[#7.5]”="" at="" something="" of="" a="" slow="" tempo.="" occasionally,="" sam="" turned="" over="" in="" his="" sleep="" and="" played="" another="" discord,="" but="" it="" wasn’t="" bad.="" playing="" with="" her="" eyes="" downcast,="" sabrina’s="" thoughts="" [were="" of]="" “the="" never="" ending="" battles="" of="" this="" world="" (戦い絶えないこの世)”="" a="" grievous="" lonely="" nocturne=""><. or="" perhaps="" a="" (considerate)="" lullaby="" for="" sam="" curled="" up="" beside="">

Meanwhile, Princess Katerina was living a happily bohemian life on the s.p.a.ce colony. Raising her was the Darlian family which had [also] been entrusted with the governing of the colony. Since she was little, she enjoyed horseback riding early in the morning, enjoyed weekly s.p.a.cewalks, and was friendly with the workers who constructed the colony. They called Katerina “The Lady of the House of Darlian” and looked forward to the cookies and chocolate she always took to them. Around the time she turned thirteen, there’s an (anecdote) about how she [got to] ride a (large scale) s.p.a.ce work suit equipped with manipulators and help in the construction of the s.p.a.ceport. There were several magnanimous people in the Darlian family also, they only slightly rebuked her and continuously overlooked her simple innocence.

What gave rise to the difference between the two princesses Sabrina and Katerina, born on the same day, has its roots in the difference of their learning environments: strict education versus laissez-faire 239/1/12-14<. but="" it="" was="" likely="" the="" scenery="" that="" was="" the="" [deciding="" factor].="" one="" [place]="" was="" carving="" out="" a="" new="" world,="" reclaimed="" land="" filled="" with="" built-in="" happiness="" 239/1/7-8.="" the="" other="" was="" repeating="" a="" grievous="" fate="" of="" reconstructing="" broken="" things="" [only="" to="" have="" them]="" broken="" again,="" the="" earth.="" there="" was="" a="" large="" gap="" between="" the="" two.="" one="" could="" imagine="" it="" was="" mostly="" the="" differences="" in="" their="" two="" worlds="" that="" influenced="" how="" markedly="" different="" their="" personalities,="" behavior,="" even="" their="" expressions="" were—to="" the="" extent="" that="" one="" would="" not="" think="" them="" to="" be="" twins.="" the="" world="" was="" seen="" by="" the="" sister="" with="" eyes="" wide-open="" and="" the="" sister="" with="" the="" downcast="" eyes="" wis.h.i.+ng="" to="" forget="" misfortune—say="" a="" building="" of="" rebar,="" would="" undeniably="" be="" seen="" different="" by="" either="">

AC 145 SPRING

Until she turned fifteen, Katerina’s studied were overseen by an elderly female tutor. One day, she made this request to the Darlians: I want to return to Earth and spend my final years in the comfort of my home town. I’ll (bring) the foremost teacher form the L-1 colony cl.u.s.ter to teach in my stead. The name of that teacher was “Heero Yuy” and while he was still a college student, he was apparently serving as a part-time instructor at the high school. Yet he had no major, he was equally skilled in science and maths (type cla.s.ses) as he was well-versed in culture, philosophy and art; he was advertised as being knowledgeable in various and diverse fields [of study].

“Aren’t you a little young [to be a tutor]?”

In addition to being Katerina’s tutor, there were misgivings about their similar ages.

“If you’ll pardon my saying it, [teaching] a person as lively as the young mistress is too heavy a task for an old lady such as me.” She spoke as though she were thoroughly exhausted. The Darlians understood. For a daughter of the royal house, Katerina surely was far too restive. Besides, if they could financially a.s.sist a brilliant young man putting himself through school, they believed that was worthwhile. A few days later, Heero Yuy arrived at Katerina’s rooms. From afternoon to evening, Katerina was allotted study time.

“Pooh, you’re the new teacher?” Katerina gave the wallflower-like youth an appraising look from head to toe. Depending on the angle, he was somewhat handsome, but his clothes were unfas.h.i.+onable, his shoulder’s lacked breadth and his chest was thin, he was feeble…… was the impression he gave. Compared to him, the colony construction laborers were far more attractive she thought.

“I’m Heero Yuy. Pleased to meet you.” Their age difference was four years.

“So, what ‘s a young teacher like you got to teach me?”

“I wonder,” Heero said brusquely. “What do you want to learn?”

“Nothing….. I don’t need a tutor. A study program is fine.” After that, those two didn’t exchange another word (while in that room). Katerina dispa.s.sionately took care of the subjects the computer put out; Heero read the book he’d brought. When the appointed time arrived, Heero Yuy went home that day without having taught a thing. The next day was the same and the day after that, Katerina was tired form her horseback riding lesson and so she napped [instead]. For all that the young instructor should have said a word of caution, that would wake her up and so he didn’t [say anything] 240/1/13-14. He did nothing but merely continue reading his book.

*

This Heero Yuy youth was lacking in a thing called enthusiasm. To the extent that his college friends nicknamed him “The Extreme Rationalist.” Regarding his studies—no, regarding life itself—he had the att.i.tude of not wanting to spend energy unnecessarily on pa.s.sion or grudges or the like. Even the daily drawing of breath was done with efficiency, he didn’t open his mouth needlessly, he was calm, frank, and he consciously repressed the amplification of (heat entropy) 240/1/3<. he="" wasn’t="" able="" to="" make="" ends="" meet="" on="" the="" meager="" income="" of="" a="" part-time="" high="" school="" teacher="" [so]="" recently,="" he="" was="" doing="" manual="" labor="" in="" colony="" construction.="" the="" manual="" labor="" was="" restoring="" and="" reinforcing="" the="" colony’s="" outermost="" wall,="" there="" was="" gravity="" because="" of="" the="" centrifugal="" force="" but="" it="" was="" a="" hard="" [work="" environment]="" for="" the="" lack="" of="" oxygen.="" it="" was="" [extremely]="" difficult="" for="" small="" bodies="" to="" withstand="" [the="" work]="" and="" he="" realized="" he="" couldn’t="" continue="" the="" work="" if="" he="" wasn’t="" very="" “efficient.”="" furthermore,="" in="" an="" airless="" work="" environment,="" it="" was="" “efficient”="" to="" avoid="" speaking="" needlessly.="" he="" made="" that="" awareness="" (lit:="" consciousness)="" his="" own="" personal="" creed.="" excluding="" the="" privileged="" cla.s.ses,="" the="" people="" living="" on="" the="" colony="" as="" a="" whole="" had="" a="" difficult="" life="" all="" around.="" but="" this="" poverty="" could="" also="" be="" seen="" on="" earth,="" but="" if="" they="" believed="" they="" were="" creating="" the="" way="" to="" the="" future,="" it="" was="" possible="" to="" live="" contentedly.="" about="" six="" years="" ago="" in="" ac="" 139,="" the="" laborers="" began="" the="" “colony="" self-government="" system.”="" however,="" the="" earth="" sphere="" unified="" alliance="" did="" not="" recognize="" it="" in="" the="" least="" and="" under="" threat="" of="" using="" military="" power,="" the="" colonies="" gave="" up="" their="" autonomy="" before="" a="" year="" had="">

Nevertheless, the people of the colonies were cheerful. They were naturally endowed with something of a pastoral carefreeness; their optimism prevailed. There were many people who thought “What? Just by dint of not having national disasters makes [s.p.a.ce] the place to be!” In truth, the activists for the colonial independence promotion faction at the time took part in neither ideological complains and street orators nor extreme uses of force like terrorism. That can be interpreted [as meaning] the power of Earth’s suppression was still within a bearable (scope). About five years after that, the Earth Sphere United Alliance began slowly to apply pressure. On Earth, terrorism and disturbances were always happening and yet s.p.a.ce was stable and peaceful. And the Earth 
couldn’t abide by that. They must have believed it was rather impudent [for the colonists] to a.s.sert their own rights from the safety of the colonies. It’s likely this “contempt” and “jealousy” became the driving force behind the Alliance Army’s (silent/tacit) pressure against the colonies. Meanwhile, for the idealists with [advocated] anti-Earth Unification Alliance [sentiments], many of whom attended the same college as Heero Yuy, there was no end to their being taken away by the Alliance’s military police. The idealists and activists were primarily graduates of this college and just like that their academically gifted undercla.s.smen got involved, so naturally, [Heero] formed a connection [to the rebellion] via his friends. Before [they] knew it, the student activists had made the college into the base of operations for the underground organization. Heero was invited to join the group multiple times by one of his friends. He was, however, indifferent as per usual. As he understood it, activities of an illegal underground organization were “meaningless” and “useless.” The friend who had invited him was later to become “Doctor J,” the gifted scientist who developed the {Tall Geese} and {Gundam} but the particulars about [him] during this student activist time are unknown. Heero was consciously endeavoring to erase his presence. That was the best way. Taking action to help perfect strangers without so much as remuneration was more of a bother than anything else. It became a bother to keep refusing such invitations so he submitted a request for a leave of absence. He had already selected the theme of his (graduation thesis) and he was an honor student with a waived tuition so there was no reason to hesitate. It was then that the talk of being the Darlians tutor came around. 

*

About a week had pa.s.sed. In that time, the most conversation they’d had with each other ended at the greeting level. Katerina was bored. The indifferent tutor wasn’t scolding himself over it, that much was self-evident.
“If this is how it’s going to be, my old teacher was more interesting that this tutor,” she thought. Katerina was gazing at the scenery outside the window and Heero was reading the book in his hand as usual. While the colonies environment system was man-made, it sent an elegant/graceful spring breeze across the window. The soft lace curtains fluttered in the breeze. Because she was quite bored, Katerina asked a question as she gazed at the wind, “Sensei [#8], do you have a family?”

“My parents are dead and my elder sister got married and went to Earth,” he answered concisely. After Katerina turned around, she inspected Heero once again. Another question floated up in her heart, one that she wanted to ask [Heero] who had an indistinct personality that could melt into the background. 

“Sensei……what is the meaning of us being in s.p.a.ce?”

Heero spoke without taking his eyes off the book he was reading, “When you say meaning, do you mean the significance of existence? Or are you asking for a more scientific evaluation of mankind?”

“I don’t know. Both, I suppose.”

As he turned a page, he spoke dispa.s.sionately, “If you think about it from the social theory of evolution 241/2/7< [perspective],="" mankind’s="" [journey]="" into="" s.p.a.ce="" might="" be="" said="" to="" have="" the="" significance="" of="" being="" the="" next="" step="" necessary="" to="" continue="" with="" the="" so-called="" {new="" awakening}.="" but="" from="" a="" scientific="" perspective,="" the="" feat="" of="" expanding="" the="" living="" s.p.a.ces="" from="" earth="" to="" the="" earth="" sphere="" is="" a="" (meritous="" deed)="" of="" all="" human="" kind="" and="" so="" one="" may="" consider="" there="" to="" be="" no="" difference="" between="" the="" people="" in="" s.p.a.ce="" and="" the="" people="" on="">

“Wonderful!” Katerina’s eyes were wide open. “I can’t understand a thing you’re talking about!” She pressed Heero with excitement.

Heero snapped the book he was reading shut and his eyes went to Katrine and he asked, “What do you mean?” Heero, though he was feeling put upon, likely could not flat out [refuse] a student who’d taken an abrupt interest in him. He decided to explain his remarks. To start with, it was necessary to define the meaning of each (and every) word concisely. To punctuate the meaning of those words, there was historical social background and for the sake of speaking plainly, it was necessary to sue even more words and it seemed that the things difficult for Katerina to understand lined up [one after the other]. Katerina couldn’t help herself; she interrupted Heero’s never-ending talk with a question.

“So ultimately, does it mean something or doesn’t it?”

“Ultimately……there isn’t a conclusion to that question 241/3/7<>

“There isn’t a conclusion?” Katerina’s shoulders slumped dejectedly.

After heaving a deep sigh, Heero said, “Is it that important to have a conclusion?”

“What?” Katerina was dumbstruck. She believed the conclusion or solution was the most important part [as it was on] papers and tests.

“To observe things from several angles and take that data as a basis for making a judgment, to personally consider opposing views—that’s what’s important.”

“What, a ‘discussion’? Is that a conclusion?”

“It might be called that. It might not. In this case, the conclusion is synonymous with a ceasing of thought. There is meaning in the continuing of thought.

“It’s settled! There is meaning!”

“?”

“I mean, there’s meaning to being in s.p.a.ce, right?”

“No, that’s not what—" Several hours pa.s.sed in a blink. The gears of sensitivity and logic failed to catch as they were of different shape and had differing numbers of teeth. True to those words, their conversation continued without [those “gears”] engaging. The appointed [finis.h.i.+ng] time for the day arrived. 

“That’s all for today.”

“Sensei, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Katerina was interested in the youth who had enumerated the words she’s never heard of before.

“Oh, yeah……” Heero had remembered the joy of communicating—[and art] which he had been starting to forget. The next day also Katerina began with a simple question, “Hey, do you think there is a G.o.d?”

“It is believed that he doesn’t exist but he is thought to be necessary; he exists but is thought to be unnecessary. It is antinomious but both points of view are viable if you grasp the religious side metaphysically.” 

“Wonderful, I don’t understand at all!”

“That’s good. Knowing your own ignorance [#8.5] is more valuable (meaningful) than any sort of knowledge.”

“Why aren’t men equal? Is it because there isn’t a G.o.d? Or because there is? Isn’t every one equal before G.o.d?” After that, their talk continued like mismatched gears as it had yesterday. The day after that also had similar dialogue and it continued [like that] ever after. The [topics of discussion] didn’t stop at philosophy or conceptual things but extended to the problems that occurred from history and customs [#9], verified by contemporary examples; and from the most recent of s.p.a.ce sciences to cla.s.sical literature. The verbal exchanges between the two may well have been nonsensical fun. Yet it was absolutely not meaningless. It was during this time that Heero and Katerina’s sense of values went through a (chemical change).

For Heero, the “efficiency” that had been his personal creed up until now had been rethought as it was not so very “inefficient.” Thinking that short words and speaking in a straightforward manner made something understandable had had the opposite effect. Also he who did his utmost to eschew the “meaningless” and “wasteful” in reality stopped his “deliberating” and “fumbling/groping.” Until now, he was supposed to attach the greater importance to the “motive” than to the “result,” but somewhere along the way, he had become a conclusionist or utilitarian and he noticed he’d fallen into [a pattern] of “stopping thinking.”

Katerina, on the other hand, came to know of the existence of field of view that was from new, different dimension. She felt the possibilities were limitless. Living in s.p.a.ce definitely had meaning. And even living on Earth had some kind of meaning. That’s because, Earth or s.p.a.ce, they both existed in s.p.a.ce. Either one had their own sense of value, if one may be so bold in speaking, 243/3/9< if="" one="" discovers="" there="" is="" meaning="" to="" the="" existence="" of="" mankind,="" a="" person’s="" individual="" thoughts="" are="" precious="" and="" there="" is="" no="" particular="" need="" to="" limit="" them="" to="" history="" or="" place="" or="" environment.="" there="" is="" not="" a="" single="" wasted="" hour.="" there="" is="" not="" [a="" single]="" meaningless="" thought.="" there="" is="" value="" even="" in="" an="" [empty="" void].="" aren’t="" these="" [colonies]="" a="" good="" example="" of="" [exactly]="" that?="" that="" doesn’t="" mean="" she="" had="" clearly="" thought="" all="" that="" 244/1/1-2.="" but="" several="" years="" later,="" it="" was="" publically="" recorded="" that="" around="" this="" time,="" she="" seemed="" to="" get="" a="" feeling="" in="" her="" “heart”="" for="" those/these="" sorts="" of="">

That was in the rough draft of the composition “Heart of s.p.a.ce” which was written after this time by the leader Heero Yuy. It is said that a single letter of Katerina’s that bound up the feelings she had in her youth was the origin of Heero’s proclamation.

There may have been (romantic #9.5) feelings between them. Incidentally, the letter was not a love letter. Even years later, the relations.h.i.+p between Katerina Peacecraft and Heero Yuy may have remained as that of teacher and pupil. Or that may have been a façade [maintained] to the very end—.

AC-145 SUMMER

The area around the Cinq Kingdom on Earth was once again caught up in a new dispute. This time, it was a large scale [affair] where dozens upon dozens of s.h.i.+ps in the rebellion’s fleet entered the bay and made a sea blockade. In response to this, the Alliance Army opened close cooperation between land, sea and air forces and made to commence an even bigger war of seize and annihilation. Already at that stage, it couldn’t be helped that the land of the Cinq Kingdom had burned to the ground. However, because of that a situation which hadn’t been predicted had developed. The surprising thing was that the [newly] arrived rebel special forces infiltrated the Cinq Kingdom palace and all at once set up an occupation, taking the royal family as hostages. In so doing, the Alliance army because unable to carelessly/thoughtlessly interfere. However small a country the Cinq Kingdom was, [the Alliance] could not abandon them when the royal family had cooperated with the Alliance’s army. Furthermore, if they did choose to desert [Cinq], it would betray the trust of all the other countries cooperative with the Alliance. The Alliance army’s teamwork collapsed, it was inevitable that the army brought ruin upon itself. Without starting battle, the Alliance army and rebel’s army got into a cohesive state/condition. At the time, (only) Sabrina and her cat Sam were calling upon Marquis Weyridge in a neighboring country and so [managed to] escape the [ordeal]. When Sabrina heard the news, she was stunned. She could not return to her home country with things being as they were. 

“Oh…..Father, Mother……”

“Princess Sabrina, this must be terribly difficult for you, but for the time being, let us take refuge at the Darlians in the L-1 Colony.” This Marquis Weyridge was a member of the Romefeller Foundation’s European n.o.bility and, as he was later to become, grandfather of Relena Peacecraft; he supported her [Relena] in secret. [#10]
“We’re going to s.p.a.ce?”

“That’s right. Northern Europe is likely to become enveloped in a fierce war (from now). While it’s unfortunate, I’m afraid we cannot vouch for the safety of your family 244/3/7-8.”

“Why that’s……”

“According to intelligence I have received, the rebels have planted informants in every country in Europe. The rebel army was able to easily infiltrate the palace probably because there was an informant among the royal family’s attendants.”

(Suddenly) it may be difficult to believe but the Cinq Kingdom’s recent financial difficulties may have changed the [loyal] hears of the people.

“There’s more, there are rumors that King Peacecraft himself is a.s.sisting the rebels. Princess Sabrina. There is nowhere on this Earth that is safe for you.” At this point in time, there was no room for any other option.
“The royal house Peacecraft must not die out here. I beseech you to comply,” [said Marquis Weyridge].
This was the point where Sabrina came to realize the magnitude of [being the] Peacecraft successor that she had heard about for many a year. At the Darlians house in the L-1 Colony was her younger sister Katerina. She was now the only blood relative Sabrina had who was unharmed. There was no one else she could count on.
A few days later, Sabrina headed to the s.p.a.ceport in the suburbs of Brussels. As a high cla.s.s limousine would stand out far too much, they used a regular car. The rain that had fallen until the previous night had lifted, the new green of early summer sparkled so lovely. From the sunroof, the sky was a cloudless, fathomless blue. But Sabrina was overcome with worry for her country and family. A (seven color) rainbow stretched [across the sky] beyond the winds.h.i.+eld.

“Somewhere over the rainbow.”

Sabrina sang [that song] quietly. It was a song that gave her a small measure of courage.

“Don’t worry. s.p.a.ce is the land of your dreams,” Marquis Weyridge said kindly from his seat at her side.
Contrary [to expectation] the Brussels s.p.a.ceport had been put under martial law. There had been a throng of European royalty and n.o.bility thronging to escape to s.p.a.ce as Sabrina was, but the upper echelons of the Alliance army would not permit it. It was unknown how many [among the would-be refugees] were rebel informants. Furthermore, they could not forgive [the royals and n.o.bles] for the cowardice of the privileged cla.s.ses as they tried only to save themselves.

“That's just the way it is, the rebels are taking advantage! 245/2/5" From the car, Sabrina looked in fear at the shouting soldiers. They couldn’t get into s.p.a.ce like this. Marquis Weyridge returned, “I have spoken to Duke Cinquante Khushrenada of the Romefeller foundation. I understand there is a special flight going to the colonies for observation as an ‘Earth Delegation.’”

“We’ll be allowed to take that flight?”

“Yes……” The cat Sam was peacefully sleeping on Sabrina’s knees but Marquis Weyridge who had come up beside [her] picked him up. “I’m sorry but you can’t take him into s.p.a.ce.”

“I understand…… please take care of Sam.” Sam “meowed” in the quiet voice of the just-woken up. “I’ll be coming right back……be a good boy.”

“Meow, meow.” Sabrina had been up to this point a dauntless girl, but when she saw Sam’s sad face, she shed her first tears.

Cinquante Khushrenada greeted Sabrina with an elegant smile playing on his lips.

“You’re as beautiful as the rumors would have me believe……”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“We are going to visit the House of Winner on the L-4 Colony, then inspect L-2 and the L-1 Colony cl.u.s.ter in that order. It will take some time, but I shall see the young lady arrive at C11234.” Cinquante Khushrenada, who was aiming to become the next executive/leader of the Romefeller Foundation, was a middle aged gentleman. The birth of his daughter Angelina was seven years down the road and the birth of his son Treize would be twenty six years later. Not even the upper levels of the Alliance army could go against the Romefeller Foundation. Furthermore, the (colony dispatch) of this ‘Earth Delegation’ had been decided well before the current rebel uprising; they had no right to interfere. Sabrina was pa.s.sed off as Cinquante’s niece, given a (free pa.s.s) and was able to board the shuttle.

The shuttle left the atmosphere. For the first time, Sabrina saw the Earth spread out under her eyes. That beauty was something she would probably remember her whole life. The endlessly extending s.p.a.ce must have given some impression to the girl who had spent her entire life thus far sheltered in the palace. It wasn’t excitement nor was it fear. It was peace of mind—that night, eternal night. The time when she felt most at east, went on forever. That was what she felt. For Sam who she had left behind, she played a nocturne in her heart.

AC-145 AUTUMN

They finished the visit to the House of Winner on L-4 safely and completed their inspection of L-2 Colony without mishap. However, before boarding the shuttle to head to L-1 Colony, Cinquante called out for Sabrina to stop.

“It would be possible to have you remain here on L-2 of course, but if someone notices, that place would come to nothing.”

“What?”

“Princess Sabrina……please take this.” It was an astrosuit that she was given. “As it was my old friend Marquis Weyridge who made the request, I will see my promise through to the end.” Cinquante dropped his voice and began talking. “This shuttle will be blown up before it arrives at the L-1 Colony. As such, immediately prior to that, please get in an escape capsule and wait for rescue.”

“Explode?”

Cinquante checked his own astrosuit as he spoke, “Yes……it’s an act of terrorism put together by colonial terrorists who boarded on L-2.”

“What do you mean?” Sabrina didn’t have the slightest idea [what he was on about]. “If you know [the shuttle] will be blown up, shouldn’t something be done to prevent it?”

“These men are players in their own movie [alt: this is their charade]. That is their outline. For the sake of bringing Earth together, it’s necessary to make s.p.a.ce the (imaginary) enemy.”

“I don’t quite understand.”

“Your highness’s kingdom has been completely taken over by the rebels and they have begun aggressions against the neighboring countries. It looks as though the Peacecraft royal family has joined forces with the (dirty) [rebels].”

“My father has……” By the treacherous actions of the royal house of Cinq, Sabrina’s situation had become that much worse. She would not be able to return to Earth again was her intuitive thought. Cinquante spoke with fear/danger, “Princess, have you never thought about why Earth, which is supposed to be unified, is so divided and continues to fight?”

“Even so, I don’t believe it is right to demonize the people of the colonies.”

“I agree. However, [right] now, at this point in time, if we do not concoct antagonism between [Earth] and s.p.a.ce, Earth’s ruin cannot be stopped.” Beautiful Earth was being destroyed. That was something Sabrina could easily imagine. It was easy to think of 246/3/12 the exploded streets of the Cinq kingdom spreading all across the globe.

“But.....” wouldn’t doing [was they were doing] incur/invite that much more confusion/disorder? She thought. It made a reasonable amount of sense in thinking that turning the rebels and colonies both into enemies and it was hopeless to fight the Alliance 246/3/13-15<>

“Do not fear……there truly is no power in s.p.a.ce that holds military force. Moreover, controlling the rebels can be accomplished without too much effort.”

“Even so,” the people of the ‘Earth Delegation’ were harmoniously boarding the shuttle. “What about them?”
“They are people of the old order of the Foundation……sacrifices must be made for the sake of welcoming the new era.” There was no reason for Sabina to a.s.sent. However, she thought she was obliged to obey Cinquante.
“If you call it something, then this is the ‘Darkness of the Genesis.’” His eyes with their (forced) resolution and his bearing—steeped with unchanging determination—could not be defied. “I’m certain it was C11234. In the vicinity [of that colony], the time bomb will go off. I’ll guide you to the escape capsule.” [They] boarded the shuttle with surprising calm. But at the time, Sabrina thought: Isn’t this when I am supposed to die? Her life up until now had all been for the sake of the Cinq kingdom. As long as that country was under the control of the rebels, there was no point in extending her life. Carrying such grievous thoughts, there was no point to succeeding to the throne of Cinq.

The shuttle left the s.p.a.ceport and continued on as it overlooked the moon. Beyond the opposite side of the moon was the L-1 colony cl.u.s.ter. The huge lunar surface, seen from the window, was a grey land covered in countless craters. Certainly it was an inorganic/mineral thing that was a.s.sociated with the afterlife. As Sabrina gazed at that scenery, she hardened her resolve: wouldn’t it be easier if she died? Wouldn’t she be free if she dies? That was the grave impression she was under. Before she knew it, they had closed in on the L-1 colony cl.u.s.ter. Cinquante who had been behind Sabrina smiling the whole while she gazed out the window, was standing.

“It’s about time. Shall we make our preparations?”

*

That day, Heero Yuy didn’t have his tutoring job and he was hard at work at the colony construction [job]. He’d had a bit of a [financial] break [between his two jobs’ income, but he’d continued [the construction work] with intent to get his body in shape. The rambling discussions with Katerina, he felt, had become a persona source of energy. He’d continued the [labor] job for more than six months and become rather adjusted to it and his chest had filled out as his muscles strengthened and his shoulders broadened. Just recently, he’d become able to go out into [open] s.p.a.ce in an astrosuit; the (contents) of today’s work was mainly delivering materials using a large-scale work machine with attached manipulators. He had finally become accustomed to the [suit’s] handling. Suddenly, an image of astrosuited Katerina (clung) to the central monitor. When he opened the commlink, he could hear her ever-cheerful voice.

“Sir, are you working hard?”

“Don’t interrupt me.”

“But I was lonely because I couldn’t see your face.” She hung around with a carefree smile on her face 247/3/6.

“Go home.”

“The talk about the theory of evolution the day before yesterday, it was interesting.”

“Really? That’s good.”

“If a species does adapt to its environment as Darwin says, humans living in s.p.a.ce like us just might become a new type of human.”

“That wouldn’t be for dozens of generations……For all that we are in s.p.a.ce, it’s a change acquired postnatally. It’s not hereditary and there’s talk that the real issue is the danger of giving birth in s.p.a.ce. However, according to the most recent DNA a.n.a.lysis, there is no room for idle talk 248/3/13-14. Would you please go away!”

“What’s that?” Katerina saw two points of light leave from the shuttle that was crossing [behind] Heero.

“?” Heero brought up the viewpoint preceding [them] on the monitor. Then, the shuttle was suddenly swallowed up in a blinding flash and disappeared.

“And explosion?”

“s.h.i.+t.” Heero drew Katerina up with the manipulator arm and used the large work machine to s.h.i.+eld Katerina [from the blast]. There were only a small number of fragments from the exploded shuttle, but they came flying If the large scale work machine hadn’t been there, Katerina may have suffered a direct hit and been killed. 

“That light just now came from the escape pods.” Heero promptly referred to the (s.p.a.ce work use manual) on the monitor and confirmed the handling of emergency escape pods. “Just as I thought!” Shown there was a heading which read: If [an emergency escape pod is: discovered, promptly switch to recovery detail. Of the two lights, one had headed of towards D11587 but another was closing in on Colony C11234. Heero left Katerina where she was and propelled the large work machine to where the escape capsule was heading.

“Escape capsule (in front of me), respond! Pull the reverse engine lever! If you pick up any more speed, I will not be able to rescue you!”

There was no reply. At first, he thought it might be unmanned, but he felt an obvious intent [of the occupant] to get off course. Heero made the large work machine speed up, launched the rescue wire, hooked the escape capsule’s propulsion unit, and decreased speed, using the last of his (propulsion fluid). Then from the astrosuit’s wireless commlink, he heard a weak voice.

“……please let me go……” Heero thought he’d heard a similar female’s voice. “……won’t you release me……I want to die……”

Heero shouted, “You want to die? Don’t screw around!” For the youth, it was an act that was truly inefficient and made him expend energy unnecessarily. “[If you didn't want to get rescued, t]hen you shouldn’t have used the escape pod, should you have!” Opening the hatch of the large work suit, he followed [along] the wire and clung to the escape capsule. But in doing so, the battery pack of [his] astrosuit got damaged and made his wireless communicator unusable. “I don’t know what you were doing but you will not die!” Heero continued yelling without realizing his commlink was disconnected [i.e. dead]. “The majesty/dignity of the human existence is not allowed to kill itself, either by killing or being killed! 248/2/9-11” He grabbed the escape capsule’s outer lock release lever. “Since you used the astrosuit’s commlink, you’re wearing a helmet, right?” Naturally, there was no reply. Heero steeled himself and released the lock. Inside there was a female victim. He checked that she was wearing an astrosuit and was relieved. And then, he found the reverse engine lever on the console and pulled it hard. Somehow, the escape capsule lost speed and came to a stop. However, the face plates of [their] helmets were in mirror mode and so they could not see one another.

“Are you alright? Can you stand? What the h.e.l.l happened?” Heero asked many things, but there was absolutely no reply. At this time, he finally realized his battery pack was damaged. That was dangerous. His air would run out in a few minutes. In a flurry, Heero returned to the large work suit and went to replace [the battery] with a spare pack. While he did this, he made the victim stand as she’s not appeared to have lost consciousness, took firm hold of her hand and took her back to the large work suit. Of course, that female victim was Sabrina.

*

Sabrina thought it was strange. She didn’t understand why this person had gone out of their way save her suddenly reticent self. That was when she heard an auditory hallucination. It was a voice that sounded very much like her own.

“Sensei, are you alright? Answer me already!” That was Katrina’s voice, but there was no way Sabrina could have known that. She heard a tapping in her helmet. She heard the modulation of the unique sound wave 249/1/7-8, was it matching frequencies or playing with the volume? During the modulation, she heard a second sound that was very similar to Sam’s mewl, the cat she had left of Earth.

“Sam……” Tears moistened Sabrina’s eyes. Her closed heart burst like a dam, overflowing [with tears] “……I want to see Sam……” She remembered the Earth with its beautiful greens, clear blue skies, and pretty rainbows—she didn’t want to die yet. She couldn’t die until she’d seen her cute Sam again. She had to thank her savior. “Thank you very much……I” She thought it would be rude not to introduce herself, “I am Sabrina Peacecraft……and you are?” Slowly, she extended her hand to the person who had rescued her.

*
Katerina, who had listened on the commlink, was surprised all the same.

“Sabrina? Peacecraft?!” She was the elder sister [Katrina] had never met, but the name, at least, she knew.

To Be Continued……

#1 – In the raw text, the kanji read “family” and the furigana (which is the little superscript that tells people how to read either less-frequently used kanji and/or how to read kanji if the p.r.o.nunciation isn’t what’s typically used) reads “Maganac.” I think it’s more significant that he used family kanji to say “maganac” (and there is absolutely NO WAY the characters for family could ever be mangled into being read “maganac,” it’s just Sumizawa equating two words of entirely dissimilar p.r.o.nunciations but, in this situation, probably identical meaning (to Katrine, at least)

#2 – for whatever reason, Sumizawa does not write “mobile dolls” in the phonetic transliteration “mobiiru douru” but with kanji that quite obviously means “mobile doll.” There was no furigana p.r.o.nunciation guide… I’m not sure what this is supposed to signify, if anything but I noticed it in translating and thought I’d mention it here (as the transliteration IS used elsewhere)

#3 – This is a transliteration of the English “feedback.” Yet it does not fit in this sentence (kind of how the transliteration of “tension” is “super happy” to j.a.panese people), but it’s not in the dictionary so I decide to keep it in there. He seems to mean the mobile dolls have data stores that would have to be in a remote location to have avoided the effects of the nano-defensers and that can be used to kind of reboot the Maganacs with minimal data loss.

#4 – I believe this is the same as the Neuenheim Konzern, however, in previous chapters, the whole name was transliterated. Here, the Neuenheim is the same, but the j.a.panese convention of adding the kanji “sha” (which means company) was used. The only explanation for this difference, aside from stylistically wanting to avoid over-using the same word (which wouldn’t be a problem since it’s been a while since we read anything about this company) is so the j.a.panese audience can see, at a glance, that this Neuenheim thing is the company not the eponymous man (and “konzern” isn’t something I’ve ever run across in my forays into non-FT reading so…)

#5 – If this is a reference to the Wizard of Oz, that’s cool because apparently, this phrase is also a regular part of the j.a.panese vernacular (now, perhaps it was adopted after the movie came out but if not, then it’s a fabulous case of independent creation that dovetails spectacularly).

#6 – I find it odd that this sentence follows the typical j.a.panese convention of not distinguis.h.i.+ng between plurals and singular nouns (although there are ways to specifically note plurals, especially easily done with people by adding “tachi” or “ra” to the end of the word). This drives me nuts in technical descriptions as I can never be sure if there’s ONE gun turret or TWO. However, I think it’d odd that we spend the rest of the chapter discussing the Cinq Royalty and Sumizawa does NOT make a clear reference to the TWIN daughters of the royal house of Cinq, despite telling us there are TWO in the very next line… I’ll bet it means one of the bought the farm :PPP

#7 – First, the stupid cat’s stupid name. Transliterate “Somewhere” into j.a.panese and you end up with “sa-mu-u-e-a” and five syllables is INSANELY LONG for j.a.panese people, so they LOVE to shorten stuff. So “sa-mu-u-e-a” gets shortened to “sa-mu” and that is the same way the name “Sam” would be katakana-ized. So it makes PERFECT sense in j.a.panese to connect “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” to Sam the piano man in “Casablanca.” And I googled the phrase, watched the youtube clip and it IS “Play it once, Sam” not “Play it again, Sam.” And, if you didn’t know (as I didn’t) “As Time Goes By” is the song that Sam plays in Casablanca. Sam in Casablanca is not, however, a cat.

#7.5 - Well, the j.a.panese is right there if you want to cut and paste and take your chances. I am not super familiar with how cla.s.sical pieces are named, but the Chopin I looked up seemed to be typically divided into numbered opuses first followed by another number. I'm going with a straight translation of the j.a.panese, but I'm not sure if that's the particular song Sumizawa was thinking of.

#8 – We all know “sensei” right? I just find it hard to translate calling someone “sensei” in this situation because “sir” seems too stiff for Katerina and “teacher” or “tutor” sounds dumb as no one calls their teacher “TEACHER!” unless they have forgotten their teacher’s name. So, I’ma sticking with “sensei.”

#8.5 - As in Socrates, "I only know that I know nothing"

#9 – Haha, I think it’s funny that the first entry for this particular word “customs” is actually “s.e.x services.” I doubt, however, that they would be having discussions about that… although….

#9.5 - literally, this is "man woman between" and other uses I found pertained to things like "pay discrepancy between men and women." However, given the tone of this pa.s.sage, I am interpreting this to mean "romantic."

#10 - I believe an LJ reader commented that there is a Weyridge in the original animated series and he says “Katrina.” I am only left to wonder why this might be since he is clearly helping Sabrina, not Katrina, here. Foreshadowing, perhaps?