Murim Recurve

Chapter 166 - Censorship Works Based On Intent

"The creator of Steelcraft?" Re'Kha frowned as all she could see on the screen was garbled static. After a moment of thought, she spoke, "What is his name?"

"#&*&%"

"What did you say?" Re'Kha asked. 

"#&*&%, his name is #&*&%." The boy replied. He then realised something as he said, "How did his name sound to you?"

"It sounded like #&*&%," Re'Kha said.

The boy then said the names of other people that had been important in the creation of Steelcraft, and Re'Kha then iterated the garbled sound it resounded as in her ear. Followed by a sigh, he picked up his phone and opened another app, writing the character 'M' in it.

"Can you understand this?" The boy said, watching his right hand display a thumbs up. He then wrote the second character, watching the thumbs up slowly curve downward until the thumb faced him straight.

And, as he drew the third letter, the thumb fully faced downward. The boy concluded, "This shows that two letters are the limit before it is fully censored in your senses."

He then erased it, took in a deep breath, and wrote 'A', 'B', and 'C' on the phone, getting to know Re'Kha was able to see it perfectly. Then, he wrote the letter 'H' after rubbing the three letters. It was still visible.

Then, he wrote 'D', 'E', 'F', noticing Re'Kha was able to see this too. Followed by a smile, he wrote the letter 'M' again. This too was visible. The boy continued to draw like this until he finished everything, erasing the last letter he drew.

"Ignore the three-letter batches and join the rest. You'll get the name of the creator…" He was suddenly plagued by intense coughing fits. Only when he began to take in deep breaths and relax his posture did the coughing fits stop.

And, the moment he tried to continue the previous sentence, the coughing fit returned. As it continued three to four times, he realised what was happening and sighed, "It seems I cannot explicitly say them to you. But, I understood the basic rule the censorship works with."

"So, what rule is this?" Re'Kha inquired.

"Intent," The boy relaxed as he smiled.

"Intent?"

"Yes," The boy nodded as he muttered, "Irrespective of the laws used to restrict us, even if there are thousands of laws, humans are good at finding loopholes in them. So, instead of that, the censorship works through intent. If there is something forbidden, whatever action I do with the intent to deliver that forbidden something, it would be censored. This would be a lot more fool-proof than hundreds of clauses of restricting cause and effect."

"That makes a lot of sense." Re'Kha nodded, adjusting the paper cup over her ear to continue listening to the sounds in Chaya's room.

"Yes, but as you saw, it is not foolproof. I was still able to give you the name of the creator of Steelcraft. See if you can pronounce his name." The boy said.

"I can't," Re'Kha sighed as she shook her head, "My thoughts are getting interrupted. I can picture each letter of the name clearly, but am unable to put them together."

She then took control of the hands, scribbling on the phone. But, the moment she finished the first two letters, the image became garbled static to her.

"At least, you got the name right. So, you might one day be able to say it outright." The boy said, looking at the time to see that it was still the middle of the night. There was a lot of time for dawn to arise.

"Alright, now teach me some basics about the fundamentals of your world. Since you're an Engineer, it should be possible for you, right?" Re'Kha said.

"Alright," The boy nodded, "But in return, tell me more about your world and how the superpowers there actually work."

"Alright, fine by me." Re'Kha nodded, feeling it was better for her to learn from an expert than surf through the internet. Her understanding of it might still be shallow even if she spent a lot of time on the internet.

But on the contrary, the boy was pretty smart too. So, he might be able to come up with terms that Re'Kha was knowledgeable about to use them as a base and teach her. This way, she wouldn't forget them after exiting Earth.

The two engaged in a discussion, constantly exchanging information from both their worlds. At times when it involved Steelcraft, the information would be censored to her. But on the contrary, Re'Kha could talk about anything and nothing was censored to the boy.

'Is it because he would forget everything with the next reset?' She thought.

Time passed in such a manner as Re'Kha obtained a basic understanding of their mathematics, time, and the basic system of units like distance, weight, etc. She then learned about concepts involving the elements and how everything in their world functioned based on them

The boy primarily focused on the aerofoil theory and propulsion, stating how those two were the primary components that changed their world greatly. Re'Kha used her current understanding to tell about many things from her world which the boy used as a base to form a relation between the elements active in both the worlds.

And, using this relation, he explained the fundamental laws of earth. This way, Re'Kha wouldn't forget them upon exiting Earth. Time passed in such a manner. Soon, it dawned as the birds took flight early in the morning.

As her character had been covered from head to toe in protective gear, he wasn't affected by the cold during the night. Moreover, he felt slightly warmer. Thankfully for him, the morning still consisted of cold winds.

Only later during the day would his getup become uncomfortable. Finally, it was 6:00 AM as Re'Kha heard the sounds of alarm through the paper cup, stopping all discussions as she tensed up immediately.

It was time to confront Chaya's secrets.