On the 12th of February, a Friday, Ben had just finished school.
„What are you doing this week? You know that we have holidays, right?" Alex asked Ben curiously. A part of him believed that he could be more like Ben if he passed more time with him.
Ben knew exactly what he wanted to do. Make the best dodge Skill in the world. But he couldn't say that to his friends. On the other side, he doesn't want to lie as it would make him feel bad and maybe Alex would still want to help him.
„I want to research and create a formula. I am just so interested in what could be the human limit of dodging!" Ben said excitedly.
„Wow. How come you want to do that? Isn't it boring?" Amadeus commented while imagining himself playing games and Ben on the other side writing formulas in the week.
„Nice idea. You mean to simulate a human dodge a bullet or a punch." Tobi reacted interested.
„A bit more complex. I want to not just dodge, but also if the physical limitations aren't enough to dodge, you can move enough so that the bullet or the attack doesn't damage important organs. I want that the body predicts how other attacks would hit and move away so that he won't fall into a non-dodgeable trap of attacks.
Dodging bullets, no!
Bullets travel too fast and are too hard to see while doing so to actually see, anticipate, and move out of the way.
You can dodge the shooter's aim though, before the bullet is fired, by moving rapidly and sporadically perpendicular to their line of sight. This makes them have to track you, anticipate your moves and wind up overcompensating as you stop and they continue to move their aim for a fraction of a second longer. So evading bullets won't be the goal of my work." Ben explained slowly.
The long explanation made his friends next to him, frown.
´How ambitious is their friend? Why would he search on that topic? ´
As nobody spoke, Ben used the time to ask:
„I know that my aim is quite ambitious or that there is no use in doing sth. like that, but it will allow me to improve my Physic knowledge and Mathematics knowledge.
I know that I am being selfish by asking, but would anybody help me in my research?
I will even gladly pay all the meals and snacks while working on it."
Everyone was even more shocked. Ben had changed a lot since his coma, he was more mature and more studious, but this was on another level.
Additionally, he asked them to help him. It wasn't like they didn't want to help. It was just the first time that Ben asked for such a big favor.
The silence continued, while they were walking to the station. If they waited another 4 minutes, half of the group would separate from Ben.
Tobi broke the silence first, his voice seemed excited:
„You can count on me! I don't have anything to do during this short holiday. I will ask my big brother and my father for help. They should have some great tips!"
Alex woke away from his stupor and followed with:
„I may not be a great help, but I will give my best to help you with your project."
„Thanks, guys. No need to force you too much, if you don't want to." Ben thanked them, then looking at his other friends still hesitating.
„This seems like a good activity to see each other in the holidays. I may not be always there to help. I also hope that we can do other activities together after researching." Jonas said, being happy to spend more time with his friends.
In a situation, which needs greater sacrifice or isn't worth the favor, friends show their true faces. It may seem unimportant or just his poor luck, but it shows, how strong the bonds are between each friend.
„Sorry, Ben. I don't have time to help you." Said the first friend, walking away to the bus station.
„Yeah. I wouldn't be a great help and my time also is limited. See you guys after the holidays!" Another said, following the first one.
„My mother is sick and I need to help her recover. Good luck with your project. See you later."
The third lied. Nobody wanted to sacrifice his holidays for a boring project. The three were just people, who hang out with this group. Ben wasn't such a good friend in their minds.
The train, which drove to the downtown, arrived and everyone except Ben and Amadeus took it.
Being alone with Ben, Amadeus felt awkward. He didn't answer Ben's request, because he just bought a new game and had planned to play it the whole week.
Ben didn't say anything to Amadeus. He knew that for every holiday he passed at home, he would buy a game and play it till the end.
´He wouldn't be able to help that much. I mean he is not worse then Jonas, but one errand boy was enough.´
„Ben, do you want to see how a perfect man would dodge or how every possible body would dodge?" Amadeus asked carefully.
„I want to make a formula and the knowledge of how to dodge perfectly with any human body. For example my body." Ben answered simply, thinking that Ama was doing Smalltalk to kill the silence between them.
„To achieve that you would need a lot more time and computing power for all the variables." Ama said confidently.
„You are right. I will never achieve that in just a week. So I planned to continue working on it." Ben told the truth. He knew of that problem. He was rich and had time.
He had time until the calamity to perfect his dodging project.
„Ben, I don't think I can help you personally ..." Ama said, till the moment he was interrupted by Ben.
„Don't worry, this is just for me. You don't have to feel bad about not helping me." Ben said friendly.
„Ääää... Ben! I have some friends online, who would help me if I ask them. With their gaming computer, they can easily perfect the formula, you are looking for.
They can directly test the effectiveness of the formula in a physic simulation program, they already have on their work computer." Ama said, finishing his phrase.
Ben was one of his best friends. He may not be a great help, but he knew of some Ingenieur and computer scientist, who could help him.
Ben was greatly surprised.
´Was I so naive. I just put Jonas's help on an equal footing with Ama's help. How stupid am I? Never underestimate a hobby gamer! He may be the greatest help, I could have asked for.´
„Ah. Sorry, Ama. It would be very helpful to have your and their help." Ben apologized.
....
On his way home, Ben was called by Efron.
„Hey, Efron. How come you always call me when I am on my way home?" Ben asked curiously.
„Hahaaha. This is my greatest secret. Just joking. I know that you are the earliest joinable at 13:30, so I wait till that minute to call you." Efron's answer reflected that he was very happy.
„Why are you calling? Did something great happen?" Ben asked calmly.
„Yes. Great news. The buying rate is over our estimation. We have trouble producing enough NuHealth 1.0, the demand is just too high. We are practically already rich and famous. Just this morning, we were interviewed by many reporters." Efron recounted overjoyed the situation.
„This is great. Don't expand too much the production. I want you to open a new section in your company!"
„What section would you like to create?" Efron asked with a frown. He fought Ben wouldn't give them orders. That was what the contract said.
Ben understood what the change of Efron's voice meant. He followed with:
„It isn't really a section. I just need some chemical/biological scientists to produce some products. It won't be official and is firstly just for me.
I just need you to hire and pay these people as I don't have my own company."
„OK! This shouldn't be a problem. So what exactly should I do? How many scientists do you need?" Efron asked, feeling a bit better.
„I just need a small lab and 3 or 4 good scientists. It depends on what you find. It isn't urgent, so look after the best and pay them accordingly. I also need a confidentiality agreement from everyone. It won't be an illegal act, so they don't need to worry. I will send the product information after you finished your work." Ben answered and directly ended the call. It was his habit and he didn't want Efron to ask any more questions.
He wanted to research and produce other potions to enhance his body. Now that LifeUp had enough fonds, he could use their power.
Today, Ben wasn't going to train in his storehouse. The research of dodging was more important.
Firstly, he marked a picture of a human body and market in different colors the importance of the place.
Secondly, he looked for the best moves to dodge any attack.
Thirdly, he looked at physic formulas, which were essential for the project.
Before Ben went to bed, he sent a message to his best friends, informing them that he rented a room for the week. He didn't want to have his parents disturb them and even less that they know of it. It was somehow embarrassing for Ben.