As the cast is leaving Aluminum City to set up a whole new city in Rubber City,
Senku communicates his plan to the group... and they all seem largely okay with it. It's is a bit of a surprise, I was expecting some sort of resistance. Vocal resistance, someone bringing up a concern. But they all probably understand the need for heading to the moon soon. Even if they opposed it, they would have to bring up a counter solution, which would be harder to think of. They're used to just trusting in Senku's plans.
Except, one of the characters is opposed to the plan. None other than our own Ishigami village scientist, Chrome. He has always been a bit of a sentimental person, even as a scientist. It was somewhat expected that he would oppose the plan. The more surprising thing is that he did not voice his opposition outright. Back when Senku suggested a suicidal plan to get the Sulphuric acid, Chrome protested outwardly. This time, he keeps his opposition inwards, which is a great sign of character development.
He vows to come up with a way of having Senku’s group to return from the moon. This would mean having to come up with a return craft, which is no easy feat. Luckily for him, he has another scientist willing to help him out. Meet, Suika. He asks her for help, assistance which she is all too willing to offer. Back in chapter 201, he recognized Suika as a Science rival, but this time he is willing to team up with her to save the others.
The two need to learn all they can about space travel, so they approach Sai asking for help. Sai himself is surprised, but he does not deny their request. It must be noted this isn’t Chrome or Suika’s first time taking lessons from someone else. Back when Senku arrived at Ishigami village, he taught Chrome about the old world. And Suika took lessons in Ukyo’s academy at the village. Making these two the best people to pass down stuff to.
Lessons that we see carrying on even when the group heads to Indonesia for the last material on the road map, rubber.
A destination that a few people had guessed already, Rubber City is indeed based in Indonesia. Rubber is a raw material that we have had prior experience within the story. Back in the South America arc, they needed rubber for motorcycles. A small amount, not so much. This time, they need tons more of it, necessitating heading to one of the world’s largest producers of rubber. But a fun fact, the rubber trees growing in Asia were originally from South America. The British transported the seedlings from one continent to another, and now production of rubber in Southeast Asia dwarfs that in South America.
Also, another random fact, the name of the tree from which rubber is derived from is called Hevea brasiliensis.
What are these last two raw materials used for? Aluminum will be needed to create the rocket body, but they are not planning on processing it in Australia. Or in Indonesia. They will head to Japan because an ungodly amount of electricity is used to process aluminum. Such electricity can only be obtained from a hydro-electric power plant.
Aluminum requires 190-230 megajoules of primary energy per kilogram of aluminum extracted to process it. In 2014, 49.3 billion kg of aluminum was produced, this means that 9,367 quadrillion joules (9,367x1015 joules) of energy was required for its extraction and processing. Couple that with Japan’s main means of renewable energy being hydroelectricity, and you realize why they need to head to Japan. I wondered whether they would make use of the Niagara Falls for the power though.
There is also another reason to head back to Japan. One that everyone already realized. Ruri, Ishigami Village, plus those left behind on Treasure Island need to be revived. And not just them. Senku plans on reviving more people to help with making the rocket, which means that we might be seeing more of Japan than the two regions so far.
People need motivation to work, so we have that in food. Not just any food, rice.
Just like corn is the staple food in America, rice is the staple food in Japan, and the rest of Asia as well.Rice is so important in Japanese society that it has been called the essence of the culture. Even a superficial examination of Japanese culture reveals the complex connection rice has to many of its forms and expressions, in both historical and contemporary settings.
Indonesia is also one of the world’s largest producers of rice (Third actually), so them farming rice in Indonesia is not so out of place.
The Kingdom of Science has experience with growing things before, so this is no new task for them. Back then, they grew wheat, using calcium carbonate as a fertilizer. This time, they mix in phosphorite with nitric acid and wood ash to make fertilizer.
With the prospect of reviving a lot of people in Japan, health issues will occur. Despite this, Senku decides against using the Medusa to treat people’s injuries. His reasoning makes sense. A single misfiring of the Medusa, and the world could get petrified all over again. Just like what happened in North America. He tells Ryusui about this, and Ryusui realizes Medusa grants immortal life to anyone. It’s a similar conversation to what they had while leaving Treasure Island, but back then Ryusui was asking Senku why he did not use the Medusa to heal his injuries from Ibara.
With Ryusui learning about the immortality secret, this makes it that all the members of the crew heading to the moon know about the Medusa’s capabilities. A neat detail. However, with Senku sealing away the Medusa, one wonders if this is a set up for the device being used later. Or someone stealing it for their own purposes. It feels like one of those things that we will not be kept away for a long time, considering how central it is to the story.
There were quite a few things of interest to take note of in these two chapters. The first is the obvious Suika/Chrome subplot that has been set up to save Senku’s group. Going to be very interesting to see these two teams up, also how long they will manage to keep the secret from Senku and the others. Maths is just the first point of what is going to be a long journey, what will the product be? There is also the imminent arrival to Japan. What will they find there waiting for them? Could there be trouble waiting in paradise?
Trivia:
-Ukyo cries when eating onigiri, but its not the first time he has done that. He also cried back when they ate bread, which was Francois’s first cooked product in the Stone World.
-Senku mentions the fact that there is no winter in Indonesia, which is true. Indonesia is located directly on the Equator, making it a tropical country. And as we saw before in the manga, the closer you get to the equator, the hotter it becomes.
-The island of Nauru, where Ukyo and Yo passed by en route to Australia, is a country located in Oceania. It is the world’s third smallest country. There is a plateau in the country that is largely composed of rock phosphate, which forms the island’s largest source of revenue (By exporting it)
-The Indica strain of rice mentioned in the chapter is the major type of rice grown in the tropics and subtropics. It grows mostly in the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Java, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, central and Southern China, as well as African countries. However, indica is not known to be sticky like the rice used in Japan (japonica rice) which is sticky because it's loaded with amylopectin. So Senku is saying they're lucky this strain has more amylopectin than typical indica rice.
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