By now, more than five models had been produced. The first was too heavy, the second too delicate, the third did not rotate so well, the list went on and on. As it turned out, there was much more that went to making a bicycle than Keita had realized.
At every point, there was a bunch of new technology. For instance, Keita had forgotten all about the ball bearing, until he realized he needed the joints to turn smoothly. In another instance, Keita had to spin some cables to make a braking system for the bicycle, another aspect he had forgotten.
Matter of fact, after they had successfully made the bicycle, fixing many of the issues, Keita had managed to ride the bicycle for a short distance before realizing he did not add anything to stop the bike. That's when he remembered all about the braking system.
Such small details were never in his initial designs, but he would remember them and incorporate them into the designs as soon as an issue arose. Through this, the structure and functionality of the bicycle became evident.
To Keita, this was a small matter, simply recalling from memory what he had seen in bicycles that he had ridden in his past life. However, to the craftsmen around, everything he did was revolutionary.
They felt that they were looking at a god of innovation, who never seemed to run out of ideas, and whose ideas were so well thought out and wholesome that they were left speechless, most times. It was hard to imagine that he was still a small boy.
To the craftsmen all around him, Keita seemed infallible. The image of the boy in their eyes was slowly transcending that of a man to something more. One such craftsman was known as Bwire.
Having grown up in an impoverished part of the kingdom, Bwire had left his home at a young age, making his way to the capital. Somewhere along the way he had picked up craftsmanship as his way of making a living.
Starting off as an apprentice, he quickly demonstrated great skill and profound talent in the area, causing a master from one of the noble clans, the Rono clan, to take notice. This is how he ended up as one of the retainers for the clan.
"There's just some people you cannot judge by their looks," After watching Keita's work, Bwire couldn't help sighing. He had judged that Keita was too young, so for him, working for the boy was a steppingstone to get to the real shot callers. He found that he had to change his opinion of the boy. If he kept going like this, the boy would end up being the shot caller.
Now, he no longer saw Keita as young. He knew, if he made an impression on the boy when he was young, he would surely remember him as he grew up. That way, the man could secure his position as one of the Rono clan retainers.
The ball bearing, for instance, was such a simple solution but extremely revolutionary. To Bwire, even if he had a million years to think about it, he would never have thought of such a simple, elegant solution.
The same went with the tires, the rims, basically, the entire bicycle. Everything looked amazing, well thought out and at the same time, simple and easy to use.
However, the real innovation behind the bicycle was not all these things, but that while in the heart of the bicycle that had protrusions coming off it. He remembered the boy had called it, "the gears."
These gears had blown everyone's mind. The concept behind them groundbreaking and unheard of. The advantage it provided for the rider and the entire movement of the bicycle came as a surprise.
The gears, coupled with the chain, looked complex, but were actually very easy to understand. Bwire found himself thinking up so many applications for this concept that his brain felt saturated. However, if he could think it, he was sure Keita had thought it too.
Once the final product was produced, Keita sat on the main seat. Pushing forward, Keita remembered all the memories of him riding a bicycle. First, with his friends, then with his children, and much later, with his grandchildren. By the time the great grandchildren had come along, he was already too old.
These thoughts flooded his brain, bringing him endless gratification at having achieved something so profound, even though he was building from memory. As for his crew, each person was awash with awe.
The entire bicycle looked so flimsy, yet it came as a shock when they realized just how much weight it could hold. It did not need to be fed or cleaned after, yet it could serve the same purpose as a beast of burden, or a mount.
Moreover, it was a basic construct that could be carried on one's back or shoulders to be used when needed. The possibilities were endless.
Right now, it was miniature size, considering the one who would ride it was a boy. However, Keita had already spoken about building one that was adult sized. For a child, it seemed nothing more than a toy, but the big one was bound to bring untold opportunities to the people.
Everyone waited with bated breath as Keita climbed on the bicycle. After much suspense, the man pushed forward. As the pedal moved, so did the bicycle. To Bwire, someone who had seen several of these trial runs, he still couldn't get over the fact that something so simple looking could be so complex.
With every step, exerting his weight, memories from his past life came flooding back, until…
Puh!
"Ouch! That tree came out of nowhere."
"And you expect me to do better than this?"Zukov shouted, as he laughed at his brother.
Since he would be the contestant, he had been somewhat involved in the production of the bicycle. Keita wanted to gauge his performance and see if he could tailor the design to his brother's need.
Turns out, his brother was a protege compared to him. His power and grace made him stand out among the youngsters. With only several days remaining, Zukov had to master using the bicycle as best he could. However, that did not seem to be a problem.
From the moment he laid his eyes on the bike, Zukov could not be separated from it. He rode it from dawn to dusk.
He was instrumental during the design and testing phase, giving feedback at every turn. As such, the bicycle felt like an extension of himself. He was as nimble as a monkey. Keita thought he would be a great showman, and he would give daredevils in his past life a run for their money.
One really had to admire Zukov's physique, his strength and agility. After one afternoon, he looked like a seasoned cyclist. The best part about this was, he was very fast around. Fast enough to stand a chance in the competition.
As the boys were playing around, unknown to them, two figures appeared in the clouds above them. One figure looked drowsy, while the other was quite agitated.
"My Lord, look at that construct!" The agitated figure said. "That is confirmation that he has his memories back. That construct looks like that bicycle from earth."
The drowsy figure paid attention for a moment before stating, "That's because it is."
"Then isn't that confirmation that he has his memories?" The figure stated, getting all the more excited. He knew what that meant for their mission. They did not have to wait for long now.
"Not really, we have no idea if he has all his memories. What else has he been doing?" The other figure asked. No touch of drowsiness could be seen on his face. He had been in deep cultivation sleep for several years, with only a sliver conscious.
"My lord, it's just the construct below. He created a sword some time back, but it did not resemble any from his previous lives, hence, we did not deem it necessary to disturb you." The figure answered.
"A sword and a bicycle? Has he shown any signs of remembering anything other than a bicycle? Does he have any memory of his existence before earth?" The lord demanded rather curtly.
"Unfortunately, there has been no indication." The servant replied.
"How could you wake me up for this only? Have you grown tired of living?" The lord loudly demanded. "If I wanted to be awake for everything, what would be the point of having you around!"
The servant immediately fell to his knees and profusely apologized to his master. He knew how ill-tempered this man was, and even though he couldn't really kill him, since they were both dead, he could make him wish for death.
"I am sorry master," the man said, "I was too excited. I will not repeat it again."
"Come to me when he decides to build something horrific." With that, the Lord vanished, leaving a forlorn figure behind.