Chapter 3: The world of the Saiyans
Kaelor had adapted to his "situation." He had long since stopped being indignant about certain circumstances, such as being treated like a baby or not having control over his own physical needs.
To those in his situation who dared to say that controlling one's bladder like a baby was easy, Kaelor would have a simple answer. "Fuck you."
Saiyans possessed intelligence comparable to that of humans, but their ferocious nature often overshadowed this trait, which led to them being underestimated.
Their cognitive development followed a process similar to that of humans: like any other species, they needed to be taught and often took longer to absorb concepts and learn new skills.
On the other hand, the Tuffles were a deeply knowledge-oriented race, with a remarkably advanced cognitive capacity in areas such as science and technology.
Their brains were adapted to analytical reasoning, which allowed them to make impressive discoveries and innovations.
However, this specialization left them limited in other areas. By focusing so much on intellectual development in a specific field, they often neglected other cognitive skills, such as solving practical problems or adapting to situations that did not involve pure logic or scientific reasoning.
This limitation, although not obvious at first glance, created an imbalance in their way of thinking and acting, restricting their capabilities in a world that demanded more than just academic intelligence.
Kaelor surprised his father, Tarako, by demonstrating an unusual ability for a Saiyan: he began to speak much earlier than expected.
While Saiyans normally took about a year and a half to utter their first words, Kaelor was able to communicate fluently at 9 months of age, an extraordinary feat for a Saiyan, which left Tarako amazed and disconcerted.
For Tuffles, this ability to communicate emerged even earlier; at about 7 months, they were already able to express themselves in an understandable way.
The fact that Kaelor had only begun to speak at 9 months was seen by her as a delay compared to Tuffle standards.
His mother attributed this to his Saiyan ancestry, believing that this trait had been influenced by Kaelor's Saiyan side, a sign that he was already being affected by the particularities of a Saiyan.
His mother, fully aware of the submissive position of the Tuffles in Saiyan society, knew that it was crucial to teach Kaelor about the reality that awaited him.
To the Saiyans, the Tuffles were viewed with contempt, a conquered and dominated race, and the difference in fighting power between them and the Saiyans was immense.
She understood that, as Kaelor was half-Saiyan and half-Tuffle, he would be vulnerable to explicit prejudice and contempt from his own countrymen.
Therefore, in addition to teaching him about history and culture, his mother made sure to prepare him mentally to face the challenges that this duality represented.
She wanted him to understand from an early age that his low fighting power, combined with his Tuffle heritage, could make him an easy target for discrimination and hostility.
Teaching him this was essential to ensure that Kaelor would not become someone reckless. As Kaelor became more educated, he began to understand more deeply both the circumstances of the Tuffles and the history of the Saiyans.
The Saiyans originally inhabited the planet Sadala, their homeworld, but this civilization was destroyed by internal conflicts and discord, resulting from the exacerbated tensions between the Saiyans themselves.
The situation worsened when a Super Saiyan was somehow involved, further increasing the violence and destruction.
With the destruction of Sadala, the Saiyans were forced to leave their home planet and settle on another world: Planet Plant. There, with their overwhelming strength, the Saiyans conquered the natives and overthrew the local civilization, renaming from Planet Plant to Planet Vegeta in honor of their leader, King Vegeta.
This new planet would become the center of Saiyan power, a place where their warrior culture would flourish, but also where the oppression of the Tuffles would become a fundamental feature of their society.
The Saiyans lived under an absolute monarchy, with a highly centralized system of government led by a king who held all power.
This rigid structure reflected the Saiyans' warlike and hierarchical nature, where strength and loyalty to the monarch were paramount.
Decisions were made from the top down, and society was organized in a way that prioritized military discipline and combat. On the other hand, the Tuffles had a completely different social organization.
They lived in a decentralized state, where power was fragmented and distributed among several local despots, who governed specific regions autonomously.
This lack of centralization made the political system unstable and prone to internal conflict.
Although the Tuffles were technologically advanced, their focus on scientific and industrial development caused them to neglect essential aspects of their social organization, such as governance and political cohesion.
Furthermore, the Tuffles were, for the most part, pacifists. Their society did not emphasize war or conquest, and, unlike the Saiyans, there were few recorded conflicts in their history.
Their focus was on intellectual and technological advancement, which, paradoxically, ended up making them vulnerable when they came into contact with the Saiyans, a militarily superior and conquering race.
Kaelor also discovered that the conflict with the Tuffles had ended around the time of his birth.
In the process, he also learned more about his mother.
She was a Tuffle who, after the end of the war, had allied herself with the Saiyans, especially because of Tarako.
At a critical moment in the war, Tarako had been taken in by a Tuffle couple, Liryn's parents, when he was found seriously injured.
The couple, knowing that the fate of the war was sealed, did everything they could to ensure that their daughter would survive.
In the midst of the progress of the conflict, they ended up losing their lives. Before they died, however, they managed to ensure that Liryn was protected, which would later lead her to join the Saiyans.
Upon understanding the cruel reality of how the Tuffles were practically exterminated and assimilated by the Saiyans, Kaelor began to feel the weight of guilt.
He had arrived in this new world with a romantic vision, dreaming of a life in a magical environment, but he soon realized that the story behind his existence was much darker.
While Saiyan society was still in the process of being structured, the arrival of Freeza's army changed everything.
The galactic conqueror subjugated the Saiyans, forcing them to join his army, which led to his father, Tarako, being constantly sent on expeditions to conquer planets.
This left Kaelor and his mother, Liryn, alone in a hostile environment, without Tarako's support.
At just three years old, Kaelor already demonstrated a remarkable determination to become stronger.
He dedicated himself to intense physical exercises, drawing inspiration from the legendary training methods of the Dragon Ball stories.
With the use of weights and tireless repetitions, he managed to increase his fighting power to 40, but even then he considered it insufficient.
Obsessed with earthly training, he tried to replicate practices such as Kami-sama's training, but his attempts often ended in failure.
Despite this, his determination grew with each challenge, motivated by the idea that one day he could overcome his limitations and protect his mother in a hostile society.
One day, his mother, Liryn, decided to show him something crucial: a hidden spherical spaceship. She explained that if his life was in danger, he should use the ship to escape the planet.
Although Kaelor was touched by his mother's concern, the revelation also filled him with a silent regret.
He understood that Liryn, while wanting to protect him, was perhaps preparing for a future where she herself could not be by his side.
As Kaelor was still processing the idea of the ship and its function as an escape route, a sudden sound at the door interrupted their conversation.
A Saiyan officer stood outside, his posture rigid and his gaze serious.
Liryn, visibly tense, opened the door and began a low but serious conversation. Kaelor watched from afar, feeling uneasiness growing in his chest. His mother's expression changed drastically.
Her face went pale, as if the blood had completely drained from it.
A possibility immediately entered Kaelor's mind: "Did something happen to Tarako?"
After a few minutes that seemed like an eternity, Liryn closed the door and returned to her son. Her face held a mixture of concern and resignation, which only increased Kaelor's nervousness.
"Kaelor," she began, her voice firm but filled with emotional weight, "you have been assigned to a mission of conquest."
Kaelor felt the ground shift beneath his feet. The words didn't make sense at first. He muttered, dazed, "Mission of wha…?"
The reality of the situation began to form in his mind. He, just a child, was now seen by Saiyan society as fit to participate in their brutal missions.
Shock and confusion overcame him as he tried to comprehend what was to come.