Dr. STONE SCIENCE FUTURE

Episode 9

From the start, Xeno has played his cards very close to his chest. He has one person he can trust by his side—a person who is completely loyal to him. The rest of his group is small and easily led—if not by him directly, then through Stanley. And while his people have recreated many things from the old world, he alone has decided what should be made and how. This is all because of his glaring weakness: a need for complete and utter control.

As we focused on the last episode, Xeno aims to become the sole dictator of the Stone World so that no one can impede him from doing the research he wants to do. In this world without technology, he knows that knowledge truly is power. And while he may dole out that knowledge in the form of technological advancements to keep his people happy and strong, he is not interested in passing on the sum total of what he knows to another. After all, why would he? Doing so would only erode his own power for no personal benefit.

The issue Xeno is facing now is that he assumes that any other surviving scientist would think along the same lines as him. And although he now knows he is up against Senku—and that they have diametrically opposed philosophies on science—he's not yet noticed that his personal bias has clouded his judgment. Or, to put it another way, it has not occurred to Xeno that someone like Chrome might exist.

As Xeno had done so many years before (back before his dream project was denied), Senku has reached out to an eager young mind and mentored it. However, Senku hasn't just been passing on knowledge to Chrome; he's been teaching Chrome how to think and plan. All that's happened before has been training for this moment. With Senku incapacitated, Chrome needs to stand on his own. While he may not even know what a drill is, he does know how to invent one—how to design a tool to overcome the problem they are facing.

Moreover, Xeno thinks he has decapitated the Kingdom of Science, left them as rudderless as his own people would be without him. However, not only do they all believe in Chrome—both modern humans and Stone World natives alike—they have other leaders like Ryusui and Tsukasa to fall back on. Better still, because of Senku's insistence on sharing the wonders of science, everyone can assist Chrome. Even the most hardcore warriors know how to read a project plan at the very least. In the end, this serves to once again mark the stark difference between the world Xeno is trying to create and the one Senku is. In Xeno's, he is the only scientist. But in Senku's, everyone's a scientist.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• The idea that Luna was a med student makes perfect sense. While she's long since decided she needs to capture a man to succeed, her heart calls on her to try and help others. This is why even when killing “the scientist” was her nominal goal, she is unable to sit back and simply watch Senku die.

• It's crazy that Senku and the others never depetrified a doctor—or several, for that matter.

• The medusa is the perfect distraction for someone like Xeno—though I worry that he might be able to figure out how to charge it.

• Given the level of Xeno's technology, surely the “Why Man” knows of his existence as well, right? I wonder if he's received his own message.

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Dr. Stone: Science Future is currently streaming on Crunchyroll on Thursdays.