Part 73: Kid - Sixth Day - Part 2

Track—Heilmittel




"...I told you I didn't want to talk about that, didn't I?"


"Huh? Oh, yeah...Uh"



‘That wasn't the reason that I invited you here today.’

‘There something about being with you that relaxes me...’




"..........................."


"..........................."

I was sorely regretting that I had brought up this topic.


"Th-that reminds me..."


"Eh? Y-yeah?"


"I didn't really tell you about the meaning of the concept behind the third eye, did I?"


"Uh...no. You always say 'I'll tell you next time.'"


"You're right."


"Well, this is a good chance for me to tell you the whole story."


"Really? Well, you can skip the boring stuff."

You stood up and turned to face me.


"Ahem... It is time to start Nakkyu's seminar on the third eye."

I clapped for her half-heartedly.


"First, we'll start with something that is blatantly obvious. People have two eyes, right? One on the right, one on the left."

You winked with one eye and then the other.


"With these two eyes, people are aware of the three dimensional world around them. If you lost the sight in one of your eyes, I won't say it would be impossible, but it would be difficult to get a sense of the world, its depth and dimensions. Close one eye for a second."

I closed my right eye as she said.


"When you look at the world that way, the information you get is only enough to basically form a flat image of the world. Of course, by focusing on different areas or moving your eyes you could get a sense of the three-dimensional image of things, but... But it wouldn't give you anything close to the perspective or 'dimensional awareness' that you would have using both eyes. Do you understand what I'm talking about?"


"..."


"Alright, I'll leave out the unnecessary stuff... In other words, this is what I mean - If a person looks at the world through one eye, they only get enough information for a flat or two dimensional view. Essentially, it's like a picture. If you are looking at a photograph of scenery, you have the trees in the foreground, a lake in the middle and a string of mountains in the background...thus you get a sense of distance in the picture. But that picture is still only two dimensional, right? It was developed on a flat surface. So a photograph is actually a three-dimensional image recreated two dimensionally. Now that I think you understand that..."


"........."


"What? You still don't get it?"


"I don't get it and my left eye is tired."


"Oh well... Okay, this time close your left eye..."






"That's it. Now, how about we do a little experiment?"


"Experiment?"

Nodding, You took a marker out of her pocket. She took the cap off and handed the marker to me.


"So? What do I do?"


"Try to put the pen in the cap that I'm holding."




"So you want me to put the tip of this in that hole of yours?"


"Yeah. Hurry up."


"You want me to put it in?"


"Yeah..."

I took the shiny black pen, lifted it toward the little cap that You held...trying to put it in...


"Huh? That's weird... I can't find the hole..."

The slightly slippery tip wouldn't slip into the hole. I tried again and again, but it wouldn't go where You wanted it to go.


"It should be easier than this..."


"Geez you're really bad at this."


"Well, whaddya expect me to do? It's my first time doing this."




"S...sorry..."


"Where are you poking that thing? …That's the wrong spot. It's a little closer to you."


"Here?"


"No, no. Further back."


"Yeah! Right there! Stick it in! Hurry!"

Click!




"Oh good, you did it, and it's your first time!"


"........."


"........."




"I think you've seen how hard it is to be aware of the different dimensions of things from just one perspective..."


"So?"


"To review, this is what I mean. The information that you get from one point is flat or two-dimensional information. To get enough information for a three-dimensional view you have to have at least two perspectives. So, your right and left eyes... If you don't use two viewpoints, then you won't be able to register what is going on around you in three dimensions."


"?"


"Do you still NOT get it?"


"I see what you're saying, but... What does this have to do with the third eye?"


"It doesn't have anything to do with it. I've already just about explained the whole thing."


"???"


"Alright, let me try something else. Let me ask you a question... What kind of information can you get from one perspective?"


"You said two-dimensional information, right?"


"And what kind of information can you get from two perspectives?"


"I think you said three-dimensional information."


"And so from three perspectives what kind of information could you get?"


"Hmmm...four-dimensional information maybe?"

[Music—Stop]


"Huh? The fourth dimension!"

You nodded slowly, listening to me.

Track—Hologramm



Wait. What was a dimension anyway? You took a notebook out of her locker and started illustrating her points with diagrams using the familiar pen.




















"Yup. It's space plus time. Just like we can use our two eyes to constantly have an image of the space in the world before us..."


"So with three perspectives, we can also be aware of the cross-cutting element of time."


"Yup. That's it."

You put the cap on the pen.


"I feel like I kinda understand."


"What?"


"My premonitions. I didn't travel through time."


"I know! You've gained the third eye! That's why you know the future! ...Why do you keep saying such stupid things?"


"You don't think so?"


"Nope!"


"I mean, there's no evidence. Why would your third eye suddenly open? For what reason? By what method?"


"I'll bet...if I get my memory back...then I'll..."


"That again? You always fall back on your amnesia. You were looking for the cause of your memory loss in the first place, right? So, what do amnesia and the third eye have to do with each other?"


"........."


"And what about that ghost girl that you said you saw?"


"........."


"I mean it's so naive, stupid and childish..."


"But your mom believed in it, right?"


"We're not going there! I don't want to think about the past! I told you yesterday as well!"


"But... Do you like things the way they are? You don't care if you never find out who your mom and dad were for the rest of your life?"


"Stop it!"

You had covered both of her ears in denial.


".................."


".................."


"I...I wanted to know about my past. I still hope to find it out. But I don't have my memory nor any clue to go by so..."


"........."


"You have...your memory, right?"


"—!"


"So that means that you have something that I don't have. You have a clue. And more than that, you were able to get information from LeMMIH. So how come you still don't want to think about it?"


"........."


"I thought you came to LeMU because you wanted to find out the truth. Why'd you change your mind? Did something make you change?"


".................."


"Why are you denying your past? Isn't that the same as denying yourself? With your own two eyes... Why don't you try to face truth directly?"


"..........................."


"You!!"

I grabbed You's arms and pulled them away from her ears.


"Answer me! Why?! Why do you want to give up when you are almost there? Why throw away everything that you have worked so hard for?"

I shouted at her. Because I couldn't believe what she was doing. It was something that she would be hard pressed to find in her wildest dreams... And just as she was about to attain it, she had suddenly changed her mind. I was nowhere near reaching my dream. But You's was almost within her reach. So I felt...terribly...terribly...disappointed.


"........."


"I don't get it. What you have longed to know is right in front of you, and...I was so jealous...and so happy for you. Why...?"


"........."

[Music—Stop]


"I got scared."


"Huh?"


"I got scared of learning the truth!"


"........."


"Think about it! Everything that I've believed for so long has turned out to be lies. It's all just fiction...! Tell me! Is that supposed to happen? Is it normal? I can't believe anymore...I can't believe anything."


".................."


"I didn't know...that the truth was this painful."

You put her hand on her chest.


"It hurts. My heart hurts. The closer I get to the truth, the more my heart gets shredded to bits... I can't take it anymore...!"


"............................................."


"I don't want to know anymore... I don't want to know...what is real!"

At that sound and shaking we looked up in surprise.

Track—Drittestock

The next instant, warning alarms started shrieking. All around me the squeal of straining metal echoed from the structure. The shaking continued on and off. W-what...


"No...no way...!"


"Could implosion already have started...?"

It was 5:45 p.m. The estimated time of implosion was 4:30 p.m. May 7. But given the 12-hour margin of error, I thought it could well be the implosion. We burst out of the room.



I was stunned by how high the water already was... In a little while, the alarm ceased. It looked like the flooding had been stopped just in time.


"It looks like it's under control..."


"Yeah..."


"I wonder if everybody is alright."


"Let's go check. Sora? Sora? Can you hear me?"

But there was no response.


"It's no good...I bet the sensors are out of whack..."


"Should we go find Sora first? She's probably in the Control Room."


"Yeah."

We put our argument aside for the moment and concentrated on handling the situation at hand. You and I headed down to the third floor.



You sprinted down the stairs.


"..."

Even though we were in the middle of a crisis, I couldn't get my mind off of what we were talking about. The mystery surrounding You's parents. And my inexplicable premonitions. I just had this feeling that these two things were somehow connected to the third eye.

(Why? Why can't I shake this feeling?)




"Hey, You."


"What? What's wrong?"


"I was just thinking... I was thinking that the thing about your parents and the stuff that has been happening to me might have something in common."


"........."


"I got the feeling that...'the third eye' ties them together somehow."


"What're you talking about? Do you know what kind of situation we're in right now? This is about whether we live or die! That's not important now!"


"It is! But you said your mom said the third eye..."


"Don't you talk to me about my mom! That person...is not my...!"

You stopped in mid sentence. Suddenly, she lifted her head and started running. I hurriedly went after her.

[Music—Stop]



I looked at the life reading numbers.



In other words, everyone was alive.



Incidentally, Sora had removed the login restriction that had kept us from accessing it before.


"I figured it out. I know how to do it."


"What?"


"How to get authorization clearance."


"So you figured out the password mystery?"

You shook her head.


"That's not what I mean."


"What then?"


"The empty fall sky/ A single cuckoo calls out/ Brings a chill to me. That should be the password."


"But you couldn't get through with that before, right?"

You input the password.

''Access denied/ Invalid name or password.'


"See?"


"No, that's not what I mean. It wasn't the password that was wrong. It was the name."

You moved the cursor to the name column. It read Yukie Tanaka.


"That person wasn't my real mother... So her name wasn't Yukie Tanaka... So she wasn't registered under that name at all! So... So if I can figure out what her real name is..."


"Her name... Name..."


"Hmmmm...hmmmm..."


"You never saw a drivers license or any document with your mom's name on it?"


"Nope. Not even once."


"I see..."


"Until now, I never even dreamed that that person was lying about being my mother. I always thought that she was my mom...that she was 'Yukie Tanaka'... That was what she said.... Normally no one would ever think that their parent is lying about their name."


"That's true..."


"Hmmm..."


"It's no good...! I've got no clue."

You put her arms around her head and bowed it down.


"There are just so many possible patterns..."


"But you could narrow it down a certain degree, right? Even if she were using a fake name, I'll bet it has something in common with her real one. Like the initials are the same or something..."


"I don't think that's very likely."


"I mean, she was impersonating my mom, Yukie Tanaka, after all. It's not like she made up some Miss virtual somebody. So I think it makes more sense to assume that their names won't have anything in common. If she was a complete stranger, there is no reason for her last name to even be Tanaka."


"Yeah...I guess you're right."


"Besides, even if the letter of her name were the same... She could be called Yui, Yuka, Yuki, Yuko, Yuna, Yuno, Yuma, Yumi, Yuri, Yue, Yukari, Yukiko, Yukina, Yukino... Yukimi, Yusako, Yutaka, Yuzuki, Yuho, Yuma, Yumika, Yumiko, Yumina, Yumeko, Yumemi, Yuyu, Yuria, Yuriko..."


"..............."


"And those are all just off the top of my head. The chances are slim, and she could have a bizarre name like mine."


"A bizarre name... That reminds me, you still haven't told me your full name... I remember you saying it was really long."


"Yeah...it goes on forever. So people always get it wrong."


"No kidding?"


"...Do you want me to tell you?"


"Your full name?"


"Yeah."


"Course I do."


"It's kinda embarrassing, so I don't usually tell people, but..."


"Since it's you, I'll tell you."


"............"


"But you have to promise not to laugh. Okay?"


"S-sure..."


"Alright! Here I go! My name is... Yu...bisei...akikana... Tanaka."


"Uh..."


"The 'Yu' means gentle. The 'bi' means beautiful, the 'sei' means pure. The 'aki' and 'ka' mean autumn and scent and 'na' means flower."


"..............."

(Yubiseiakikana ...Tanaka...)


"So? Whaddya think?"


"............"


"I know. It's such a long name you don't know what to do with it."


"No...it's not exactly...that...It's the aki... Aki...?"

Yubisei'aki'kana.


"Is that really it?"


"Geez! Really! You don't believe me? It's my name. It is!"


"That's not what I meant..."


"Anyway, come with me."

You took my hand and led me out of the Control Room.




"Listen, I don't think now is the time for this!"


"Be quiet!"


"Even if YOU don't like it, it is still my name so... It's the name that my mom gave me... So you have to believe me!"


"........."

You stood in front of a door at the edge of the room.


"This is the room for operators to run the theme park. This room is used to adjust the lighting, the air conditioning, observation cameras and other stuff... This door is set up so that park visitors can't accidentally open it. Only registered staff can open it. You have to undergo a fingerprint and voice check to open it."


"So what?"


"I'm a member of the staff, so of course I am registered here. That means that if I don't say my proper name, the door won't open. So if the name I just told you is a lie then it won't open the door. Get it?"


"Yeah. I got it."


"Seeing is believing, right? Let me show you. You ready? Watch closely."

You put her hand on the panel next to the door. The panel had a lamp that was shining red.


"Yubiseiakikana Tanaka."

Beep!

Responding to her voice, the lamp turned green and then...

Whiiiir!

The door opened.


"So? Believe me now?"


"...Yeah."

With that I thought I had to believe her.



That whole time, You's name kept churning through my mind.

‘Yubiseiakikana...’

‘...Akikana...’

(...Aki...)

The truth was a lie. The lie was true. My mind was confused with what might be true and what false...But...

(I thought that if a name had autumn, or 'aki' in it, there might as well be one with spring, or 'haru' in it.)

Gradually I became convinced that this could be right. When we got back to the Control Room, we decided to review escape routes...But we didn't really think we would come up with anything new.

Video: Kid/You – Raphael




"W-what...what's that exclamation mean..."


"Could it be...that this... Could this be a message from the outside?"


"What...!?"



It was a shaky video mixed with static... When the screen finally settled down...




"........."

Track—Drittes Auge Nehmen


"M-mother..."

Was this person...? Was she...You's mother...?


"No... You're not...are you? You're not really my mother, are you?"

[Woman]
"That's right... I am not your mother..."


"—!! You are...terrible... How could you lie to me all this time..."

[Woman]
"I can't talk about that yet."




"You've deceived me all along and... You even want hide the truth now!?"

[Woman]
"I never deceived you... I may not be able to call myself your mother. But...but You, you are really my child. You were born of my body..."


"Don't lie to me!"

[Woman]
"I'm sorry...You... After you come up here, I will tell you..."


"Here? Where is here? Where are you?"

[Woman]
"I am on Insel null, the floating island."


"Huh? What are you talking about? ...What are you...?"



Then a man appeared.



[Man]
It will remove the water from the emergency stairs near the central area and the emergency corridor connected to them. The estimated time of completion is 9:30 p.m., three hours from now. When the water is cleared, we want you to climb the emergency stairs to the surface island. Please remain where you are until then."


"Who...are you?"

[Man]
"I will explain everything once you are up here. It's not the kind of thing we should talk about via a display."


"........."

[Man]
"But You, there is one thing I want you to know. Your mother loves you more than anything. Please don't forget that."





[Music—Stop]



The six of us said hardly anything. Everyone just stared off in space waiting impatiently for time to pass. You slumped back in a chair and stared blankly at the ceiling. She looked like a puppet with its strings cut. The room was tense with anticipation. I couldn't handle it and decided to...



Welcome to the last choice on You's route.

Note: I keep forgetting to mention this, but feel free to request scenes or choices that we've missed/skipped.