Part 94: Kid - Entrance to Final Route - Part 7

New content starts at the s

Track—Lemurianische Ruine




"Kanashibari?"


"When you wake up and you can't move. Is that just a person's mind, too?"


"They probably can't move because somebody tied them up when they were asleep."


"Who?"


"Some S&M freak."


"As if that could happen!"


"I'm kidding..."


"You're talking about when your body is still asleep, but your mind is awake. So that even though you're conscious, your body won't move."


"What about the people that say they wake up and saw a ghost on top of them?"


"They think their eyes are open, but it's really just a dream. Because the brain is fully awake and the body won't do what it's told, a person feels fear. These two things happen at the same time... So even the most incredible dream seems like reality."


"........."


"I just told you, right? If you really, really believe something then even reality seems like an illusion."




"You can't convince me. I know...I saw her. At least I saw something."


"Don't go telling me you have special powers to see spirits or anything either."


"........."




"........."




"But no spinning your head around 360 degrees or spewing out ectoplasmic goo. Alright? And no supernatural tricks or channeling spirits either. Because if a poltergeist gets loose around here, the screws I just put in could fall out."


"For not believing this stuff, you sure know a lot about it."


"It's because I don't believe in it, that I know a lot. My knowledge is not for defensive purposes. It's for offensive ones."


"Huh?"


"I mean, there are those people that swear by ghosts, the supernatural, UFOs and that occult stuff. They're completely loony. My knowledge is so I can take them down, when I meet them. I've stocked up on enemy information for my verbal assaults. That's the reason I majored in archaeology."


"Archaeology? Archaeology...I thought that was about digging, looking for artifacts, ruins and deciphering ancient letters. That kind of stuff, right?"


"Well, maybe."

You studying archaeology...it just didn't click.


"So what are you studying?"


"I'm not doing anything that big. I'm still a freshmen so I'm only taking basic stuff. I just listen to professors lecture and go on excavation surveys. I'm still getting the fundamentals of 'What is archaeology?' pounded into my head."


"Hmmm. Oh, that reminds me. Speaking of archaeology...You, have you ever heard of the continent Lemuria? It seems like it is the origin of LeMU's name."


"Have I heard of it?.... I know so much about it that it makes me nuts."


"??"


"Lemuria is the phantom continent that is said to have existed from 200 million to 50 million years B.C. On it thrived an advanced civilization that was more advanced than what we have today. But overnight it just slipped down to the bottom of the ocean."

You recited it off so fluently that it sounded like she was reading from a textbook.

(Advanced civilization...overnight...huh? That sounds just like...)


"There are some scholars that contend that this continent was the origin of mankind. But what could they be talking about? That could never happen."


"You don't believe it?"




"The more real research is conducted, the more the theory is shot full of holes...it's no longer a legitimate field of study."


"Is that right...?"




"Religion is like that, too. Any and all those mysterious things that people get all worked up about. They're mostly all make believe. 'They're all impossible to prove, so who cares what they say?' - that's the philosophy behind it."


"........."

I thought that maybe precisely because there was no evidence for or against that what people said was actually packed with meaning. I felt like that because those words were the only foothold, the only way to really nail down reality. I absently thought about this for a minute.


"Hmmmmgggr...this screw is really tight."


"Let me try."




"Ohhhh. I'm beat...my shoulders are stiff and everything."

You twisted and stretched. Her back popped loudly.


"Hey. You know what we were just talking about..."


"What was that? Oh, Lemuria?"


"Yeah."


"Kid...you're not one of those people that get all into these stories, are you?"


"I...I don't know about that. But since we've got time to kill, just humor me."


"Alright, alright. What is it?"


"Okay. I wonder if Lemuria angered God and he sent it to the bottom of the ocean?"


"........."


"I mean, if the people of Lemuria had such an advanced civilization, maybe God struck them down for their pride or something... Huh? You?"


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


"Hellllllllloooooo?"


"This is bad. DANGER, DANGER! I'm putting myself in danger of being dragged into lunacy with you."


"Stupid...stupid..."


"Alright. I should be fine now."


"..."

Track—Hologramm


"Okay, okay. I see what you're saying. You are saying that it was like the Tower of Babel, right?"


"Tower of Babel?"


"In the old testament, in Genesis there is this story about this tower. In it, people are so proud of their achievements that they build this super high tower...this massive structure that almost reached to heaven. But God was angered by their behavior. God said, 'I will bring down their pride together with the trickery of their hands. They are impudent.' So God took it upon himself to destroy the tower and the building stopped, and people spread to all corners of the earth. That's the story of the Tower of Babel."


"Yeah. That's what I'm talking about."

I nodded without stopping my work.


"That would have to be the work of a God like Shiva."


"Shiva?"


"The God of destruction and creation. One of the main three Hindu gods. He has more than a thousand names, four arms, four faces and three eyes. He destroys the world for purposes of creation... The destruction is so thorough that in it is contained the seeds or possibility of the next generation."


"Kind of like starting from square one is better than fixing something halfway?"


"Probably something like that."


"So if Lemuria had pissed off a god enough to sink it into the ocean, then that god would probably have demolished it."


"Oh, I see..."

(A god that would purge the world of filth by destroying it... A god that damned people drunk with pride, and forced rebirth...)


"Look! You're slowing down. Hurry up and finish up."


"I'm already done."

I had finished putting in all of the screws.


"Next tighten these bolts."

I handed the screwdriver to her and took the wrench. Somewhere along the line, I had been put in charge of the work. When You pointed the flashlight near me, I saw three bolts in the shape of a triangle.


"Did you say that Shiva has three eyes?"


"Yup."


"That means..."

I put the wrench between my eyebrows.


"He'd have another eye right here then?"


"That's right. The light from that third eye burns all in the world, purifying it."


"Wow.... That sounds pretty cool."

I said that as I tightened the top bolt.


"But, I bet a visit to the optometrist would be a pain."


"You'd have to buy another lens so the optometrist would love it."

I thought to myself that making the custom frame is what would cost a fortune. But I didn't dare say it.


"That is enough of that..."




"Clairvoyance, telescopic vision, ghost sense, the gift of the prophet, the power of seeing the past or future... There are a lot of explanations behind it. Some say it is a gift from the gods, others that you can acquire it from intensive training. But what they all have in common is.. When the third eye opens, true wisdom is apparent and all becomes visible.


"They all have something to do with transcending the realm of the human...becoming superhuman somehow."


"Real wisdom..."

Muttering that I turned to face the bolt again.

(If I had that, I'd be able to get back my memory...yeah right...)


"If there really is such a thing, I want one."


"You want what? .... A third eye?"


"Yeah. If I had one, maybe I could see my past. And maybe I'd know who that girl is."


"........."


"Anyway, I'd like to see what it is like."

[You]
"You want to see?"


"Yeah. Maybe I could see something."


"Shall I give you a look then?"


"What?"

I looked up.

[Music—Stop]

And there... Was You's face.

(Wh-when did she get so close?)

We were at a distance where could just about feel each other's breath. The tips of our noses just about touched - that's how close her face was.


"Y-You...?"


"You want to see, right?"

You stared me in the eye as she said this.


"........."

I couldn't speak. My legs shook. My heart was beating as fast as it would go. It felt like it would jump right out of my chest.


"Now take a good look."

You lifted up her bangs and placed her finger on her forehead.


"Right here, isn't it? The third eye..."


"........."

On You's face... There was nothing. All I could think about was her nice skin and sweet smell.


"........."


"........."


"Ah! Ha, ha, ha, ha!"

You grabbed her stomach, laughing.

Track—Lemurianische Ruine


"Huh? What?"


"It's a JOKE! A JOKE!"


"What...?"


"Ha, ha, ha! That was too funny. Who else would take that completely seriously...you're the best."


"You're...you're so mean...You. You tease me even though you know how serious I am."


"Sorry! Oh, I'm sorry! But you keep saying one bizarre thing after another, so I just couldn't help playing a joke on you."


"Besides...what I said wasn't really a lie anyway."

Saying that, You pointed to her forehead again.


"What do you mean?"



Actually... The animal ancestors of vertebrates had three eyes. Early species of primitive reptiles... Like the tuatara lizard that still has a third eye on the top of its head.

The third eye...

The organ has a similar function to the eyeball and lies on the top of the head. This organ would be sensitive to the light of the outside world and control internal hormone secretion and balance based on light. An eye on the crest of one's head would stare straight up. It seemed safe to say that it would sense the difference in light between day and night.

A right eye, a left eye and one above... An eye on the top of the head to stare at the sky. Only we people and higher vertebrates had lost the third eye over a long process of evolution. It had been covered over by the cerebrum and we lost our ability to sense light directly. Therefore we had two light sensitive eyeballs, one on each side, instead. This lost third eye was called a 'pineal body.'

This had functioned in the brain for eons and was responsible for secreting hormones that helped carve out our 24-hour rhythm. What we called our internal clocks existed because of this pineal body.




"So the third eye in terms of human anatomical science is really no big deal. It's just an organ we lost through evolution..."


"You mean like an appendix or the webbing between fingers?"


"That's exactly what I mean."


"I finished with the bolt."


"Okay. Well then our work here is done."


"Oh...I'm tired."

You stretched as she said this. I put both hands on my waist and stretched. We were both drenched in sweat.


"Hey, I was wondering..."


"What?"


"So that occult stuff that you were just telling me about is for offensive purposes, too?"


"Well...it's not really for offensive or defensive use."


"It's just a load of useless knowledge."


"Still, I can't very well just throw it away. Maybe it has completely rooted itself into my brain."


"But you planted it there yourself, right?"


"No way!"


"My mom's the guilty one."


"Your mom?"


"Yes. My mom's an archaeology researcher. Apparently she's an expert in the ancient concept of the third eye... Anyway, when I was little, instead of lullabies she told me all these third eye stories."


"Wow..."

(Hmmm? The third eye?)

How about that? I wondered if the third eye could be related to something. I thought I would ask about possible connections, but my mind and body were completely drained.

(Oh well...I'll save it for next time.)


"I used to hate archaeology..."

You sighed as she said this.


"But one day I just woke up and found myself in the archaeology department."


"Like mother, like daughter?"


"It's not that simple."

You's shoulders slumped and she let go a deep sigh again.


"It's like some kind of curse."

[Music—Stop]



Well, it had turned into an adventure, but at least we had finished the repairs. It was just like Sara had said. The cause of the blackout was the opening of the safety valve due to the drop in air pressure.

'When pressure from the steam becomes excessive, the valve automatically opens to release the gas and prevent damage. Normally after a release of surplus gas, the valve is designed to shut naturally...but we're only at 1 atmosphere. Because the safety valve never closed, the steam continued leaking.'

...Anyway, that was the gist of the explanation.



There we opened the valve we had closed before the repairs...

Video: Prince – The Return




"So should we try to fire it up?"

Takeshi whispered the question as we stood in front of the generator switch.


"I'm turning it on."

Sara, You and I nodded silently.


"You ready?"


"Just do it."


"Pipe down, Kid."


"How about a countdown... 50 seconds to..."


"Huh? From 50?"


"45 seconds to..."

Takeshi continued, ignoring her.


"Takeshi, that's too long..."


"40...39...38..."

It was irritating.


"37...36...35..."

So irritating....


"34"

Click.

All three of us - except Takeshi - pushed the button.


"Hey! What're you doing? We still have 34 seconds to go!"


"Nobody wants to wait 34 seconds. Somebody had to push it!"


"You guys can't even wait a little more than a simple 30 seconds?"


"Why wait?"


"This...this is kind of like, a ritual...anyway, it's very important..."



The light poured down, illuminating even the corners of the room. It was like our field of vision had expanded in an instant.


"17..."


"What?"


"The lights came on with 17 seconds left in the countdown."


"What are you talking about?"


"You don't understand? The power came back on with 17 seconds left to count."


"Oh, I see..."

I understood what she was saying.


"You mean if we would have pushed it at 17 seconds, it would have been just right?"


"Yeah."


"Ah, ha, ha! That would have been something."


"Tsk."

I wasn't sure if Takeshi was over his anger, but he shouldered the heavy toolbox and left the room.

Track—Insel Null



The frozen tuna's empty eyes were waiting for us. The elevator we had used coming down had already floated up to Zweite stock. But to the left...the floor display was lit up with a number three.



Takeshi groaned as he put the toolbox on the floor of the elevator.


"You sound like an old man..."


"Shut up. I AM an old man compared to you."

While they needled each other I pushed the up button next to the door. The internal and external watertight doors had already sealed automatically. We could hear air being sent into the ballast tank under the floor. Finally, the egg-shaped elevator...didn't start to float up.


"Huh? Are you serious?"

The sound beneath the floor had stopped and silence had returned.


"Not again..."


"Why do we keep running into problem after problem..."

Knowing it was useless, I pushed the up button repeatedly. Of course, EI didn't move an inch.


"Alright, so what do we do...?"

Just as I said that... A monitor just to the right of the round window flickered to life.


"Takeshi, You, Sara, Kid."

I didn't have any major suspicions about Sora's disappearance during the blackout. I knew that she was an RSD-generated image.


"Sora? So we fixed the generator?"


"It would appear so. Thank you so much. Thank you..."


"I think you know this, but we are in this egg...uh, this EI..."


"Yes, I know. The EI is not moving, correct?"


"What should we do?"


"First, in regard to the cause... It is likely the result of a decrease in internal air pressure that has made the device incapable of sufficiently expelling the seawater in the ballast tank. In other words..."


"You mean it isn't buoyant enough?"


"Correct. There are a number of feasible methods for making it rise, but..."



In line with the principle of Archimedes...if the buoyancy was insufficient, we had to lighten the load. First, Sara and I got in EI.




"Good work you two."


"........."

Sora beamed a welcoming smile at us. Tsugumi just stood there staring at Sara and me. Next came You... And then the Tuna took the elevator to return to our floor.


"This is...c-c-cold..."


"........."

I noticed that when Tsugumi saw You cradling the frozen fish, she grinned for the first time. Sora on the other hand...


"Takeshi! Are you alright?"

...Sora ran up next to the fish in a panic.


"Uh, Nakkyu...you brought along the fish?"


"Of course. It's food after all. Waste not, want not, right?"


"Forget that for now...more importantly...Takeshi..."

Sora was still flustered and babbling next to the fish. I wondered if she really thought that Takeshi had turned into a tuna.


"This is all my fault.... Oh my gosh! What can I do?"


"Uh...I know you are occupied, but..."


"Huh?"


"I think the question is more what should I do."

Track—Ersteboden



We gathered at the rest area, had a light meal and chatted it up. From beginning to end, Sora's explanation of the RSD system dominated the conversation.

During the talking, I discovered something of interest. I learned that Sara was supposed to be amazing when it came to computers. Sara was floored the day before when she heard that Sora was computer generated. But when Sora gave her a technical explanation, she was able to absorb it all without any problem.

You said this about Sara -




"Hacker?"


"Yeah. How should I explain this...I guess you could say a computer expert of sorts."


"Anyway, she knows everything about computers. And she kicks butt when it comes to programming, too."


"She writes programs for kicks. Just the other day she got first place in some cracking contest..."


"Cracking contest?"


"A contest to break codes. Just so you know, it's not illegal. It was sponsored by some company with code technology. It was legal cracking to test the security of its technology...The company has hackers attack their algorithms."


"Just think of it as a decryption game contest."


"Oh, so it's a game."


"Just because you call it a game, I wouldn't take it lightly."


"There were engineers participating from all over the world. Winning it means that you are one of the world's best hackers."


"You could even say THE best hacker."


"THE BEST...? That's just way too incredible."


"I know. When it comes to computers...she's just a genius."





At the end of the conversation, Sora added the following.




"I am only 'seen' when someone looks at me."


"I mean, that I cease to exist when no one is looking at me."


"For example, if the five of you here all closed your eyes at once...At that instant, I would cease to exist anywhere."

Track—Heilmittel



It was a free time of sorts. I imagined that everyone was walking around LeMU, spending the time as they pleased. We had decided when and where we would meet. I didn't know what I should do with myself until then. I was bored stiff.

I looked down. The floor was covered with a layer of water. The lights in the ceiling were reflected in the water. It was like the cold light of the moon. I poked my finger into the water.

Plop.

The water rippled and the surface shook. The light in the water fragmented into disarray...finally returning to its original shapes.

I reached into to the water trying to grab the light. But...I could only grab a little seawater...I couldn't touch the light. I tried again and again, but no matter how I tried, I couldn't grab the moon. The words that I had just heard from Sora cut across my mind again.


"I mean, that I cease to exist when no one is looking at me."

I laid down on the bench and closed my eyes.



As I thought, my consciousness slipped into a
light sleep.

.......

It was actually more than a light sleep. I continued my slumber.



Track—Karussell Delphine


"Kid, everyone is waiting for you."

Sora said it softly, peering down at me spread out on the bench. I was still half asleep when Sora and I started heading for the Conference Room to meet everyone.



I remembered the words that Sora had said before I slept -

"I mean, that I cease to exist when no one is looking at me."

For some reason, I just could not shake those words from my mind. I asked Sora walking next to me why she had said them. And this is what she said...


"Someone sees me. That action allows me to manifest myself for the first time. On that eye, that visual point. That someone's eye actually creates me. Kid...When you close your eyes, I disappear."



This is actually the last choice that either takes you off of Coco’s route or lets you continue onward.

_{It may or may not also be a bit of a trick choice. Good luck!}