Part 111: The source of Okabe's problem comes into focus

"Basically, we're going to leap to the β World Line in Attractor Field β."

"We won't get interfered with?"

"Attractor fields completely diverge. But if we go to the instant they diverge, then..."

"The instant they diverge... is that now?"



"An earth-shattering divergence, on par with the ones in 2000 and 1991, occurs, causing a branching on the attractor field level."

"Umm, why 2000 and 1991?"

"Global scale incidents happened on both years."

"Incidents?

"1991 was the collapse of the USSR, right? But what was in 2000...? If it were 2001, it would be the simultaneous terrorist attacks..."



"Haah? That wasn't as big a problem as it was hyped out to be, was it?"

"That's because the α World Line we're on is a possible world where the Year 2000 problem didn't occur."

So basically, does that mean there are other possible worlds where the Year 2000 problem did occur...?

"And 2010."

"Did a large event happen this year?"

"This year's mysterious event..."

Suzuha looks towards the development room.



"Ah, I see! That's true. Amaaazing."

"Another question."

Kurisu keeps plowing ahead. I guess this is one of her scientist traits.

"These superpositioned world lines aren't parallel worlds, are they?"

"No. At the very end, they're just possible worlds that exist simultaneously."

"Then how do you observe the differences between world lines? Isn’t that impossible without the perspective of a god?"

"That's usually true, but..."

Suzuha looks at me... don't tell me!



"Is that what you named it? Okabe Rintarou, you have the special ability to observe the passage of world lines, correct?"

"Yeah."

"That is the key. Your special ability is the key to release the world from the curse of SERN's rule. Right now, you are an existence rivaling God."

"...My ability..."

"Outside the scope of Attractor Field α - if you reach the β World Line... the converging result changes, too."

My body trembles. I almost roar from excitement.

"...Can she be saved?"

Mayuri.
Can she be saved?
Suzuha nods clearly.



This is the only path. All I can do is take Suzuha's proposal.

"Wait a second."

But Kurisu's a downer.

"Is that really all true? Amane, did you possibly mix in any of your delusions?"

"Wh-What?! I didn't mix in any delusions!"

"Calm down. I'm not trying to pick a fight, but I have my doubts. In the first place, how did you know about Okabe's ability, and that Okabe and I were in Akihabara in 2010? Isn't that a little too detailed for someone born in 2017?"

That's... true. Everyone glances at Suzuha.



Will...?

"Will? What do you mean?"

"I decided to time travel because I read father's will. Father was one of the founding members of the Resistance and studied time machines separately from SERN. He studied it to change the future."
But... SERN killed father, too... That's why I'm here, to succeed father's will."

"...I'm sorry."

Suzuha doesn't look at Kurisu. She still seems to have ill will.

Kurisu wouldn't actively cooperate with SERN. I know that, but I couldn't just tell Suzuha off after hearing her heroic past. It might be an outburst of anger or scapegoating, but Suzuha really does see Kurisu as the main cause. But if that's the case, why didn't the time traveler Suzuha kill that main cause?

Maybe she couldn't kill her. The world converges. No matter how much I struggle, Mayuri dies.



Suzuha clears her throat as if wanting to change the subject.

"Akihabara, 2010. The time machine created here accelerated SERN's own time machine development. It's necessary to obstruct that to guide the course of history."

"Obstruct? How?"

"SERN has noticed us."

That's clear from Moeka's attack.



"Mail data...? It wasn't that they caught us hacking?"

"Like I said, nobody can catch my hacking."

"But, what mail data?"

"Isn't it that thing? The mail Okarin sent that said Cris died..."

The mail I sent to Daru right after Doctor Nakabachi's conference, huh.

"Ah, that..."



"They probably caught that mail that crossed through time."

"They already caught us back then?"

But now that I think about it, the first time I came in contact with Moeka was the day after I sent that mail.

"We're swimming in the deep end, aren't we..."

"Mayushii's good at the breaststroke!"

"Alright, alright, do a sexy underwater M-shape pose."

"But just how did they catch us... Hundreds of millions of mails are sent around the world each day."



"Echelon, you say?! That really exists...?!"

This is unthinkable information for people who dabble in conspiracy theories, but it doesn't seem like the other lab mems understand the meaning of Echelon. I'm the only one surprised.

"You know, SERN's always observing everyone else's time travel research with Echelon's outstretched antennae."

Meaning that if a mail that crosses through time exists, it wouldn't escape Echelon's sight.

"So you need to take the 'first mail data' and delete it from SERN's computer. If you do that, then SERN won't notice you guys. The time machine won't be completed in 2034. On the contrary, time machine research itself will be at an impasse."

So basically, deleting that data will lead us to the possible world where SERN doesn't make a time machine, huh.

"Hmm, but when we hacked SERN's database, there wasn't any data like that..."