Part 18: John Titor provides more details about the future

"Even if I did, there's no way in hell I'd tell a hitman hired to kill me."

"I'm not going to kill you."

"To tell others of my abilities is to commit suicide. My powers are concealed. Using them without the opponent knowing is the way to obtain their maximum effectiveness."

"Stingy."

"Say what you want."

Burning tension runs between Suzuha and me. Our glances cross scattering invisible sparks.






Lately, I've started to get fed up with the mail ringtone. It's probably from that mail demon Masseuse. I can tell even without checking.

Tch, it's starting to get irritating. She's got some stalker qualities. Maybe I shouldn't have given my address to this bipolar lady.



How can she be this lazy on her second day? Her liking Braun tubes was a lie after all.

"You look kind of sullen. Did you get a death notification?"

"Huh?"

"Just an example."

Normally, you don't use death notifications as examples, do you? How can she use that example with a straight face? Also, what's a death notification? Does that even exist?

"I was asking if you got some unpleasant news."

"...Something like that."

This woman's speech mannerisms are unstable. I really shouldn't let my guard down.

"There's a woman with a reckless obsession for the retro PC called the IBN 5100."



"IBN 5100...?"

"Do you know about it?"

"Ahh, yeah."

"I see. So the IBN 5100's urban legend is famous, huh."

Maybe there's an unexpectedly large amount of female otaku with interest in that retro PC.

"Yeah, that's it. How much do you know about it?"

"I actually tried hunting around for the IBN 5100, but in the end, I came to the conclusion that it's not in Akiba."

"I see. Well, that's true."

"You sound like you know something."

"Eh? Well, I kinda know it, but kinda don't, I guess."
"I don't know, but a distant acquaintance of mine does, and I asked them about it a little or something. Ahah, ahahah."

Another insincere smile. I'm starting to think that this woman is actually pretty clumsy. It seems like she's lying whenever she puts on that insincere smile.



"Just what are you..."

With a silent sigh, Suzuha falls back onto the counter. She looks up at me in that posture.

"I was thinking of giving you a bunch of interesting information on the IBN 5100, but when you look at me with those eyes, I don't feel like it anymore."

"I don't have any interest in the IBN 5100 in the first place."

Settling Akiba's urban legend won't do anything about the world's ruling structures.

"You don't have a shred of credibility. I wouldn't know if that interesting information is true or not."

"Uwah, you'd go as far as to say that? Well, I certainly am acting suspicious."
"Then I won't tell you, but I'll give you a hint. And then you'll get irritated when you think you know it but don't, and writhe in agony."



Hidden function... That reminds me, then John Titor I remember from 2000 said something like that.

"I'm pretty sure the IBN 5100 can do something or another with a proprietary programming language."

"No way! How do you know?! How, how?!"

It was just a faint memory, but it looks like I hit the mark. I grin.



"What, that's not fair!"

Suzuha covers her face with her hands for some reason. She looks this way through the gaps between her fingers. Even if you do that, you can't escape my ability. The opponent dies.

"I see through everything, Amane Suzuha. Prepare yourself!"

"Bluuh. Anyway, the IBN 5100 has a hidden function! It can decipher IBN's proprietary programming language, written before APL and BASIC became widespread."

I'm fairly certain that Titor said something like that. And then right after Titor's prediction, an IBN engineer officially admitted to that function's existence.

"Now it's a dead programming language only decipherable with IBN 5100s."

Titor's goal in traveling to 1975 was to obtain an IBN 5100 for that function. I wonder if Moeka's desperate to use it, too. I don't think so. Shining Finger doesn't look like the type who would know about that sort of thing.

"That's why the IBN 5100 is a super rare PC."

Suzuha says that while dropping her glance to the pin badge in her hand.



Searching for it might be an option to increase our research funds... but SERN is a higher priority right now...