Steins;Gate Part #24 - A cool farewell is ruined

Part 24: A cool farewell is ruined

"Your line of thought is okay to express verbally, but it doesn't hold in academic society. The day you decide to research time travel theory is the day you're out of a job."

"How can you say it that certainly?"

"That's how my father was. My physicist father loved time machines. He was fascinated by Wells's 'The Time Machine' and seriously studied them. But since he was too obsessed, he was nearly banished from academic society. Since I saw that happen to my father, I don't want to get involved with time travel research...!"

Her sheer force puts me to shame this time.

I feel like I stepped on an unexpected land mine. What do I do? If I get her any angrier, she could sting me.

Let's calm her down a little. Umm, how should I talk to her...?

"...I'm sorry. I got emotional."

She apologizes first. Cristina's calm nature saves me.

"Fuhahahaha! Don't worry about it! I wanted to test your nature, so I purposefully made you angry!"

"...Anyway, the Microwave Ophone isn't a time machine. Mail transmission is a man-made system, so it should be a phenomenon explainable in the scope of that system."

"I understand how you think, Assistant. You hate time machines that much. Your reaction was like an allergy. I'm sorry to trouble you by forcing you to become a lab mem. You don't have to come back."

"...Even if you didn't tell me, I wouldn't come."

"But I will tell you this, Cristina."

"Don't say Cristina."

"Lab Mem Number 004 will be a retired number. That number... is yours forever."

Ending the speech, I turn my back to Kurisu. I don't look back. I close my eyes and walk slowly. I'm not looking ahead, so I'm worried I might bump into someone. Wait, am I even walking straight in the first place?

My shoulder is suddenly pulled from behind. I brace my legs so I don't fall backwards.

"Like I said, I'm not your assistant! And besides, I still have something to talk to you about!"

Dammit, her obstinacy has returned!

"I didn't hear this, but before, you said I was stabbed, right? I demand an explanation for that."

That's right, another phenomenon that hasn’t been elucidated even though it occurred in real life.

"That was an illusion I saw."

I'll just leave it at that for now.

"Why did you dream about me?"

"I don't know. And it wasn't a dream, it was an illusion."

You said something about Doctor Nakabachi, but what was it?"

"On that day, Doctor Nakabachi held a time machine presentation at Radio Kaikan."

"The presentation was canceled. Because of the satellite crash."

"That's how things seem to have turned out, but it safely opened in the illusion I saw. Mayuri and I went to see it when you called out to me."

"I don't flirt, much less call out to idiots like you."

"Like I said, it was an illusion, right? No, maybe... it's this world that's the illusion. If that's the case, that solves the riddle of the Microwave Ophone (Temp). If it's an illusion, then it could possibly disregard the laws of physics."

"Escapism? How unexpectedly chicken."

"I proposed a hypothesis. That's the strong point of physicists."

I recall the sight of Kurisu collapsed in a puddle of blood and start shivering. Was that really an illusion? Even so, it was too real. I can clearly remember the smell of blood.

"When I rushed over, you were already collapsed and bloody. I couldn't find the culprit."

"I don't get it. Why do I have to die in your illusion? Do you hate me?"

"Not one bit. At that point in time, we had only spoken once. We were just passing strangers."

Well, that time we talked was during the illusion, so strictly speaking, at that point in time, the only information I had on Makise Kurisu was that she had been published.

"Anyway, we basically had no points of contact. That's why, after seeing your corpse, I ran away without calling 119."

"How cruel."

"What do you want? You want me to go back to the past and handle your corpse courteously? I'd need to use the Microwave Ophone (Temp) for that."

"That's enough. Don't see any more illusions. It doesn't feel good to think you're being killed in other people's dreams."

"I can't make any guarantees. To do that would require 24 hour perfect surveillance inside my brain."

"You really have a comeback for everything, don't you?"

Kurisu shakes her head in amazement as she walks toward the station. Looks like she wants to end the conversation.

"Kyah, what?!"

"I'm not done talking."

"You're trying to pick a fight."

"It's revenge for ruining my farewell scene, Cristina! You shall regret your thoughtless actions!"

"Okay, okay, understood. So, what?"

"About the IBN 5100."

"I don't know what you mean if you just say 'about'. What about it?"

"...No, if you don't know, that's okay. Fare thee well. We'll probably never meet again."

This time for sure, I turn my back to Kurisu--

"Don't just stop talking there. That feels bad, you know?"

Damn woman. Not once, but twice...!

"What is the IBN five whatever?"

"IBN 5100. A retro PC from 1975. I'm searching for it now."

"What do you plan to use it for?"

Looks like she's interested. She was the same when she came to the lab, too, but it seems like this woman is just brimming with curiosity.

"Interested?"

"...Just a little."

"Then allow me to tell you. The IBN 5100 and SERN have a secret connection. And through our lab's elevated examination efforts, we have found traces of SERN researching time travel."

Now, be surprised!

Kurisu gives me a cold glance, this time for sure letting go and walking away alone.

Fuck-damn-shit-cunnnnt! Just you watch! I'll definitely disclose SERN's conspiracy!

Yesterday, after parting with Kurisu, I walked around looking at the shops throughout Akiba until dark, but to no avail. I expected obtaining the IBN 5100 would be fairly difficult. It already feels tedious.

Radio Center's narrow passage. Lined up on the left and right are small parts shops. Here are the old vestiges of the bygone Electric Town, Akiba's conscience, so to speak. Light otaku who like anime or large appliances don't really set foot here. It's like a holy ground where only true maniacs can enter.

By the way, I'm not too well-acquainted with parts either... Furthermore, the parts shops only sell parts, so it's not like there would be a large retro PC laying around here. I didn't consider that. And yet, I've still been rummaging through the lined up parts in excitement. If the shops' geezers yell "Hey, kid! You're ten years too early for this!" I'd have no choice but to run.

At present, the geezers don't seem like they'll yell at me. It's more like they're ignoring me. I feel broad-mindedness from them for allowing me to look without permission. Or maybe they're just annoyed at me. Hiding that excitement, I examine each store with dignity, but I can't find hide nor hair of the IBN 5100.