Part 49: Hashida Itaru makes a spirited attempt to change history

I scream from the absurdity. Daru and Kurisu look at me with cold eyes, but I don't care.

"Me, a messiah, he says?! Give me a break. Like hell I'd do something worthless like save humanity!"

It's just laughably absurd that he'd write messiah.

"If the same thing happens to you again, please contact me once more. That moment will prove that you are the messiah." Titor wrote that as his conclusion, ending our mail exchange, but I'm not even close to fully believing in Titor's words. I'm not so gullible as to think he's telling the truth.



"And what I wish for is chaos. Do you think that defeating people of influence will bring about peace? The answer is no! Absolutely not! Treehuggers with flowers for brains who believe in such a pipe dream should just die! What follows after the destruction of authority is lawless chaos, fuhahahaha!"

"Hey, Makise. What the hell happened to Okarin?"

"Beats me. A few hours ago, he was zealously mailing John Titor when he suddenly got quiet. He's been like this for thirty minutes."

"Something's just overall wrong with Okarin today, dontcha think?"

"Agreed."






(Rintarou's voice actor, Mamoru Miyano, played Setsuna in the then-latest Gundam series, Gundam 00. )



"Seriously? Manager's still downstairs, you know."

"Fret not. It's almost closing time for the Braun Tube Workshop, after all."

"The Microwave Ophone shouldn't be operable at night, remember?"

"It's worth a try! At least we'll be able to figure out until what time the Microwave Ophone can operate. And at the same time, Daru, and you, Cristina. I want you guys to use D-mails to change the past."

"The past...!"



Actually, I'm starting to doubt them more. We have no choice but to find out the structure of the world ourselves. And to do that, we need to experiment. We should look for how that mass disappearance and past memory alteration are related to D-mails.

According to Titor, I have a special ability - that is, Reading Steiner. Setting its authenticity aside, I should confirm whether or not the phenomenon of memory continuation is limited to me.

"Change the past to your liking, as long as it’s something easy to understand."

Preparations for the Microwave Ophone (Temp) are complete. Daru's eyes wander at the ceiling in thought. Next to him, Kurisu shrugs as she picks up her bags on the way out.



"Hold it!"

When I hold her back by the shoulder, Kurisu nearly falls down backwards.

"Hey, what's your problem?!"

"Who's writing that report?"

"You, of course. You're the operation's tactician, after all. If the subject himself were to write about his impressions during the experiment, that would be even better."

Kurisu says so as she shifts her glance to Daru.

"Are you not interested in changing the past? What happened to your eagerness to experiment?"

"Did you just completely forget what happened this afternoon? I'm opposed."

"But when the experiment started, you were enthused. You went along without a single complaint."

"Don't fire off delusions."

I warp my lips into a grin.

"You're not being objective, Cristi... Celeb Sev."

"Don't correct yourself like that."

"We already performed one experiment. I changed the past myself."

"Wah, Okarin, you can't steal a march on us!"

"I didn't. As a result of changing the past, you all lost your memories of before the change."

"You talking about this afternoon? You suddenly asked about the LOTO SIX."

"Yeah."





"By any chance, are you joking?"

"I'm serious."

"Seriously?"

After looking at my face, Daru seems to understand I'm not joking. Kurisu's got a sour look, but she's always like that. Why did everyone else lose their memories? Actually, did everyone else lose their memories? I want them to experiment too to find out.

"Hwa, OK! I know what I want to change about the past no matter what."

Daru's really good at adapting. He no longer doubts my word. Or actually, maybe he's just faithful to his carnal desires.

"What? You going to tell yourself to go on a diet last year?"

"I wouldn't go on a diet even if I got a mail like that."



"You're gonna overturn the result?"

"I almost completely remember Faris's strategy, so I'll get behind her and attack. Hwa, aren't I a genius?"

But with Faris's level of skill, I think she'll get behind Daru behind her.

"Whatever. Daru, prepare to D-mail!"

"Alright, I'll give it my all!"



To set up the Microwave Ophone (Temp)'s forwarding, I set in front of the X68000 and take a look at my watch. 18:55. It's impossible to tell whether the Microwave Ophone (Temp) or not. We haven't formed a clear line between the times yet.

"So what do you think? About memory continuation."

"You're annoying. So your Zombie nickname isn't just for show?"

"I don't understand what you mean."

"Zombies attack people even when they're dead. It's really annoying."

"Cut the jokes. I'm serious here."

Kurisu's face is scarier than usual. I might've wet myself a little.

"I think that the D-mail's destination is the key. In other words, the person who receives the mail from the future. Only that person is free from the influence of past alteration... I guess."

"Hmm..."

Actually, that condition doesn't work. If that hypothesis were true, then that wouldn't explain the mass disappearance... but I don't have evidence that that incident is related to D-mail, either. We can't say anything for sure unless we actually try.



"No."

Kurisu replied emphatically.

"I won't send one."

"Scared?"

"That's not it."

"Worried about time paradoxes?"

"Well there's that, but if I had to say, then it's my personal policy."

Policy?

"It just feels to me like changing the past is cowardly. I may have only accumulated 18 years of life experience, but I still don't want to change those memories."

"I see. You're content with how perfect you are now, so you don't want to change."

"How did you come up with that... I don't want to deny who I've been so far, because even all of my failures are a part of who I am today."

"Even if we settled all of the Microwave Ophone (Temp)'s problems, you wouldn't use it? Even if John Titor said you could use his time machine however you wished, to whenever you wished, you wouldn't use it? Even if a blue cat-type robot were to come out of your desk, you wouldn't use it?"

Kurisu strongly affirms my questions.

"I wouldn't use them."

"But you love experiments, don't you?"

"I-Is it wrong to love them?"



"You--"

"Done~"

Kurisu draws closer, but is pushed away by Daru, who presents his phone with a triumphant face. When I take a look at it...



"I don’t get it at all."

Me neither.

"It's Faris's card arrangement. You can tell just by looking, hurr. You guys are lame."

Really.



We set things to send Daru's mail about 52 hours back to Daru's own phone. The discharge phenomenon occurs safely. I close my eyes from the bluish=white light scattering sparks.