Ch.2020. Speculation.

# 20. Speculation

Human knowledge, which observes the world and assigns meaning to it, is always accompanied by experience and judgment.

Humans, who possess autonomous will strong enough to deny even the “instinct to live” that all living beings naturally possess—to the point of taking their own lives—are inevitably subjective.

However, because humans cannot accept things and phenomena as they are, but instead view them through inferences based on their own experiences, observations, and causality…

The world, which was originally objective and unified, became filled with a mixture of falsehoods and truths.

People use various abstract words even when referring to something visible like “an apple”—sweet or bitter, small or large, round or angular.

These concepts and comparisons belong exclusively to humans on Earth and were called reason—the representative ability that distinguishes humans from animals.

Unlike animals that merely sense and intuit, humans named themselves Homo sapiens, “wise man,” because they possess reason that allows them to think and perceive.

And the foundation of this reason was none other than time and space.

The further an object moves away from the present time and space where people breathe and live, the more subjective and abstract people become. They rely on experience or become so fixated on causality that they believe even flimsy evidence.

Religion, history, space, and the deep sea—subjects of judgment that have continuously changed with the development of civilization, which made the non-objective objective—have now converged at a single point.

[Is humanity’s end predetermined? Numerous experts remain silent. Is there no future for this world?]

[Is the end of the world right around the corner? The spread of doomsayers roaming the streets… triggering social unrest including property destruction]

[‘We need to stay strong especially in times like these…’ Charity and environmental organizations that haven’t lost hope]

Mori’s video caused a significant social impact.

People who interpreted the same phenomenon differently based on their experiences or senses gathered their knowledge and intentions to find what was “more correct.”

And once again, without fail, numerous experts and scholars gathered to hold in-depth discussions and analyses regarding Mori’s video.

But who could possibly provide an objective analysis and correct answer about a world that doesn’t exist in this timeline?

The only thing that existed was the video uploaded to the video site, but even that could only be addressed by taking down the site’s servers, which only strengthened the circumstantial evidence that the video truly came from the future.

“So you’re saying those ruins in the video are really our future!”

“Do you have any evidence that it’s not from the future? Video analysts have stated that ‘no signs of manipulation could be found.’ If that’s not the case, it would mean someone created a set of that scale without anyone noticing—this isn’t a movie. You know that’s impossible, right?”

Mori’s video itself was evidence of humanity’s end, transmitted from the future to the past.

However, 21st century humanity had no evidence to claim that Mori’s video wasn’t true or that it wasn’t our future.

“…Then how many years does humanity have left?”

“That too… is something we can’t know at this point.”

People hoped that Mori’s video would be similar to the movie “The Truman Show.”

They wished she would walk out of the set herself before society became more unstable, declaring that everything was fake and there would be no apocalypse.

They hoped she would end the video with the famous line, “In case I don’t see you later, good afternoon, good evening, and good night.”

But Mori’s life and video were real. Just as our lives in the 21st century are real, her life was simply genuine, which is why even those who initially denied it gradually came to believe.

Eventually, within a few weeks, the consensus across nations and social classes was that Mori’s video had indeed come from the future.

At the same time, many people came to realize that humanity’s end was an unavoidable truth.

People showed different reactions in the face of this predetermined end.

“Who cares? It’s hundreds of years in the future anyway.”

Some people remained optimistic, living today just like yesterday, saying that even if humanity faced extinction, it wasn’t their problem.

“Ha. What’s the point of working my bones off and saving money when it’ll all be useless in the end?”

Others put everything down, claiming that if the ending was already determined, the whole process was meaningless.

“The only way to receive salvation from the coming apocalypse is through our Lord God! Only by believing in God!”

Still others roamed the streets, praising their deity in hopes of receiving salvation for their souls if not their bodies.

And society, where all these people mixed and gathered, became absolute chaos.

In just a few weeks, negative thoughts and perceptions permeated the foundation of society.

The surge in demand for disaster supplies and the exodus of workers created major economic turmoil.

It felt as though the apocalypse had already arrived.

“—First, proper communication must be possible. Even if real-time communication isn’t possible, we need to properly convey what humanity wants to say now.”

But as they say, light exists even in darkness.

Even in a society thrown into confusion by the predicted apocalypse, human intellect continued to shine.

“Haven’t we already tried everything worth trying? How else can we do it?”

For scholars seriously contemplating humanity’s future and seeking ways to avoid the apocalypse, Mori’s broadcasts were incredibly frustrating.

Mori herself had almost no knowledge about the time period she was in.

With only unclear goals and destinations, she was merely wandering.

Mori wasn’t someone who had lived in that time period, and she didn’t even know her videos were reaching humanity in the past, so it couldn’t be helped.

While her exploration of unknown places and honest expression of her thoughts and feelings might be very attractive and entertaining for ordinary viewers…

It was disappointing for those who needed to use Mori’s videos to guide present-day humanity away from extinction.

“Can’t we restrict video access to authorized users only?”

“I asked about that, and while it’s possible to take down the server and make it accessible only through the company’s internal network, they said it’s not possible to do that for just one specific video.”

“Then why not do that!”

“…They angrily asked if we would cover their financial losses. They said, ‘Current business profits and market share are more important than an apocalypse that may never come.'”

“What a profound statement. Damn, yes. From the company’s perspective, her videos are like a goose that lays golden eggs, so they might actually prefer this situation to continue.”

“Um… couldn’t we create another video site and encourage her to upload there instead?”

“We’ve already tried that. It seems that only that site managed to survive hundreds of years into the future. It’s not surprising when you see how they prioritize their own interests even in this situation.”

Despite facing the enormous problem of humanity’s extinction, perhaps because it was measured in hundreds of years…

Even those who took the apocalypse seriously often recoiled and backed away when asked to sacrifice current profits to solve it.

“Heh, animals only become aware of death when faced with it, but humans use their lives meaningfully because they’re conscious of approaching death with each moment—the ancient sages must be weeping in their graves.”

“That’s how the world works. People don’t pay much attention to crises or disasters until they invade their daily lives, even when they know about them. If we didn’t have these jobs or positions, we would probably react the same way they do.”

Most of the people gathered in the conference room, showing great interest in Mori’s videos and actively working to solve the apocalypse, were scientists and philosophers who researched and analyzed space-time.

They were professionals dedicated to exploring universal truths like time and space, and using them to solve current problems.

“…Even if we could communicate with her, would that really allow us to change the future?”

Amidst the ongoing discussions about solving the apocalypse, a man raised his hand. His name was Eugene, a young physicist.

“Nothing is certain. But if we want to change even a little…”

“I’m asking if that ‘little’ is correct. I keep thinking… thinking that we’re blinded by the immediate apocalypse and missing something more important.”

If the future where Mori exists is truly our future…

Shouldn’t we consider it the result of the words and decisions made by the people gathered around this table right now?

If an exceptional idea were conceived here and implemented globally—one significant enough to change the future—then the future where Mori exists and the future we will live in would diverge.

Then, just as an apple cannot simultaneously exist and not exist in the same space…

Mori’s videos shouldn’t continue to exist in our present time if the future has changed and escaped the apocalypse.

This meant that all the choices made here had not meaningfully changed the future.