Ch.292The Switch (12)

The basic principle of science is repetition.

Even if something is theoretically perfect, errors can occur during the actual experiment. It’s important to correct them whenever they appear.

“Tsk, I can’t see it.”

The analysis of particles from the collision showed no gravitons.

According to theory, gravitons should have the following properties:

1. They have no mass. Therefore, they should move at the speed of light.

2. They should have a physical quantity called spin angular momentum with a value of 2.

3. They should have zero charge and zero color charge.

The first condition can be easily calculated by dividing the wavelength distance of the target particle by the wavelength time. However, no matter which candidate particle was tested, its value never exceeded the speed of light.

“99.999996% of light speed. This isn’t it either.”

“What? Isn’t that close enough?”

“Why would you think that?”

“It’s such a tiny difference. If we just consider it an experimental error and publish…”

“Julia.”

“Yes, yes sir.”

“You shouldn’t pursue a doctorate.”

“I wasn’t planning on graduate school anyway.”

She seems to have forgotten she’s in a graduate research lab. This is why I don’t trust foreign media.

“A scientist’s job is to catch even minor errors and think about them. Is it an equipment problem, or did we fail to control other variables? Only after considering everything and completing cross-verification can a ‘discovery’ be made.”

“I don’t understand a word you’re saying.”

“Turn it back.”

“…”

Time went back ten days. This was the tenth regression.

After subjugating the Saint, whenever she turned back time, Ireh and I could also return with our memories intact.

It was truly a terrible experience.

Though less than a day had passed in real time, I felt like I’d aged years.

“We’ve been stuck in this timeline for three months already. That’s enough, let’s move on to the next one!”

“No.”

“But why…”

“I need to get my degree this year.”

“Getting a PhD in one year is absurd! You could take two years!”

“Do you want to die?”

My calipers rose again. The Saint whimpered and covered herself with the net.

I was in an extremely sensitive state. This research required more patience than ever before.

“Eidel, are you really okay?”

Ireh asked cautiously.

“Are you worried about me?”

“Of course. When I see you discouraged, it makes me feel bad too.”

Ireh scratched her head and added:

“And I’ll be a junior next year. You need to get your PhD this year and be appointed in two years so I can decide whether to join your lab or not… you know.”

“…”

“Hey, don’t look at me like that. I’m just joking.”

“Haah.”

I almost got excited there.

Anyway, this attempt was also a failure. Despite experimenting under different conditions, no graviton was detected. Even with eight beam lines running simultaneously, the results were the same.

I really don’t feel good about this.

“Turn it back.”

“Yes…”

“Turn it back.”

“Yes, hic, hic.”

“Turn it back again.”

“Please, no more…”

“Another failure. Come on, turn it back.”

“I-I can’t take it anymore… I’ll die at this rate! I’d rather go to prison!”

“No. Stop arguing and turn it back.”

A year passed like that. Just thirty-six repetitions, but over 360 days in total.

“Hic, sob, I’m going to lose my mind…”

Leaving the sobbing Saint behind, I spoke to Ireh.

“Ireh, so this is how you felt.”

“Uh, yeah. No, yeah.”

“No?”

“Yes, but also no. Actually, maybe yes?”

“The world kept returning to the past, but you alone remembered everything. How difficult that must have been. Honestly, I feel like I’m going crazy right now. Not reaching my goal, time not moving forward.”

It seemed pitiful when I read about it, but experiencing it firsthand was unbearable. I could viscerally understand why the Saint had surrendered to me.

But.

I won’t give up.

I’ll repeat as many times as necessary until I find a definitive experimental method.

I’ve come to this world with too much to lose. When I’m so close to finding the light, giving up my right to happiness here would be unthinkable.

On the fortieth attempt, a particle matching the conditions was finally discovered.

“…”

“Eidel.”

“Whew. Calm down. I need to calm down.”

My heart feels like it’s about to burst.

“Speed matches light speed. Spin is 2. This data… charge and flavor. Okay.”

I threw my pen down with relief.

“I found it. I think this is it.”

“Really?”

The Saint, who had been muttering like a broken person, hurriedly got up at my words. Having been trapped in the net, she moved suddenly and tripped.

The Saint didn’t seem to care about the pain from falling, and babbled while still face down.

“So we can move to the next time period now, right? Right? I don’t have to use my ability anymore, right?”

“No.”

“Phew, I’m saved… What?”

The Saint’s expression crumpled like my research notes.

“One time isn’t enough. To know whether this is coincidence or not, we need to repeat the experiment under the same conditions several more times.”

“W-what do you mean…”

“Actually, the process of observing particles is probabilistic. Even under the same conditions, different results might appear next time. That’s why verification through repeated experiments is important. This isn’t over yet.”

“Ah.”

“Turn it back.”

As expected, the particle wasn’t detected in the next iteration. Nor in the one after that. It was only found in the iteration after that.

“So the probability is roughly 30%?”

“Seems about right.”

“No, I’m not certain. We need to try more.”

The Saint shook her head vigorously.

“No way. There’s no way you’d ask me to turn back time again after all this. Right? Be reasonable.”

“Turn it back.”

“Eidel von Rheinland! Release this net right now! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you and then join the Foreign God!”

“I said turn it back.”

“Can’t we negotiate? If you let me pass just this once, I’ll follow any order you give in the future. Even indecent ones.”

“Physics is more indecent than you. Be quiet and just turn it back.”

“Y-you’re insane. There’s no hope. Why won’t you listen to me? Hic, no matter what I did, this is too much…”

“Ah, I’m starting to get angry. Turn it back.”

“…Sob, fine.”

Two years passed.

During that time, I found a better experimental setup and confirmed that the graviton detection probability under those conditions was about 55%.

I wrote papers based on this. One was about theoretical modifications based on graviton detection experiments, and the other was about approaches to black hole interior physics using gravitons.

I had to pour out everything I’d learned so far, which meant two weeks of suffering. It was an arduous process.

But the sweeter the achievement, the more bitter the effort.

As soon as the papers were completed, I collapsed, and the Saint cried.

“I-Ireh.”

“Good job, Del.”

In the distance, I could hear scientists cheering as they made their final confirmation of the experimental results. It was like a festival. Having heard it repeated so many times, I didn’t feel much excitement.

Rather.

“Thank you always. You’re my star.”

Ireh’s voice was much sweeter.

From the first time I read the novel, I wanted to save Ireh. And I was taking those steps one by one. Hearing her voice grow gentler each time filled me with fleeting satisfaction.

“Get some rest now.”

This is enough for today.

My eyelids, heavy with fatigue, closed under gravity’s pull.

***

Ireh sat in a chair, looking at the peacefully sleeping Eidel. The corners of her mouth curved upward.

It was then that the Saint spoke to her.

“You two seem to get along really well.”

“Shh. She’s sleeping.”

“I guess so.”

The Saint wriggled closer while still wrapped in the net. Up close, the tear stains on her cheeks were clearly visible. Considering how much Eidel had made her use her power, she must have cried countless times.

“May I ask you one thing?”

“Keep your voice down.”

The Saint whispered:

“Rheinland is a monster, but you’re no better. The same time period keeps repeating, yet you show no signs of fatigue and remain perfectly fine.”

“No. Actually, it’s hard.”

“Are you just hiding it?”

“Something like that.”

“Do you perhaps… have regression abilities too?”

Ireh chuckled.

“Not anymore.”

Ireh recalled the world line before meeting the current Eidel. Days filled with nothing but despair and pain. Just thinking about it briefly made her head throb.

“You’re quite detached. How many times have you turned back time?”

“…I don’t know.”

“There must be some approximate number.”

“Roughly 900,000 times.”

The Saint’s jaw dropped.

“So you were a god like me.”

“What nonsense. I never wanted to contract with a Foreign God.”

“So tell me. In your longest iteration, what future did you see?”

Ireh closed her eyes tightly.

There was one time when she had caught a clue about Laplace.

After that, causality became fixed, and no matter what happened, she couldn’t stop the destruction.

“The universe contracted all at once. There wasn’t even time to realize death. When I came to my senses, it was the next iteration.”

“Ah…”

“I’ll tell you just this one thing. In all the world lines I’ve seen so far, there was no escape route like you people talk about.”

“No, if one becomes a higher-dimensional being like them…”

“Even those dimensions were completely destroyed.”

Ireh pressed her finger against the Saint’s forehead and continued:

“Saint, think about it. Why does Laplace’s Foreign God call it the ‘end’? That’s not a term humans created.”

“But I heard that word from the Foreign God.”

“It means it’s the end even by the standards of the same Foreign Gods.”

The Saint lost her composure.

Ireh inwardly laughed bitterly. In other iterations, the Saint wouldn’t believe her no matter how she tried to persuade her, but now she had a defeated look on her face.

“T-then what about Idea…”

“There’s no Idea, but there is Eidel.”

Ireh smiled as she looked at Eidel.

Though only ten days had passed in real time, she had spent two years researching continuously with Eidel.

Sonia was there too, but she couldn’t remember the regressions. More precisely, the Saint hadn’t designated her as someone who would retain memories.

Originally, Ireh was also going to be excluded from remembering, but she personally insisted on staying with Eidel.

‘I can’t imagine a world line without Eidel.’

If she was going to follow, it would be to the very end.

So she was trapped for two straight years. She could see Eidel struggling, and Ireh was physically exhausted too, but it was okay.

This time, she wasn’t alone.

There was someone who remembered the fact that they had regressed.

She didn’t want to lose such a person.