Ch.74The Guy Writing a Thesis in Prison (1)

Rustila blocked the path between me and the man.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Eidel is not a possessed vessel!”

“I am possessed.”

“No, you’re not!”

A hand was placed on the shoulder of the fuming Rustila.

It was her mentor, Naiere Clarke. Naiere sighed and said.

“There’s already evidence, Rustila.”

“What evidence?”

“My husband.”

“You mean Instructor Isaac?”

Isaac and Kibel naturally joined in. The two looked at each other, then extended their hands to me.

“Give me that weapon you used on Ship 3.”

“You mean Callipers?”

“Yes.”

I took out Callipers and showed it. Instructor Isaac held it up high for everyone to see.

About three seconds passed?

Drip, drip.

Blood fell from Isaac’s mouth.

“C-Captain!”

Isaac immediately threw my Callipers to the floor.

[— The God of Wisdom and Curiosity is grinding his teeth.]

He quietly showed his hand that had been holding Callipers. Along with burn marks, Zalgo characters symbolizing outer gods were engraved.

I could read those characters.

[Touch it one more time and I’ll kill you.]

Seems quite angry.

“I hope this serves as evidence.”

Rustila closed her mouth. Sonia, who had been opening her mouth to load some harsh words, also froze stiff.

Only one person.

“Is this true?”

Zernya. Only she frowned and staggered forward.

She could barely stand straight due to the wounds inflicted by Meirem.

Yet she grabbed the hem of my clothes and glared at the man who said he would detain me.

“Okay, let’s say the instructor is right and this kid is possessed by an outer god. But he’s still fine. He’s not killing anyone, his personality hasn’t changed drastically, and he’s not seeing things.”

“That’s called an incubation or latent period. If we don’t detain him now, it will be impossible to contain when the outer god rampages again.”

“But he could be fine until summer vacation!”

“Conversely, he could go berserk right now.”

The man’s argument was more logical. Even Zernya fell silent. She slumped down on the bench helplessly.

The man also looked at me and said.

“I’m sorry, but I need your cooperation.”

My fate was now obvious.

I changed into a restraint suit and put on a blindfold. I was gagged and had plugs in my ears. With all five senses completely blocked, I voluntarily lay down on the restraint cart.

Unwavering comfort.

“Mm, mmph.”

“What’s he saying?”

This is way better than the dormitory bed.

There was a reason I allowed myself to be captured so easily.

[— Outer gods of Maxwell’s Forces harbor killing intent toward you.]

[— Outer gods of Darwin’s Legion are taking interest in you.]

Because I could no longer stay at school.

In fact, I had been prepared for this since the Celestine Incident. If I continued attending Academia in this state, my friends would continue to be in danger until the Aether Belt was repaired.

So this is enough now.

I hope Rustila diligently learns swordsmanship, and I hope Zernya doesn’t become twisted. I hope everyone focuses on their studies without worrying about attacks.

And of course, I hope Seti wakes up healthy.

Rattle.

Soon I felt the cart moving.

I was exhausted after such an intense day. I gradually fell asleep.

And when I opened my eyes again.

“Welcome to Alcatraz, minions.”

I had been changed into an orange prison uniform.

***

Alcatraz.

One of the many planetary systems located in the northeastern part of the Laniakea Federation.

The third planet in its Goldilocks zone was a prison itself. A place to rehabilitate poor souls consumed by outer gods.

“Eidel von Rheinland. Gambling, arson, verbal abuse, threats, business interference, defamation, and property damage. You’re quite the bastard despite appearances.”

“I have a criminal record?”

I’m a law-abiding citizen though?

“In this place, the logic of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ doesn’t apply, kid.”

I had suddenly become a criminal with 20 prior convictions.

“This is beyond having bad tendencies, it’s downright red. A real commie.”

Says the man wearing a red instructor uniform while criticizing me.

The muscular instructor pressed his pen against my forehead and said.

“Have you heard of the stigma effect? With this many convictions, you won’t be able to get a job even if you return to your senses.”

“What?”

“Why are you making that stupid face?”

Not being able to get a job is quite problematic.

“Will it really be difficult to get a job with a record of being here?”

“This is a prison, you idiot.”

“Would becoming a professor be difficult too?”

“What? You want to be executed?”

This person is hopeless. Communication is impossible.

“Anyway, you should prepare yourself now that you’re in Alcatraz. You’ll have to live here for at least six months, until the outer god, suppressed by this place’s Aether Belt, terminates its contract with you.”

[— The God of Wisdom and Curiosity snickers.]

After that, I learned a few things including the rules of living here and then left. Or more precisely, I went in.

Where to? To my cell.

It was a prison with hundreds of solitary cells blocked by iron bars, arranged across three floors.

In the center of the prison was a golf ball-shaped structure, which was the control tower.

The building itself was dome-shaped, making it vulnerable to loud noises. Actually, they designed the building this way to respond quickly to loud disturbances or escape attempts.

“I’m bored.”

Three hours of rolling around in an orange prison uniform. I scratched my head and got up from the hard bed.

“Cartesia, let’s play a word chain game.”

[“…Are you insane?”]

“You won’t play?”

[“No.”]

Well, there’s no time to play word games.

I shouldn’t forget why I’m here. I came here to research while hiding from the eyes of other outer gods.

Theoretical physics doesn’t require much. No need for computers or experimental tools. Just a head, a desk, a pencil, and a few sheets of paper.

The problem is where and how to get those things…

“Huaaaargh!”

What’s that noise?

I stuck my head out through the iron bars. The crazy sound was coming from the second floor.

Waaaaaang!

Then came the sound of sirens. The sound, amplified by reflection off the dome, struck my ears violently. If I hadn’t covered my ears immediately, my eardrums might have burst.

The instructors rushed to the opposite side of the second floor.

“You crazy bastard!”

“Won’t he come down?”

Thud, thud, thud!

The instructors broke through the cell door while shouting. They beat the man senseless. The sound of the beating mixed with the sirens to create an even louder noise.

The commotion didn’t end there.

Prisoners in other cells also showed insane reactions like screaming or shaking the iron bars.

“Wow.”

A man in the cell across from me took off his pants and through the iron bars-

“Fuck.”

I lay back down on the bed.

This is hell.

No pencil, no paper. The blanket smells like rotten cheese. And there are many lunatics.

I was naive.

There’s the benefit of not being chased by numerous outer gods, but everything comes with a price.

I have to live for at least a few months among people whose minds are already destroyed.

In this environment, it was impossible to do any research.

Ah.

I miss Professor Feynman.

***

“Eidel was taken to Alcatraz…?”

Thud.

“That’s what I said.”

Detective Terence nodded as if frustrated. Whoosh. He exhaled smoke with a cigarette in his mouth. The acrid scent filled the room.

Professor Feynman couldn’t understand what he had just heard.

Traces of an outer god found? In that student? A good kid who had never done anything crazy?

Feynman hurriedly stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“I need to save that student.”

Terence grabbed Feynman’s arm.

“It won’t be easy.”

“I know. But I still have to go.”

“This time, nothing will work. Alcatraz is a fortress planet itself. You know that.”

He knew that much. Feynman replied while sticking a pen into his pants.

“Direct extraction would be impossible. Visitation would be difficult too. But there are a few things we can try, aren’t there?”

“What kind of things are you talking about?”

Feynman approached the computer and displayed something on the screen.

It was a paper that had just been approved for publication. Feynman printed it out and sat back down, sipping his cinnamon tea.

“What’s that?”

“Read it.”

Terence frowned as he took the paper.

“I don’t understand any of this.”

“Don’t read the title or anything, just look at who the authors are.”

“Only two people. You, and… Eidel?”

Terence’s hand stopped as he flipped through the pages.

He couldn’t understand what the paper itself was trying to say. He wasn’t a physics major.

But Terence, with his keen eye, began to smack his lips.

“F-Feynman. You.”

Terence’s voice trembled.

“Which journal did you submit this paper to?”

“Universe.”

The most credible paper publication in the federation, one that even ordinary people might have heard of.

“I submitted it yesterday, and the citation count has already exceeded 10.”

Feynman said such meaningful words with a grin.

He finished his tea with a slurp and stood up again.

“I’ll be going out for a bit.”

Clunk.

“…”

Terence and Feynman were childhood friends. Therefore, Terence could vaguely understand what he was thinking now.

He is merely a physicist.

But.

“…if he borrows the power of the scientific community.”

He could exert influence that even the leadership couldn’t ignore.

Terence went to an academic search site and looked for the paper published by Eidel and Feynman.

It was definitely published yesterday, he said.

But the citation count was already approaching 30. And just now, it increased by 1 more.

“Impossible.”

Even in the highly populated Greater Galaxy Era, it was nearly impossible for citation counts to increase this rapidly. Terence knew this much, having written a university thesis himself.

“Was that rascal a genius?”

As an outsider, Terence couldn’t tell.

It seemed he would have to wait and see how things would unfold.