Chương 24: Professor Erickson
Narrowing his eyes, professor Erickson continued:
"Yes, she was such an interesting one. I wonder how she's faring today, it's been almost two years since I last saw her… What's your name, young… Boy?"
<Two years? It's not me?>
"Eh, ah! I'm Shuck!"
"Well, young Shuck, I'll answer what she and I concluded with. It was that until we can look at it like we do with today's elements, there's no way to be certain of its effects on our lives. But before that, we must be able to ascertain its existence. Therefore, it's an answer I can't give you. We are still trying to prove if it even exists. I'm sorry but I can't answer it as I'd like to."
<… It was indeed our argument, it was on December of the 36s, I guess it's okay to say it was two years ago… But, hasn't he changed a lot? Or is it because I'm a 'kid'?>
Feeling a tug on her arm, she reacted.
"Oh! Thanks!" She was a little angry at being treated like a kid, but there was nothing she could do.
After that, a student raised his hand. Being illuminated, he asked.
"If, as you say, there're countless possibilities, then would it be possible to extract unlimited energy from it?"
"*Sigh there being unlimited possibilities means that anything and everything can happen, but not that it's a possibility. Along with the principle of…"
The professor continued answering the students' questions until the time allocated was over. When the students were getting up from their seats, he said through the mic.
"Excuse me, the boy from before, can you and your dad accompany me? I'd like to talk with you."
"Oh? You're interested in little boys now?" Said a student that was near the professor, causing the surrounding students to laugh at it.
"Hahaha, be careful of what you say, kid. There's a reason, seeing a young mind interested enough to enter this kind of boring conference is unusual, we, as the teachers of knowledge, need nurture this kind of mind while being careful of it not getting polluted like yours."
After talking down the rude student, the professor went down the podium and started to walk towards the back of the auditorium.
Charlotte didn't know what to do. She was surprised that he remembered their conversation that well and wanted to talk a little more with him. But she was also scared of him recognizing her, it would only be an unnecessary trouble for them!
"We can go, there is no problem concerning him."
"…Really?"
She saw how Gut nodded his head and relaxed considerably.
<Yeah, there's no problem with just having a light conversation, as long as I keep pretending to be a kid, there's no way for him to recognize me.>
They got out of the auditorium along with the students and waited in the entrance hall. Some of the students were looking at them, whispering both rude and praising words. They waited for some time for the professor Erickson to finally come out. Once he was out, he started to speak with a smile in his face without any delay.
"Hello, little boy." He said as he looked at Charlotte and then looked away to the man besides her. "Hello, sir, you must be his father. How may I call you?"
He extended his right hand towards Gut, waiting for a handshake. Gut took his hand naturally, saying his fake name. Professor Erickson guided them to his office and talked about how important it was to nurture the boy's mind. While doing so, he greeted numerous students and teachers.
Once inside his office, he looked at Charlotte and sighed.
"Really, how did you fall like that…?"
"Uh, excuse me? I've no fallen at all in the last few months!"
"…"
Both Gut and Erickson were speechless. Gut couldn't help but want to face palm and go away while chuckling. Meanwhile, Erickson wasn't sure as to how to continue the conversation. Breaking the ice with something big was never the better option when talking about inconvenient subjects…
While the silence continued, Charlotte thought what he just said about falling and the weird stares the two of them were giving her.
"… Eh?"
"You know, little lady, you're a little dense when it comes to certain things… And way too obstinate with some others, if I may add."
"…!" She opened her eyes wide in horror, getting ready to flee.
"Please, don't look at me like that, I won't do anything bad to you." He said while maintaining a small smile.
"… How…?"
"Sigh… I'm very proud of my memory. With the kind of argument we had back then, there's no way I'd forget someone like you. At that time, it truly was an eye opener for me, a life changer at that."
"That…"
"Why are you here anyway?"
"I'm… Touring?"
She said as she looked at Gut for an answer. He was the one who decided to come to this city first!
"Yes, we are touring. Our time is not pressing right now. He-he."
Nodding at her, he said while chuckling. She couldn't help but blush as he didn't correct her.
"I see… In any case, what they are saying about you, is it right?"
"Hmm? Well, I guess? I'm not sure of what they're saying, but I didn't steal anything."
"Then you just used it to compute something? What did you do with that kind of power, I guess it wasn't anything trivial, to say the least."
"I… Devised a machine. But, it didn't work, like, at all…"
Charlotte didn't know how to answer exactly. She didn't want to speak about her theories, Gut was there after all. At the same time, though, she was at a loss about what to do.
"Oh… Then, you became a wanted criminal because of a faulty machine? That's kind of…"
"Yeah, unfortunately." She said with a face full of uncertainty.
"And, if what you did was only that, why don't you surrender yourself? If you come clean, it shouldn't be that hard on you, at most you would be sent to prison for some years."
Charlotte couldn't answer, she had things she wanted to do and didn't want to be held up by the government. Now though…
"About that, professor Erickson. I believe it is a little too late for that to be possible."
Looking at the man who just answered his question, Erickson raised his left brow.
"The reason being?"
"It has already been broadcasted, the world is searching for her now. Also, she is with us."
"And who is this 'us'?"
He asked while feeling a little apprehensive. If being with someone was enough to be branded as a full-fledged criminal, then…
Gut smiled.
"Paversia."
"! That's. I see. That makes sense. I guess they're aware?"
"Indeed. We left someone to pass on that information, anyway."
"…!? Wha-!?"
Looking at her expression, professor Erickson frowned.
"She wasn't aware." He said with a low voice.
"I thought she had figured it out by now."
"Wh-when? Was it, John?!"
She thought about the guy who gave her the fake ID, he was always smiling and looked at her with curiosity, but never asked anything. He appeared to have known her problems and even sympathized with her.
"No. He does know, I think. But he would not say anything that would endanger his business." Gut answered with certainty in his voice.
"His business…? But. Who was it then?"
He made fake IDs, in that regard, if he was to inform the government of her new identity, then he would lose all his credibility. No one would contact him for that kind of job anymore. He could even be sent to prison.
"Your friend, Jean. He heard us talking, after all. Though he did not get to hear where we were going, but a name instead."
"… James?"
"Right. He is well known in Paversia, after all. And the world is also looking for him as a dangerous criminal."
"…"
She bit her lips in frustration. Even if she wanted to go back, she didn't have that option anymore. She would need to go back as someone completely different, and not allow anyone to realize who she was.
"I… Don't have a place to return, huh?"
She smiled sadly, remembering his friends and family.
"You can make a place you can call your own from now on. Your last place was not yours to begin with." He said thinking about her burnt down place.
All the time, professor Erickson remained silent. He was seeing this kind of helpless expression on someone for the first time. And it was in someone who he had thought had a pretty big will, always lively and thinking about absurd things, having her mind high up in the clouds. At that moment, however, she was hit by a reality not many could handle.
"…." Looking down, she stopped talking.
"… So, you're called Shuck now. What did you want to ask me?"
"It's of no importance…"
She didn't look up at him, she kept her lost gaze on the floor.
"That's not true. Regardless of the conflict between you and the world, you still have some things you want to do, right?"
"But what I need to first survive…"
"That's true, but if you lose your inspiration, if you lose your spark, then at the time you finally get survive, you wouldn't have any drive that can possibly keep you going forward. You'll remain a vegetable, as if you're dead."
No one spoke for the next few minutes. They all had things to consider, Charlotte didn't know what she wanted right now, nor how to survive. Gut had a pensive look on his face. Professor Erickson was concerned about her. He wanted to experience again that exhilarating feeling he had with their last argument, even if he wouldn't recognize it, he was truly inspired by it! He made a breakthrough that allowed him to become one of the leading professors of this university.
Charlotte thought about what she had left, about what she could do. She still had White Prism! There were still other machines she hadn't constructed yet!
"You're right."
Having made up her mind, she smiled again, though it was thin. It was much better than the expression she had until now. Seeing this, professor Erickson nodded in satisfaction. Before he could talk again, however, she looked at Gut.
"You want me to survive, right?"
"Yes." He nodded at her words while smiling.
"Then do everything you need to for me to survive, I won't question you and will follow your lead. Just make sure that I get to see the world while still standing on my two feet."
"My mission is only to bring you to Paversia, after that is not any of my concern… But until then, I will do as you just said. I will make sure you get there while standing."
At that moment, she felt like a lightbulb was suddenly turned on in her mind, she smirked and got up from her seat. She extended her hand, pointed at him and said as strongly as she could.
"Then, make a pledge, a pledge of what you just said and kneel before me!"
Gut had a surprised expression, he didn't think she'd ask such a thing, but thinking about what she did to his friend before parting, he was convinced of this devious side of hers.
Smiling at her antics he got up from his seat and went down on one knee, pledging as she had asked for, at the end, however, he kissed her hand that was still pointing at him.
"… You certainly have a strange way to improve your mood, Shucks." Professor Erickson said while chuckling.
Hearing his words, Charlotte looked to her side and saw professor Erickson with a smile. She had completely forgotten he was there!
"…"
She let her mouth hang open without saying anything, she was burning! She was too ashamed to say anything!
Seeing her expression, professor Erickson smiled and continued.
"Then, what's it that you had in mind?"
"Oh, that… Well, uhm…"
She had trouble calming her ragging heart. She had experienced more mood changes in the last day than in the last five years! From being happy, to being scared, to being certain of things, to finally being fearful were the things she felt in only the first hour after waking up yesterday.
Both Gut and Erickson waited patiently for her to sort her feelings. They saw she was better so there was nothing much for them to say. After breathing for a minute, she thought about what she wanted to ask.
"Right, in the machine I first made, there's an obstruction, I don't know what is making it, but it doesn't matter how I move the field, the obstruction remains. It's as if something is lacking, but there shouldn't be a lack of anything."
"It's hard to work with that without formulae or graphics to see what you mean… Can you show me something?"
"That's… Not possible, in the construction of the machine I lost all the information I had."
"You lost everything? Was it the fire on the building you lived in?"
"Eh, no, that was something else…"
Charlotte didn't know how to answer, she wasn't sure what the cause was, but she thought that maybe, in a remotely small possibility, she was the one who had caused it. Looking that she was a little lost at the moment, Gut asked something that has been bothering him for a while.
"That obstruction was the cause of everything disappearing in that warehouse?"
"Eh? Uhm… Yes! It's the reason everything disappeared!"
<It's not the cause but it's related, maybe some connected phenomena? But then, that means she continued experimenting with that 'machine'… How and when? I've been looking constantly after her but she hasn't done anything related to experiments or the like. The only thing that remained after that strange disappearance was she. She was nude, without anything around… She made something that could be reduced in size and implanted on her own body? A new kind of enhancement? But I didn't see anything strange when I scanned her body…>
Gut thought as he heard her answer. He was getting more curious about her! He continued without showing his internal thoughts.
"I see, then, that is a little problematic. If it cannot be helped, then this technology is of no use."
"… An obstruction that makes the machine go awry and subsequently everything around it disappears… That's indeed a serious problem."
"Yes…"
"Then, why don't you try to make something that counter the obstruction?"
"If only I knew the nature of it… But wait, maybe… Yes, I can somehow try it..."
Getting some sort of inspiration, she kept muttering to and thanked professor Erickson with the best smile she had shown him yet.
"… Then, in exchange, please tell me more about your thoughts." Feeling lost at this new smile of hers, he asked.
"My thoughts? On what?"
"Anything, Enlighten this old man. You are the brightest girl I know, you must have a different perception than the normal folk."
"… you're not that old." She said without trying to deny his last remark.
Looking at him with weird eyes, she thought for a moment about any subject they could talk about.
"Let's hm, talk about… Yeah, you're an expert in dark matter, right?"
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