Chapter Text
Prolog
And I run, run towards their ship. Well, as good as I can run anyway. Slipping, falling, it all just strengthens my cover now, doesn't it? The base doesn't expect me to be able to run well. And the people on the ship will see me as vulnerable. This is my only chance. A scientist, equipped with 40 people and a whole ship? He might be a match for Xeno. Bringing down a surprise aircraft in seconds?
I need to see him for myself. Whoever might be on that ship, there is… at least a chance? To rebuild society? Restore knowledge? Not with Dr. Xeno at the top. All he cares about are his world domination plans.
But this one? They even found a way to revive humans. A better way than just dropping some nitric acid on people and hoping for the best. A reliable way.
The ship… I'm close enough they spotted me, they can see me. I say my lines, prepared by Xeno. Easy English, so even Japanese teenagers should be able to understand.
"Help! Help me! Please! I escaped!"
Crashing down in front of their ship. I'm not even acting. Running those 100m here, that was too much. Still, a perfect cover, right? Crashing down, looking helpless, mistreated. Maybe they think I actually fled. Buying my story. But if they would? Not smart enough. They wouldn't win, they wouldn't survive. Then at least I have to protect their knowledge of that revival fluid. So it won't get lost, and Xeno won't get his hands on it.
Panting, fainting, my belly hurts way too much. More than it should. Steps on the wooden plank in front of me. A voice
"Are you alright? You're safe now. Come aboard the ship."
An extended hand. I look up. And see him. Older, but there's no mistake.
That's Ishigami Senku.
The absolute worst case! High risk, possibly high reward? And Stanley’s gun is pointed right at his head this very moment.
Chapter 1 — The sky is always greener on the other side —
The soft light of my lamp wakes me up. Mounted right above my head, where it shines into my eyes. Like every day. Usually, I enjoy it. It’s even linked to real-life weather patterns! Like watching the sun rise for real. I’m glad the lamp woke me up, because my brain gifted me a nightmare just now. Elevated heart rate, blood pressure… the machines aren’t lying about that. I can hear their beeps, the constant background noise of my vitals made audible. My life. Soothing, usually… But after that nightmare, I’m worried.
Nightmares are nothing more than a cortisol dump in the morning, or if you’re unlucky, in the middle of the night. And the brain just makes up whatever it thinks will fit the mood best. Kind of stupid, I didn’t need so many gory visuals to know that I’m worried about him…
The dream had been nothing new; it’s my only recurring nightmare — the accident. And usually, I can brush it off easily… not today though…
The accident happened when I had been four. I don’t remember it, and it must’ve wiped out whatever memories I had formed before the accident, too. I’m probably lucky. But of course, when I got older, they told me what happened, and I had even been allowed to read the reports.
We were driving, I don’t know where, when a car on the opposite lane just crashed frontally with our car. It had been an accident, of course. The poor driver had a heart attack at the most inconvenient time, and he died right in the crash. Isn’t that just too cruel? Human error during driving can destroy so many lives? Should that be really allowed? So many people drive every day, and it could happen again and again…
My mother died in that crash, too. Long before the ambulance arrived. My father had been unharmed, for the most part at least. Went right back to work after that incident. My carers said he was struck by grief, to explain why he never visited me. They probably think it bothers me, but isn’t he just a stranger by now? The only thing I see from him from time to time is his signature on some of my documents. Not much longer though, as I will finally be able to sign my own documents soon! I’m looking forward to this so much! I had to fight quite a bit for that and finally on my 21st birthday, I will get that right.
Not that it changes much. The clinic is really nice and I’m well cared for. Apparently, my father kind of sold me to a research clinic? The carers told me it was because health care is really expensive and full state-of-the-art care for a quadriplegic girl like me even more so. But I also heard the carers talk with themselves, how my father seems to be filthy rich and could have taken care of me at home. They judged him quite a bit and I learned some interesting new words that day.
The lamp above my head grows brighter by the minute, it now shows many reddish and pink hues. It’s probably my favorite part! The fact that they linked it to actual weather patterns means that outside, the sky is shining brightly in the most amazing colors! But… I’m still worried… about that stupid guy, about that stupid dream…
He would’ve visited me today, like every Friday. And the fact that he isn’t visiting should make me really happy. He’s fulfilling his lifelong dream after all! Traveling into space. He trained so many years to become an astronaut… I would have never met him otherwise. The research clinic uses my data to extrapolate the effect of microgravity for astronauts. A long-term immobile patient like me is valuable for that. And of course, that astronaut visited me, to see the person behind the data? Who knows, I never asked. A bit silly maybe.
And my nightmare killed him off… That astronaut, he replaced my faceless father. Only that my brain imagined him mangled, bloody, broken in between the crushed metal parts of the car.
I know, it’s just me being worried… I already know the Soyuz made it to the ISS. But not seeing him today… Him just being in a small metal husk in constant free fall towards the Earth missing it just enough to stay in orbit… Isn’t that just a bit too crazy? So many things could go wrong… just like they did with my accident…
The reds already shifted to the bright and cold light of the day. It’s when my screen becomes finally responsive, so I can read his message… E-mails weren’t allowed, like all those contacts to the outside aren’t. Keeping my data free from interference. But even the researchers realized that the astronaut is more of a father to me, than the never-visiting real one is. They allowed the contact during his mission. So looking for his message is the first thing I do, upon being able to interact with my screen.
My dear Kotori,
My first few days here have been so amazing! Can you imagine my colleagues think I’m silly? They didn’t appreciate me making miso soup floats, even though it could have been an eating competition! Well, Lillian laughed about it a lot, she was the only one who followed me with the parkour eating. We looked like caterpillars. She even voiced some of the soup with me, begging not to get eaten. A real champ! When I call you on your birthday, she’ll even sing you a song! Better than me singing one for you, I wouldn’t want to subject you to that.
I really hate not being there for you on your birthday, not being able to give you your birthday present in person. I can only imagine the stupid face you will make when you get it! Well, you can look forward to what I send as a substitute! Will probably make your eyes pop right out!
Turning 21 is huge. Even so, you usually don't care about your birthday. I hope this one will be worthy of a place in your memory.
He never called me by my given name, and I never used his. But he made this stupid nickname out of mine, a name just for the two of us… It grew on me, didn’t it? Just like he did… Kotori, Japanese for small bird. A bit ironic, as birds fly freely in the sky and I had been bound to my bed, to this room, for as long as I remember. But he understood, my mind is still flying freely…
But, what the hell? A substitute..?! He knows fully well that that’s not allowed. This clinic needs clearance, and who could he even send? Who would I even want to see? Not gonna happen… And he knows what happens if he tries to bend the rules again. He almost lost visiting rights once for interfering with the data…
It will be alright… probably. He will be safe up there, and whatever will happen here, we’ll figure it out somehow. If he really sends a substitute that’s not allowed here, they wouldn’t just let them in. No bad consequences.
Let’s start with my day! There must be so many new research papers out by now! The ever-growing knowledge of humanity. New finds, new hypotheses, knowledge in the making. And when I open the portal, I get presented with what is surely an early birthday gift — a new paper from my favorite researcher — Ishigami, Senku!
The second best thing about my favorite researcher is that his papers are always a surprise. You never know beforehand what kind of topic it will be about. Isn't that crazy? This shouldn't be how academics work, but here he is, undeniable proof of somebody hopping through completely different fields with every new paper. Switching research topics like a kid switching his favorite toy. Antibiotics, rocket engines, and today...? Swallows! Switching to biology all of a sudden? Too insane, too fun, and just what I expect of him.
But… this can't be real? It's not April the first, otherwise I would have thought this was a joke paper. But this paper was published only a few hours ago, and it already got citations in the triple digits? Is this… for real? It can't, but it… must be?
Swallows have been turning to stone. One moment they were alive, doing swallow things, the next moment… stone? All over the world. His paper discusses the possibility of a prank, of the swallows being statues, placed all over the world.
But he shows mathematically how unlikely, bordering on impossible, this would be. He compares the distribution of swallow populations with the distribution of social media posts about stone swallows. An r-value of 0.87, linear correlation? That's not something you can ignore! That's confirmation. And with that sample size? Yeah, I wouldn't need to see that p-value.
The appendix of the paper is filled with social media pics. Including one person that has painstakingly disassembled one of the stone swallows, only to show that it was filled with perfectly preserved stone organs. And even a cross-section of the organs showed the anatomically correct details. You could label them and add them to a book about swallow physiognomy. Could be Photoshop, of course…
The paper doesn’t contain a hypothesis on what happened. Only his typical, almost off-topic conclusions.
Real swallows, could it happen to us, too? With such a perfect, detailed level of petrification, maybe some biological functions are still running? Blood turned to stone wouldn't flow, but the electric impulses of the brain? Computers are basically stone and they run well enough.
He sounds excited about the thought. He always sounds excited. That's why I love his papers. They are full of love and passion for science and humanity. Full of silly, little anecdotes and unrelated tangents. His papers never gathered much attention before. I watched his career. Between his unserious writing style and the constant topic switching, it never took off. But that is exactly why I love his papers… his voice. What would I give to hear it in person just once? To be there, when he starts his next project and hear his thoughts forming live.
The lamp above my head switches colors again… Huh? Green? This must be some kind of error. The lamp is linked to the sky outside, mirroring the current sky. Darker when cloudy, bright on sunny days, colorful sunrises. And the sky is never green. They’ll probably fix it soon.
I click on his name, seeing the list of his publications and some small box containing info about him. Most entries are empty, no research group, no university where he's working, not even a mention about what he had studied or where. But a picture of him. A new one it seems. But not at all better than the old one. He looks like a kid. He should really invest in a professional photographer at least once? This is his work pic after all. No one would take him seriously if he looks like 12.
I’m still looking at his picture when all of a sudden my lamp decides to fill the whole room with green… and then everything turns black.