Chapter 1084 - Diagnosis Results
"However, it's a bit surprising. I thought you would have reached that conclusion yourself. Have you never thought about it before?"
"...I'm a player, not a researcher."
"Ah ha ha, that's true. It's a bad habit of mine to assume everyone with a good head on their shoulders is one of us."
Komei-shi's eyes turned back to me. It was a bit scary. "So, that's how it is... what do you think?"
"What do I think...?"
If he was asking if I understood, the answer was a proud 'not even a single bit.' However...
"...Um... maybe one thing?"
I hadn't been able to fully grasp the sermon, but I had picked up a small realization while listening. Komei-shi's dark eyes sparkled as he looked at me. I really wished he wouldn't look at me with such high expectations.
"You said there was a contradiction?"
"Oh?"
"You said the thing moving the avatars in the virtual world is our own brains... our Synapses... starting from the real world. That's why the 'us' in the virtual world aren't just copies, but are actually us. You said something like that..."
"Yes, yes."
He leaned in closer. I wished he wouldn't do that either.
"Isn't that impossible? At least during that huge time acceleration? If our own brains were the source, then our heads would be firing off dozens of hours' worth of thoughts in a single second. That would mean..."
"That's brilliant!"
"Whoa, you scared me!"
"I knew it, but Kasuga-kun, you're quite something! Usually, someone wouldn't be able to catch the core of a conversation while listening to something they don't understand at all!"
"Is that a backhanded compliment?"
I stepped back a bit from his overly enthusiastic reaction and looked at Ashe. For some reason, she was looking very proud of me even though she was maintaining her deadpan expression.
She noticed my gaze and said,
"Hehe."
"What's with the 'hehe'?"
She patted my head. Was I a kid who got a good score on a test or something?
"Just as Kasuga-kun pointed out, that is the key. It's the huge contradiction that led to Iris-kun's answer about existing in the past and future at once, and it's the impossible thing that we researchers have given up on."
I accepted the praise and let Ashe spoil me as she continued to stroke my head. Komei-shi continued his explanation, which was more like a speech now.
"Exactly. The starting point for thoughts must be our brains in the real world. We've confirmed that with a certain level of accuracy through countless experiments... just enough to tell ourselves, 'Yeah, that makes sense, that's probably it.' Basically, it's a decent guess."
"Wait, a guess..."
"And yet, you top-tier players are often freed from the shackles of reality through various exceptions, like those rare thought-acceleration skills. So, the question is!"
"Could you turn the volume down a bit?"
He was really getting into it. I gave a wry smile and tried to follow his words as best as I could.
"In those moments, who is the one moving your avatars? Who is the source of those Synapses?"
He threw out the question as if it were the heart of the matter. I just gave him a 'how should I know' look.
"It's the future version of you."
"Wait, what?"
He had left me behind once again.
...
Several dozen minutes later.
"Wait, didn't you say this was the simplest and easiest part?"
"Haru. It's 'simplest and easiest' for him."
"I've really been reminded that I'm just an average guy when it comes to brains. Ha ha."
"Ah, sorry about that. I got a bit carried away."
The intense, high-speed explanation had finally come to an end. It had been like listening to a research paper being read aloud. I had given up on understanding most of it halfway through.
But overall...
"So basically, you guys don't really know yet, right?"
"Exactly. Everything we have is just our own meaningless theories."
So that was the conclusion. They couldn't perfectly prove anything because [Arcadia] was such an impossible existence. They had come close, but they couldn't bridge the gap. That meant...
"It's best to treat it all as just stories for now."
"Oh..."
My head was already hurting from the few things I had managed to grasp. Synapses, reversibility, infinite repetition, expansion of time, virtual reality convergence... it was too much.
"...You've worked hard. You don't have to push yourself."
The only thing saving me was the hand comforting me. I felt a new sense of respect and awe for the true geniuses who thrived in this kind of world.
"Now, let's wrap up the other two points quickly."
"Mh... Uncle."
"Yes?"
"Make it very, very quick."
"Ah ha ha, got it."
Komei-shi moved on to the remaining two questions.
"Second, about the forced sleep that happened to all of you. This was likely a way to disperse the load... no, that's not quite right. It was probably more like a gesture to give you some peace of mind and reduce your anxiety."
"A gesture?"
"Like I said before. As long as the Outer Brain exists, there is no load on your real brain. But having some kind of explanation or a feeling of impact makes a huge difference in how people mentally process it."
"...I see."
If I were my usual self, I would have made a joke about how that was enough to make sense of it. But right now, I just stayed quiet and thought, Oh, okay. He moved on to the third point.
"And third, about the blackout that only happened to Kasuga-kun... you should see this as proof that the safety mechanisms were functioning correctly."
"...?"
"I'm only guessing, but... your unique gift of Memory was likely clashing with the memory deletion that was happening during the story. Before that could cause an unavoidable error, you were kicked out of the virtual world. That's all."
"..."
If I were my usual self, I would have said, 'What do you mean by that's all?' But right now, I just let out a breath and thought, I see. He continued.
"It's an absolute safety mechanism mentioned in the manual for [Arcadia]. If the console detects even a possibility of an error occurring during immersion... regardless of the cause, like the user's health or a console defect... it automatically executes an emergency logout."
"...I think I remember reading that."
"Haha. You're the type of gamer who reads the whole manual, aren't you? Well, that's it. You're the first case we've confirmed... or at least the first one I know of. That's how I'm choosing to see it for now."
"So..."
"Basically, what happened to you wasn't an abnormality. It was proof that even for a unique, abnormal existence like you, [Arcadia] can handle it with perfect safety. That's how I see it."
"Are you just saying whatever you want because I'm staying quiet?"
I finally managed to get a joke in.
"...So,"
I felt a warmth on my forehead again. Ashe had moved her hand from my head to my shoulder.
"Haru is really okay?"
"Yeah, he's fine. Probably. I can't say for sure because it's [Arcadia], so forgive me for that."
"...I see."
Ashe let out a small breath and rested her forehead against my shoulder for a while.