Steins;Gate>23. Open The Steins Gate

Seriously...? World War III.

Let me put it into perspective for you.
That’s a cause of 5.7 billion human lives snapped out by the year 2036.
It’ll all start with this.

But what is this?

Totally a mech!
Please tell me it transforms.

It’s a time machine, Daru.

Sorry?!

You’re familiar with this?
That’s good, Uncle. Very good.
I can get to the point.
We’re gonna run interference.

I refuse.

Okarin?

I’ve been jumping from world line to world line for weeks.
I’ve run interference so many times I’m barely myself any more.
The only way I was able to land back onto this world line was by allowing Kurisu to die!
And now you’re risking me to go another round?
I refuse!

What are you talking about?

Kurisu? Oh, you mean the scientist chick, who got like stabbed or whatever at the Radio building the other day?

Rintaro, hear me out.
What if I told you the circumstances of her death on the afternoon of July 28th, 2010 ???? and what kicked off the war? That the reason I’m here is to see to it that she survives.

I’m listening.

I'd never have a clue how ????. All I know is I’ve been entrusted with an important mission: Rescue Makise Kurisu and shift things to a world line beyond the divergence barrier free of the attractor field. A little place we call “Steins Gate!”

[opening]

I don’t believe it.

You actually hatched this plan in yourself.
By that I mean you will, with Dad.
Though you’re the first to admit that it’s a pure conjecture.
Push comes to shove; it’s possible this is all wishful thinking.
Even if Steins Gate world line exists, the odds of us reaching one are slim to none.
Odds be damn though I’m all in.
As you always like to remind us; nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?
If a future without World War III is worth the risk to you, take my hand.

Umm, okay, to be honest, I don’t think I understood very much what you discussed and said, but... This friend of yours, this Makise Kurisu, sounds to me like she was taking a chance, right?
I say you should go for it.

Face it, chief. It’s your cup of tea.
All this World War III stuff seems, well, no offence, you understand, but tailor-made for your special brand of crazy.

I do this for her, no one else.
Got it?

Whatever gets you there.
Climb aboard.

It can actually carry two?

Oh, yah. Like this puppy’s inventor would’ve skimped on installing a backseat?

Be careful.

Leave you cell-phone here.
We’d all be screwed five ways from Tuesday, if it crossed signals with the one your past self would be carrying.

Watch it for me?

Good luck, guys.

Nice surf setup you got.

Thanks. Works like a charm.
I’ve already stopped off at 1975 and 2000.
She’s running low on fuel, though.
That’s the thing. You got to watch the indicators like a hog.

Wait! So we can not only go backward in time but forward?

I should hope so. What in the hell would be the point if we couldn’t?

I see. If this one must’ve come from a different world line, like its twin.

Have a seat. I’m setting the co-ordinates to the day at just shy of twelve o’clock.
And I don’t dare go back any farther because I can’t change our position.
If we stir up trouble at the Radio building, it might throw Kurisu’s movement out of whack.
We’re about to go on ungodly amount of Gs here. So you might want to prepare yourself.

Okarin....

What are these?

They come with the territory.
Little beads of time. Kind of pretty, huh?

C’mon!

Sorry I-uh... I just need to let my stomach settle a bit.

Urgh, somebody’s a wuss. Hurry it up!
‘Kay. Critical point. Avoid running into your past self at all cost.
We could have a major paradox on our hands otherwise.
How long do you think this will take?

Maybe, well, twenty minuets give it or take.

All right. Okay, I’m going to stay here and prep the time-machine for our return trip and you do what you can to save Makise.

Wish me luck.
July 28th, the day I found Kurisu on the floor soaked in her own blood.
Mayuri and I had come to see Dr. Nakabachi’s lecture and were waiting for it to start when we heard the sound on the roof.

That’s right! This must be when Mayuri heads to the vending machines on the 7th floor

Is anything not an emergency?

I’m sorry. I know sometimes it’s not, but this one counts for sure.
These are really, really rare and I’m broke.

Better play it safer. I’ll take the far stairs back to eight.

I don’t believe it. A metal Oopa.

And that’s good?

Ah! You bet it is!

Should be safe now!

Oh, I’m sorry.

K-Kurisu....

Um, have we met before?

No, this is too much.

I don’t think I know you, do I?

Kurisu...

Look, whoever—

What is your trauma? Don’t rush to help me or anything!

I’m just... You’ll see....

Your attention please. Dr. Nakabachi’s conference is about to begin on the 8th floor lecture hall.
All who are interested are welcome to attend.

At least finish your sentence!

Printed on the handouts there in front of you is more or less the hard blueprint for one of mankind’s oldest ambitions. Of course, the theoretical scaffolding begs some explanation. As I’m sure you’re all aware, mainstream science currently boasts something more…

In a brief I was given, they said you’d be able to pick her of the crowd instantly. Is that true?

Yeah.

Right.
Bare in mind though, it’s probably a bad idea to take her offside. We don’t know who kills or why. And in any event, her death is a fixed point on the time line. We don’t want things getting more complicated.

I learned that the hard way with Mayuri.


DOOCTOOOORRR!!
Save your questions until…
I have none, sir. I throw down the gauntlet as to your theory's authorship.
Do you take us all for babes in the wilderness?
Please. World lines, Kerr black holes?

Any moment now, this is where she’ll be end up.
What on earth am I gonna do?
Wait! What if she’s killed somewhere else and dragged here?!
Damn it! I hadn’t thought of that!
There she is.
This is where it happens.,.
What is that she’s reading?
Time machines?!
Is that why she’s so much writing on this?
Stupid kid...

What in the hell do you want?

Look, please. I just want you to read this... ‘kay, Dad?

Dad?!
Nakabachi is her dad?!

I-, I’m just trying to bury the hatchet.
It’s been years, too damn long.
I want you in my life again.

Don’t tell me her father is the one...

I put on my thinking cap, would you like to say and well, I’m now convinced that you are right all along. I wanted your onion on the theory.
If this paper gets accepted, you can lord it over all the stuffed shirts who laughed you out of the academy.

I did not get laughed out!
I turned my back on their politics to pursuit my researches on better!

Sorry.

Hmph! This isn’t half bad.

Really?
‘Cause I was thinking maybe if you were okay with the idea, we could publish it under both of our names.
I mean, after all, you’re the one who inspired me to write it.

Don’t be ridiculous! Go home!

What?!

If this paper sees the light of the day, it’ll do so under my name.

Excuse me?!
That’s called stealing!
I knew you could be cruel, but I would’ve never thought you’d be so stupid!

Shut up!
You dare call me a thief!?
Bitch! What makes you think you’re so much better than me?!
A daughter’s got no goddamn right to outshine her father!
Every second you’re out there whoring to make a name for yourself. You trample my reputation as a genius of the age!

You were my heckler, weren’t you?!
Ha, I see. You were in cahoots to make nattering old Nakabachi shit the bed during what should’ve been the moment of his glory!
Well, you succeeded. But success comes at a price.

Dad, no!

Stand your ground. Protect her!

Where’s your heckling now?!
C’mon! Let’s hear it!

Son of a bitch!

Dad, this is crazy! Please stop!

So I’m crazy?! I’ll show you crazy!

Look out!

You’re an idiot! A DNA fluke!
You’re not as smart as me! My name belongs to the annals of history!
You are nothing!

Daddy, please...

If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t be the academic laughingstock I am now!

STOOOOOOOOOOP!

Oh god!
Oh my god!

Ha! Hahahahaha!
Look at that!
Poetic justice all around, I’d say.

I’m sorry.
I didn’t mean-

What?

I didn’t mean to drag you into this.
I just wanted him to-, to acknowledge me.

Kurisu...

I’m so scared.
I-, I don’t want to die.
I’m not ready.
This wasn’t-, this wasn’t supposed-

No. Oh god..., please no!
(scream)

????! They’re already back!
Okarin!

Whoa, dude! What the hell happened to you?

It is gonna be all right. It is-, just a little bit complicated.

I’m responsible for her death. I’m responsible for her death. I’m responsible for her death. I’m responsible for her death. I’m responsible for her death. I’m responsible for her death. I’m responsible for her death. I’m responsible for her death.

Okarin...

Walk it off! Look, I know you’re in shock, but you gotta pick yourself up.
We’ve got enough fuel for one more trip and now we know how things play out--

No! I won’t do it! I won’t put myself through that again!
Whatever I do, Kurisu will always die!

(Okarin’s phone vibrates)

Okarin, it’s you phone.

A text?

Open it.

I shouldn’t.

Just do it!

It says to turn on the news.

Seriously?

Despite the cargo bay fire, Dr. Nakabachi’s plane managed to land safely within the border of the former Soviet Union to which re recently defected.

Fate was certainly smiling on me. If this guy hadn’t set off the onboard metal detectors, my thesis would’ve been barbequed.

‘Kay, that’s weird.

That’s my Metal Oopa! I know it is! See, you look! I wrote my name on the side right after Okarin bought it for me!

No, I see. It’s just... Why is it in Russia?

That thesis of his, that’s what starts the World War III. It basically sparks arms race. Only the goal is which country can build a time machine first. Take first place and win the world. That’s how it starts. Things get hostile pretty quick. Then war, then people are getting killed in droves. The lives of 5.7 billion people are at stake here.
Save Makise Kurisu and you save every one of them.

I can’t do it. Things went up as just they did with Mayuri. No matter what I did, she died. There’s no point. It’s all the same.

No! You only tried once! You can’t say that!

Once?! Are you mad?! I tried dozens of times!!
And every time I failed!
Believe me, I know.
You may not think I do but I know how cruel time can be.
We like to imagine we can bend it to suit us, but...
This was bound to happen.
How stupid of me to play along.
I’m sorry, but..., I’m... I’m just done.
Let time have its way.

Since when have you been a type of person who’s just done!? You’re not fooling me!!
You’ve never given up on anything ever!
Remember when I couldn’t bring myself to say good-by to grandma?
You went to her grave every day for me until I was ready to do it myself!
You’ve never gotten mad and you’ve never quit!
Because of that, I was finally able to let her go.
So.. no. I’m not letting you throw in the towel.

Listen, a video file should’ve turned up in your inbox on July 28th.

That’s right. I’ve forgotten.

It should be viewable now.
You had to fail saving her once before it would’ve been unlocked, so to speak.

What the hell are you talking about?!

I apologize. I know it was a lot to put you through, but things had to be this way.
The whole point was for you to see that file.

Is that...?

Hail and well met, old friend.

Is that you?!

That you’re able to open this means you’ve seen first-hand what became of Makise and failed to prevent it. I feel for you. I really do.
That said, the pain you’re going through right now is necessary.
I dare deny you, us bitter inspiration it represents.

Without it, you cannot hope to carve out your destiny.
Now we can martial our resources properly.
I hereby charge you with the task of reaching Steins Gate.
To do so, two conditions are absolutely essential.
One, you must destroy Nakabachi’s ill-gotten time-travel thesis before it crosses into Russia’s borders.
Second, you must rescue our beloved Kurisu.

But how?! I’ve tried!

I’m fully aware that the grisly nature of her death appears to be set in stone due to its position within the so-called alpha attractor field. However, I’ll just come right down with it. It is possible to save her. You’re simply going about it the wrong way
Listen carefully. You must not, I repeat, not alter any details surrounding her death as witnessed by you.
That is the version of yourself prior to the botched rescue attempt that allows you to view this video file. To do so would alter the past too drastically.
Think of your experience immediately following the first D-mail. The three weeks you spent jumping through time were instigated by that text. It’s what gave you a history with her. Your desperate, bitterly ineffective bids to save Mayuri, the countless sacrifices, the terrible Rubicons crossed. All of that has to stay in your head.
The period spent adrift in time constitutes your unique reality. It must not be distorted. To do so would be tantamount to a betrayal of who you are.
I know that to label Kurisu’s death as traumatic is the epitome of understatement.
Believe me. I do.
Memory of seeing her life ever weigh as I held her in my arms harms me still.
But the pain it brought can be road in turn to greater ends. It what brings you to yourself.
So trick yourself.
Save her without changing the apparent fact of her death. Convince your past self that she is well and truly dead even though she lives. Keep the past, for all intents and purposes where it is. That’s what will get us to Steins Gate.

Of course...

I don’t think I get it.

That goes for both of us.

I have every faith that you understand.
Incidentally, the time machine’s model is Type C204.
I doubt I need to tell you what the C stands for.

It’s for Christina...

The target world line’s charming little nickname comes care of me as well.
Which is to say, it comes from you.
Care to guess its significance?

There’s none.

Bingo! There’s none.

And further please our whimsy, Operation Skuld will be the name we assign to this mission.
Forge of yesterday whatever you must to save the future, without defectively altering the past as you understood it.
Okabe Rintaro sees Makise lying dead on the ground in the pool of her own blood.
Keep the past for all intents and purposes where it is.
Deceive yourself in every last detail.
Deceive the world. Do this and the victory is assured.
Best of luck to you, old friend.
El Psy Congroo.

Okay, trippy.
You have any idea what your future self is telling you?

Oh wow, you get really suave!

Hahahahahaha. Operation Skuld? El Psy Congroo?
Like I'll never grow out of the cloak and dagger acts?
Obvious barking mad than I am now.

Yeah, but is that so bad?

Ah to hell with it.
If Steins Gate so decrees, so am I compelled to behave!
Hououin Kyouma accepts the challenge, with gusto!
Deception is my forté!
Let the world beware! Hahahahahaha! Hahahahahaha!

Oh-ho! I think the Okabe we all know and love is back.

Aha, good thing too, the Okarin has just blues all days and nearly is fun!

Hear me, privileged companions, time is ours!
Hououin Kyouma's mind recognizes no limits, neither does his reach!
Heave anchor! This ship of fools is about to embark!

[ending]