The Place Promised in Our Early Days


Chapter 1

Hiroki:
“I always have a premonition of losing something.”
That's what she told me.

I was just a middle school student at the time.
So there was no way that I could really understand what she was saying.
But still, those words of hers strangely moved my heart.

It was before the war, when the huge island called 'Ezo' was still a foreign territory.

Sayuri (Hiroki’s illusion):
Amazing!
An airplane!

Hiroki:
On that distant day, beyond those clouds, I had a promised place with her.

Chapter 2

Sayuri (Reading “永訣の朝” aloud in the class):
While you were suffering from a severe, severe fever,
You asked me to get one final bowl full of snow.
That fell from the sky of the world called the galaxy, the sun, the sky and so on.
The sleet has accumulated so desolately on the two pieces of the granite stone.
Standing on them, unstable from this pine tree,
And its shiny branch that keeps pure white snow for the clear cold drops,
To gather food for my sweet little sister's last meal-

Hiroki:
In those days we admired two things.

Female student A:
How many minutes left?

Female student B:
We still got time.

Takuya:
Heads up!

Hiroki:
It's hot! Thanks.

Takuya:
Hiroki, when do you go to work next time?

Hiroki:
Well, since I've got a club activity until tomorrow, maybe the day after that.
How about you, Takuya?

Takuya:
Tomorrow’s my last training day.
So..., how's the day after tomorrow sound?

Hiroki:
Okay.

One of the two things that we admired was our classmate, Sayuri Sawatari. And the other was that enormous tower that rose beyond the border, on the other side of the Tsugaru Strait.
I was always looking up at that tower.
I felt something very important to me was waiting that place.
I almost longed for that Tower.

Takuya:
Someday...
Someday...
Someday I'm gonna get there.

Female student A:
Senior Shirakawa!

Team mate:
Catch you later, man.

Takuya:
Yeah, sorry.

Female student A:
Um, we, we know you seniors are retiring today, so-

Female student B:
There's something we'd like to give you.

Female students A&B:
Go on! Kana.

Kana:
What!? Er, er, um, here....

Hiroki:
And you turned her down as usual.
Matsuura in year one, huh? She is cute, though.

Takuya:
If you think so, you go out with her

Hiroki:
What!?

Takuya:
If with you, will you?

Hiroki
What!? No! Why would I?

Takuya:
So, you have someone else you like?

Hiroki:
What? Why? It's true that I think she is cute. But I don't really know what you do when you go out with someone.
Not really, know what I mean?

Takuya:
It wasn't you she confessed her love to.

Hiroki:
You asked me about it!!

Takuya:
Haha.

Chapter 3

Hiroki:
Sayuri...

Sayuri:
Huh? Hiroki!

Hiroki:
Sayuri... You're going home late.

Sayuri:
Yeah, I was late because I was practicing-

Takuya:
Violin?

Sayuri:
Yeah...
You're not with Takuya?

Hiroki:
Yeah, I was also doing club activities.

Sayuri:
I notice you sometimes practice your archery by yourself.

Hiroki:
Yeah well, I'm … I'm not really that good yet. My mind wanders a lot.

Sauri:
Do you have any plans during spring break?

Hiroki:
Yeah. I'm gonna be working with Takuya.

Sayuri:
Work? I'm jealous!! Where?

Hiroki:
At a military factory in Hamana, working on guided missiles 'n stuff.

Sayuri:
Humm. It's a great deal you've got a job. I've only got my club activities.

Hiroki:
Really?

Sayuri:
Yeah.

Announcement:
The next station is Nakaguni, Nakaguni.
After Nakaguni, we'll stop at Oodaira.

Sayuri:
Oh, this is my stop.
You know, yesterday, I had a dream I would go home with you like this.
Bye-bye. See you next semester.

Hiroki:
Okay.

Chapter 4

Voice from radio:
At the 11th ministerial level conference between America and Union scheduled for three days from 12th, it appears that the focus will be Japan's response to the North-South problem continuing to cause tension. The Union government shows their deep concerns about the reinforcement of Misawa base and the other American facilities. On the other hand, the American government shows their uneasiness toward the fact that Union has not been yet made clear [the purpose of the] enormous tower which they built in Ezo territory.

Hiroki:
Hello. Cool! I'm just in time for tea time.

Factory employee 1:
Yeah. Have a seat.

Hiroki:
Okay.

Takuya:
You late, Hiroki.

Hiroki:
Sorry.

Factory employee 2:
Hiroki, I heard about it.
So you guys went and stole a Chukar from MSDF, huh?

Hiroki/Takuya:
Like I said that's not true.

Hiroki:
We didn't steal it. We found it in Amagamori.

Factory employee 2:
So you did steal it.

Factory employee 1:
Well, I guess it'd be alright since they fly drones a lot in trainings these days.
But just make sure that they can't trace it back to you guys.

Factory employee 2:
That's right. The Public Safety Commission already watches this place so...

Okabe:
Let's stop saying things that could smear my reputation!
Now back to work, you guys.

Factory employees 1&2:
Yes Sir.
See you later.

Hiroki:
Yeah
Takuya:
See you.

Okabe:
I want you two kids to come right to work tomorrow. You get it?
I'll work you for more than what those materials cost.

Hiroki:
Okay. Well then... We're out of here.

Okabe:
Okay.

Hiroki:
There was a reason we started working.

I heard that when Ezo was still called Hokkaido and was part of this country, there was a plan to dig a tunnel underneath the Tsugaru Strait.

It ended up being interrupted because of the North-South division.
But around this areas and mountains, traces of its construction, discontinued stations and rails, remained here and there.
And one of those discontinued stations on top of this mountain, we've been making something since last year.
The reason we worked at Emishi plant, a US subcontracted military factory, was to earn money for the parts for what we were building.
That place that even though we could see it so close we could almost touch it, we couldn’t go.
We wanted to see with our own eyes that unknown island and the enormous Tower that rose there, no matter what.

Hiroki:
Looks like a lot of snow melted.
I wanna start up again.

Takuya:
Yeah, if we don’t get any more.
At any rate, we’d better get the rest of the materials we need.
We still don’t have outer nanonet, or the self-staring motor.
Big thing is a super-conductive motor.

Hiroki:
And we need kerosene, too, man?

Takuya:
We might not earn enough just work from tomorrow.

Hiroki:
It’ll work out somehow.
We have summer break, too, you know.

Takuya:
Yeah, that’s true.

Hiroki:
So we were planning to fly to that Tower beyond the border in this airplane that we named Bella Ciela.


Chapter 5

Sayuri:
That same dream again….

Takuya:
Sayuri?

Sayuri:
Takuya…


Sayuri:
It’s okay…

Takuya and Sayuri:
Hiroki said that…

Sayuri:
(giggle) We haven’t spent too much time alone together, have we?

Takuya:
You may be right.

Sayuri:
So, Takuya. Do you like physics?

Takuya:
Oh, this book? Yeah.
I’m interested in it.

Sayuri:
That’s amazing.
I was told my grandfather was a physicist.

Takuya:
Really. Well, that’s certainly more amazing than my interest in the subject.

Sayuri:
Although I never met him.

Takuya:
Because of the North-South division?

Sayuri:
Yeah.,,

Takuya:
I see.

Sayuri:
Hey, you guys are still working, right?
Is it fun?

Takuya:
I don’t know.
The factory is owned by a scary old man.
He works us pretty hard and yells at us a lot.

Sayuri:
Is he that scary?

Takya:
He is a demon.

Sayuri:
Oh, really?

Takuya:
You wanna come see the place?

Sayuri:
Wanabe… in your way though?

Takkuya:
Nah, and Hiroki’d like to see you.

Sayuri:
Great!
Great then I’ll come.

Announcement of train arrival:
The train bound Kanita and Minyama is arriving at Platform 2.
Please step back and wait behind the white line.

Sayuri:
Hey, Takuya…
This might sound strange, so you promise me not to laugh.

Takuya:
What?
Tell me.
I won’t laugh.

Sayuri:
Okay, then I tell you.

Chapter 6

Hiroki:
Why did you do something like that without asking?

Takuya:
What was I supposed to do?
The conversation was just going that direction.

Hiroki:
What’ll we do?
Do we tell her about flying to the Tower, too?

Takuya:
That wouldn’t be a good idea.

Hiroki:
Right.
So what’ll we say if she wants to know where we’re going?

Sayuri:
Hey there?

Hiroki & Takuya:
Huh?

Hiroki:
Er, hello.

Okabe:
Man, it is hot today.

Sayuri:
Hello sir. How are you?

Okabe:
Hello there, sorry.
Well, so these little kids told me awfully lots about you.

Hiroki:
Mr. Okabe, is he single?

Takuya:
Nah, I heard he was divorced once.

Hiroki:
Somehow, that makes sense.

Okabe
Thank you so much.

Sayuri:
I didn’t know a place like this existed.
It’s so big.

Sayuri:
Amazing! An airplane?!

Takuya:
That's right.

Sayuri:
Are you two building this by yourselves.

Takuya:
Yeah. We’ve been working little by little since the year-two summer.
We were working at the factory to pay for the parts.
Mr. Okabe has been helping us a lot. Right?

Hiroki:
Mm-hm

Takuya:
It’s still far from being finished though.

Sayuri:
It’s amazing. It really is!!

Hiroki&Takuya:
Thanks…

Sayuri:
Hey! When is that airplane going to be finished?

Hiroki:
We actually wanna complete it during the summer break.


Takuya:
But probably we can’t do it.
Seems like it’s gonna take a lot more time.
Our goal is to finish it before the end of the year.


Sayuri:
I see.
So where are you going in your plane?

Hiroki:
We're going to that Tower.

Sayuri:
Tower? You mean the Union Tower?

Hiroki&Takuya:
Mm-hm
Takuya:
We think it’ll take about 40 minutes to fly there.

Hiroki:
The question is how we cross the border.
But we got some ideas about that, too.

Sayuri:
Aw wow! Hokkaido sounds great!

Hiroki:
You wanna go with this, Sayuri?

Sayuri:
What? Is it okay?

Hiroki&Takuya:
Mm-hm.

Sayuri:
Really?
Yes! I’ll go!
I wanna go!
Wow! Thank you!

Takuya:
I don’t know if it’ll be able to fly.

Hiroki:
Don’t worry.
It’ll fly.

Sayuri:
Yeah!
Okay, then it’s a promise.

Takuya:
Yeah.

Hiroki:
Then it’s a promise.

Sayuri:
Okay.

Hiroki:
In those days I felt that time and place would continue on like that {for} the rest of my life.
The Tower that was beyond clouds that I admired became an important promised place to me.
I think there was nothing for us to fear {at} that moment.
But the truth was that the world and the history were changing all around us.
But in those days, I felt only the smell of the night floating in the train, the trust toward my friend, and the hint of Sayuri that shook the air, were everything in the world.

Chapter 7

News on TV:
From late last night until before dawn this morning, in the buffer area that lies between the 42nd latitude line off the Tsugaru Strait, a small scale armed conflict occurred between US-Japanese military and Union military. Receiving this news, the Metropolitan Police Department announced that they would deploy 30,000 guards within Tokyo Prefecture.

Okabe
Of course, I’ll sell you kerosene, or any thing else if you pay.
But jet fuel, that’s expensive.
Why don’t you just use a reciprocating engine or a super conductive motor?
You got the rest?

Takuya:
Yeah.

Okabe:
Then take care of it.

Okabe:
Hey, why the hell do you wanna take the trouble and use the jet engine?

Hiroki&Takuya:
Because it's cool.
Is that the reason?

Takuya:
Hold on a second.
There were all of other reasons, weren't there?

Hiroki:
Let's see... Aw, that's one.

Hiroki&Takuya:
We were lucky to find it.
That's not it!

Takuya:
Aw what was it?
Remember the reason for making it duel engine.
There was a good reason for it.

Hiroki&Takuya:
Oh, that was it!
We wanted it to transform!
That's not it!

Okabe:
I don't care what it is. Just don't die. It'll mean none but trouble for me.
Okay, you kids, be sure to come right to work every day when summer break starts.

Hiroki&Takuya:
Okay.

Chapter 8

Sayuri:
So... you really want me to play it?

Hiroki:
Yeah! We'll come to see after school.

Sayuri:
Hey! I'm just telling you I'm not that good.

Takuya:
Don't worry. I've never seen someone play the violin in person.
I wanna hear.

Hiroki:
I wanna hear it, too.

Sayuri:
Huh, I feel kind of nervous.

Hiroki:
Nononet doesn’t reflect the radar, does it?

Takuya:
But we’re gonna be flying in the buffer area.
Even if it has nanonet exterior, if we fly carelessly, the US military will spot us before the Union does.

Hiroki:
I guess we don't have any other choice but to fly as low as possible, mixing with the wave and shape of the land.
If we leave early in the morning, we can hide in the morning haze, too.
Do we have a map of Ezo?

Takuya:
This is the only detailed one.
We won't know the actual shape of the land until we go there.
So we have to measure the altitude after landing.

Hiroki:
But isn’t it the case as long as we land, the Union’s radar won’t catch us?
Bella Ciella’s radar profile should be smaller than a small bird, right?

Takuya:
Probably.
Unless we are really, really unlucky.


Chapter 9

Hiroki:
Sayuri!

Hiroki:
Hang on!

Sayuri:
It’s all right.
I mean it’s not that far.

We had this before?

Hiroki:
I’m glad I made it in time.
I’ll just…
Takuya:
You all right?

Sayuri:
Um-hm.. Sorry…
Thank you.

Takuya:
Hey!

Hiroki:
That was awesome.

Takuya:
What are you doing?

Hiroki:
Agh, knock it off, Hiroki,

Takuya, I just had to.

Takuya:
What'd you say?

Takuya:
What did you go and do that for?

Hiroki:
Oh, c'mon, don't be angry like that.

Takuya:
I'm all angry alright!
You stay there. Let's go, Sayuri.

Hiroki:
Takuya! Sayuri, say something to him.

Sayuri:
Sorry, Takuya...

Takuya:
Hiroki's stupid. Forget about him and let's go.

Hiroki:
Hey, Takuya.

Sayuri:
I was having a dream earlier, just for a second.

Hiroki:
A dream? What kind of dream?

Sayuri:
Mm.. I forgot actually.
But it was probably a dream about that Tower.

Takuya:
It’s a pretty amazing view, isn’t it?
The Union is incredible.

Hiroki:
I feel the top of the Tower could even meet the some other world.

Sayuri:
The sun, it’s setting so slowly, isn’t it?

Hiroki:
That was a really special summer.
But the world surrounding me would betray me so many times from that point on.
I haven’t seen Sayuri for three years since that day.

Chapter 10

Tomizawa:
We have some visitors, gentlemen.
But don’t worry about them.
First phase completed.
Let’s proceed to phase two.

Takuya:
Okay. Filtering stage: begin.

Researcher B:
Vector resolution: 25% higher than the last time.

Tomizawa:
That’s good.
Maybe we can make it.
Choose the algorithm well.

Researcher B:
Okay, Takuya. What’s the algorithm?

Takuya:
I modified the filtering for extracting groups.
It’s Ekuson Tsukinoe’s thesis.

Researcher B:
Ekuson Tsukinoe?
One from the Union?

Takuya:
Yes.

Tomizawa:
How did.. Who did you say?

Takuya:
Hold on a second please.
Reaction’s building up.

Researcher A:
And who’s that?

Tomizawa:
The Researcher from the Union, who first proved the existence of parallel worlds; said to be the designer of the Tower

Takuya:
Got it!
XA, YC, ZC.
Confirmed exposure reactions.
There are five, no, six branch universes!

Tomizawa:
Six huh? All right then.
Begin the harmonization stage.

Researcher A:
Beginning phase three.
And starting to connect the closest parallel world.

?????:
Roger that.

Researcher B:
So fast!

Researcher A:
Shirakawa is the closest one.
Twelve more Exa to reach the connectable territory.
11, 10, 9.4… 9.2

Takuya:
We’ve got connected!
Successful connection toward the nearby branch universes.
Exposure reactions stable.

Tomizawa:
Good, move on {to} the conversion stage.

Researcher A:
Staring the fourth phase.
Space replacement with the parallel world.

Serviceman:
So that the spiral is the tower I take it.

NSA officer:
Yes, that’s right.
We’ll replace several square inches of space in the center with that of the different universe.

Graduate Student A:
I confirmed disparate conversion of 60 nano radius space.
It’s expanding rapidly.
Naked eye visual confirmation soon.

NSA officer:
That one part is a completely different space composed of the different universe.

Serviceman:
Is this the same operation Ezo’s Tower doing?

NSA officer:
Yes. Although that is on a much larger scale.
We still at a point we only succeed once every few trials [for] replacing the space of the size of grain of sand.

Takuya:
We got a problem.

Researcher B:
It’s not good!
Exposure reaction decreasing.
We can’t keep up the connection with the parallel world any longer.

Researcher A:
The wave function converged.
The branch universe completely disappeared.
We succeeded in replacing 1.3 mm of disparate matter.

Maki:
Have a good day.

Researchers:
You too.

Maki:
Professor Tomizawa , is Shirakawa free now?

Tomizawa:
He is.
You two sure are spending a lot of time together.

Maki:
You were the one who asked me to be with him until he get used to this place.

Tomizawa:
Did I?
Oh, by the way, Maki.
I’m going to Tokyo on business tomorrow.

Maki:
It’s the research report meeting, right?

Tomizawa:
That too.
But it seems they found the key.

Maki:
The key?
The one you told me about before?

Tomizawa:
Yes. Your brain scientists may start putting in longer hours.

Takuya:
Maki.

Maki:
The military seems to be here a lot.

Hiroki:
The one in the suit, probably NSA.

Maki:
NSA?

Takuya:
National Security Agency.

Maki:
I see.
There have been a lot of terrorism rumors lately.
Did it go well today?

Takuya:
Not well enough. The best we can do is a barely naked eye visual replacement. And we're still far behind the Union's tower.

Maki:
You can't help it since they are so ahead of us. And they have been even with basic physics since the beginning.

Takuya:
We don’t know why the disparate matter conversion stopped at the 2km radius point from the Tower.
If it is to attack enemies, it doesn’t work.

Maki:
Its function may be suspended by some accident. Or maybe it's simply an experimental facility.

Takuya:
Or the disparate matter conversion itself is a function that’s somehow out of control.
Professor Tomizawa says there may be some external cause that’s suppressing the Tower’s function.

Maki:
Hey Shirakawa, what are you doing tomorrow?
Your high school’s on break, right?

Takuya:
There’s something I wanna research.

Maki:
At the library?

Takuya:
No, I’m going to a friend’s factory.

Chapter 11

Okabe:
What do you mean you wanna see the factory? We don’t offer tours here.
Huh? Whaddyusay?
A girl? How old is she?

Takuya:
I [hardly] know. I think she’s kind of pretty though.

Okabe:
Okay, I’ll be waiting for you.

Maki:
Wow! What amazing antennas!

Okabe:
Well, I’ve got to be honest with you, some of ‘em are exactly illegal.
But they can connect us {to} some pretty interesting places.

Maki:
My bad.

Okabe:
And you specialize in brain research, is that just right, Miss Maki?

Maki:
Yes. Things like memories, sleep, dreams.

Factory employee:
You work as the same research lab as Takuya, don’t you?
I thought that you were researching on the Tower.

Takuya:
Yes. I do research on the Tower.
How should I put it?
We both do research dealing with parallel worlds.

Factory employee:
Parallel worlds?

Maki:
Well, just like a person dreams at night, the Universe also dreams.
This world’s hiding various possibilities of it could’ve been like this in its dreams.
We call them parallel worlds or branch universes.
My research is to investigate the effects that parallel worlds have on people’s brains and dreams.
The dominant view is that the Union’s Tower’s also observing those same things.
While we can now observe parallel worlds using technology, the brain of life forms may have been perceiving it unconsciously from ancient times.
The information about the branch universes that comes and goes at the quantum level within the brain may just be the source of the things that people call premonition or precognition.
I’m researching things like that.

Okabe:
Wow.
The dreams of the universe…
Sounds very romantic to me.

Takuya&Factory worker:
“Romantic”?

Okabe:
Wrong with that?
I’m very impressed with you, Miss Maki.
A government advisory counsel Graduate Student: at your age.

Maki:
Why, thanks!
But since I’ve admired the Tower for years, it’s very fulfilling work for me.

Okabe:
I’ve admired it myself.
You and I have a lot in common.

Maki:
Well, Shirakawa is the one who is truly admirable.
He is the youngest outside Graduate Student:.
And his enthusiasm.
Well, he’s just so cool!

Takuya:
Er, I’m not, I’m not that cool, actually.

Maki:
I’d better get going now.
Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.
It looks like I ate most of them.

Okabe:
It’s all right.
Takuya, are you going to the city?

Takuya:
Yeah.
I’m taking Maki home.

Okabe:
Do you mind giving me a lift?

Maki:
What?

Takuya:
Okay.

Maki:
What?

Okabe:
You can just drop me at the station.

Takuya:
What? You’re not going back?

Okabe:
I’m going to Tokyo on business tomorrow.

Takuya:
Mr. Okabe.

Okabe:
Yeah.

Takuya:
Have you thought about what I asked you?

Okabe:
What was that?

Takuya:
About Uilta.

Okabe:
Ah, you awfully persistent.
It looks to me like you working hard at the lab.
A work seems worthwhile, all right?

Takuya:
That’s not really the case.
I just need to settle the matters with that Tower.

Chapter 12

Nurse:
What’s the matter?

Tomizawa:
Hm, nothing. I just didn’t think you could see the Tower from Tokyo as well.

Nurse:
Yeah, there are days like that.
The air’s clear today so…
This way, please, sir.

Hospital Director:
That’s the progression of the condition since she was admitted in this hospital.

Tomizawa:
The onset was in the summer of her third-year in middle school. The cause is unknown.
The hours of sleep gradually got longer. And she was able to stay awake for only limited periods of time.
This girl has been asleep for three years.
You’re telling me she’s having some sort of dream?

Hospital Director:
That’s what the recorded brain waves show.

Tomizawa:
And DNA test?

Hospital Director:
On page six.

Tomizawa:
Yes, I see.
She’s from a divided family. Fine.
Er, this is the request document from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
As soon as the transfer date is decided you will receive the official documents.
What’s this letter?

Hospital Director:
Something that the patient was writing at the beginning of hospitalization.

Tomizawa:
Did you read it?

Hospital Director:
No.

Tomizawa:
Emishi plant…

Tomizawa:
Thus, by detecting the disparity of the multiple universes that keep branching off infinite paths,
a highly accurate prediction of the future becomes possible.

The ultimate goal of my research lab lies here as well.

This isn't a conventional theoretical model nor probability theory, but entirety information that is based on the result of the actual future.

So, the impact of this matter on key decision making on politics and military affairs will likely be incalculable.
I believe you can all draw your own conclusions.

But the on the other hand we have no other choice but to think that the applied technology of the quantum gravity theory on the Union side has reached such a high level that we are no match for them.

It's generally assumed that the constructions of Ezo tower were started in 1974, after the North-South division, with the operations beginning around 1996.

Ironic that [a] mainlander Ekusun Tsukione played the central role in the design.
Next, I’ll explain new experiments for parallel world detection.


I thought that there was someone in the audience for the bad attitude.

Okabe:
I was listing to your talk and from what I can understand; you wanna look into the dream God's having. Isn't that right?
Do a little dream reading, as it were.

Tomizawa:
Well, that's more or less correct. You interested?

Okabe:
I prepared a bit. You know, it's been a while.
How about going out tonight?

Tomizawa:
Shirakawa’s excellent. He certainly got aptitude.

Okabe:
You glad you talked to him much, are you?

Tomizawa:
Yeah, but since when did you start student placement?

Okabe:
Well, you could say they are special to me.

Tomizawa:
They are special?

Okabe:
Yeah, there’s another student [mind you] I’m [again] kind of worried about.
Can’t seem to make contact with him.
The two of them making an airplane together.

Tomizawa:
That brings back some memories.

Tomizawa:
Is that why you came to Tokyo?
I thought it was another matter entirely.

Okabe:
What’d you think it was?

Tomizawa:
The Uilta matter.

Okabe:
Actually, it is; the main reason.
Gonna be able to get our hands on a PL outer shell bomb.
Don’t ask me where, though.

Tomizawa:
I have an idea more or less without asking.
So what?
Wanna ask me if they work against the tower?

Okabe:
Maybe….

Tomizawa:
Yeah, I think that’ll work.
The exterior of the tower will likely vaporize.
And responsibly, the interior was made up of nono-net ribbons; it’ll probably fall down in flames.
Yup, PL outer-shell bombs may be most suitable.

Okabe:
I see.

Tomizawa:
But such action by Uilta may raise the chance of starting a war.
Er, why don’t you pass on it?

Okabe:
That’s why we’ll do it.

Tomizawa:
Is this matter deiced?

Okabe:
More or less.
Since there are so many higher-ups so anxious to start a war.

Tomizawa:
Wasn’t your ideology north-south unification?

Okabe:
And still is.

Tomizawa:
I do feel it’s too valuable be destroyed.
From the Alliance side, its fruits of technology are almost unbelievable.
It’s just sanding there most.
With no real effect. So..

Okabe:
Don’t hide it from me.
That Tower’s not operating right now, but there’s a possibility it’s a weapon that’ll reverse the surrounding space.

Tomizawa:
So you knew…

Okabe:
Yeah.

Tomizawa:
I like that view, to be honest.

Okabe:
Every so often I ran into a romantic guy just like you.

Tomizawa:
Oka-chan, can I ask you a question?

Okabe:
Sure.

Tomizawa:
A while back, a person who may be related to the secret of that Tower was discovered.

Okabe:
Really?

Tomizawa:
A girl, actually, still on her teens.

Okabe:
I see, and?

Tomizawa:
Is she someone you know?

I don’t mean to be nagging you about this, but it’d be best to keep this information about her from Shirakawa until we know more, especially if they were close.

Okabe:
He’ll find out eventually.


Tomizawa:
Even so, I wouldn’t worry him right now.
It’s already within in the jurisdiction of NSA.
It’d be best if you kept your nose out of it.
What this universe dreams about, though?
Yes, I would like to see that, too.

Chapter 13

Sayuri:
A cold, deep wind blew there, a wind that seemed as if it had come from far-away universe.
And the air had the smell of the different universe.

Sky, clouds, and a collapsed town, no matter how far I walk there is no one.
I feel cold.
Why am I in a place like this?
Somebody… Hey somebody, Hiroki…

Hiroki:
That dream again…

In the end, we didn't fly the Bella Ciela.
And in its own way, it was so shocking that Sayuri disappeared three years ago without saying anything to either of us.
And I think we were upset ourselves, because we stopped building the airplane because of that.
After graduating from middle school, Takuya entered a high school in Aomori Prefecture.
And I came to a high school in Tokyo.
It was because I thought I wouldn’t be able to see the Union’s tower.
But it turned out to be a disappointment.
And I could sometimes see the tower from there when the weather was nice.
On those days, I felt like I was being controlled by this heavy, depressed feeling the whole day.

Rika:
Lot of tanks. They're going to all the way to your home town, aren't they?

Hiroki:
Yeah, I guess.

Rika:
Hey! It's going slow now; hitch up on it if you want it.
Stow away all the way Aomori.

Hiroki:
Sometimes letters from Mr. Okabe arrived, letting me know how things were going.
I’ve never written him back.

Every time I get to my room and close the door, I feel a severe pain in my mind as if the bones in my entire body were breaking through my skin. I wonder how long it's been since I've taken something like this on myself.


Radio's voice:
Next is the news on the highly tense international relations. At the UN Security Council held on the 19th, America once again requested the Union to accept the UN inspection group for the tower facility in Ezo. In response to this, the Union government showed their stubborn attitude of firm refusal.

Living alone, the nights felt long.

When I couldn’t whittle away the time very well, I walked to the nearby station and killed time pretending that I was waiting for someone.
When I grew tired of that, I walked all the way back to my room as slow as I could.

I had friends in high school, but other than the times I was wearing the school uniform; I somehow couldn’t bring myself to wanna be around them that much.

In a city where more thirty million people live, come to think of it, there was no one whom I wanted to see or whom I wanted to talk to.
In the midst of those days, I sometimes jumped to Sayuri.
In that dream, I would look for her, frantic.
But she was at some cold place all by herself.
And in the end I would always fail to find her.
But Sayuri's aura, one that made my heart tremble remained within my body even after waking up.

Before I knew it, it was my third winter since I had come to Tokyo. It was as if I kept holding my breath in deep cold water. Everyday was like that.

Only I am... I'm the only one...

Sayuri:
I'm the only one left in the world. That's the way I feel, that's the way that I feel....


Chapter 14

Takuya:
It was my dream that I'd come to Ezo someday.
I never thought it would be this easy.

Factory worker:
Yeah, this is the only the southern tip.
You have a family on the Union side?

Takuya:
It’s not that, really.

Factory worker:
You were born after the North-South division.
I can understand how you feel.
Like the boss, he's got separated from his family because of the division.
So I'm sure he's got different feelings on the issue.

Takuya:
Yeah, is that so.

Uilta member 1:
But I didn't expect this.

Takuya:
What?

Uilta member 1:
I didn't think our boss would keep you involved.

Takuya:
I begged him and told him that... if he didn't let me I turned his ass in.

Uilta member 1:
You what!? Man, you [live] dangerous.

Okabe:
Not good!
Stupid official!

Na. They found out about the secret communication!
Ship out!

That was a little too close {to} their turn.
But now, I’ve got a prospect of an airspace invasion.
Worthwhile coming all this way, alright?

Sugo:
Boss, there’s a ship!
Patrol boat!

Okabe:
Union’s patrol boat:
You’re violating the territorial waters of our country.

Okabe:
Stating the war has already been decided.
[What’ll they do when they know] what’s going on?

Sugo, punch it!

Uilta member(Sugo):
Yes sir.

Okabe:
Three more minutes ‘til the border
Sato, Mikawa, gun emplacement now!

Union’s patrol boat:
-immediately, or we’ll shoot!

Okabe:
Takuya!
Are you all right?!
Takuya?!

Sayuri:
Those white wings-
I know them!

Takuya:
When I wake up, for a second I don’t quite understand where I am.
I sometimes think I might’ve come to a wrong place.
But now, I feel the dream about Sayuri is more realistic than the reality I’m living.

A hospital She’s in?

Chapter 15

Hiroki:
Sayuri....

Sayri:
(gasp)

Hiroki, Takuya, I'm sorry for disappearing without saying anything to you.
I'm disappointed because I wanted to spend the summer break with you.
When I woke up, I was in a hospital in Tokyo, and I've been in the hospital ever since.
The people at the hospital told me that I should sever all the relationships that I had before.
But I'm writhing this right now after begging them to let me.
I'll send this to Mr. Okabe so that you two will read this.
But I don't quite know what I should write.
I've been having the same dream over and over again.
The dream that I'm alone in an empty universe where there's no one around.
In that dream, all of me, fingers, cheeks, fingernails, heals, even the tips of my hair ache from such loneliness.
The world filled with warmth, the one where the three of us were together seems more like a dream than a dream I'm having now.
But I feel that so long as I don't lose the memories from those days, I may be able to stay connected to reality if only by a fragile, fragile cord.

Hiroki:
She changed hospitals?

Nurse:
Yes, about a week ago.
Ask for details, you might want to ask the transfer hospital.

Hiroki:
Okay… Um, which room was Miss Sawatari in?

Sayuri:
Hiroki… Takuya… Did that beautiful white airplane fly safely, to that Tower beyond the ocean?

Hiroki:
I wonder what this is?
It’s the same air form the dream.
Sayuri…. Are you there?

Hiroki&Sayuri:
All this time, all this time, I’ve been searching.

Hiroki:
Sayuri, I really want to fulfill my promise this time.
I’ll fly the Bella Ciela to the Tower with you on board.
I feel that we’ll meet again if I do that.
I-I won’t leave you alone.
I won’t give up anymore.
I protect you forever. I promise.

Sayuri:
Yes, it’s a promise.

Hiroki:
Let’s fly to the Tower… together.

Maki:
Professor! We need you!

Graduate Student:
The operation level of the tower has suddenly been raised.
The limits of the disparate matter conversion are expanding rapidly!

Maki:
Conscious activity level of the subject is increasing at the same.
She may be waking up.
Professor… Could this be?

Graduate Student:
Disparate matter conversion has exceeded 26 kilometers.

Tomizawa:
This is… Is this going to overwrite the world?

Maki:
Subject’s conscious level, it’s going down, sir.

Graduate Student:
Speed of disparate matter conversion, slowing down.
The 26-kilometer radius has been overwritten with the parallel world.

Maki:
Subject’s consciousness is going down to the usual levels.
Her sleep, becoming stable again.
Professor, I…

Tomizawa:
Yes. As we thought, the subject's sleep was the key that was restraining the Tower's activity.
The information of the parallel world that the Tower captures is flowing into the subject's dream for now, instead of eroding the surrounding space.
We must ensure Sayuri Sawatari keeps dreaming.

Hiroki:
I might have been just dreaming.
Even then, Sayuri’s warmth that touched my skin continued to keep my body warm.
On that distant day, we made a promise we couldn’t keep.

Sayuri:
Hey Takuya… This may sound strange.
Will you promise you won’t laugh, okay?

Takuya:
What? What is it? I won’t laugh.

Sayuri:
Then I’ll tell you.
Um, it’s about a dream I have a lot.

Takuya:
A tall tower?
Is it the Union Tower?

Sayuri:
No. It has a more crooked and mysterious shape.
Besides the tower where I am, there are many others just like it, standing all around in the whole area.
I know this for some reason that each one is a whole entirely separate world; a dream that this universe is having, and I can’t get out and I feel so lonely and I’m gonna feel like my mind will disappear, I see a white airplane in the sky.

Takuya:
A white airplane?

Sayuri:
Yeah…

Takuya:
And…

Sayuri:
That’s the end of the dream.

Maiki:
Thank goodness.
Shirakawa, you’re awake.

Takuya:
Maki…

Maki:
I was really worried.

Takuya:
You were? Why?

Maki:
Does your shoulder still hurt?

Takuya:
No.

Maki:
Excuse me.
Seems like a fever’s come down.
Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?
I brought apples and bananas.
I also went and bought cakes.
What would you like?

Chapter 16

Tomizawa:
You can’t get in there with your ID card.
Is your injury better now?

Takuya:
Yes. Sorry for making you worry.
Listen…

Tomizawa:
I heard that Maki told you.
Wanna see her?

We’re speculating that reason why she keeps sleeping is because her brain cannot bear the information of the parallel worlds that flows in from the Tower.
If her sleep is broken, I think the world well be swallowed up in an instant by the parallel worlds.
With the Tower at the center of it all.
Frankly we don’t even know how to wake her up.
With the war starting soon, it’s been decided that she will be transferred to the NSA headquarters in the home country within a few days.
To the Alliance, that falls far behind in this field, she is a valuable sample.

Takuya:
Why does this have to be Sayuri?

Tomizawa:
Although there are more matters we don’t know than matters we know, I doubt this is purely coincidence.
Ekuson Tsukinoe, the designer of the Tower is her grandfather.

Okabe:
As you heard the Tower’s clearly a weapon.
For the past 25 years the Tower’s become a part of the everyday scenery, and it symbolizes all sorts of things; Nation, War, Race, Despair, Admiration.
Each generation looked at it differently.
But regardless, it seems everyone saw {it} as the symbol of something beyond their reach, something that can’t be changed. And as long as they do, this world probably won’t change.
And in just three days, the American government will make a declaration of war to the Union.
Taking the advantage of the confusion, caused by the start of the war, we’ll carry out a terrorist bombing on the Tower.
We’ll invade Ezo airspace with an unmanned Predator, use a seeker missile carrying a PL outer-shell bomb.
The Uilta liberation front will be disbanded on the same day.
And today, we close this factory down as well.

Takuya:
Okay.
Okay, I got it.
See you tomorrow then.

Hey.

Hiroki:
Three years, huh, Takuya.

Takuya:
When did you get here?

Hiroki:
{The} day before yesterday.
I’m sleeping in the old station right now.

Takuya:
The one that’s closed down?

Hiroki:
Yeah.
Takuya, what happened to your arm?

Takuya:
Er, it’s nothing.

Takuya:
What do you mean it’s nothing?

Hiroki:
I’ll tell you about later.

Hiroki:
I wonder if it’s closed today.
Huh? Chobi, how are you doing?
It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

Takuya:
Fly the Bella Ciela, with Sayuri on board?

Hiroki:
Yeah.

Another day or so, I’ll finish assembling it.
What’s left’d be the control software problem.

Takuya:
Hold on! Did you see what I said?
Sayuri keeps on sleeping and the Tower is…

Hiroki:
The Tower is the target of the terrorist attack, right?
That’s why I need your help, Takuya!
I told you what I’ve been thinking.
If I fly to the Tower with her, I think she’ll wake up.

Takuya:
What are you talking about?
Did you come back for such a thing?

Hiroki:
Su… such a thing?!
We made a promise, remember?
I have dreams about Sayuri, so many times, repeatedly.
She was alone in a place with there no one around.
She told me she could remember anything.
But she remembers that promise.
We promised again in the dream that I’d really take her to Tower this time.
And I, I can’t believe it’s just a dream.

Takuya:
You come back after three years.
I wonder what it was about.
And it was about a dream?
I can’t even stand a look at you.
I don’t have time for this kid’s stuff.
You’re just obsessed.
I’ll help you forget.

Hiroki:
Stop it!

Takuya..

Takuya:
Save Sayuri, or save the world.

Chapter 17

Hiroki:
Er, I… I forgot something.

Sayuri:
I see.

Hiroki:
Are you going home, Sayuri?

Sayuri:
Oh yes, I am.
Hiroki…, what happened to your cheek?

Hiroki:
Aw, I had a little fight with Takuya.

Sayuri:
Are you okay?

Hiroki:
I’m okay, yeah.
I’m sure we’ll make up soon, probably.
Listen, have a good evening.

Sayuri:
Hiroki! Hey, are you going to station?

I always have a premonition, premonition of losing something.
The world is so beautiful.
But I feel like I’m the only one who’s far from it.

Hiroki:
But I think that at that time, it looked to me is Sayuri was at the center of the brilliant world.
Oh, I see.
I just felt like I sort of understood… something, something important.

Hiroki:
Hello! Is anyone home?
Mr. Okabe!
It’s me, Hiroki.
Mr. Okabe!
But contact information.

Okabe:
Just as I thought.
My Hiroki, are you grown.

Hiroki:
Okabe, what are you…

Okabe:
I heard it from Takuya.
Let’s see how determined you are.
You guys destroy that Tower.

Maki:
Are the terrorist bombing rumors true?

Takuya:
I don’t know.
But the start of war’s probably coming soon.
And once it starts, research on the Tower may be the last thing we could think of.
I think that what Tsukinoe is doing and what terrorists like Uilta are doing may be the same thing; protesting the North-South division.

Maki:
You’re so mysterious, aren’t you, Shirakawa?
I feel like you have a lot of secretes.

Takuya:
No, not at all….

Maki:
Sorry, I’ll make some tea, and then I’ll treat your wound, okay?

Maki:
You seem to get a lot of wounds these days.

Takuya:
Sorry.

Maki:
Do you have some troubles, or something?

Takuya:
No, I’m okay. Really.

He was my best friend.

Maki:
What?

Takuya:
We admired the very same things.
We had the same goals.

Maki:
Yeah…

Takuya:
But we both went to different places.
How can I say…
I didn’t know in which direction I should go.
Even though energies, urges I couldn't understand welled up inside.

Maki:
Yeah…

Takuya:
So I was relieved to join the work at this lab.
I felt like I found something I should be doing.
And I was glad to meet you.

I don’t wanna involve.
There’s something I have to do.

When this.. when this is all over, I would like to, I would like to see you again.

Maki:
Shirakawa…

Takuya:
Sayuri, let’s go to the promised place.
This time for sure.

Tomizawa:
What’s going on, Oka-chan?
You’re going to use kids for something like that?

Okabe:
They’re the ones who wanted to do it.
Besides, the surrounding area of the tower’s been swallowed by what you call parallel worlds, right?
No one’s gonna die.

Tomizawa:
That’s no reason for…

Okabe:
Calm down, Tomizawa.
Anyway, by the time they get back, they won’t be kids anymore.
Shall I guess what you’re thinking right now?

Tomizawa:
Oh boy, oh boy.

Okabe:
Well then, I’m hanging up.
It’s finally coming to the climax.
Is Sayuri really gonna wake up for that?

Takuya:
I’m convinced she will too now for some reason.
The promise from that day is probably her tie to reality.
Even now she is waiting for the Bella Ciela in her dream.
I feel that Hiroki and I always knew this somehow.

Bella Ciela is a two-seater.
And I really couldn’t pilot with this arm.
I stay behind and watch what happens to the Tower.

Okabe:
I thought it was cold. Looks like snowing again.

Takuya:
I'll be going now.

Yeah, look at that. You two're working together again. Have to go to each other.

Hiroki:
Which one is it?
Is this it?

Takuya:
Did you hear from Mr. Okabe?

Hiroki:
Yeah.

Takuya! Which version of BIOS’s she think I should use?
You changed the rudder, didn’t you?
I don’t have the one after that.

Takuya:
It’s in this.
It also has one for the Seeker missile.
What else do you have to do?

Hiroki:
I’ll still have to do a little bit of wiring and the superconducting motor, I think.

Takuya:
Five more hours to war declaration.
Flying’s gonna take you right in the middle of the fighting.
I’ll do the software.
So you can finish up the wiring.

Hiroki:
Yeah.
Takuya, what’s up with that error message?

Takuya:
What?

Hiroki:
The one at the Version Check.

Takuya:
Version Check?
Er, isn’t that the part you put together three years ago?

Hiroki:
Oh, really?

Takuya:
You haven’t changed…, idiot.

Takuya:
Hiroki! Take a look at this.

Hiroki:
What?

Takuya:
The forecast of the battle condition off the Coast Tsugaru was out.

It's just what we thought...

Hiroki:
So, the front line will be around the 42nd latitude.
The inland area, especially around the Tower is almost empty.

Takuya:
Erosion on the land is pretty advanced.
Well?

Hiroki:
We'll slip through by flying low with the jet engine 'til we go through to the Strait.
After passing 42nd latitude, we increase the altitude.
How's that sound?

Takuya:
Yeah, seems that’s the only way.
When you get to the Tower, coinciding with when Sayuri wakes up, the disparate matter conversion on the ground should start again.
When that happens, break away immediately.
Once you're more than 10 kilometers away from the Tower, fire the seeker missile.
I programmed it to take over from there.

Hiroki:
Yeah.
It should be okay, right?

Takuya:
Yeah.
Two hours left until the start of the war.
We finished earlier than we thought.

Takuya:
Mm-hm.

Takuya:
Hiroki…

Hiroki:
Huh?

Takuya:
Is it possible that you could play the violin?
You know, you are awfully single-minded, kind of like an idiot, aren’t you?

Hiroki:
It’s none of your business, you jerk.
You’re the one who asked me to play.

Takuya:
Look this way, please?

Hiroki:
Just shut up, will you?
Be quiet and listen!

Takuya:
(laugh)

Chapter 18

Sayuri:
I can tell my body’s trembling at the premonition of waking up.
I don't know why. But the fear is stronger than the hope by half.

Hiroki:
“I always have a premonition of losing something,” that’s what she said.
I also feel the same premonition right now.

Sayuri:
But… as promised afterschool one day, I’m going to that Tower.

Researcher:
The operating of the Tower is rising once again.
The erosion area of the branch universe is expanding!

Maki:
It’s radius is currently about 36 km.
In the middle of slow expansion.

Tomizawa:
Is reacting to the sign of her waking up?
You’re sure it’s okay… Oka-chan?

Maki:
Professor! Sir!
A declaration of war has just been made!
The first encounter is the Tsuagaru Coast

Chapter 19

Hiroki:
A land.

Hey, Sayuri. It’s the promised place.

Sayuri:
Those wings... The Bella Ciela.
My dream's disappearing.
Oh, I see. I know now what I'm going to lose.
Oh, God. Please God...

Hiroki:
Oh, please God. Please awake Sayuri from her sleep. Please. Please...

Sayuri:
Please... Even if it's just for a moment after waking up, please don't erase the feeling that I have right now.
I have to tell Hiroki how special the connection between our hearts was in my dream, and how much I was longing for Hiroki, and how deeply he longed for me- in a world where there was no one around.

Hiroki:
Sayuri...

Sayuri:
Please. I have to tell him how much I loved him all this time.
If I could, I could tell him how much, I don't need anything else.
Please if it's for just a second, this feeling that I have... Please.

Hiroki:
Sayuri…

Sayuri:
Hiroki…

Maki:
The disparate matter conversion’s rapidly expanding!
Ezo’s being swallowed in!

Hiroki:
Sayuri…

Sayuri:
I have, I have to tell you something very important, but it’s gone. It’s gone.

Hiroki:
Everything will be all right because you are awake now.
You are back now, back.
Welcome back, Sayuri.

Chapter 20

Hrioki:
We’ve lost our promised place in this world,
but even so, we’ll start living now.