Steins;Gate>15. Missing Link Necrosis

Is this...

You know what it is... I'm a time traveler, specifically from the year 2036.

Dear God!

We've met online a few times... you and me.

I post as John Titor.

Episode 15 - Missing Link Necrosis [Title Page]

By the year 2036, SERN has taken complete control of the world!

Their word is law, Democracy is nothing but a memory.

People sleepwalk through their lives, completely devoid of hope.

Opposition is treason... treason is death!

I was a member of the Anti-SERN resistance.

On the run, day and night, living in the hit-squad's crosshairs.

I realized, they couldn't be defeated in my time.

So I bet my only chip. [Reference: Casino Chips used for Gambling]

The secret time machine my father had left me.

That's why I'm here. I need to prevent that future.

Then all those things John Titor was posting online were true!?

Yeah.

As much as I wish they weren't.

But SERN's a research organization. It doesn't have a standing army or anything like that!

I tried asking Titor about it online a bunch of times, and I never got a straight answer.

Hold on... so that was you posting under the Nom-de-web: Chestnut Rice (Kurigohan) and Kamehameha. [Reference: Dragon Ball Z]

Hey! She laid her cards out on the table, so the least I can do is reciprocate... right?

I hid my posts in plain sight.

Attributing them all to Hououin Kyouma.

Yeah, we know that. Yeah, we know that.

Once SERN builds a time machine, they're the ones who are calling all the shots.

With that kind of power at their disposal. It doesn't take long for them to decide the world needs to bend to their liking... for our own good, of course.

And one person did more than anyone else to bring SERN's machine to fruition.

The mother of time travel, they call her.

Makise Kurisu!

Are you saying I'm some kind of traitor!? I would never help them.

I don't know where you got your information, but it's obviously wrong.

Well, it's true in 2036.

Is that why you've always been so hateful around me?

What about my future self, then?

Later in life, you are going to become an infamous terrorist.

A what!?

More like an Anti-SERN freedom fighter, actually.

Oh, also, you two should know...

By the time I leave, in 2036... both of you are dead.

Time for me to go.

Wait a sec...

You can't just drop a bombshell like that, and blithely sashay back to the future.

The future's a dead end. I'm heading to an earlier point in time.

Back to the year 1975.

Why 1975?

SERN is only able to build their time machine, because they get their hands on a working version of one from Akihabara, and then improve on that technology.

Our Phone-Wave, you mean?

Umhmm.

They manage to set up a world wide monitoring system to alert them to the emergence of any viable research in the field of time travel.

I hate to lay this at your doorstep, Okabe, but the first D-Mail you sent probably caught their eye.

You mean the one I sent in front of the Radio Building!?

That's the one.

But, if we can just delete that message from their system, altogether, before anyone over at SERN bothers to read it.

We'll change the future.

Huh!

We'll toss life as we know it into a world line, where their time travel ambitions never pan out.

Will making that jump help us save Mayuri's life?

We can hope.

Then, what are we waiting for? Let's go back in your machine and hack their database before...

We'll need to find an IBN 5100 to pull that off.

Wait, so... is that why?

My mission was to travel back to 1975, obtain an IBN 5100 and make sure it got to you. That was all.

But, I let myself get distracted and spent too much time looking for my dad.

I should've left this year... way earlier.

What's going on!?

Oh, my God!

Something's broken.

uhh!

Not good!

Do we run!?

One of us is about to...

Sneak out of here as soon as their distracted.

Is someone in there?

Who are you!?

Foolish Man! Can you not see that I'm clearly in the midst of foiling an organization plot!

This will send their ranks tumbling like so many Dominos!

I recommend, you forget what you've seen here tonight.

Well, if you'll excuse me?

What the hell! Get back here!

Come on, lets go!

Hurry it up!

Look! I don't know what happens later on, okay, but right now, we're on the same side, so just trust me, damn it!

Okabe!

You sure you weren't followed!? Come on, then.

So now what!? We can't exactly go back there.

I can't believe the time machine is broken.

Did crashing into the roof, do it?

Hey, I didn't crash. I miscalculated the coordinates and...

...well... kind of materialized mid-roof.

Semantics aside though, no. It wasn't broken when I got here.

What happened, then?

Remember that thunderstorm we had? I think that could've done it.

Maybe the lightning or the rain... hell... probably both.

It's my fault.

If I hadn't stopped you from leaving that night.

Wait, I can use the phone-wave.

Yeah, but you can only go back as far as 48 hours with it, remember?

Right, of course, that was more than 2 days ago.

Hey, Okarin! ...and Kurisu and Suzuha make 3!

I canceled the party tonight. Why haven't you both gone home!?

Uh... she told me, she wanted to un-cancel the party, so yeah...

Don't be grumpy, look at the tasty snacks we picked up!

I told you to leave for today.

I'm sorry honey, we're just dealing with some important stuff right now... that's all.

Can I help?

Just call it a day. I'll pay you back for all the snacks and stuff.

We'll have a party later on, I promise you.

Okay, then...

...but only if you promise me that you're gonna be safe... 'cause I get all worried about you.

We'll be alright... you have my word.

Alright, see you later then.

See ya...

I hear they even stopped the train.

...serious!?

We have got to get the time machine operational again.

Hehehahaa...

Here's the plan... Okabe jumps back to 5 hours ago when the lab first had time-leap functionality.

Then you jump back again, the full 48 hour maximum, to 2 PM on the 11th. Everyone clear?

Sounds like that's as much time as we're going to have to work with... I just hope, that it ends up being enough.

Whatever it takes to get that time machine up and running again, that's what we do, understood!?

I'll keep reliving those 2 days 'til it works.

This isn't about saving the world... not for me... not anymore...

...this is about Mayuri.

Huhhuhu...

Okabe... something the matter?

Get the lab members up here on the double.

There's something you all need to see.

It ain't a blue box... but, it's still damn cool!

Can you fix it?

Hey! Future girl... what do you know about this thing?

I just used it, I don't know what's under the hood. My dad's the one who put it together.

We can't possibly fix a time machine from 2036 with the current technology.

How will we know, unless we try?

Just repair it, Daru. You have 48 hours! You're the only one who can do it.

Why 48 hours?

Because... it's just more of a challenge. Look... if you can do it in 2 days, I'll give you whatever you ask for... Okay!?

I'm in! I want a day-long date with Faris if I pull it off.

Fine... I'll make that happen, somehow.

Huh... oh, yeah right!

I can make it happen! I swear!

You want this pretty bad.

Damn right, I do... now, fix it!

Then, lets earn that date!

Oh! There's something you gotta do.

You gotta bring us an IBN 5100 when it works again, okay?

Ooh... and an 'animation cel' of this pose from... the 1975 Maho Series Radical Girl Omit-Chan.

Don't get greedy!

Want me to stay here and help out?

Good idea, but no...

We need you to get back to the lab, and finish up construction on the time-leap machine.

That way, if we miss our 2 day deadline...

Okarin, Wait! You're forgetting something really important.

We gotta help Suzuha find her dad.

Don't worry about it, Mayuri.

Don't say that!

I know you used the time machine 'cause you're on a mission, but you wanna see your dad, don't you? You never even met him.

I really wanna make it happen for you, if I possibly can.

You know your father's 'online handle', don't you?

That was just a codename, I don't know his real one.

So, where did you get Amane?

Got it from my mom.

All I've got to go on is this one clue. It's a pin he used to wear.

Okay, I remember you saying your dad was somewhere in Akihabara this year.

Never fear, 'cause detective Mayuri always gets her man!

Find him or not... she's a good egg.

What's the verdict?

Well, I could be talking out of my butt here...

...but, based on what I've been able to scope out so far... the insides remind me a lot of how the phone-wave operates.

So, then you might be able to get it working again, after all?

Um hmm...

I've been wondering about your dad, you know... if maybe, he's somebody close to us.

I mean, he had enough info on us to know where we were, and what we're up to when it all went down.

Maybe... he didn't tell me anything in person.

All I have is the information he left for me in his will.

My dad and I never actually met though, so there's that.

He was conducting his own time-travel research apart from whatever it was SERN was up to.

Trying to induce some of what they'd done.

Pulling-this-off is the best way I know to honor his memory.

Man... that really sucks, Suzuha.

But hey, don't worry about it. I'll get this all fixed up and you're in like Flynn. [Reference: 1982 Movie 'Tron' where main protagonist is 'Kevin Flynn']

And I'm gonna keep looking for your old man while you're off doing your time-traveling thing. You just come back to us, okay?

Oh, and if you could give me that 'cel' on the down-low... that'd be cool.

I absolutely loath making this stuff.

Come on! Future Gadget Lab Founder.

Think you ought to have invented a robot to do this by now.

Coffee is an assistant's sacred duty.

Future Gadget the 2nd. New R&D prototype. [R&D = Research and Development]

Alpha test number 2.67.

...or Bamboo-Copter Cam for short.

On account of the Closed-Circuit Digital Vid' Camera we put in the base.

This is actually practical. We could use it to conduct and aerial search.

Sadly, the camera lacks it's own Gyrometer, and the spinning footage is nausea inducing.

That seems like it's a pretty basic problem for a version 2.67.

Ah... but that's the only one. You see...

...Daru tends to name things on a whim, without much concern for logic or convention.

Where's Daru?

Still there... probably gonna pull an all-nighter.

The Divergence Meter.

You should be the one to keep this... it's only fair, considering you're the one who built it, in the first place.

Remember, the bit picture changes if the Tubes ever reflect a number bigger than 1.0...

...and since you're the only one with the Reading-Steiner ability, you're the only one who can track the changes.

So did my future-self hand that over to you right before he died?

um..mm...

I've never even laid eyes on future Okabe.

Too risky... seeing as how you're one of the founders of the resistance group I'm a part of.

Me? Spearhead the resistance?

Hmph... surely you jest. [ jest = joke]

First, I let Mayuri die through no fault of her own.

And then I go off 'tilting at windmills', like a god damn fool! [Tiling at windmills = Attacking imaginary enemies]

How can you say that!?

What's foolish about wanting to save the world from tyranny... isn't that a goal worth dying over!?

Haaa... How's it hangin'?

I'ma bust out some question yo... so holla at yo boy! Word to your mother.

Sorry, I don't speak jive.

Haah... well that was nice and awkward.

I have a button that I want to ID. Have you seen this before?

Hmmm...

Or... if you don't recognize it, then, perhaps you know someone who would.

mmmm nah... It isn't ringing any bells, sorry. I wish I had something I could tell you.

I can't believe you said 'word to yo mother' to this guy, you freak.

Huaaa... Look, if you remember, please don't hesitate to call.

Maybe the pin simply doesn't exist yet.

There's nothing to say it couldn't be made in the near future.

Yeah, I guess. Well, it's okay, maybe it just wasn't meant to be, you know. Hey, at least we tried.

So, you're 'throwing in the towel'... just like that... with a full day left?

Why are you getting so...

Listen, saving Mayuri's life is my absolute top priority, but you are a lab member and I intend to help you out.

Damn it! That's just what friends do for one another, but if you've already given up, then what's the point of even trying?

Hey, you don't have to yell about it.

Huh...

Heh... wow!

Sorry.

Attention, Attention... your help is needed citizens. There was a kidnapping yesterday, right near here.

What in the... unn... hells.

The kidnapper was wearing a pin just like the one in my flyers... if you could give it a look, it would be a big help.

Okarin! You're here... looky what I made.

Uahhh... colorful.

Hehahhe... flyers are a pretty good idea huh? I was thinking about everything real hard.

And then it just kinda hit me... woo... and that's when I grabbed my markers and got to work.

I think I'll call it 'Operation: Attention someone got kidnapped'.

Advertising a bogus kidnapping might be taking things overboard.

What are you gonna do when the police take notice of this little Chara... uh.

Never mind, time to go.

Ooh Ah... How come!?,

Miss... Stop!

Haahaaa...uhhaa...

I'm sorry, Okarin.

From this moment on, how about you run all your plans by me first, yeah? Just to be on the safe... side.

What's with the Kung Fu.

Never hurts to be prepared, that's all.

I'm glad I found you guys. I got some terrible news out there.

Go on.

When I went to buy lunch, I overheard two of the shop clerks gossiping.

I'm sorry Suzuha but I think your dad might've kidnapped somebody.

Huh?

Hahahahahahaaha...

Wait, What... What's so funny, huh?

How goes it? Take a soda break?

This is not my soda of choice and it's room temperature, but it's gonna be gone in like 30 seconds bro.

Well, do you think you can get it working?

Should have it done by tomorrow.

Check this guy out... we're gonna have time to spare.

Daru's a Cheetah when it comes to tech jobs. [Cheetah = Fastest land animal]

He's so unassuming, I'd never have known he was a badass.

Don't judge a book by its cover.

Guess you're right... lesson learned.

Wanna hop-in and lend a hand Suzuha?

The heat in the Time Machine might be oppressive, but it's nothing that couldn't be fixed by stripping down to our unmentionables.

Mhhehha...

Why are you such a creeper?

Wow! Suzuha and Daru make a pretty good match, huh?

Huh!? How do you mean?

Predator... Prey?

I don't know how I mean it. But they just do.

What's goin' on?

Oh, it's nothing. Mayuri is just being inscrutable, again.

I know you gotta go back to 1975, but I'm gonna worry about you a whole lot!

And if that Time Machine could hold two people, I would totally be going with you.

No offense, but how's that gonna help her?

How can you ask that silly?

I'd hold her hand real tight, and tell her stuff like, don't be scared 'cause your friend Mayuri is here for you and we're in this thing together come rain or shine.

Listen, there's something I need to say... and the chance might not come up later so...

If that's how you feel, go ahead.

Thanks so much, you guys have really 'gone to bat' for me. [Gone to bat = to support someone when the person needs help]

When I first came back to this time, I didn't know a single person around here, you know.

This place might be a 'walk in the park' compared to where I'm from...

...but to me it was still as scary as hell.

But now, just get a load of all the awesome people here that I can call friend.

Traveling back to this period was a good idea.

This was the most fun I've ever had.

I'm glad I got this time to be with you guys, even if it wasn't for long.

Being a member of the 'Future Gadget Lab'... it was nice.

Yeah it was.

It's up to you. You're the only chance we've got.

Promise me you'll keep the world the way it is right now.

I promise.

Yes?

Yeah... is this the "Word to ya motha" guy?

Huhh... you're the street vendor, right?

I just wanted you to know, last night I met a guy who wanted a pin like you askin' about.

You're telling you found her father!? I'll meet you in the alley in 15!

[END]