323 – Past (2)

“What about the ability to go back to the past?”

“…”

“Since they went back to the past, they would know all the information about the future, and if it’s dangerous, they can just run back to the past. Since they’ve already experienced it, they can do better. If they have this ability, wouldn’t they become strong enough to rule the Earth someday?”

There was a writer who claimed that a ‘time traveler’ might exist. Of all the writers present, he was the most clueless, and his appearance was also somewhat of a dud.

Certainly, if he had the ability to travel back in time, it would be really, really threatening. It would be an ability that was almost invincible. It was also a popular ability.

“We’re not stupid, so we didn’t know and didn’t talk about time travelers, right?”

“Why did you call that guy?”

It was an ability that all the writers here had thought about at least once, but didn’t necessarily mention out loud.

“No, why are you reacting like this?”

The president, who was relatively unfamiliar with this type of argument, couldn’t understand their intense reaction. What’s wrong with time ability, and why are you so angry?

“Your Majesty. Let me explain.”

Then, one of the veteran writers stepped forward.

“Let’s assume that there is someone with that ability. Let’s assume that he turned back time.”

“I see.”

“Then. Is there a way for us to perceive that?”

“…”

The president thought carefully. In the end, he had no choice but to nod.

Yes. Even if there were a superpowered person somewhere in this world who could manipulate time at will. We can never perceive it. No matter how many times he has regressed. Whether it is the first time, the second time, or the 9999th time. To us, time seems to flow in a straight line.

“Well, if there is a person who can go back in time just once… that is easy to deal with. Just make a plan, and if the plan goes wrong, change the plan.”

“Why is that?”

“Since he has gone back in time, he must know everything that will happen in the future. Then the time traveler will make a plan based on the information he knows. In the process, he will intervene in the US government.”

“… If he becomes aware of that intervention, he will act differently.”

“That is correct.”

The way to deal with a regressor is to act differently from the future. If all the information he has is turned into scraps of paper, the regressor will sink without being able to do anything. His ability will be trash.

“But if he can go back in time multiple times, all this argument is meaningless. That is… close to being godlike.”

But if there is no limit, then no matter what we do, we cannot stop it. Because we are not free from time.

“We came here to deal with ‘potentially lethal abilities’. But what if we’re talking about abilities that are impossible to deal with?”

Other abilities can be dealt with to a limited extent. Teleportation? Just make the space where teleportation can be done disappear. For example, make the path itself extremely narrow.

Invisible power users? You can deal with them with smell particles, or invisible lasers.

Invincible physical power users? You can exploit their mental aspects

. Every power has a weakness that can be exploited, even if it’s subtle. Creative works often exploit these weaknesses.

But when it comes to time travel, there’s no other way than to kill them before they use their power. The conditions for the power may be different. Above all, there’s no way to find out who the time traveler is.

Okay, let’s say you find out. Let’s say you notice the regressor.

So? What next? What are you going to do? Are you going to write a note on your phone saying who the time traveler is? Or are you going to try hard to remember? If

time goes back, everything goes back to how it was before. Humans can’t resist time.

“Hmm.”

Only then did the president understand the other writers’ anger. If they come with “invincible powers” ​​and ask how they’re going to stop them, there’s nothing to say. You have to accept it.

“I might be able to do it.”

The confident voice he hears at that moment. Footsteps clanking.

“My ability is adaptation. If I adapt to that time travel, isn’t that enough?”

Players’ Association President Michael Jeter entered the conference room with a confident smile. The president had called him as a kind of on-site advisor, but he was a little late because his schedule was so busy.

“That… I don’t know if it’s possible.”

“It’s possible to recognize success in adaptation, but isn’t it impossible to recognize failure?”

“Since we don’t even know whether or not all the abilities we mentioned exist…”

“…”

However, contrary to his confidence, the writers’ response was lukewarm, and Jeter sat down a little embarrassed. Jeter was still emotional at this point.

“Well, let’s talk about some more painful things. How far have we come?”

In any case, the meeting with Jeter was quite fruitful. Thanks to Michael Jeter’s information that “players who enter the first floor must come out from the same place,” they were able to set up traps to catch players hiding in the tower, and they were also able to come up with the idea of ​​suppressing crime through player vigilantes.

Assassinating politicians… The conclusion was that it could not be stopped unless the same players were used. But still, isn’t an achievement an achievement?

Pax Americana. Even as the world shook, America stood firm. And… it should continue to be so in the future.

**

Time passed. The Players’ Association system was successfully established, and the ‘player heroization’ that Michael Jeter had been calling for was also going smoothly. Thanks to the efforts of many patriots, the crime rate did not decrease, but rather did not increase. The number of player criminals killed increased day by day.

Order. Order was maintained. People praised the president who responded appropriately, and looked up to the dedicated Players’ Association president. Everything was going according to plan. Just as the book had predicted.

And so it was again the secret research lab. The lab, which borrowed the book from Ronald, the owner of the book, in the form of a long-term loan, could only conduct experiments on certain days due to Ronald’s physical issues.

“Did you get the information you need?”

“Yes.”

They had already obtained all the information needed for the international situation. Books didn’t take a big price when trading information about ordinary people without status windows. This was also the reason why the president believed he could maintain his leadership in the future. The information he had just obtained would be a beacon that would show the direction to take in the future.

However, even though he had obtained all the necessary information, he still had quite a bit of gold left. What he was going to do from now on was not to obtain the necessary information, but rather to conduct various experiments on books. Today’s topic was ‘How far can books answer?’ He

had already solved all the Millennium Problems. The book had provided answers to them without even asking for a big sacrifice. The questions he was going to ask from now on were somewhat abstract ones.

“If God exists, what is its essence?”

“Why does God allow evil and suffering?”

“Does the existence of God affect the origin and purpose of the universe?”

“Is there an absolute standard for ethics?”

“Is mathematical truth something that humans create, or is it something that we discover?”

“I wonder about an example of a perfect social system.”

The scientists asked the questions they had prepared, and the book was silent. Since they were asking questions that the human mind could not answer, it was natural for the book to remain silent.

“Could it be that we did not have enough gold?”

“That would be highly likely. If this book were truly omnipotent.”

“If only I had my way, I would sacrifice this entire planet to hear the answer.”

“… Scary words.”

The president stroked his chin as he listened to the scientists chattering. They were not questions that he had thought the book would answer in the first place, but were asking them with the feeling that ‘just in case.’ That is why no one was disappointed.

“Book.”

So, the question the president asked just now wasn’t one that he had high expectations for.

“Are books affected by the changes in time?”

So, just casually. Just a comment. It was just a comment that suddenly came to mind when he recalled a discussion he had had with novelists in the past.

– Books are the only thing.

That was until the book, with a bang, opened up and gave an answer.

“Uh, uh?”

“Time?”

“Wait…”

The book’s answer implied that ‘time doesn’t always flow forward.’

“Gold! Check the gold!”

“It’s barely gone!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! Only about a ton has disappeared!”

To the president, the world seemed to move slowly.

“That… I think this is a question about the basic elements of books, so the amount of sacrifice needed was small.”

“I didn’t ask about time… How did you come up with this idea? You’re amazing.”

“Time can go backwards or accelerate…”

“…”

He was an extremely rational man. He would get angry whenever he saw a reporter, but his nature was closer to being cold and static.

“Ugh.”

But even that kind of president.

The current ecstasy was… hard to bear.

He had just discovered the hem of God’s robe.

**

Again. Time passed and continued to pass.

The president’s authority was now absolute. The image of the president as seen from the outside was the same, but his political control had now reached that of an emperor. Other leaders had to attend the meetings he presided over without fail, and when deciding on a direction, they first paid attention to the American president’s mouth.

He could do anything he wanted. That was the kind of authority he gained through books. He had… truly become the leader of the Earth.

So one night. At a bar in the White House.

“Jeter.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

The drunken president asked Michael Jeter, who had become suddenly blunt.

“Isn’t there a book? The Book of Truth.”

“Go ahead.”

“That book… is said to be the only one, even if time goes back.”

“Yes.”

“And the book, in addition to simply providing information, also ‘trades.’”

“Yes.”

“Then.”

Clang!

The glass fell to the floor and shattered, but no one cared.

“If we make enough sacrifices… wouldn’t it be possible for us to leave a tiny ‘trace’ on the book?”

The President’s eyes were burning brightly.

“If you say trace.”

“So. At a specific location in the book, wouldn’t it be possible to leave a tiny, tiny dot that’s so small that it’s invisible?”

“…”

Jitter scanned the President’s body. Judging by his judgment, the President was excited right now.

“What are we going to do with that dot?”

“A time traveler. Remember? That guy whose very existence is like a god.”

“No way.” “Hehe.

”

Excited exhales.

“If the book allows us to leave a tiny, tiny mark. If we could leave a dot on the book cover.”

“…”

“Even if time goes back… the mark will remain.”

“…” “…”

“At the place we promised… wouldn’t there be a mark that we didn’t leave? “Even though I did nothing?”

The President.

“I might be able to prove the existence of God.”

He was gripped by a strange passion.

“Mr. President.”

“Why?”

“Shut up.”