Chapter 5: Humanity Shall Prosper

Marianne began a short history lesson about the war that started it all, in order to keep everyone on the same page.

"Everything began on March One, 2108, on what will be called by generations as the worst battle humanity has ever fought: the March War..."

"... And that's how we are where we are right now. With the March War stuffed in your heads, you kids must be well-versed in our world's history by no— Holy shit."

Marriane was flabbergasted by the sight that greeted her after her long and effort-filled speech. On the back rows of the classroom was a bunch of desks merged together to serve as a playing field for an intense game of poker among troublemakers Iris, Jack and, surprisingly, even Lili. They even had the time to procure chips for the game.

"S—straight flush..." said Lili in a meek voice, slowly placing her beautiful hand on the table.

"ROYAL straight flush," said Iris as she followed suit.

"Fuck. How the hell do I play against a literal mind reader and a compulsive cheater?" Jack complained as he dropped his sad hand, a pair of jacks.

"Cheater? Any proof to back that up, compadre?"

"You've been consistently getting royal straight flushes ever since we started the game!"

"That's not proof, that's speculation. Poker IS a game of mere luck, in the end. And what about miss mind reader over there? Not only has she not said anything about me cheating, she's also been consistently getting good hands. Not as good as mine, though."

"B—but your mind's a mess... and you keep m—messing with the deck so... sorry."

Iris went on to pet Lili's silver seaweed hair, but her look of ecstasy sure didn't come from that. "Don't fret, I had my fair share of mind readers back in the day, so I learned how to scramble my thoughts. And my hand's just faste— I mean, my luck's just better than yours."

"I demand a rematch on a different game."

"M—me too."

"I don't really think LOSERS have a right to change the game now, do they?" Iris answered with her annoyingly smug grin.

Before Jack could bash her head with his sword or Lili could fry her brain into mush, Marianne slammed her fist on the makeshift poker table and sent the chips flying all over the place.

"What the fuck are you doing in the middle of my lesson? And why the fuck are you with these guys too, Liselotte?"

The stares their group was getting sent Lili cowering under her straight flush.

"S—S—S—S—So—"

"Heeeeh, but Mary Anne," Iris interrupted. "We didn't come here for a boring history lesson we've been hearing for the past ten years. We came here to save the world, remember?"

The scientist's eye twitched and she briefly entered the "make Iris' head into an unrecognizable heap of meat" club, but controlled herself at the last second. She remembered that she was the adult here, and so it was her duty to remain an adult until the very end.

"Fine. Fine. I just wanted you guys to question the narrative, but since you insist, let's move on to the main topic of the day: saving the world."

[Save the World].

Written on their silver cards and written on the whiteboard as well were those three little but heavy words: Save the world. After making sure to confiscate everything under Iris' maid uniform that could initiate a game — cards, a portable chess board, rackets and a ping pong ball — Marianne directed everyone's attention to those three little words.

"This is our ultimate goal. Our gospel. We live, and we die for these three words. Don't forget that. But saving the world means that something out there exists that can actually threaten the world. What are we going to save the world from, a big bad monster? What do you think, Constance?"

Klara stood in attention. "Yes! ... uh, a big bad monster?"

"Just go back to your seat. Today, you kids are going to be part of the selected people in the world — including me — who understands Interdimensional Science.

She messily wrote the words "Interdimensional Science" on the top part of the whiteboard.

"Someone give me a summary of the May Death... Seralstin."

Iris began to recite in a robotic manner. "The May Death. A deadly plague that spread on May 1, 2110, soon after the dirty bomb Aislin launched hit the Russian Federation's soil, it effectively killed everything breathing on the land. From that explosion came Lorine, an unidentifiable chemical that gave the infected humans mysterious powers that exceeded normal standards. At the first year of its spread, people deliberately infected themselves to gain the infamous abilities, but when it became known that infecteds only had a year to live, the May Death was finally treated like a proper plague. Up until this day, the May Death has claimed over a third of the human population, making it the deadliest plague humanity has ever encountered. The May Disease is known to transfer through body contact, but some reports has shown people spontaneously getting infected without any prior contact with other infecteds. There are still many secrets to uncover about the May Death, but we can only hope that one of them leads to a cure."

"... Are you cheating?"

"Got some proof to back that up? It was my own words, retard."

"Shit. Just, sit down. Where were we again? That's right. Now, I'm sure all of you are wondering what Interdimensional Science is, and how it relates with a biological disease. Maybe you've never even heard of the science before. That's understandable, considering it's a fairly new branch of science that only began a few years after the March War. We also sometimes refer it to as Pseudospacial Science, so choose whatever fits your boots. First, we write the general defenition of Interdimensional Science."

She dictated as she wrote on the board. "Interdimensional Science, is, the study, of theoretical universes, parallel, to our own, and the interactions, between them. There. A heavily dumb downed definition. Do you have anything to say, Constance?"

Klara had a very confused look on her face, as did the rest of the class. "... Inter—something—science? Parallel universes? Ha?"

Marianne glanced over the state of her class, and decided to change her approach. "Then, let's try the grade school version of explaining."

She drew a long horizontal line on the board.

"This! is our universe. Inside this contains you, me, and every single thing in the observable universe."

Next, she drew another horizontal line parallel to the first one.

"This is a parallel universe. Let's assume that it's the exact copy of our own, with only one difference: Seralstin is on a pike on this one. So now, normally, interaction between these two universes is impossible."

"Why?" asked the ever-curious Klara.

"Cause there's no bridge between them. There was no possible way for a universe to prove the existence of the other. Research has been conducted, but no hard proof was to be found."

She snappily turned her head to the class.

"But something happened. Something groundbreaking, game-changing, something that changed the course of both humanity and science. Can anyone guess what it was?"

The normally silent Gin raised his hand and answered. "Aislin's bomb, wasn't it?"

Marianne smiled. "That's right. That freak bomb Aislin launched on the Russians — the Ebola Lesbian — changed Interdimensional Science from a fringe science to not only a valid science, but also the most crucial one of the century. The bomb, for all intentions, managed to "rip a hole" between us and the many universes parallel to us."

She drew a small circle that enclosed a portion from each line.

"And from this hole, came Lorine."

The whole class was silent, even the disruptive Iris, which made Marianne's smile turn into a wicked grin. After basking in the glorious light of victory, she continued.

"Lorine was never from this world. And that is why its structure, properties and effects on humans was unlike anything we've ever encountered before. Nobody even knew where to start with it. It was probably luck that Lorine mysteriously disappears like mist in the air, otherwise humanity as we know it would've died out years ago. But there was one more problem we couldn't ignore."

She erased everything on the whiteboard and drew two intersecting circles, much like a Venn diagram.

"And that problem is, universes expand. And when these two circles expand, what happens to the hole on the center, Liselotte?"

"Eh? Me? Uh, it... g—grows bigger?"

"Perfect answer! It's almost like you can read my mind. That's right. The hole is growing bigger with every tick of the clock. It's growing as we speak! And once that hole becomes big enough to envelop Earth— humanity, is, doomed."

Marianne took a deep breath and released her tension. She turned to Klara, who was intently listening to her every word. "And that, Constance, is our big bad monster."

"But professor, how can we humans stop a phenomenon that big?" Klara asked.

"Aha! And that's where WE come in."

She once again erased everything on the whiteboard and enthusiastically wrote three words in big and bold letters.

"W—world..."

"Restoration..."

"Project?"

WORLD RESTORATION PROJECT.

Marianne slammed her marker on those words to direct everyone's attention to them.

"What do we do when a hole appears on our roofs? What do we do when our clothes get torn? What do we do when a hole appears on our universe? We seal it, and humanity shall prosper. That is what the World Restoration Project is all about."

Jack was confused. "So we... seal it? Us? How?"

Hands on her hips, Marianne struck a proud pose for all to see. "Well, Waterfelt, with my once-in-a-millennium genius mind — I, Marianne La Rosea Eventide, have created a machine capable of sending your consciousness to those other worlds!"

March War. That royal straight flush. Interdimensional Science. May Death. Lorine. Parallel Universes. The World Restoration Project.

Save the World.

Many thoughts swirled inside Jack's head as he stared above the white ceiling. After that intense briefing, Marianne told everyone to rest both their bodies and minds and sent them to their own personal quarters: a bare white room with only a table and a bed. This place may very well be a jail cell. Nobody knew the reason as to why the scientist didn't give any specifics, but Iris said that she was probably worried about insurgents. Marianne said that they would immediately start tomorrow, as the job wasn't that complicated and they didn't have the luxury to waste even a single second.

"Deep in thought, partner-in-crime?"

Jack reflexively jumped out of bed and reached for his wooden sword. He relaxed his grip after seeing it was just Iris Seralstin with her maid uniform leaning on the wall. He did a double take once he realized what was happening.

"How'd you enter here? Aren't there guards on the door?"

"Did you forget that I can teleport?"

"... But can't you only do it once a day? How are you planning to get out?"

"Really, now?"

With Iris leaning on the wall and Jack sitting on the bed, they stayed like that for a while without breaking the fragile silence between them. Something about this moment stirred Jack's heart. The feeling was almost nostalgic for some reason. Sadly, he couldn't let it last forever, as he wanted to ask Iris the question that has bothered him the most.

"Hey, Iris. What does it mean to save the world?"

"What does the world mean to you?"

"... nothing, I guess?"

"Then saving the world means absolutely nothing to you."

And that was the problem. Unlike everyone, he never felt connected to the world, so he didn't feel an obligation to protect it. He had other priorities to worry about, like the whereabouts of Sara Aislin. And in order to reach her, Jack had no choice but to "save the world" as Marianne wishes. But did he have the resolve to do so? Since the world meant nothing to him, what if he did a halfhearted job and failed? Would his closest chance to reaching her vanish?

While he was busy drowning in his thoughts, he felt something wet on his cheeks, like a cat's lick. He froze like a statue once he realized Iris' face was close enough to feel her warm breath on his face.

"Did that excite you?"

"U—uh..."

"That should have calmed your nerves at the very least."

"W—Wha..."

White electric sparks began to surround the elusive maid as she prepared for her timely exit. Iris softly patted the stunned Jack's hair and gave him a warm loving smile. "Don't worry, Jack. Even if the world fails you, I won't."

Iris' figure disappeared in a flash, leaving behind nothing but her lingering marshmallow scent.

"W—what the hell was that?"

That night, Jack's problems shifted from his resolve on saving the world to convincing himself that he was not a pedophile.