John adjusted his white lab coat, glancing at the display on the wall monitors. Thursday, November 7th 2024. 11:55 PM.
Was it good fortune or the calm before the storm? After that incident with Kai and his daughter who knew far too much about fra cancelling and illogical speedrun-esque tech in Smash, the following days had passed by without incident.
Helping Rin practice dancing in the morning, singing in the afternoon, and then testing out the streams in the studio in the evening.
And like that, before John knew it, it was ti for 'his' debut.
"Father." Beta peered out from behind the main computer, managing all the streaming software, and said, "Are you prepared?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." John fiddled with his lab coat again.
To get into the role, he'd gone out of his way to dress like that guy did. He even slicked his hair back a bit to see if it would help him, you know, not cringe at himself by compartntalizing it.
...Of course he was just fooling himself, but if he could delude himself into not having heart demons, then he sure as hell should be able to do this.
And then he saw Beta's quiet gaze and noticed Alpha peeking at him from behind her Mintendo Switch in the corner of the room.
"...Just pretend it's a tribulation of the heart. That's all." John muttered to himself, hoping to delude himself accordingly-
"Keep telling yourself that, Father. Perhaps it will help." Beta gave a blithe response and then went back to monitoring the computer.
John blinked. And then he sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Why did I agree to do this again?"
Beta glanced up between typing on her keyboard and said, "Because you are weak to beautiful young won. Especially to those that look at you as either an older brother or a father figure." She paused. "...Of course it appears that Eldest Sister and I are the exceptions to that rule."
"Hey! You know that I love you guys too!"
Beta stopped typing and then gave John the 'look.'
He coughed and said, "...Alright. I could have worded that better."
Beta sighed. "Just focus on your obligations, Father. Rember that Miss Rin's future will depend on how you perform tonight. First impressions are key."
"...And you think that it's a good idea for a crazy guy like John Titor to be presenting Hana Homura?"
"Is it any crazier than charging into the Demon Realm, pumling the ruling demons, and then installing the rightful heiress solely because you enjoyed her cooking?"
"Hey. When a guy spends a thousand years living off of literal air and water mist, a proper al does wonders, alright?"
"I suppose. But one must wonder just how little it takes for you to swear to give a woman the world... If not for the fact that you have remained faithful to Mistress, I would have disavowed you years ago."
John crossed his arms. "I'll have you know, Beta, that I care about my lovely wife a great deal. I just... need so space every now and then."
"Of course. Distance makes the heart grow fonder."
"Exactly!"
"...And considering that you have beco the literal embodints of Mistress's heart demons, I would suggest that you rember to not go too far lest the rules of existence pull you back to her."
"Ah." John froze. "Huh. Actually... That would explain a lot." He frowned... and then said, "Wait. How do you know that?" John rounded on Beta and said, "I never told anyone-"
"You talk in your sleep. And have you forgotten how pitiful you were after that first encounter? There was a period of ti where you spoke exclusively to Eldest Sister and I and ranted about your poor life decisions, how you missed your ho, how you were a despicable man and unfilial son, how you did wrong by Mistress and would do everything to make her happy, but then how you were not ready for a relationship-"
John coughed. "R-Right. I get the picture."
"Good. Now, we are live in five."
"W-Wait a minute! Was all of that-"
"Four."
"O-Oi, Beta!" John hurried back to standing in place. "You can't-"
"Two."
"Dammit!"
"Live."
John spun around, swishing his lab coat, turning his back to the cara. At the sa ti, the avatar of John Titor did the sa.
-----AI|IA-----
A dimly lit warehouse with chanical parts lying across the concrete floor. Off to the side, just out of fra, was a steel capsule, shaped sowhat like a satellite and sowhat like a space pod. Across a piece that looked like a door, [IA0 - TITOR] was emblazoned in gold.
In the background, directly in front, there was a row of computers with old and bulky cathode ray monitors lined up along a desk. Circuit boards, papers, and a few soldering irons were strewn about on the desk.
Standing in front of that, there was a man. Slicked back black hair, with a curled strand falling down in front. He leaned against the desk, staring at one of the computer monitors, his hands in the pockets of his long white lab coat.
And as for what he was staring at...
[YOOOOO LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOO!]
[GOOOOOOOOOO]
[what is this and why was it recomnded?]
[I had to skip peeing for this]
[HYPE HYPE HYPE]
[shut up everyone]
[what is this?]
"Heh." The man stepped back and faced forward, revealing a scrolling chat screen on the monitor. "I have to thank you, people of 2024. A hundred thousand watching... because of that, the connection should be stable. Enough to last for an hour or so. Though that number... There should be a few foreigners watching as well, right? *Good morning, afternoon, and evening, people from beyond the rising sun.*"
With his words, the chat exploded, filling up with English comnts.
But the man himself paid it no heed. "As it seems that so resourceful mbers of this ti have gone ahead to distribute this stream, I will reintroduce myself." Swishing his lab coat back, he took a pose, slightly turned to the side and then placed his right hand over his chest. A rogue-like smile appeared on his face and he said, "My na is John Titor, MirAIs operator from Earth 1202-19. As I stated before, I have co to this world because what should have been is no longer. What is now should not have been."
A flurry of comnts flickered on the monitor behind John. Skeptics asking if he really ca from the future or not.
He chuckled. "Whether you believe or not is immaterial. And it would be far too troubling if the truth of my identity did co to light... But enough dabbling."
John flicked his right hand, causing a hologram to erge. A 'gate'.
"As I said before, I am the operator of MirAIs. To explain its true nature and underlying frawork would no doubt lead to this world's authorities pursuing and annoying conflicts, so I will simply sum up its purpose: changing the lives of those who were lost to ti."
John stepped back and sat down. As he did, a chair materialized behind him, flickering in with green polygons. Lacing his hands together, he said, "In this world, countless tragedies occurred. Those who were lost in the dark, forgotten by society. Dreams left unfulfilled. Ordinary n and won, boys and girls, who did not have a place to go. Who cried out for the gods and heavens to help them, but were left unheard. I-"
He swept his hand to the side, causing the photo of a female teenager with bright orange hair and sparkling amber eyes. A slight smile, a white shirt with an orange vest and bow-tie ribbon.
"-Am a man who despises such endings. And so I have created this system as a solution." He tilted his head towards the photo and said, "This is Hana Homura. A young girl whose life veered off into the darkness because of misfortune. Her future had been bright, but because of this distorted reality, she was fated to disappear, exploited and then erased. The details... Well, suffice to say that it was a tragic fate."
Another flurry of comnts. People wondering where this was leading. Others still wondering if this was a trailer for a ga. And so people with self-proclaid credentials analyzing the technology behind the animations and models.
"People of this ti and world. My request is simple." John shook his head and then stood up, his lab coat flowing behind him in an invisible wind. "As the MirAIs operator, I will bring hope to those lost in the dark. The ones who have fallen through the cracks in the ruins of ti, the stories that end in only tragedy. All I ask for you is to guide them. In this world where they have their opportunity to reach heights they never dream of, in a ti where a happy ending can overwrite the bad end."
John stepped forward and picked up the cara, bringing it to his face, leaving only an enigmatic smile. "But I wonder. Will you save them? Or will you cast them aside like you have the rest?"
The screen distorted, fading out to show Hana, standing in a ruined city and reaching towards a distant blue light in a gray sky. At the sa ti, a tir in red numbers showed up in front of her, overlapping her image. Eight hours, counting backwards.
"The choice will be yours. Deceive yourself... or deceive the world? Good luck. I. A. Zero."
The stream flickered, leaving behind only that image of Hana reaching out to the sky.
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