Wer jetzt weint irgendwo in der Welt,
ohne Grund weint in der Welt,
weint über mich.
Wer jetzt lacht irgendwo in der Nacht,
ohne Grund lacht in der Nacht,
lacht mich aus.
Wer jetzt geht irgendwo in der Welt,
ohne Grund geht in der Welt,
geht zu mir.
Wer jetzt stirbt irgendwo in der Welt,
ohne Grund stirbt in der Welt,
sieht mich an.
— Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926),
"Ernste Stunde" (1906).
Volume 0 (Chapters 001-006)
The Premonition from the Past
"Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve."
— Max Planck (1858-1947), one of the most important founders of quantum theory, winner of the 1918 Nobel Prize in Physics
Chapter 001
Prologue - The Beginning of All Constraints
Update Time: 2011-OCT-02 10:43:24
The endless void of the vacuum sea stretched out as far as the eye could see.
A boy and a girl, two unseen figures, conversed with one another.
"I think I finally understand now," said the girl, "I believe I finally understand what's going on here."
"What do you understand?"
"They will discover that one of us has died, and the other will continue to live in a world without any clues."
"But I don't understand at all."
"Yes, it must be this way. Whether it is you who lives and I who dies or I who lives and you who dies, it has not yet been determined."
In the vacuum sea, tiny particles were constantly born and then vanished as they drew near each other.
"What does that mean?"
"Because they haven't seen us yet, this event has not been determined yet."
"Are you saying... that the outcome will depend on who they see alive?"
"Yes. The wave function representing this event is still in a state of superposition, and everything is uncertain. Until they see us, the event will not be determined. At that time, one of us will be determined to have died, while the other will continue to live in endless hardship."
"Is there no way out?"
"There is no way out. This is the constraint of natural law. Once we are 'observed', the outcome will become a reality that cannot be changed."
"But..."
"Don't look like that. Whether it's me who will survive and you who will die or you who will survive and I who will die, it's a result that will be destined sooner or later. It's not anyone's responsibility, but just a choice brought about by Schrödinger's equation..."
The vacuum sea boiled like a pot of scorching "soup"...
The girl opened her eyes in the golden morning light.
The first thing she saw was the familiar white ceiling, and the girl couldn't help but smile.
She had that same dream again, with no clear meaning but always unchanged.
She got up, changed clothes, and after a simple wash, she walked out of the room.
Although it was already considered early morning, there were still few people who had woken up.
She gently opened the door of the next room, and the girl named Edasaki Banri, who had been noisy all day yesterday, was still unable to get up.
"Um... Sorano?"
The girl's name was Tsukatsuki Sorano[1], a strange surname and a grand given name forming her unique full name. Behind her, came the weak voice of another girl.
"What's up? Erii?"
"Sorry, did we disturb you yesterday?"
"No, not at all."
Sorano smiled at the girl who seemed a bit absent-minded and always lagged behind.
With still more than an hour until breakfast, Sorano pondered for a moment and headed to the library.
Here, was a Child Errors facility in the 19th district of Academy City.
The name was ironic, the title was ironic. To say the name that was most easily accepted and could best reflect its essence, it had to be that one.
Child care center, or orphanage.
Yes, it was that simple.
As a school-centered Academy City, even an orphanage had educational resources that are difficult for outsiders to understand. For example, the library of this orphanage was not just filled with fairy tales for children.
Sorano picked up a book called "Extensions of General Relativity" from the bookshelf and quietly started to read.
Sorano was a well-known figure in this orphanage.
At first, no one paid attention when Sorano started reading books on differential geometry. After all, as a little girl with a single-digit age, no one would believe that she could understand such complex mathematics.
Until one day, this little girl used pencil and paper and spent an afternoon deriving the Einstein field equations.
"Every boy in the streets of Göttingen understands more about four-dimensional geometry than Einstein. Yet, in spite of that, Einstein did the work and not the mathematicians."
David Hilbert, a great mathematician who could be ranked in the top twenty greatest mathematicians in human history and who derived the Einstein field equations earlier than Einstein, once sarcastically commented on Einstein's contribution. However, no one really believed that a child could understand Riemann's non-Euclidean geometry, let alone derive the Einstein field equations.
But that day, Hilbert's sarcasm to some extent became a reality.
At a young age, but self-studying complex theories and achieving success, made Sorano the focus of attention in the orphanage. Countless prestigious schools had invited Sorano, and although she politely declined, she did not refuse requests for private tutoring.
Now, a teacher gave daily classes to Sorano. This teacher was said to be a famous person ranked in the top five among the teachers of Tokiwadai Private Middle School.
Sorano confirmed this herself. Indeed, his name appeared in countless physics academic papers.
"A little girl with unlimited talent."
This was how Sorano's teacher described her.
In fact, the last few papers by her teacher had a name "Solano" appearing in the "collaborators" column. Actually, when Sorano's name is pronounced in Roman phonetics, it sounds like "Solano". Sorano had even participated in her teacher's research. Her teacher's research direction was also Sorano's hobby — general relativity.
It wasn't until the breakfast bell rang, representing the start of the day in the orphanage, that Sorano put down her book. She didn't need to use a bookmark since she had read the book countless times, and she could almost recite it from memory. The reason for repeatedly flipping through the book was simply to pass the time.
"Ah..."
With a light exhale, Sorano rose and walked into the dining room.
Several people were already seated inside, except for the person in charge of the orphanage.
"Ah, Sorano, you're here?"
The girl named Edasaki Banri waved to her, and Sorano lightly smiled and sat down beside her.
In fact, Sorano didn't have many friends in the orphanage because compared to everyone else, she had already gone too far and was too advanced. There was no one who could keep up with her.
However, Edasaki Banri was a very obvious exception. Only this straightforward girl who didn't have any scheming and often didn't think about anything could naturally talk to her. Another similar example was Haruue Erii, whom she had seen in the morning.
"Do you know, Sorano? It seems that someone is coming today."
"Where did you hear that from?"
"Hehe, I just eavesdropped on the director's phone call. It seems to have something to do with that uncle who often comes to see you. They both come from the same place called To... Toki... what is it called?"
"It's Tokiwadai. But Tokiwadai? That's really unexpected."
The Tokiwadai Private Middle School, located in the 7th district, was a famous elite girls' school in Academy City and was completely on a different level from this Child Error facility. It was hard to believe that the two were connected.
Although Sorano's current teacher came from Tokiwadai, it was completely a private matter, and she didn't know how the teacher found out about her.
In academia, this is actually quite common. Not only do students choose their teachers, but teachers also choose their students. Famous physicist Werner Heisenberg once tried to study mathematics with a famous mathematician in university, but was rejected.[2] However, it was impossible to connect this incident with Tokiwadai.
Sorano didn't think she had the qualifications to have anything to do with Tokiwadai. Although she had a Level 2 ability, and was only a step away from Level 3. Although she was almost certain that she would be able to meet Tokiwadai's admission requirements when she reached the age to go to middle school.
But still that sentence, Tokiwadai was a famous elite girls' school, and the high tuition fee would be an insurmountable obstacle, which even her teacher could not solve. Apart from herself, this Child Error facility could not possibly have any connection with Tokiwadai.
Could it be that the teacher was asked by Tokiwadai not to come here anymore? That was very likely.
Sighing after thinking about it, Sorano came to the conclusion.
After breakfast, the children in the orphanage began their scheduled classes after a short break, except for Sorano. This was not surprising, as there was no one capable of guiding her except for the teacher from Tokiwadai.
Sitting on the edge of the roof, Sorano continued to read the book she had just read many times before, and as usual, she forgot the passing of time. She really enjoyed this feeling, the feeling of immersion in the contemplation of physics and mathematics. And liking it often marks the beginning of obsession.
Yes, obsession. It is difficult for ordinary people to understand difficult physics and complex mathematics, yet there are some people who are deeply attracted to them and obsessed with them. That kind of obsession often comes from a sense of pride. Because when you can truly master and use them, it is equivalent to understanding the mysteries of creation. That is the process of attempting to ascend the ladder of God as a human being.
Sorano actually hides a small secret, and this secret is the reason for her obsession...
After a while, a black shadow appeared over her head, blocking the light. Sorano looked up and saw the handsome and youthful face of a boy.
An unfamiliar face, about the same age as herself, maybe slightly elder. There was no such boy in the Child Error facility.
"Who are you?" Sorano asked.
"What are you looking at?" the boy asked at the same time.
Sorano lifted the book and showed the title to the boy.
"Hmph... You're just pretending."
For some reason, the boy seemed to have some inexplicable hostility towards Sorano. She tilted her head, confirming that she had never seen this boy before. Sorano closed the book and got up, leaping down from the roof.
Her sudden movement startled the boy, even making him cry out.
As Sorano fell from the height, her body gradually decelerated during the process of descent. After a brief normal period, the gravitational acceleration was reversed to a negative value on her body, manifesting as a deceleration. By the time Sorano finally reached the ground, her falling speed had completely returned to zero. She lightly stepped on the ground and looked back at the rooftop.
This was her ability, the power to control the gravity of objects.
The boy on the roof was obviously still in shock, and looking at his stiff expression, Sorano couldn't help but laugh.
No, in fact, she really laughed out loud.
As a result, the boy on the roof looked even more unhappy.
"Sorano! Sorano, are you there?"
At this moment, a volunteer from the orphanage walked over calling Sorano's name.
"I'm here, what's up?"
"The director is looking for you. It seems like something important."
"The director is looking for me?"
Sorano was slightly stunned. Could it be that her prediction was right?
"Well, I'll go over now."
Turning her head, she looked at the rooftop again. Her gaze inadvertently intertwined with the boy who was still on the rooftop. There was an indescribable premonition that was gradually overflowing.
This was the process of the first meeting between the boy and the girl.
Many years later, whenever they think back to this scene, they still feel subtle and unbelievable.
[1] Footnote by the translator: Her surname "Tsukatsuki" originates from a place name in Kinokawa City, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, with the literal meaning "harmonize the moon", written as "調月" in Japanese Kanji, or "つかつき" in Hiragana. And her given name "Sorano" literally means "belong to the sky", written as "穹乃" in Japanese Kanji, or "そらの" in Hiragana.
[2] Footnote by the translator: In the summer of 1920, Werner Heisenberg, who had just graduated from high school, wanted to study mathematics at the University of Munich. However, he was rejected by Professor Ferdinand von Lindemann. As a result, he turned to studying theoretical physics under Arnold Sommerfeld.