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nJohn adjusted his white lab coat, glancing at the display on the wall monitors. Thursday, November 7th 2024. 11:55 PM.

nWas it good fortune or the calm before the storm? After that incident with Kai and his daughter who knew far too much about frame cancelling and illogical speedrun-esque tech in Smash, the following days had passed by without incident.

nHelping Rin practice dancing in the morning, singing in the afternoon, and then testing out the streams in the studio in the evening.

nAnd like that, before John knew it, it was time for ‘his’ debut.

n“Father.” Beta peered out from behind the main computer, managing all the streaming software, and said, “Are you prepared?”

n“As ready as I’ll ever be.” John fiddled with his lab coat again.

nTo 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 compartmentalizing it.

n…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.

nAnd then he saw Beta’s quiet gaze and noticed Alpha peeking at him from behind her Mintendo Switch in the corner of the room.

n“…Just pretend it’s a tribulation of the heart. That’s all.” John muttered to himself, hoping to delude himself accordingly-

n“Keep telling yourself that, Father. Perhaps it will help.” Beta gave a blithe response and then went back to monitoring the computer.

nJohn blinked. And then he sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “Why did I agree to do this again?”

nBeta glanced up between typing on her keyboard and said, “Because you are weak to beautiful young women. 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.”

n“Hey! You know that I love you guys too!”

nBeta stopped typing and then gave John the ‘look.’

nHe coughed and said, “…Alright. I could have worded that better.”

nBeta sighed. “Just focus on your obligations, Father. Remember that Miss Rin’s future will depend on how you perform tonight. First impressions are key.”

n“…And you think that it’s a good idea for a crazy guy like John Titor to be presenting Hana Homura?”

n“Is it any crazier than charging into the Demon Realm, pummeling the ruling demons, and then installing the rightful heiress solely because you enjoyed her cooking?”

n“Hey. When a guy spends a thousand years living off of literal air and water mist, a proper meal does wonders, alright?”

n“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.”

nJohn crossed his arms. “I’ll have you know, Beta, that I care about my lovely wife a great deal. I just… need some space every now and then.”

n“Of course. Distance makes the heart grow fonder.”

n“Exactly!”

n“…And considering that you have become the literal embodiments of Mistress’s heart demons, I would suggest that you remember to not go too far lest the rules of existence pull you back to her.”

n“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-“

n“You talk in your sleep. And have you forgotten how pitiful you were after that first encounter? There was a period of time where you spoke exclusively to Eldest Sister and I and ranted about your poor life decisions, how you missed your home, 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-“

nJohn coughed. “R-Right. I get the picture.”

n“Good. Now, we are live in five.”

n“W-Wait a minute! Was all of that-“

n“Four.”

n“O-Oi, Beta!” John hurried back to standing in place. “You can’t-“

n“Two.”

n“Dammit!”

n“Live.”

nJohn spun around, swishing his lab coat, turning his back to the camera. At the same time, the avatar of John Titor did the same.

n—–AI|IA—–

nA dimly lit warehouse with mechanical parts lying across the concrete floor. Off to the side, just out of frame, was a steel capsule, shaped somewhat like a satellite and somewhat like a space pod. Across a piece that looked like a door, IA0 – TITOR was emblazoned in gold.

nIn 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.

nStanding 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.

nAnd as for what he was staring at…

nYOOOOO LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOO!

nGOOOOOOOOOO

nwhat is this and why was it recommended?

nI had to skip peeing for this

nHYPE HYPE HYPE

nshut up everyone

nwhat is this?

n“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.*“

nWith his words, the chat exploded, filling up with English comments.

nBut the man himself paid it no heed. “As it seems that some resourceful members of this time 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 name is John Titor, MirAIs operator from Earth 1202-19. As I stated before, I have come to this world because what should have been is no longer. What is now should not have been.”

nA flurry of comments flickered on the monitor behind John. Skeptics asking if he really came from the future or not.

nHe chuckled. “Whether you believe me or not is immaterial. And it would be far too troubling if the truth of my identity did come to light… But enough dabbling.”

nJohn flicked his right hand, causing a hologram to emerge. A ‘gate’.

n“As I said before, I am the operator of MirAIs. To explain its true nature and underlying framework would no doubt lead to this world’s authorities pursuing me and annoying conflicts, so I will simply sum up its purpose: changing the lives of those who were lost to time.”

nJohn 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 men and women, 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-“

nHe 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.

n“-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.”

nAnother flurry of comments. People wondering where this was leading. Others still wondering if this was a trailer for a game. And some people with self-proclaimed credentials analyzing the technology behind the animations and models.

n“People of this time 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 time, 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 time where a happy ending can overwrite the bad end.”

nJohn stepped forward and picked up the camera, 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?”

nThe 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 same time, a timer in red numbers showed up in front of her, overlapping her image. Eight hours, counting backwards.

n“The choice will be yours. Deceive yourself… or deceive the world? Good luck. I. A. Zero.”

nThe stream flickered, leaving behind only that image of Hana reaching out to the sky.

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