A 32-year-old unemployed doctor named Ulric realized he had been kidnapped when he came to his senses.
He lamented his situation inwardly.
‘Why on earth? I don’t even have money!’
Luck and misfortune, like two sides of a coin, are said to be twin sisters who walk together 24/7, and that seemed true.
The enticing offer of a regular research position thrown at him by a professor who had harassed him since his undergraduate years was too good to pass up.
All he had to do was participate in a confidential project for a few months, and he could secure a permanent research position at a lab managed by his former advisor—a dream-like condition!
Dr. Sturgis, the man in question, was a prominent figure in the academic world despite his advanced age.
Ulric remembered meeting him during his doctoral studies.
While he was a bit fussy as an advisor, he was undeniably a great scholar worthy of respect.
He heard that it was a type of industry-academia collaboration, but they were short on personnel.
He was told that after a short training period lasting a few days, he would sign a contract and be deployed.
There were some strict security-related conditions due to the nature of the work, but the salary was good, and the benefits were attractive.
Although the short-term nature of the project seemed a bit odd, he figured it was understandable since it was a confidential project and refrained from asking too many questions.
But when he got home, he suddenly experienced a flash of pain and lost consciousness.
When he came to, this was the state he found himself in—tied to a chair, with his eyes blindfolded.
‘Is this a robbery? A gang?’
He was terrified.
Stories of heinous crimes he had heard on the news flashed through his mind.
Things like an office worker being murdered during a robbery or a business owner being buried alive after a dispute with a partner.
Never did he think he’d become the protagonist of such a gruesome crime story that he had always thought was someone else’s problem.
No, surely he wouldn’t die like this? Just when his life seemed to be improving?
Damn it! Please, no!
His fleeting rationality melted away like snow, and his mind was overtaken by fear.
Someone, please save me!
“Where am I? What’s going on? Help! Is anyone there?”
He screamed frantically.
If he didn’t scream, he felt like his wildly beating heart would burst.
What he couldn’t bear most of all was the darkness—the complete and utter blackness.
He couldn’t see a thing or hear anything.
Anyone, please respond!
“Shut up.”
And his wish was granted in the most ominous way.
The harsh, heavy sound of a modulated voice reached his ears, and Ulric realized something was terribly wrong.
“Whoever you are, I’ll give you money! I’ll even tell you my bank account and card PIN!”
“Quiet.”
His desperate plea was curtly dismissed.
“I’m the one asking questions here. For now, shut your mouth. If you understand, nod.”
Ulric obeyed.
The cold metallic sensation pressed against his neck dredged up the remnants of his waning rationality.
Soon, the distorted, inhuman voice began its questioning.
“Are we doing this right?”
“Shh, keep quiet! Communicate through the network.”
We were interrogating the captive.
Before starting, we had made some preparations.
“The voice modulation effect works well. Did you see how he flinched earlier when we spoke?”
“Of course. It’s scarier than hearing our real voices.”
First, we secured a voice modulation program to hide our identities.
When No. 46 spoke into the microphone in front of the laptop, a commanding, heavy mechanical tone echoed through the speaker to the captive.
It was far more intimidating than a girl’s voice.
We brainstormed ways to apply psychological pressure, even mimicking the speech patterns of mobsters or gangsters from noir movies and crime dramas to exude dominance.
Of course, we had other methods prepared as well.
“Ulric Ferreira, age 32. Participated in several competitions during middle and high school, earning one excellence award, one encouragement award, and two honorable mentions.”
“Later graduated from Harmonia University’s Physics Department and completed both your master’s and doctoral studies there as well.”
“How… how do you know that?”
“Currently residing in Unit 101, Building 51, in Western District 13. Living alone. You had a girlfriend, but you broke up.”
“You’re close friends with Maron and Navin, both university classmates.”
“What… what do you want from me?”
“You have an old dog named Gordo. Shall we change the topic? You often have K-brand chocolate cereal for breakfast and prefer Alpine beer.”
“How do you know this? Who are you people?!”
The man began trembling and lost his composure, shouting almost like a wail.
I felt a bit sorry for him.
If someone unknown recited my personal information like that, I’d be terrified too.
“This is the kind of creepy thing only a student council president would do.”
“Ugh, I can’t even deny it.”
While we were bringing the man here, the other Violets used the stolen phone and house key to gather as much information as possible in a short time.
Thanks to the fingerprint recognition, accessing the internal data was quick.
Inside his house, an old dog lay motionless with a collar on.
From the trash bins, bookshelves filled with graduation albums, and various awards in the drawers, we could deduce who he was.
Using all that information and the right setting, scaring someone into submission was easy.
Our acting was a bit awkward, but judging by his reaction, he hadn’t noticed.
“I feel a little bad for him. Let’s release him quickly once this is over. We’re just unknown, evil corporate spies. Got it?”
“Right, right. We’re the bad guys here.”
The man, drenched in cold sweat and trembling, looked like he was about to faint from shock.
It was time to stop pressuring him and get to the main point.
“Who are you… why are you doing this?”
“Now, do you understand your situation? Ulric, we know everything about you. It’s in your best interest to cooperate. Whether you leave here unscathed depends on how sincere you are. Got it?”
“Yes! I understand! I’ll answer!”
Before questioning, we needed to confirm one thing.
“Have you undergone any recent magical security measures or signed any magical oaths?”
“Confidential security magic? No! Never! Please, take the knife away from my neck!”
Though we had already checked earlier when we stripped him, we asked again just in case.
“Now, explain everything you know about the Polaris Comprehensive Academy’s research project. What is its purpose or direction?”
“How do you know about that… okay, I’ll answer. I don’t know. I really don’t.”
Was he lying?
I pressed the flat of the knife against Ulric’s neck slightly.
“Don’t lie. We already know plenty. Surely there must have been others who were curious.”
“It’s true! I asked too, but they said they wouldn’t explain until after the training period and signing the security oath. And we’re just fill-in personnel, so we wouldn’t know everything!”
No. 3, watching nearby, handed me several guide sheets taken from Ulric’s bag and nodded.
“It checks out. The documents state that the project’s objectives and direction are classified. Based on the wording, it seems like they’re only expected to follow instructions.”
“Ugh… was this a waste of time? This task was doomed from the start.”
“It’s okay. We still have other questions left.”
Moving on to the next question.
“Tell me everything you’ve been told and know about the project.”
“Everything?”
“All of it.”
Ulric began to carefully explain.
“I heard it’s a university-industry collaboration project where several corporations provide support, and the school takes the lead. That’s why security is supposedly important… There’s a particle accelerator using Etherium underground. I have no idea how they managed to install something like that under the school…”
“A particle accelerator? Are you talking about the large pipes underground?”
“Yes! Yes! That’s it! It’s said to be essential for researching dimensions and ether.”
So, the enormous pipe I saw last time was a particle accelerator.
“They said it requires convergence across various disciplines. Apparently, the professor proposed the idea directly…”
“Does it include research on Awakened individuals?”
“Oh… Yes! That’s correct. They emphasized the importance of understanding how abilities manifest in the Awakened and how magic interacts with the brain. They didn’t go into much more detail, though.”
As the testimony was being recorded and filmed, we tried to organize the incoming information.
「It’s a project involving many people, conducted in utmost secrecy, requiring expertise from various fields.」
「It also deals with knowledge about the abilities and brains of the Awakened?」
We listened to his lengthy explanation, but there wasn’t much substance.
“Hey, is that all?”
“I swear it is! I’ve only been part of the training for a few days, so I haven’t heard everything yet!”
Oops, it seems we brought him in too soon. We exchanged uneasy glances, and amidst our hesitation, No. 1 signaled us to get a grip.
“…Excuse me? Is that everything? Do you have any more questions?”
“Tell me about Dr. Walter Sturgis. What’s your relationship with him?”
“Dr. Sturgis? He was my advisor back when I was in graduate school.”
The clones investigating Ulric’s house signaled confirmation. His doctoral thesis bore Dr. Sturgis’s name clearly.
We continued with various questions, but nothing particularly fruitful emerged.
He knew almost nothing about the topics we asked and only provided superficial information at best.
As the interrogation lost its purpose, half of the Violets began devising scenarios on where to release him and how to disguise our identities.
No. 1, who had swapped bodies with one of the field Violets, checked on the restrained Ulric.
He was drenched in sweat, seemingly from the tension.
With some time to spare, we compared his testimony against prior records and other recordings.
Was there anything else worth asking?
Suddenly, a past conversation between the Director and the Professor came to mind.
‘…There’s no need for gratitude. Dr. Sturgis, your Ether Wave Resonance Theory from your younger years has significantly contributed to the grand endeavor.’
No. 1 approached the microphone and took a seat.
“Do you know anything about the Ether Wave Resonance Theory?”
I had once heard this term in a conversation between the Director and the Professor.
Curious if it was a renowned theory, I searched for it. However, references to such a theory were almost non-existent.
Even academic journals and thesis-related sites barely mentioned it. Dr. Sturgis had scarcely used the term, with only one or two vague mentions.
At first, I thought the information might have been intentionally erased, but it felt different. Was it only ever conceptualized?
I didn’t expect much from the question, but Ulric seemed to contemplate deeply before responding.
“…Ether Wave Resonance Theory? I heard about it during my graduate years.”
“Explain.”
“It’s not a big deal. The Professor would occasionally talk about it to me or others. He’d say he was working on something important and that the results of his youthful conceptualization were starting to show. That theory’s name was what he used.”
“The theory has never appeared in any of his papers, presentations, or related articles.”
“Really…? That’s not surprising. He used to say he wasn’t fully confident yet. He mentioned it was theoretically possible only in a natural state…”
“So what does the theory actually propose?”
I pressed him with a threatening tone. Ulric’s complexion turned pale as he struggled to recall.
“Uh… He only explained it briefly. Each Awakened individual has unique magic that emits a distinct wave. Depending on the changes or characteristics of this wave, the difference between a regular Awakened and one with unique abilities becomes apparent.
So, the idea was that if Ether waves could be adjusted and synchronized according to individuals, it might be possible to create identical unique abilities.”
Ah, I see. I don’t get it.
As we racked our brains trying to understand, dawn began to break outside.
In our silence, Ulric, still tied up, began lamenting his situation in a small voice.
“Are you… from a corporation? Or another clan?”
“Quiet.”
“I’m sorry! But I really don’t know anything. If you let me go, I’ll keep my mouth shut. I’ve always been known for being tight-lipped. Really. Besides, I’m just a temp, so I don’t have access to or the ability to handle critical information! My contract’s only for three months anyway. I just joined because they said it could lead to a permanent position…”
“Three months? That’s pretty short.”
“Yes! That’s right, isn’t it? It’s unusually short. Normally, contracts are six months to a year. But this time, they said they needed people for the final stages.”
All of us slowly turned our gazes toward Ulric at the same time.
“The final stages? What do you mean?”
“They said the project would be completely finished in about three months.”
No. 1 shot up from her seat in shock.
“Say that again. What happens in three months?”
“Three months! At most, four months. Depending on the pace, it could be done in a month or two. Why are you reacting like this…?”
「Three months? How many days is that from now?
「Since it’s September, three months later would be the end of the first semester, a short winter break, and then the second semester. But you… Don’t tell me…
「Check the data! Look at the previous schedules or calendars!」
I sent all the archived data stored on my hard drive from the central dormitory.
Now that I thought about it, the marked or crossed-out periods…
Examining the photographic evidence once more, I saw periods around December and January marked with slashes, bold letters spelling “Deadline,” and conspicuous stars.
For several minutes, we struggled to process the new information.
Bridging the gap between the old and the new data was challenging.
As the Violets shared their thoughts, ideas raced like a highway of information, merging and connecting.
The blanks in our mental puzzle began to fill in.
The sudden spike in student admissions over the years.
The secret project gathering experts from various fields.
The massive research equipment installed underground.
The desolate school ruins five years into the future.
The survivors who transferred to other schools after the disaster.
And now, the mysterious research project set to finish in three months.
In that moment, a devastating hypothesis struck our minds like lightning.
Some of us jumped out of our seats in shock.
The hypothesis was so horrifying that some Violets instinctively rejected it.
「No way. That can’t be, right?」
「Right. It can’t be. We all know the school collapses in five years!」
No. Two countered.
「What do you mean, no way? It’s a misunderstanding. Five years? Forget five years.」
「But in the main game storyline…」
No. 1, who had been silent, interrupted.
「No. You’re wrong! What we remember is ‘seeing the school destroyed five years later.’ It wasn’t that it collapsed in five years! Now that I think about it, there’s no way the wrecked state we saw could have developed in just a day or two…」
Finally, we all realized the truth.
As the stunned Violets sat in silence, a timid voice came from one corner of the storage room.
“Um, can you let me go now? I’ve told you everything I know…”
「What should we do with him?」
「Put him to sleep for now. Let’s think it over…」
The Violets approached and forced Ulric to drink water laced with a sedative. He resisted briefly but eventually swallowed. Soon, he fell asleep again.
“…We need to run.”
I had thought I’d escaped from being a lab rat. But I was still one.
After escaping the lab, I thought I was free.
I wasn’t.
I had just moved from a smaller cage to a larger one.
I knew the school was doomed. But I didn’t expect it to be this soon.
If my hypothesis is correct, if my suspicions are true, this school is going to collapse soon.
Polaris Academy will face its end in three months.
Or maybe even sooner.
Whatever happens, it’s over.
I need to start packing and prepare to flee.