▲Time Dilation▼ (English Version)

Chapter 4: Responsibilty

Piles of paper surrounded the young scientist, who was obsessed with his hard work. Lucas Taylor delved into the physical matter once again, sitting concentrated at his desk. His eyes strategically scanned the calculations that he had already placed on the walls and ceiling of his quarters a while ago to get an overview. In order to maintain the stability of a double-sided portal with temporally different issues, he searched for the codes that needed to be corrected. Each fracture was different, which was due to the difficulties with the variability of certain frequencies. Each portal had to be tuned to a specific frequency to function and be stable. He wished he had someone with the same intellect to bounce ideas off of. Even if they didn't share knowledge in the same field, he would be grateful for a little inspiration and support. He had been staring at the same walls for days, trying to work, and each time he mentally hit a certain wall in his head. His thoughts kept drifting back to Jill, even though he had tried to consciously avoid thinking about her. Lucas desperately wanted to look into her stormy blue eyes again, hear her melodious voice, but he believed she now hated him and wouldn't want to see him. He didn't want her to direct her anger and dissatisfaction towards him. He also didn't want to face her pain because he didn't know how to handle it. He sat upright in his chair, frustrated, and interlocked his fingers behind his head. A sigh escaped him as her figure intruded into his senses. He knew that her company could give him a break from the monotony of his lifestyle. He decided to move up his next visit to her to the morning because he didn't have the patience to wait until evening. She was probably very hungry, so he could do her a favor. Motivated, he continued his work to finish it faster and finally be able to take care of Jill. Thoughtfully, he leaned forward, legs spread, resting his elbow on his thigh to support his head. "I see you're working hard as always," Mira broke the silence accusingly. Lucas cast a fleeting but significant glance over his shoulder at her. "My work happens up here," he said dryly, pointing to his head. "You've told me that before. Here, I brought you food. You weren't at breakfast in the canteen today," she said, narrowing her eyes as she placed a bowl of fruit next to Lucas on the table. Her piercing gaze lingered on the young man, whose behavior she found hard to interpret. "I'll eat later. Thank you." He didn't need Mira to get food, and he knew she was only using it as her excuse to get an update on his progress. "How are you getting along?" she inquired, not wasting any more of her time. Lucas knew that her goal was to return to her daughter, who had been left behind in the future. After that, he would never see Mira again, and this meant one less burden for him. "Slowly but surely. On the other hand, it wouldn't matter if we could repair the portal structure," Lucas informed her irritably. Mira crossed her arms in front of her chest, "You haven't worked it out completely?" - "I was distracted," he raised his tone in his voice to signal her not to push his limits. An idea suddenly came to him as he began to search under the piles of paper for the container for the PlexPads. "With thoughts of the girl?" Mira's eyebrows were raised, expressing her critical attitude. "With the calculations as always," Lucas spoke disdainfully as he placed the found crate on his table and opened it. He first took out one of the PlexPads inside and turned it on to continue his search for something else in its contents. "What are you looking for?" Mira was so stubborn she just couldn't let it go. Lucas hated stubbornness. Stubbornness usually prevented people from recognizing and accepting their mistakes. He couldn't forget the stubborn look on his father's face when he had given him a disappointed look after his mother's death... even after they had talked about it. Lucas swallowed hard, continuing to work on the matrices of his calculated codes that were already imprinted in his mind. However, his hands and eyes simultaneously carried out a different activity. "My work from before. Since you've now got all your answers, you can go. You're distracting me from my work," Mira turned on her heel and reluctantly complied with Lucas Taylor's request. In that moment, he was pleased with the crate of PlexPads that Weaver had given to him as part of the agreement during his lifetime. It was exactly what he needed. At that moment, he didn't even care if Mira was upset about being dismissed. He didn't even notice her leaving as he scrolled through his old calculations on the PlexPad with a smile.