"Daphne! Hey, Daphne!"

Daphne gasps. Mr. Finns is busy calling her. "Ah... yes, Sir?..."

"Here's the order from Table Number Five." Mr. Finns holds out a tray of food Daphne has to serve. "What are you thinking about? I've been calling you so many times, but you didn't make any response."

"Ah... sorry... I was out of focus..." Daphne quickly takes the tray and delivers it to the ordering table.

Her ultra-cyber minipad rings. Daphne gets it out of her pocket, and finds that the caller is Mrs. Rivers.

"Sorry... I'm out for a while!..." And thus ignoring Mr. Finn's reaction, Daphne quickly rushes to the back door of the restaurant, which leads to a deserted alley. "Yes, Mrs. Rivers?"

"Daphne! Have you made any contact with Stairmount?!" Mrs. Rivers' voice sounds panicked.

"No, Ma'am. I've called him a dozen times so far, but he did not pick it up."

"My goodness! I think the chances for him to contact you are higher than us, but evidently it's the same!" Mrs. Rivers' voice sounds even more panicked. "I'm afraid something horrible has happened to him! He's injecting a new pathogen into himself just to research it! Doesn't he know that it's the people who love him so much that feel such immense pain!"

Same with me. "I'll try to call him again later. Hopefully, at that time he will pick it up..."

"His father just called him earlier, but he still didn't pick it up..." Mrs. Rivers sighs. "We want to book a ticket to fly to Saturn! We're so worried about him!"

"I want to join you, Ma'am!"

"Yeah, that's the reason why we call you. We want to bring you too."

"But I'll pay for the rocket ticket by myself, Ma'am!"

"Alright, no need to worry about that. Send me the luminescence ray * of your passport tablet first. Then we'll order the tickets."

*) that's the same way of sending the image photo of a passport via electronic on Planet Earth.

After a brief conversation about the passport tablet and rocket ticket, the conversation ends. Daphne clutches her chest which keeps pounding nonstop. Soon, she will meet with Stairmount. She has been so worried about Stairmount's condition for these days, and a little while later, she is about to meet him.

Daphne presses her fingers onto her chest, hoping glumly. Stairmount... don't leave me... please. You have to survive. Please.

***

Stairmount is certain, that he is floating aimlessly in the darkness.

He is so light, he floats and floats, but he can't determine the way he is going on.

Just like this life, which is uncontrollable, while human beings often hallucinate, think that they can control it.

Where...  am I?...

A huge wave sweeps over him. Stairmount gets his eyes to glaze over, stunned by the flashes of light he is watching. Those flashes are showing the whole life journey he has gone through all this time.

Copyright ©️ by boundless_universe 

He can see the moments when he graduated as the best student while taking his master's degree... the moment when he was delivering a speech at the graduation ceremony in front of hundreds of students and university staff... the moment when he was consigned as the member of Chrono... the moment when he was awarded the position of chief researcher at Mist Laboratory... the moment he got fascinated by the rapid development of Sierra Pathogen which was claimed to be the greatest biological weapon in human history ever exists, and could hardly believe that it was created by his own hands...  the moment when he first met Daphne... when Daphne confessed her love to him... and also the wedding agreement... when he was appreciated all over the Planet with his position as Delegation Team Leader of Jupiter Health Department for Jupiter-Saturn Cooperation Program... But, on the other hand, apart from all his success and glory, he can also see the dark flashes. When his father fought with him over his decision to become a member of Chrono... when he was threatened by Mr. Landlord to carry out that horrible mission to spread Sierra Pathogen in Saturn, with the lives of his parents as the detainees... the moment when Saturn government - which his father is very certain of will defend him because of the blood ties - turned to be negative with him, hated him, and even pointed the electron guns at him.... and Jupiter government forced him to stay instead of protecting and caring for him...

I've heard that, when a person dies, he will witness the whole glimpse of his life in great detail. So, I'm going to die?  I don't feel the pain anymore. Am I really going to die?

Stairmount keeps letting himself float nonstop. Float, and float continuously. And his energy, is more and more dissipated.

He lets his all power disappear.

As his power disappears, his body will also disappear. Devastated, into meaningless dust in the vast vortex of this universe.

"Stairmount! Have you forgotten your promise, that you will marry me?! We will get married?!?"

Suddenly Stairmount can feel his body stop floating. And, he gets the power to control his body as well.

That's right... I remember that promise... a promise that I have not yet accomplished. A promise, that I must keep, for Daphne whom I love so much.

I can't die. Can't die.

"For Grandma. For Sianne. And for everyone infected by the Ramscal Pathogen - I have to use that idea."

I can't die.

To heal Grandma and Sianne. To save those who have been exposed too. And, to fulfill my promise to Daphne.

To marry Daphne.

I have to live. And I, will succeed in finding the best treatment to defeat this pathogen.

Copyright ©️ by boundless_universe