Chapter 240.

Chapter 240. The Valentine’s Day School Dance: Dance Monkey. (4/4)

“Oh, indeed, indeed! I couldn’t have said it better myself. How rare, to see a first-year high school boy with such cold and bold opinionated views. It seems we might have a bit in common in terms of how we think. It is quite an unexpected surprise to meet such a young boy.”

She clapped happily when I finished and sported a smile for the first time since we met.

“Though I can see your point of view, in regards to the solar storm. Things wouldn’t necessarily play out the way you imagine it would. It’s entirely possible humans could survive.”

“Yes, honestly humans would likely survive and get through it. But personally, I just don’t have a very high evaluation of humans. We’re lazy in nature and can’t deal with boredom. If a strong enough solar storm hit, and the internet was gone for a year or longer, I’m sure I’d be the first one to commit suicide out of boredom. There might be fiber optics that aren’t affected, but if power grids were completely fried despite our best efforts to protect them, it would be a long time before things get back to normal.”

“Semiconductors would be one of the greatest limiting factors in everything. If all the semiconductors were fried, we’d have to go through a very long process just to make more. Creating a batch of semiconductors can take three months alone. But what if the facilities that produce them themselves are all damaged and need to be repaired, or in the worst case, need to be rebuilt from the ground up? That would be the absolute worst-case scenario, a terrifying one.”

“There are just so many potential dangers of a powerful solar storm. That is why humans need to spread their wings and fly. By doing so, our chances of survival in this cold merciless universe would increase.”

“But solar flares aren’t even the final boss of nature. They’re honestly just cute puppies trying to play with the weak little baby birds. There’s still the threat that we may be in a race against other civilizations out there. It may very well be an interplanetary space race between species for all we know.”

“In all likelihood, from a statistical standpoint, there is life out there competing against us. We don’t know for certain whether they would be friends or foes. The only way we can ensure our own safety is to be the first. If we can set the ground rules, that would be the ideal situation. If we’re beaten, but they’re friendly, then that would be great. But if they’re not… then war may be our only option if talking is not an option.”

“We could become an enslaved species, or we could even face extinction. Who knows? That’s why humans need to regain a sense of urgency. Climate change isn’t our enemy for us to fight against. It’s the power of our strongest ally, a form of pressure the mother that birthed us is putting on us to help our species become stronger.”

“Bravo. You should become a politician. I think you’d benefit humanity a lot more than the pathetic spineless cowards who are in power now. If I were an English teacher, I’d give you full marks if that was for a speech you had to give.”

The last slow song this time around came to an end and a new song started. This time it was a nightcore version of Fearless pt.II by Lost Sky. The beat was pretty solid.

Wait. A sudden realization hit me. Forget the song, how the hell did this happen? Why am I suddenly getting along with my AP Biology teacher like we’re long-time friends?

How did this even start again?

Ah. Damn it, it was that kiss! How’d I get caught up in her pace? Oh… right… virology.

To think, my biology teacher specialized in virology. Honestly, it was quite a shock.

“Hey, Ms. Gene, if I said there was a virus that could make you live forever, what would you think?”

“I’d think you were messing with me. Where’d that come from all of a sudden?”

I leaned on the edge of the railing and watched my two girlfriends slow dancing together as the song Speechless by Dan and Shay started to play.

With distant eyes, I responded blankly, “Nowhere really… I just thought... it was sad that we probably wouldn’t live long enough for humans to colonize space and we’d never see extraterrestrial life with our own eyes. By the time that happens... we’d either be too old... or already six feet under. I wonder… just what life would be like in a couple hundred years. Would humans still be… alive? Or... would we be... extinct?”

My body slumped down further until my chin touched down on the back of my overlapping hands. In my last life, it was always something that had me depressed. 

I unconsciously stretched my left arm out over the railing and muttered out my true thoughts, “It’s so far out of reach. Too far to grab hold of within a single generation. Life is… too short… too fragile… But that ephemeral irradiant spark is what gives life value.”

“Dreams... are a beautiful thing. But sometimes... the unattainability of those far-off out-of-reach dreams are soul-crushing.”

I shut my open outstretched left hand and continued, “Impatience gets the best of us all… unable to wait, we know our time is limited. Thus, we struggle against our fate, fully aware of the futility of the act.”

“Yet… we still resist. We walk forward atop the innumerable dead bodies beneath our feet. The lives that came before us, the countless sacrifices that got us to where we are today. Just as our great ancestors once did, and their great ancestors before them did; we climb. One step at a time. To new heights once thought unattainable. We surpass the previous generation before us and grow. We may stumble and fall along the way. But we get back up, learn from our mistakes, make adjustments, and climb again. That endless cycle is life.”

With it, I pushed off the railing and took a seat as yet another song came to an end.

I hadn’t noticed, but Ms. Gene had fallen silent. When I glanced in her direction and saw her face, I was shocked. Tears were flowing down her cheeks like a river. I don’t think she even realized she was crying.

It was only when she felt something wet soaking her lab coat that she raised a hand and touched it that she asked, “Huh? My lab coat is wet? Why?”

“Maybe you were drooling or something.” I shrugged, laid down on my back, and pretended I had no idea.

“Your chronic illness, what is it?” She suddenly asked.

“Who knows.”

“What do you mean? Are you saying doctors don’t even know what it is?”

“Well, you could say that.”

“Is it something that shortens how long you have to live?”

“Maybe it is.” For all I know I might need souls to keep living. If being a devil was considered a chronic illness, maybe I wasn’t lying and just didn’t realize it.

I still don’t know whether I was a devil the first time around or whether I only became a devil this second time through. That was still an unsolvable mystery to me.

“Your reluctance to neither affirm nor deny leads me to believe it is.”

“Think what you want. It’s not like it matters.”

“It does matter. I think I’ve found the motivation to keep trying. I’d long resigned myself to defeat after everyone rejected my work, but… I’ll do it. I’ll show the world that I’m not wrong. In my lifetime, I will create that super virus. With it, that chronic illness of yours won’t mean a thing.”

Hah? What? Wait, wait a minute, teach. What the hell are you going to create now? Did I hear that right? A super virus? Huh? Did I… perhaps do something really bad? A mistake that could have a drastic impact on the future?

While I toiled internally to myself sweating nonstop, Ms. Gene headed down the stairs and abandoned her lookout duties.

I screwed up here.

A virologist was a very dangerous profession, a single one could have an effect on the entire world. They could be a boon or a bane to mankind. This teacher seemed like she would fall into the latter category. She was the reckless type, that was the impression I had of her.

Well, it had nothing to do with me. I’ll just wash my hands clean of this mistake and act like it never happened.